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Repair vs Sell Decision

Amy

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Mar 6, 2017
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united_states
We've had our 2006 Landcruiser since she left the showroom floor - she's practically a member of the family. However, at just above 365,000 miles, she needs a couple of major repairs. It looks like the upper and lower seals need replacing and the mechanic suggests we replace all of the seals. The suspension is bad. In addition, one O2 sensor is failing and the catalytic converter needs to be replaced.

Our dealer quoted north of $10,000 and our trusty independent Toyota mechanic quoted more like $6,000.

What do you think? If we spend the money to fix her, am I looking at other costly repairs in a couple of months? If we fix her up, will she be good to go another 100,00 miles? How would you decide on whether to spend the money fixing the Landcruiser or making a down payment on something else?
 
Hi Amy, welcome to the forum.

If you like the truck, which is obvious from your post, I'd say fix it without hesitation.

I'm not sure which seals you're talking about, but the 100 will be good for 500k miles or more with care and some repairs.

As these trucks get older they do need repairs, but it won't get out of hand if you service it regularly.

Certainly, it will be cheaper than buying a new truck every 4 years and what would you replace her with, some GM or Ford tin can with no character or real ability?

That's my advice anyway, for what it's worth, you have what many consider the best all-round and Offroad truck ever built (except for the 80 series, just said that to start a row :lol:), and in truth, she's actually irreplaceable these days.
 
Hi Amy

I'm wondering why do it all at once ? not sure what seals you mean but i think generally most of us replace as and when they fail unless its handy to do another while parts are off . For suspension i would be looking for aftermarket and i would want to remove the cat converter if its at all possible .

Repair nothing and it will probably still be going strong 10 years from now which is why its worth repairing .
 
Even if you do spend the $10,000 on repairs, in the long run you'll still be better off! Things like bushes will go but replacing it will give you another few 100k's easily.
 
Hi Amy and welcome. Better the devil you know than the devil you don't. But these are no devils. It sounds like maintenance at the right timing. Any vehicle needs looking after and these trucks reward you in spades.

Repair gets my vote. If you want to change, do so after the repair because you want to change, not because of the repair. If you look after it it will reward you with many more miles yet. Rust is the killer really. Anything else is just parts.

Which seals?

Whatever you do, please use genuine parts. It's what makes these trucks as good as they are. Take a look on www.amayama.com for the parts as they will most probably be far cheaper than your local dealer and your mechanic can fit for you. You sign in, send a request after selecting your parts and they come back with a firm price for parts and shipping. Delivery is 10-15 days or so for genuine Toyota parts straight from Japan or Dubai.

Good luck with it and keep us posted. Pop over to the introduce yourself section if you haven't already and tell us a bit about you and your truck. We love photos so let's see some too and we look forward to having you here as a regular member and hearing all about your trips and travels. There's a wealth of information on here too from a real friendly bunch if people. In short, you've come to the right place.

Best wishes
Richard
 
Listen to the starry cruiser, et al.
A 2006 in the US - prbly has AHC suspension? All suspension systems need change of parts when they are worn. The AHC parts normally last longer than conventional parts, but they require adjustment and maintenance. If you don't wrench yourself, it's probably cheaper in the long run to change the suspension system to conventional, using original parts, e.g. ordered thru amaymama. That is - if it needs parts at all.
 
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All good advice above. 365K is a good mileage, and as you say it has become part of the family. I'd repair and stick with the truck that you've know since day one, looked after these Land Cruisers will just keep on cruising.
 
As an example, I'm sure I've read on here of a guy in Oz who rebuilt his engine at 500,000 (not sure if it was miles or Km) and found no wear to the cylinders at all. Proof these cruisers are built to last and why they are so popular in Oz. And elsewhere. :)
 
Welcome Amy, Personally I'd keep her. As said above she's got some good milage yet with a bit of TLC and it your've had her from new then as you say she's a part of the family. :)
 
As an example, I'm sure I've read on here of a guy in Oz who rebuilt his engine at 500,000 (not sure if it was miles or Km) and found no wear to the cylinders at all. Proof these cruisers are built to last and why they are so popular in Oz. And elsewhere. :)

I had a compression test done on my old Blue 1 HDZ 80 at 300,000 kms. Average across the 6 cylinders was 6% off factory spec. The lowest if I recall was 8%.

Amy - I have an 18 year old 105, and a 21 year old 80 with 350,000kms on the clock. There's nothing wrong with either of them that couldn't be fixed with a box of spanners. Of course rust isn't so much of a problem in Africa - no need to salt the roads...
 
There is no doubt repairing what you have is a good option. Buying someone elses problems is not good. I have a 1990 Cruiser and over the past two years I have replaced parts and upgraded the Unit. She is great now. Reliable and safe. looking forward to our trip across the Tanami Desert in NT Australia in May 2017
 
What can you get for between $6k and $10k that you owe nothing on afterwards?? Probably nothing. Go fix your baby .... :) :)
 
Hi Amy. For what it's worth, I'm in with the repair her crowd. Do the priority bits first, the rest there after. Better to stick with a vehicle that you know and love....parts do wear out in time, nothing to fear.
 
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