When is it time to say goodbye?

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Nechaken

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Someone, somewhere, is working on a LS Swap. (I hope).

Really though, it always comes down to what could I replace it with? Its no longer than an Accord or Camry, so parking downtown is easy, its "luxurious" enough to take to a decent restaurant; offroad it probably does 80-90% of what a Wrangler could do, fold-flat seats mean you can sleep in it, and the high roofline and tailgate makes it a decent pick-up truck replacement.

Gas mileage and lack of carplay are really the only downsides.
 

ryanjl

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Mine has been just about as reliable as the 80 series I owned for 8 years back in the 00's.
 

BigBriDogGuy

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Sorry to hear that M32H32IS. Let's talk in 6 months after I've lived with it for a while. But the Land Cruiser is nearly 3x what I paid for my LR4.
 

M32H32IS

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With the cost of the reman engine I had installed a month after purchasing my LR4 I could’ve paid cash for a decent 100 series. (LR4 cost me $15k & engine + cooling system + compressor, air springs & hubs cost me $15k)
 

M32H32IS

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But, on the bright side I’ve got a couple more PM’s to do & it should either fetch a premium or I’ll drive it for another 150k.
 

ftillier

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yeah, engine replacement is rough. That's my biggest fear, so throwing money at preventative maintenance in hopes it ends lasting.
 

BigBriDogGuy

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M32H32IS, I was curious about your vehicle and went back to look at your early posts. That's a beautiful color of blue on your rig, by the way. Was it the rebuilt engine that needed to be replaced or was the rebuilt engine the replacement? I can see why you would be furious if you needed to replace a recently rebuilt engine that had just gone through a full overhaul.
 

ktm525

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With the V8s now being out of production for 10 years these are not great choices for daily drivers. As a second or third vehicle they can still fit the bill quite nicely.
 

ryanjl

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With the cost of the reman engine I had installed a month after purchasing my LR4 I could’ve paid cash for a decent 100 series. (LR4 cost me $15k & engine + cooling system + compressor, air springs & hubs cost me $15k)

I've had "cheap" 100 series dreams for a while now and allow me to squash yours for a bit. My dad just bought one a few years ago as an extra 'fun' car--one that was supposed to be in prime condition--but the reality is that:

1. Even the newest 100-series is 16 years old at this point, and no matter how "reliable" a vehicle is, when it hits that age things just start to go wrong;

2. In that 16 to 24-year old range where 100-series reside, the vast majority of them are likely to have had several prior owners of varying degrees of competence.

3. A good portion of the 100-series model years went through a period 3 to 6 years ago when they were pretty cheap, and that worries me because a lot of people who buy cheap cars only have the tolerance for cheap repairs.

4. It's extremely difficult to find one that is honestly represented as a good vehicle, because owners are either dishonest when they sell them or are simply unaware of the problems or the prior-owner patch jobs that are hidden inside.

You could probably say a lot of the same things about buying any used vehicle, but having owned several Land Cruisers myself (and having looked at several before I bought my LR4) a "blessing and a curse" of the Land Cruiser is their reputation for being very reliable. A lot of non-car people buy them and then think they don't have to take care of them because they are so reliable. I gave up looking for them when I bought my LR4 because even 200-series that were just a few years old were completely trashed by negligent owners.
 

M32H32IS

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M32H32IS, I was curious about your vehicle and went back to look at your early posts. That's a beautiful color of blue on your rig, by the way. Was it the rebuilt engine that needed to be replaced or was the rebuilt engine the replacement? I can see why you would be furious if you needed to replace a recently rebuilt engine that had just gone through a full overhaul.

I purchased it because the dealership represented it as a 1-owner that had over heated. They claimed to have pulled the engine, stripped it down to the block & had a VERY reputable local machine shop clean up the block & heads. They also claimed to install new internals - pistons + crank, etc.

They had been driving it about 5-10 miles a day with no issues. Allegedly.

On my drive home from the lot after paying them $15k cash, the low coolant light came on. I was assured they’d resolve the issue no matter the cost.

Long story short, their mechanic did a hack job and never sent the block or heads to the machine shop. Engine was toast.

On short drives it was OK but my trip home was +/- 60 miles.

I ended up booking a transplant for a real reman and went ahead & purchased new cooling system parts as insurance.

The engine + cooling system cost me an additional $14k.

It runs well now, but I’m sorting small issues that arise, that I expected to arise when originally purchased. What I didn’t expect was to replace the engine immediately.
 

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