So our luck with this Land Cruiser has been perfect until about a month ago. The alternator and battery had to be replaced to a tune of $700, now the transmission has gone out. We’re looking at a $4000 bill for that, all of this in the same month…Needless to say, we’re considering replacing. We stand to make about 10k in profit if we sell it, so not a bad down payment on a cheaper SUV. My question is: since we just replaced all of these major components, is it better to pay it off and just keep it till it dies. OR do you think we’ll probably be dealing with more and more costly repairs.
I’m leaning strongly towards selling it and replacing it with something cheaper and easier to maintain/repair. The car was purchased before I came along, and I cannot fathom how my partner thought this vehicle was worth the pricetag. However, I would love to hear from anyone with some experience with these suckers. Let me know if this is something worth holding onto at this point.
The Toyota Land Cruiser is a legendary car as far as reliability is concerned. The battery and alternator are expected repairs on a 7 year old car. The tranny repair is unexpected, but if the miles on the car exceed 150K and/or the tranny fluid was never changed that could explain the failure.
If you want a new car - fine. A maintained Land Cruiser is a vehicle that you can expect 300K miles out of before it is ready for the junk yard.
You should clarify your comments. If your partner paid 65k for rig and can sell it for 10k, than 10k is referred too as “cash”. It is not profit. If he paid 30k and can sell it for 40k, than that 10k is profit.
Not sure what he paid originally. I just meant we’ll walk away from the sale with about 10k in cash. Est. value is currently 25k and he has about 15k left to pay off. Should be paid off in a year and a half if we keep it.
The thing is, he keeps it up very well, regular maintenance at the dealership. Just had new tires put on it, and transmission fluid changed. The transmission going out so early just concerns both of us. We were both sold on the reliability for a while there, but now it’s just looking like a money pit.
To be clear, are you saying the Cruiser is worth $25K even with the $4K transmission replacement looming?
If you can get $25K for it without fixing the transmission, I’d say sell it. But if you’re going to lose trade in value due to the transmission, it gets a little tighter.
I think the real questions are: does this vehicle meet you needs for now and the immediate future? You next course of action should come from that answer. Good luck.
After the transmission is replaced, you can reasonably expect that it will be reliable as long as you keep the truck. We had a transmission replaced under warranty at 58,000 miles. Now almost 100,000 miles later, the transmission is still working well.
Great car. Are you coming away with a 10k down payment and owing nothing? Are you buying a car that better meets your needs? Is the car considered Very reliable by Consumer Reports? You need to weigh the decision in every way since you still owe 15k.
My friends 2004 Land Cruiser is a money pit. Really. Coil packs have failed, the steering rack, and a $900 starter since it is buried under the intake manifold.
He hangs onto it as he got it very cheaply during the massive auto decline/fuel price spike.
Tom and Ray always said Land Cruisers were extremely expensive to operate, as I recall . . .
$700 for a battery and alternator sounds kind of pricey, even for the dealer
How many hours labor did they charge?
How much the battery cost?
How much did the alternator cost?
I don’t think a Land Cruiser is really all that appropriate for an everyday vehicle. Unless you’re going offroad or towing something substantial, there are better and more economical choices
If it has been used as a city/highway car and not a weekend rock crawler, I expect you’re looking on average at around $1000-$1500 per year in maintenance and repair bills to keep it on the road. It’s a financial decision for the most part. Just depends on how much your other options would set you back. Decide from that comparison.
If this vehicle has often been used off road in severe 4wd conditions, probably best to sell it.
"Just had new tires put on it, and transmission fluid changed"
Was this done at the dealership?
Was the transmission diagnosed at the dealership?
If the answer to the first is “no”, the incorrect fluid may have been put in.
If the answer to the second is “yes”, I’d suggest a second opinion from an independently owned and operated tranny shop.
These vehicles are renowned for their long term durability, however if you want to replace it anyway after it’s repaired, allow me to suggest that you get a Consumer Reports New Car Buyer’s Guide at the local bookstore as your first step. That’ll give you comprehensive and comparative reliability data well beyond any suggestions we could make.
Don’t go into business if you think selling a $65000 car for $25000 generates a profit because you only owe $15000 on it.
$25000 is for a clean retail sale by a dealer. Trade in price is in the $15000 to $19000 price range depending on condition and you have to deduct necessary repairs from that. You owe more on that car than it is worth.
@Caddyman It has about 100,000 miles on it and the transmission still has not been fixed due to it having to be shipped over from Japan. I think we’ve decided to keep it with the hopes that the new transmission, alternator, and battery will last us at least another 5 years. I still have mixed feelings about it being a money pit, but there’s really no way to know until you know, right?
Everyone seems really focused on my misuse of the word “profit.” I was just trying to get this posted quickly, and I am well aware that we are not making any money on the car. I simply meant that should we sell it privately which is what we were considering, we could potentially walk away from the sale with 10k which we would then use as a down payment. I wasn’t so much looking for financial advice, as I was overall opinions on the value of holding on to the Land Cruiser.