After a certain point, when you find a vehicle in original condition that isn’t a supercar or otherwise a collector’s items, you have to consider it a unicorn. This 1992 Toyota Land Cruiser may have become a bit of an item in recent years, but until recently, it was just a daily driver. The pendulum has swung enough that we’re starting to see these 80-Series trucks restored and resto-modded, and it’s becoming harder to find a survivor-grade example that’s been loved like this example listed here on eBay clearly has. The bidding is currently sitting at $10,300 with the reserve unmet.
The Land Cruiser has evolved quite a bit over the years, and examples made in the last 20 years have some of the best resale value in the market. You can’t touch a modern-eran Land Cruiser for less than $50K, and that’s with over 100K miles on the clock. It’s fairly insane, and the return on investment is not unlike some of the most desirable sports cars out there today, such as the 993-era Porsche 911. The 80-Series hasn’t risen to quite that level, and while it spiked quite a bit during the frothy pandemic years, values have settled back down to normal levels. Still, I suspect this one will reach into the low $20s.
The first run of the 80-Series were more in line with the classic Land Cruiser DNA. Cloth interiors, basic controls, some power features – it wasn’t a huge jump above and beyond the 60-Series of the 80s. The later 80-Series trucks added leather, CD changers, heated seats and the like. It was still a pretty simple rig, but Land Cruisers like this one in the early 90s were just easier to maintain, and, in effect, preserve. The seller’s truck has over 220,000 miles which makes the condition of high-wear areas like the interior even more impressive. That being said, the 80-Series is much like the W123 Mercedes-Benz where high miles are effectively nothing for a truck like this.
Rust is the biggest killer of these trucks, as they are still fairly fragile in that regard. The underside of this Land Cruiser is gorgeous, and the Autocheck report confirms it has been in California since new. I had a later 80-Series truck with the Lexus trimmings and it was pretty clean underneath for a truck from the Northeast, but I still had some rust repaired in the rockers. Not having to deal with bodywork and the fact that prior to the seller getting his hands on it, it was owned by one family since new, makes this Land Cruiser a unicorn in many ways. The bidding seems light but I’m sure anyone watching this auction is far from done bidding on this Toyota.
Hi-Miler Lavery. Looks to have led a pretty posh existence. Maybe a grocery getter. 🛒
Anyone that has a shred of auto knowledge, knows Toyota is the best,,,for the masses. They’ve come a long ways from my FJ55. However, even the almighty Toyota wears out and when it does, it will cost ya’. Rebuilt engines are easily over $8grand, transmission, maybe $6grand, and not built to the quality of the factory units, and we haven’t even got to the electrical gremlins engineered in to fail at a certain point. Hey, it’s the law today for all car makers, can’t make them last forever like a Packard, or we’ll be out of business in no time,,,like Packard. Don’t get me wrong, this was/is the chariot for the rural masses, but I deal with older retired people on fixed incomes, that are relegated to high mileage cars, and it’s one heartache after the next, so beware high mileage modern vehicles,,,please. New, or slightly used, yeah, right try and find a low mileage Cruiser, but just look at repair shops, if any left( 3 quit in my small town alone) and tell me what’s in line for repair,,,
If this was maintained mechanically as well as it was on the interior I imagine it probably has at least another 220k miles left in it if not far more. I’ve owned a number of Toyotas and they were all exceptionally good vehicles, and I wish I’d kept the ’89 4×4 Xtra Cab long bed, but due to old school thinking I sold it at 150k miles, not realizing at the time that it was capable of three times that if not more. I also have a friend who runs a transportation company ferrying tourists around Sedona and back and forth to the Grand Canyon and Phoenix Sky Harbor etc in Toyotas and over the past decade has driven well over a million miles without any major issues, and he can put 100k miles on a vehicle in a year. Two years ago he traded in a Sienna with 437k miles in on a new one, again with zero issues. Google the Toyota Million Mile Club some time, the miltitude of stories and YT videos are a powerful testament to Toyota quality and longevity.
Hi John, “if”, is the key word. Heck, properly maintained, a Yugo can go 300K, however, most of these went to divorced soccer moms, that along with the husband, out the window went maintenance. I’m not ripping on women specifically, it’s just, maintenance is not front burner. I have a neighbor with an older Ranger, has an astonishing 420K on it, never opened up, but properly maintained. On the other hand, another neighbor with a RAM pickup, 200K, never checks or changes the oil, and it’s shot. You can cheat that a bit, but most just buy a new Highlander and be done with it. Like here, spend $10grand, be prepared to put at least that into it, and have a 30 year old SUV. With the popularity of the new jobs, this is horribly out of date for most. What, no info screen? How will we know what to do???
Point taken Howard. You reminded me of a gal I know who had a Nissan car (I don’t remember which model at the moment) with over 200k on it and it developed an oil leak that was pitch black on her concrete driveway. By the color and consistency I was sure the front axle boot had split, but it turned out her oil filler tube had sprung a leak somehow and it was engine oil, so I asked how long it had been since she had it changed, and she just shrugged. She had no idea that it needed to be done at 3k unless it was synthetic, which it wasn’t, yet somehow it kept running. Long story short she gave it to her son after that and bought a used Lexus, so who knows how much longer it will keep going.
Beautiful looking Toyota Land Cruiser.
Nice 80 series. As noted above, rust was normally what killed these. I not sure the high mileage is keeping the bid activity low. If properly maintained, the mileage should not be a big issue for this essentially rust free Land Cruiser. I will keep an eye on this one as it deserves more bids.
I’d buy an FJ80 if I could get it with a Toyota Turbo Diesel engine.
One thing to point out with the US-spec 80 series Land Cruiser is that it was available with two different engines, the 3FE (fuel-injected inline six that is the direct descendant of the legendary 2F engine that Toyota used for more than two decades) from 10/90 to 8/92 (model designation FJ80) and then the much more desirable 1FZ-FE (also a fuel-injected inline six with dual overhead cams) from 10-92 through the end of production in 1997 (model designation FZJ80). This one has the 3FE and those usually sell for less than the IFZ-FE equipped Land Cruisers. 91-92 80 series were also never equipped with the front and rear electric locking differentials that were optional -and fairly common- in the 93-97 models, making them less desirable for the offroad crowd.
Overall, this is a pretty clean FJ80 and the CA provenance is a big plus, but I’m not sure if the current market supports a price above $20K.
This is my favourite version of the Toyota Land Cruiser since the FJ60. The only mechanical thing that should’ve been allowed to be available was a turbo diesel engine. What it lacked in 0-60 acceleration, it would’ve made up for in towing and in fuel economy.