akusnowo

Hi...I'm new here..about to purchase a 97' 450. Champagne color...with 45000 miles on it..exterior and interior looks perfect..from private party. Purchase price at $22000

What I need to know from all of you, the experts, is this a good price? what should I be cautious about this particular car? bad transmission, poor handling or suspension, etc?

I also heard about poor MPG..such as only 10-11 MPG..is this true??

I'm basically have a choice between this 450 or land cruiser , same year, more mileage, but same price....

please give me your advice...greatly appreciated...

pbm317

I responded to your PM, hope that helps. As for mileage.. I avg around 13 with mostly around town driving. If you have any other questions just PM me again.

RWD

Price sounds pretty good for such a low mile truck. I'd run a search of the VIN at Carfax of any potential truck. The 450 is an excellent truck almost identical to the Cruiser. Very reliable and will last a long time if maintained properly. No real negatives except they eat front brake pads. Bob

logan2

I too have a '97 that I bought with about the same milage as yours (I'm in Canada) for about the same price. I paid about US$18,000, but I had to do about US$3,000 in maintenance right away (new tires, new rotors, new pads, fix part of frt dive line) and still have about $1,000 worth of stuf to do.

I am a huge fan of Land Cruisers (a 97 LX450 basically IS a Land Cruiser!) and my general feeling from prior ownership is that the 'major parts' will not let you down. The engine, transmission and suspension systems are fantastic and will take you virtually anywhere. In my case my mechanic did a very thorough look-over and all the main systems were fine, but lots of maintenance to do as the previous owner had done very little work.

However, it has also been my experience that many of the do-dads that attach to these components will and do fail (e.g., AC compressor, alternators, fans, etc) - generally small stuff, but it does cost you.

A few things to look for on the 97, Assuming that the engine checks out OK (eg compression, exhast gas analysis), and that there are no signs of accidents:

- AC compressor - seems that many 80 series cruisers have bad AC units (mine has failed)
- Check for rust around the back hatch window and check around the side windows for same
- Check the transfer case and lockers. If the owner has not used these items they will 'stick' and can take some time to unstick. In the worst case, the frt and rear locker units may have filled with water and rusted out. In my case it took a fair amount of time (driving of road) to get my lockers to unstick.
- Fast idle - these trucks also seem to suffer from fast idle problems. In my case this drove a replacement of an 02 sensor and a coolant sensor (seems small but about $500 in work)
- Check that the auto heating and AC unit works properly

Now you can see why I have suck a love-hate relationship with mine.

In general, this forum is not a great place for info - focus on finding info on the Land Cruiser 80 series where you will find much more info (check for 80s Cool mailing list, sleeoffroad.com, etc).

To close - I really LOVE my truck , there is nothing better and you should buy one! If this rig has been dealer maintained and the seller has records to prove, you should have no worries. If not, majke sure you take it to a mechanic that really knows Land Cruisers (I would go to a Toyota dealership not Lexus if you can)

Cheers, Hugh

LexFather

Dude, your screen name logan2 (Wolvernine ) and your name is Hugh (the name of the dude who acted like Logan, who is Wolverine).

2 damn cool!

After basic maintance, the Land or LX are INDESTRUCTIBLE!

logan2

hmmmm, coincidence? Maybe not?

Cheers, Hugh