Trading in my hilux for a 76 series land cruiser. Good idea?

Ahoy Rob

This is my first post on the forum ;D

I feel like I have something to contribute because I too have just bought my first 4x4 and I too chose a Land Cruiser 76, a 2008 model 4.2D donkey with 195k on the clock and a full service history with Toyota.

I bought it from We Buy Cars last week and paid R390k with their 2 year warranty. OUTsurance told me that the book value is R330k odd so I paid over book, but that’s expected in today’s climate.

Knowing next to nothing about 4x4’s let alone Cruisers, I spent a lot of time watching YouTube videos and reading through this forum prior to making my purchase and learning what to look for and what to watch out for. I was set on finding a vehicle that was stock standard without any mods so that I had a clean slate to work from.

I was fortunate to have found my vehicle at We Buy Cars in Kuilsriver (Cape Town) after only having been on the hunt for 2 to 3 weeks. Before pulling the trigger, I took her to Snymans and Joubert was kind enough to take her for a test drive for me and to do a quick inspection before telling me that she looked really clean and gave me the thumbs up.

Now that I’m a LC 76 owner, the bug has bitten me and I’m planning all of the mods that I’d like to do from an ARB bull bar to a brake upgrade to a suspension upgrade… it doesn’t stop and it certainly isn’t cheap. I’m a fisherman and a boater and I always thought that my other hobbies were expensive until I entered this world!

I haven’t looked back and I get giddy every time I sit in my “truck” and take her for a drive. Looking forward to my first boat launch in the coming weeks.

Best of luck with your search and don’t rush it. The right Cruiser will come along!

Syfret

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Fuel price must be a consideration for a daily driver. My V6 Prado is a holiday vehicle so not the same vehicle and not a daily driver but I have this to contribute.

The difference in the fuel price today vs. February this year is R 600.00 for 135lt's of petrol, think about that. Yes it's petrol and not diesel but it's a lot of cash. Next trip I'm taking the 2.8 Hilux. We have reached the tipping point and the fuel price has become an issue.