One of the small car lots here in town has a '92 FJ80 for sale. Their price is ridiculously high, but that can always be changed. Are the 92's any good? I realize that I am getting a biased opinion here, and "good" for a vehicle has a lot of variables, but in general are they decent rigs? I have had several Toyota pickups and was always astounded by their reliability and longevity. Do the big Toyotas enjoy this same type of longevity? The FJ in question has 115k. The underside was a little grimy, are there any common oil leaks with these rigs? Are there any things in particular, unique to these trucks, that I should look for if I decide to more aggressively pursue this rig? What kind of gas mileage would you expect from this rig? I am looking to replace my daily driver, so I want something that will be fairly durable. My current DD is an '88 Trooper with just shy of 300k on the odo, so I really like my vehicles to go the distance. My past Toyotas have always done it, but are the big Toys just as reliable?
Thanks,
Kris

Sure they are! My buddy has 280k on his 80 of similar vintage.

That said, what are they asking for that truck? I wouldn't pay more than $8k if it is in really great shape. The '93 and older 80s have a smalled (pretty weak) engine. The '94+ have a lot more power.

However, the transmission in the older one is said to be a lot better.

The prices have really come down lately. I am guessing that this has something to do with the coast of fuel and the fact that they get pretty bad milage.

You can get a '97 with 90k miles in good shape for $11k - $13k.

CAZ

They are asking $10k. Like I said, really high. I suppose it would probably only get 15mpg or so. If I were to get more serious, I would probably only offer $6500 to start and not go over $7500. You always have to really lowball the small lots, they always have their prices really high, trying to maximize margins. I would guess they probably paid around $5-6k for it. The gas mileage is the real caveat for me. The Trooper gets about 20mpg, and that is close to as low as I can go. My commute is about 50 miles one way. With gas prices like they are, 15mpg would break me. If the engine is not that powerful, that is really not a big deal, the 4 popper in the Isuzu is not exactly a powerhouse, come to think of it, it is gutless, really gutless. The miles on the Trooper are really starting to take their toll. It is still pretty solid mechanically, but the salt has taken it's pound of flesh and then some. I am not too many winters away from having nothing but a pile of rust. That is one thing I liked about this FJ, it had no rust on the body and nothing significant on the undercarriage. Plus I know how reliable Toyotas are, I didn't figure this one would be any different, but it never hurts to ask. It had a few leaks on the undercarriage, but that is to be expected on a rig with 115k. Plus there were no dings anywhere underneath. If I had to guess, this rig was a grocery getter for some soccer mom. That would explain the age and relatively low miles. It didn't look like it had ever been wrecked. I used to work in a body shop, so wrecked cars are pretty obvious to me. This one was really straight. All of the door openings were very straight and even, no overspray underneath or in any of the door sills or under the hood. If anyone has an idea of mileage, let me know. 18-19 I can live with, 15 would be too low, unless I get a closer job.

Wow, it seems like cars on the East Coast are much cheaper. This is probably a well known fact but I am just realizing how big the difference is. CAZ says a nice 97 FZJ 80 is about 11-13k. Where I live in CA that same truck might go for 18k+. Is it because of rust? Because of lower yearly incomes? What is it? I want to buy a 95 80 but I can't afford one here. Would it be worth it for me to take a trip to the East Coast to buy one? If yes... is there a particular state with less rust and good prices? Thanks

I have noticed the east coast price disparity as well. I also have a 97 Land Rover Discovery, I paid about the going Utah price, and come to find out, I could have saved close to $4k If I had bought it back east. That would pretty easily pay for the plane ticket and gas to get it home, or even have it shipped. The only drawback is the fact that I would have to commit to the purchase prior to seeing the vehicle in person. I have a friend that has a used luxury car dealership, and he gets most of his cars back east. He can afford to go back east to auctions and have the cars shipped to Utah and he still makes pretty good money on the cars. Anybody have any info on the FJ80 gas mileage, or am I pretty close with the 15mpg, guess?

I don't know what the older engine gets, but 15 is about as high as I ever get with my '97.

Here is a spreadsheet that I keep of milage that I get -
http://home.4x4wire.com/caz/fj80_milage.xls

The adjusted column is the one to look at. I have slightly larger than stock tires which throws off my odometer a few...

Oh, and NO RUST ON MINE <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
(yet)

I think everything costs more in CA.

Did I mention that my house was under 100k too?
<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/notooth.gif" alt="" />

Nice info, thanks! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" /> I wish they got better mileage, I really like the FJ's. Let me rationalize a little longer, maybe I can convince myself that 15 is okay. And yeah, everything does cost more in Cali. I don't even want to think what my house would cost in California <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />.

I think you'll be lucky to get 15. I get around 15 in my 95. I used to have an 89 FJ62 (same engine and tranny as the 92) and I was lucky to get 13. I usually got 11 or so. That was an arguably lighter vehicle with part time 4WD.
You're right about the price though. From what I've seen on 91-92's is that a super nice one shouldn't be more than $7-8K with average condition ones bringing $3500-5000.
I doubt you'll have any reliability issues with it, especially since it sounds well cared for, but mileage will suck.
Oh yeah, it'll be slow as hell too. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> But I think the 91-92's are perfect candidates for a 350 swap.

The 350 swap is not a bad idea, it would even get better mileage if I put in an EFI engine (I had a TBI chev truck that would get close to 20 mpg if I kept it under 65). Here lies the rub, convincing the wife that it is okay to take a $6k vehicle and immediately pull the engine. She is really not a fan of that sort of thing. I suppose the fact that I have four jeeps and only one that runs <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> might have something to do with her apprehension for vehicular projects. In the mean time, I guess I will keep driving old "Trusty Rusty" and hope I don't fall through the floor any time soon <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shiner.gif" alt="" />.
thanks
Kris