Thread: Urgent Advice - Would you buy this 4WD?

Hey guys,

This is urgent because I am about to settle on a 1997 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado 3L Diesel. Want it to basically live from and tour the South Island… want it to take us everywhere and be 100% reliable.

It is in mint condition, one lady owner from 50k kms, who never towed with it, and has now done only 125k km’s. It is a great truck… looks and goes great, but is more than we wanted to pay. We are about to pay 27k for it from the dealer who originally traded it to the lady owner.

Thoughts?

I lost a few hours sleep last night, worrying I might be about to do something stupid.

Im going to get an AA check done on it today first… but yeah… keen to hear your thoughts guys.


Cheers,
Mitch

I bet the lady owner was also the local vicars wife

Find out if the radiator has been serviced. They should all be stripped & cleaned at 100,000kms. Certainly the 1KZTE needed it.

A good one of those will serve you well. It seems that all the reliable, mechanically orientated diesel 4WD have shot up in value over the past 2 years. I'd get a diesel mechanic to give it a once over. You're blowing big money, so whats a couple of hundred more?? If the dealer baulks, there's probably an issue he's trying to hide.

Mrs has 1 great truck get them to pressure test the head that's the only thing that let's them down a decent set of tires and they are very capable

Agree with above, check radiator service and head gasket, common issue on these but if maintenance done then should be all good.


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Done heaps of work on these, like every body said check radiator has been flushed regularly and ask a mechanic to do a litmus type paper test of coolant for any traces of carbon, they crack heads very often if it’s 1kz, and if you hit stump off reading or curb with front wheel check the rack to tie rod end threads where the rack boot is. They have only about 3 full turns of fine thread holding the rod end into the rack and no locking pin or grub screw to secure it. They have been known to take 1 hit and damage thread, 2nd hit and steering pops out!!! That’s only common problems I know of. Apart from that I reckon they really are the hairdresser vehicle of the off-road world but are reliable and comfortable.

One son has a Prado. He takes it places where your feet try exiting through the firewall due to inclination. The 3l turbo has given no issues (250 km) but ball joints/cvs/radiator needed attention. Few years ago I considered a 2.8 Prado but went d-max. Remember that these vehicles are now way overpriced due to demand thru lack of supply. I traded my d max on an MU- X runout a couple of months ago. Got my money back on the Ute. Both immediate neighbour (Holden) and my bro (Triton) sold their utes within one day and realised profit. NZ lends itself to SUV/utes.
Personally, I would look for a newer vehicle, but they are damned expensive. All the best with your purchase.

BTW if you head to Sth Island, Pm me as Shirley and I spend a fair bit of time down there. We know places that I guarantee would appeal.
Hint: Google Mt Patriarch for one.

They are great vehicles, I've had mine for about 5 years now, it's a 1996, done 134k when I got it, and I only paid $10.5k (i reckon it was prob worth about $15k at that time) shit they must be starting to appreciate!!!

Mine has been amazingly reliable. I've done 215k now, and that's nothing for these things, keep changing the oil and make sure the cooling system is in good order and they are great. Ive got an aggressive set of AT's on mine and it seems to go many places that some newer 4WD's struggle with.

Have radiator checked, pull injectors and have serviced, replace oil in viscous fan coupling, and regularly check front lower ball joints, mine has done 500,000km no worries, The head cracking is due to a poorly maintained cooling system or an over fueling fuel system. 3inch dump pipe and exhaust system makes a world of difference to performance and exhaust gas temps. Google prado lower ball joint failure and you will see why regular inspection is required.

Originally Posted by mimms2

Nothing is urgent, it's never the last bargain.

It's not a "truck" by any means. Prados are obese softroaders, and the 2.8 is a very small donk. I would hope it's manual otherwise you effectively have a 2 litre trying to move tonnage of electrical shit.
That said they have "good bones" being ladder chassis and decent running gear. I personally wouldn't buy an engine that small.

And all proper™ vehicles of that vintage are only going one way on pricing. Some people like toyotas. (But hey, some people like .270 and sit down to pee, so there's some wierdos out there)

First off, ask the dealer what his best price is.
Check trademe and auction sites for pricing on similar wagons, and if you can find enough ones at a lower price, take them to the dealer and say and say - hey look, you're high on price, we really want, can we make a deal.
He could well tell you to fuck off and buy a one of them then, but don't ask= wont get. But he'll quite possibly sell it at that price.

It's a 3 litre engine, and compared to most engines in the more modern vehicles, thats big. The new stuff seems to be going smaller and smaller in cubic capacity with each new model.

Had a 96 Prado and know them from our 4x4 club circles. Pluses and minuses to it.. like any truck

Pluses - a nice on-road ride, responsive motor (for 90s), good height.

Minuses - they are very hard on diesel - mine never got to 20mpg around town. As Mimms and others are noting they are not a strong drivetrain - quite weak. Discussion at club just last visit with prado owners asking how do we stop breaking things on trips where other trucks have no problems. And 1KZ is a high risk motor - better than the preceding 2.4T for head cracking, but not much. It may do well, but very often they will crack heads, and as with friends/ clubmates if water gets into bore its a complete rebuild. Ouch - big coin!

Quite liked it to drive while company paid bills, but this is not a good motor, or a great Toyota. Not a model I'd be paying too much for.

27k for a Prado? You gotta be shuitting me. It isn't a landcruiser...

Father-inlaw has the same vehicle. He has replaced the head TWICE. Close to 10k into that motor now and its done 300k. Twats didnt service the radiator first time, and because he's dumb enough to believe they're his 'mates', he took it to the same people the second time. They DID sort the radiator 2nd time and also added a water-level warning alarm, which is probably a sensible idea. He drives it too fast on the road, but does No serious off-roading or towing other than a h/hold trailer. I would take carefull consideration of all the advice given on here, I paid 23k for my first house !

Originally Posted by Larskramer

27k for a Prado? You gotta be shuitting me. It isn't a landcruiser...

i was thinking just that that huge money for a 97 Prado of all things, rather get a Landcruiser or patrol, safari for that money