Description
The Toyota Land Cruiser 120 LC5, or as my child says - "Daddy's Monster Truck". He's not far wrong, this will take you anywhere you want to go, over whatever you want to go over, and take you back home safely. It’s all the car you need, and everything you didn’t know you needed.
Car is at 170, 000 miles now, and this will continue to go up as its used daily. Sensible offers are welcome!
This will do, in mixed driving, 27/ 28mpg. On a motorway run at a steady 55/ 60, it's given 35/ 36mpg. Frugal and reliable? Oh yes.
This is in the top tax band of £735, about £62 a month. For what you spend on the tax band you’ll save on not calling out the RAC in this due to its reliability.
The LC5 is fully loaded with all of the modern accoutrements the discerning Land Cruiser driver would've required in 2006, and even today in 2024 a lot of them are still working and still very handy! It includes a Toyota Bluetooth kit for answering your phone while driving without upsetting the constabulary. However, it uses an old version of the Bluetooth standard with Apple decided not to support, so any iPhone from the XR onwards won't work. Android phones though, to my knowledge, are kinder to it and will make and answer calls with the system.
Under my 3 year ownership, this has had:
- New Injectors @ 155, 000 miles
- New timing belt & water pump (Toyota & Aisin Pump) @ 159, 000 miles
- New rear air suspension bags, height sensors, and genuine Toyota rear shock absorbers
- New EGR cooler
- New alternator
- General maintenance and health check carried out by Overland Cruisers in Ledbury
This vehicle has wanted for nothing, especially at the last MOT where a few things were found, all of which have been resolved.
It's not without it's faults, but then who is?
- Rear air conditioning to the rear has been blocked off, however my wife and son tell me how cold it is in the back with the front air conditioning on. So we've not missed it, and believe me if the princess wouldn't tell me my opinionated toddler would.
- Small chip in the windscreen which has been repaired via the insurance. Wasn't enough to bother the MOT man, so it shouldn't bother you.
- Slight pull to the right since the tie rod end was changed, so tracking would sort that I think.
- Some cracks in the passenger side dashboard which is a thing with the 120 LandCruiser. Hardly noticeable and doesn't affect anything.
- Some scratches to the spare wheel cover and rear quarter, and there are other general dinks from careless Karens and blustering Brendans on their way to the supermarket.
- Rear parking sensors are turned off because they will only work properly on the 5th Sunday of Advent or during Ramadan.
Happy to discuss the car with anyone who wants a cup of tea, coffee, vodka and/ or whiskey if I've not drank it myself. Located in Stourbridge. It's been a boyhood dream of mine to own one and I'm happy I've checked it off of my list. When the wife told me she was pregnant, other than the usual boring things like picking out prams and colours for the nursery, all I could think about was what car to have. Of course to keep both myself and the marriage alive I had to run these choices past her, and I mentioned a Land Cruiser and she agreed. So I went out one August and bought the best one I could for the money.
Don't get me wrong it has tried my patience when I first got it, like most cars it had been stood for COVID and now it didn't like being put back to work. But once we reached an understanding of whatever it needed it would get, I sorted all the major important things like injectors and air suspension on it. I drove it everywhere (still do), we went to France for our first family holiday and it never missed a beat.
The one thing though it was good at was sending my boy to sleep. It wafts over bumps and curves, it's like a millpond when driving over these things we have in the UK called "roads" (although they share more in common with the face of the moon). A bit of George Michael on the 6 CD stereo and he was fast asleep. At the beginning it was the longest he'd sleep for. If you have or had a little sleep thief you'll know how draining it is to be woken up all the time. I think this Land Cruiser saved the life of both of the wife and I. Genuinely.
I'll be sorry to see it go, especially as whenever we go out my lad will go "we're going in daddy's monster truck". He's going to be sad when it goes, but he doesn't have to pay to keep it running so he has no say in the matter really.
