I'm thinking about picking up a used LX470 or Landcruiser (late 90s to mid 2000s) once my wife's CRV lease is up at the end of the year. I'm going to give her my '13 Pilot and buy myself something a little older and cheaper. I'm tired of making big car payments. I'm the type to be over prepared so I was just wondering if there's a good resource for beginners to this platform? I like to do an unnecessary about of research and reading beforehand. I know they have a pretty indestructible reputation. The ones I'm looking at seem to vary between $8,000-$15,000 depending on miles and condition. Most hover just above $10,000 with ~150K on the clock, and are in pretty great condition. Unfortunately I'm not in a position to pay cash for one, so I'd be looking at financing the majority of it for about 5 years, with plans to pay it off much sooner. Is that a completely stupid idea, or will these things last "forever" when taken care? I'm also considering a GX470, Tahoe Z71, and the previous gen 4Runners. Something larger (I've got 2 small kids in car seats), reliable, cheap-ish, and with 4WD so I can have some fun with it every now and then. Open to any advice, links, or leads on something good. I'm in the Tampa area of FL, and would be willing to travel (even fly out) and drive it home for a great deal on a nice truck. I'm looking to make this a "keeper."

 

If you want comfort and want to carry lots of load, go for the LUMBERING LX470 / 100 Series LC. If you want agility, slightly better fuel economy, slightly less cost, access to tighter places, go for the more LIMBER GX470. It is the workhorse PRADO outside the U.S.A.

 

If you haven't gone to IH8Mud yet, you might want to check them out.

IH8Mud is the go-to Land Cruiser forum and has TONS of Land Cruiser information.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/

I just started learning about Land Cruisers myself and don't really know much about them yet other than they are the king of 4-Wheel Drive vehicles.

 

YUP!
Seen on same day near my home island... from the 80's and from the 2000's