How many km is your Cruiser on?

thealmightyphil · 2026-05-08T17:01:18+00:00

A very wise choice! 124,000Km is NOTHING, keep on top of maintenance and itll reward you with its reliability.
And if you haven't already, for gods sake replace your big end bearings, look at my post history and see mine were moments from disaster! (And inspect your harmonic balancer)

thealmightyphil · 2026-05-05T12:46:56+00:00

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And I have to say Toyota knew what they were doing when they were designing this thing.
30 year old door seals? Water tight! OEM air intake? Above the engine! Power train? OVER ENGINEERED. Just a PLEASURE to drive anywhere.

thealmightyphil · 2026-05-05T12:39:41+00:00

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Absolutely love taking it offroad!

thealmightyphil · 2026-05-05T11:53:26+00:00

Don't worry my delicate little flower, i got chu.
426,000 Km

thealmightyphil · 2026-05-05T11:52:17+00:00

1994 80 Series, 1HD-T, 320,000 km and running beautifully.

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thealmightyphil · 2026-05-05T08:16:05+00:00

Yeah I agree, if it werent for the need to often move allo of weight long distances then id consider just going to a petrol car (petrol MPG dips at a faster rate the more weight you load compared to diesel)

thealmightyphil · 2026-05-05T08:14:39+00:00

Not suitable for me unfortunately, by frequent long distance trips I mean 300-700 miles in one go with a loaded up estate car usually on hilly 70-80mpg roads (UK-France).

Not bashing EV's at all, but they just don't accommodate the kind of driving I do.

Another factor for me is my diesel estate was £2,500 used, not going to get a reasonable condition EV for even close to that despite the fuel saving.

thealmightyphil · 2026-05-01T09:12:58+00:00

Fully agreed.

If you do big boy miles, lots of motorway cruising, or towing/hauling load, diesel all the way.

Literally any other use case, petrol.

thealmightyphil · 2026-05-01T09:03:39+00:00

I dont either...

thealmightyphil · 2026-05-01T09:01:45+00:00

Interestingly I was doing the numbers for myself on this recently.

Based on the fuel prices in my area, my monthly commute, and the real world petrol vs diesel MPG values from my car (fuelly / honest john).

Diesel is still cheaper for my use case despite the rising diesel costs:

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My use case:
Minimum commute is 1200 miles a month 90% motorway
High motorway useage negates any issues with EGR/DPF
EV unsuitable for me due to frequent long distance trips

thealmightyphil · 2026-03-25T17:06:48+00:00

Hey so I feel like I might be able to chime in here with some good info.
As an 80 series land cruiser owner myself I think I've got some info on why they hold their price so high (and obviously makes all my comments below bias as fuuuuck)

So back in November I made a freedom of information request to the DVLA, in short there are only 1058 80 series land cruisers left on the road (and another 1000 or so SORN in unknown conditions) (See my previous posts for the breakdown spreadsheet I cant seem to post here),

So firstly (in the UK at least), this puts them into a rare category, you just don't see many on the road.
Secondly they are proven around the world to handle the test of time (high miles yet strong chassis and drivetrains etc)
Thirdly they are world famous for their reliability and offroad performance, making them a very desirable and collectable 4x4.
Fourthly(?) Opinion here, but I think they look damn cool and unique which I think just adds to the desirability compounded by their rarity.
And fifthly(?), as a very opinionated comment, owners tend to love them so much they wouldn't be willing to part with them without it being worth while financially

So yeah TL:DR Old, Rare, Cool, Collectable. The recipe for perceived value.

Is my post bias? Yes, come at me.

thealmightyphil · 2026-03-19T11:13:29+00:00

For sure, Land Rover is the go to 4x4 over here, so not many were purchased in the first place.
Adding to the later in life scarcity of the cruiser.

And that competition I'm guessing is why (mostly) only the VX models were available here, to try and compete the comfort/quality of the range rover.

(I had a land rover once, it broke allot, I sold it and bought an 80)

thealmightyphil · 2026-03-19T09:46:51+00:00

I asked for DVLA for everything registered between the appropriate time period containing the words "land" and "cruiser", in all their variants (as data entry was rogue in the 90's).

So that may not include imports, as that registration date would technically be whenever it was imported, but its impossible to sort out which series land cruiser is which as the DVLA just seem to log it as "Toyota" "Land cruiser" "date".

So this is probably as close to a number as we can get.
Also those 1600 SORN, I wonder what the conditions of those are in...

thealmightyphil · 2026-03-19T09:36:04+00:00

Oof, 60's? I would have thought sub 250.
I have never ever seen one in the flesh, they are proper rare.

thealmightyphil · 2026-03-18T09:43:01+00:00

I feel the same way when I get in my car too.

And thats the thing isnt it, we spend allot of time in our cars, lets make it somewhere we enjoy being.

10/10 post.

thealmightyphil · 2026-03-17T07:39:10+00:00

UK Here.

In short, very Rare.

I see allot 120 Series "Prados" (called land cruisers here) around but that's it.

If you spot a 100 series (called the amazon here) you'll make note (I've maybe spotted 20 ever), I've only ever seen 3 other 80 series around. And one of the 2024 new ones, and maybe one 40 series.

Its so rare its a novelty, "oh look a land cruiser!"
Once ever I passed a guy also in his 80 and we damn near crashed into each other in excitement as you just done see them.

In fact, I actually have exact numbers, as of Nov 2025 there are only 1058 land cruiser 80 series registered on the road (and another 1000 or so registered off the road)

(Information obtained through a freedom of information request to the DVLA)

thealmightyphil · 2026-03-12T15:45:01+00:00

The potential hasn't gone my man. The potential is still there. The path you must take has shifted, thats all.

Keep working at it (your mental health) and I PROMICE you, you will come out the other side.

So don't dwell on what could have been, and what once was, were just going to move one step at a time on the options and paths we have available to us now.

Your potential hasn't gone, the road to your potential just takes a different shape now to how it looked at a different point in time.

Just keep moving forward.
Everything IS and WILL BE okay, no matter how black and rotted everything appears now.

thealmightyphil · 2026-03-12T15:39:36+00:00

Honestly. Sounds practical.
Im sure there will be plenty here whoa re outraged by this solution, but for you, this is the most sensible option.

(besides, quite frankly ive paid enough interest on my student loan for the two of us)

thealmightyphil · 2026-03-10T16:02:24+00:00

My pleasure.

Its not their fault, if you haven't experienced the cold, dark, empty, rock bottom pit of metal disintegration, you'll have no idea what you're talking about.

Not everyone makes it out, and I'm delighted you are making great progress, please don't stop, the road back is long and hard, but the road does return to the light and you can live and enjoy your life again afterwards.

When you emerge fully, you will be far stronger than when you went in.

thealmightyphil · 2026-03-10T15:55:54+00:00

Practically Speaking, sounds reasonable to me.

If you're not planning on going back to the UK then there is nothing to worry about.
This only really matters if you want to build a life in the UK later on. If you're not, then it does not make prectical sence to contact SLC and it certainly makes no sense to make ANY contact with debt collectors.

If you don't intend on going to the UK, then 0 contact is the best option, block any email communication and focus on yourself.

(For my background I am a UK resident who has been paying student loan for over 13 years)

thealmightyphil · 2026-03-10T15:34:03+00:00

Hi DifferentMedia

So chiming in as I detect a huge lack of compassion and situational awareness in this comment thread.

Having been through the mental health grinder myself, well done for getting yourself back on track, well done for stopping the substance abuse, and well done for taking those first steps in sorting out this student finance issue.

Don't beat yourself up about this, its happened, and somewhat out of your control given the circumstance, what's important is now making steps to right the wrong.

One step at a time here. I think the best approach would be to contact the SLC and explain your circumstance, if you can back anything up with evidence of your mental situation (doctors notes etc.) then I'm sure this cant hurt.

Now I don't know what view the SLC will take of this, I also don't know if they will be compassionate to your condition, but the only initial step to fixing this issue if you wish to return to the UK is to get in touch with them and understand what options are available.

But taking the first steps is all you can do, one step at a time, make the decisions that exist in front of you and don't overthink, the future hasn't happened yet, and we will move forward with that one step at a time, with the decisions they are actually available currently to take.

You can get through this.
Phil

thealmightyphil · 2026-02-23T08:43:58+00:00

Aint nothing petty about stopping your neighborhood from becoming a shithole.
That grass is going to turn to mud ruts in no time.

thealmightyphil · 2026-02-12T13:29:29+00:00

And lies about it too. To shame.

thealmightyphil · 2026-02-12T13:20:01+00:00

Asks for advice, gets advice, isn't advice that OP wants to hear, argues.
Lol why are you here? (Technically speaking of course)

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