Swansong Six: 1997 Toyota FJ80 Land Cruiser – SOLD!

March 2, 2021 Update – we confirmed the seller of this “Classifind” deleted their listing, so we’re now able to call this one “SOLD!” While this one got away, please reach out either by email or call Rudy directly if you’d like to be informed when we come across something similar.

February 11, 2021 Update – we just discovered a fresh listing we first featured earlier this week with a $1,500 price reduction to $8,300.

Toyota’s very capable and luxurious Land Cruiser celebrated its 40th anniversary in 1997 and we continue to be amazed at how well many examples look and run despite most having already crossed the 200,000-mile mark.  Our latest example is this burgundy over tan FJZ80 listed on Craigslist in January 2021 for the revised asking price of $8,300 or best offer, down from the original ask of $9,800. A check of the  Hagerty Insurance Online Valuation Tool confirms this private seller has his FJZ80 priced between this guide’s #4 “Fair” (Daily Driver) estimate of $7,000 and its #3 “Good” appraisal of $15,000. 

Toyota produced the J80 version of its Land Cruiser over 18 years from 1990 to 2008.  Several items stand out for us with this particular example. First, this is not one of the 4,744 “40th Anniversary Limited Edition” models sold in the U.S. that year. Instead, it has a much more attractive bright burgundy exterior hue we prefer over the former’s beige color scheme. Second, we’re amazed at the condition of the light tan leather interior despite the number of miles. While it’s hard to tell from the pictures provided, it appears even the driver’s seat remains in presentable condition.  The current caretaker does not call it out, so our first question would be to confirm whether this example came equipped with the optional triple locking differentials.  If present, you can pretty much take this Land Cruiser anywhere.  1997 represented the final year of this option as well as the robust inline six-cylinder engine.  While the mileage exceeds 200K on this example when well maintained these vehicles have proven to run well into over 300,000 miles with just regular maintenance.  Good luck with the purchase!

Here’s the seller’s description:

“1997 Toyota Land Cruiser that runs and drives great 4×4 last year of the FJZ80 straight 6 she is fully loaded power windows power door locks a/c heat sunroof has brand new brakes and rotors all around brand new rear shocks new valve cover gasket new spark plugs frame has no rot at all body is pretty clean tires are good has 220k miles I’m asking $9800 obo for more info call.
please no emails I will not respond thanks“

Show or go: what would you do with this FJZ80?  Comment below and let us know!