Advice needed | Used Toyota Land Cruiser Prado Greetings to the people of this forum. I have been an avid reader of this forum and always enjoyed reading people’s experiences with new and used cars.
I have been thinking of starting a thread for some time now and now I feel I have a valid topic to discuss.
I live in the rural parts of Loharu, Haryana and I basically belong to a landlord family. Up until now, we’ve owned two Mahindra Scorpios 2WD back-to-back (2008 and 2013) and we have been fairly impressed with their capabilities and they have served us well. The 2008 one we sold back in 2014 and because this area is mostly dry has excessive salt in groundwater, the car was badly rusted and the person who bought it pledged to restore it but soon he died in a car accident in that vehicle or so my information goes. The 2013 one is a white VLX with 1,10,000 km and now this one is badly rusted as well. It has had cosmetic work done to it 4 to 5 years ago and as of now, it doesn’t seem repairable. The A-pillar is rusted along with all the doors and floorboard and God knows about the rust spots under the plastic cladding. I also got all 4 control arms changed and that was eye-opening as all 4 were badly rusted with rust holes big enough to put your fingers through. The car was always worked on at authorised dealerships at regular intervals. But the car has troubles and we’re willing to retire it and are now looking for another SUV.
The search criteria so far have been directed towards imported Japanese Luxury SUVs. Specifically, Pajero SFX, Montero (post 2011). Land Cruiser Prado (150 Series) and Land cruiser (100 series).
The search started a week ago and the Mitsubishis are out of the game entirely because of their spare part availability. The car will be for my grandparents and will be driven by our drivers. I myself will be moving to Australia within the next 3 months for my studies but still, spare parts are still a concern. And also, it's hard to find a good Montero. Pajero SFXs can be found around the Chandigarh area or around Delhi NCR but I’m keeping that option in reserve in case other options are not viable.
Bringing me to LC Prado, I test drove one in Delhi yesterday and I have to say man is that something. I have driven Scorpio extensively and Fortuners and Endeavours occasionally but nothing comes close to it. The one I test drove was for sale with a dealer I found on OLX. The car is 2010 with 1,60,000 km. The mileage is on the higher side but still, I wanted to give it a try. On phone, the dealer admitted that the car was as original as it could be but on inspection, it wasn’t even close to it. All doors were repainted along with the bumpers, fenders, side skirts and bonnet. The dealer agreed to have repainted the bumpers and side skirts but had no idea about the rest. The rear door was not repainted so that the car doesn’t look repainted. Nice try. The Interior was okay, not good. Driver and passenger seat had leather tear along with visible dust spots on all windows and few panels were even loose. On the mechanical side of things, there was a visible oil drip from the oil pan, front shocks were leaking, no injector work was done which is necessary on the 1KD-FTV engines. EGR was definitely stuck open as the idle was rough. Brakes hadn’t been replaced and the dealer failed to show me any service records. While on the test drive, the car definitely didn’t show its age, not even a bit. If you told me, it was driven 50,000 km, I would have believed you. The brakes seemed sharp but with the age, I think they would be nearing replacement. There was a weird kick from the rear, similar to Scorpio which I felt was weird, but my diagnostics says, there was something wrong with the rear suspension too. The KDSS was working but the movement was too slow. The steering was definitely lighter than the Scorpio and Fortuners I have driven. The seating position makes you feel like a king, window sills are high but still, the view is good. It was peak rush hour in Gurugram so the test drive was short. The car was also driven through wet concrete which could be seen by dried concrete in the wheel wells. The tyres it was running on were old and dried out. I liked the car but this particular one wasn’t looked after and the dealer was quoting too high and wasn’t open to negotiations. The car is still for sale on OLX and the same car is being offered by three different dealers. My conclusion is don’t go for that car unless you can negotiate a fair bit and try to avoid that dealer.
I haven’t had any luck with any other cars but my mind is leaning towards Prado. Mainly because my father owns a 120 series Prado in Australia and he likes it a lot. In fact, the whole of Australia loves Prado.
Now here is where I need your help. If you know any dealer or person selling any of the aforementioned cars, please let me know. Your help will be highly appreciated. My preference will be a single owner with about 80,000 km. I also have preferences for colour and interior but I’m willing to overlook them as of now. Also please advise me on any other vehicle I should consider. The main selling points are reliability, robustness and occupant safety. Fortuner and Endeavour are not being considered only because of their popularity.
Below I’m mentioning a few issues I have researched of LC Prado (150 series)
• Cracking of Injector seats
• Inner guard cracking
• Rust on door bottoms
• Seepage in steering racks
• EGR stuck open
• Lower control arm bushings.
Apart from these, if you know any issues I should consider please advise me and if anyone else is considering a Land Cruiser Prado, do visit Prado Point and check on FOURBY4DIESEL on YouTube. They can be your primary sources of information.
With this, I’ll conclude. If it is posted in the wrong section, mods please advise me on moving it to the right location. Also please forgive me for any mistakes I committed while writing this knowingly or unknowingly.
Thank You
Pranav Arya
Last edited by Axe77 : 11th March 2022 at 08:38.
Reason: Minor edit in last para.
|