mike m

@rayaans all depends on what value you feel is acceptable for caring for the car. Few hundred quid /1k? then yeah perhaps it should go to a specialist / main dealer. At over 5k difference though I'm afraid I know where mine is going.

Apparently Arnold Clark give very reasonable money compared to Lexus dealers :-)

It is a difficult decision but I think going down a completely different route is helping. This 4x4 is going to be an adventure as I need to source one, ship it, iva it then UK register it before flying down to Southampton to drive it home. This is without ever driving a 70 series because they are so rare lol. Then I can start with the ARB accessories , lift kits etc even fancying a roof tent for the odd couple of days camping here and there. So yeah the ISF is stunning to drive but I'm looking forward to getting my Tonka toy haha. If it were just to get another car I wouldn't even dream of selling the ISF.

I don't have a jumper with Elbow pads to allow me to drive a volvo Probably not him mate, this is just a run of the mill dealership. Once the cars away i'll let more info out. You'd be surprised i think.

@Big Rat Cheers mate. I've certainly laughed at a few places but this offer is more than i could get private going with the current prices. I was kinda hoping it would be crap lol. Nevermind. If the landcruiser itch doesnt work out those LC500's might be a decent price by then. (or civic type R if i want real speed hahaha ) Hope i'll still be welcome around here with an LC lol

So as some of you know i'm looking to go a different route from the Isf while my license is still fully intact. Anyway i've just had a confirmed offer of just over 1100 quid more than the most expensive isf on autotrader and it doesnt make sense. This is a straight purchase with a dealership not a trade in. Oh and its not Lexus because what they offered insulted me so much i'm questioning whether to even bother going back with the wifes Ct for a service let alone ever buy a car from them again. Still feels abit wrong selling it but the landcruiser will be something else and much different

@Chris Skelton too right mate about the roads they are getting worse. I knew about the rear track problem after watching an Aussie review of a troopy. Makes them a pain to handle in the sand apparently. There's a huge debate about what's best for offroad etc but I'm quite content with a manual gearbox. Manual 80 series are usually double the value in the UK and rare as. That vellfire looks awesome.

Oh yeah definitely going for a few dirty weekends lol. Definitely agree it's Toyotas equivalent of the defender and G wagon. Always thought they were mad not selling them over here when the defender was killed off.

Good question. I love the look of the 79 series in Oz where you can still buy new ones. Having done loads of searching they are virtually impossible to find until I discovered the 30th anniversary models on sale in Japan in 2015 only. I've looked at loads of landcruisers, the 80 series are long in the tooth and well used. 100 series AHC suspension put me off them plus the price of them for an 18 - 20 year old car that's getting rusty. The 200 series is too posh / expensive and diesel only. I'm a petrol fanatic. I did kinda settle on a 4.0 litre 120 series Prado but that was before I knew you could get these 76 series into the country. One other thing I factored in is the resale value of one of these in the UK. I think like the rest of the landcruisers it will hold onto its money really well.

So after more contemplation I'm about to pull the trigger on one of these (not this actual one) :- It seems my first choice the double cab version is classed as a commercial vehicle therefore wont pass an IVA test but this will do lol. So it'll take a good number of months to source / ship / prepare / register one of these but I reckon the ISF has to go. Cant keep everything haha. And I know its absolutely nothing like an 'F' car. Probably rarer though

If only everything in life was as reliable as a VW.

I think mine is on its way out five year old and just over 20k. Went out to start it last weekend as it had sat since Christmas but it wouldn't unlock. Used the key thing and the alarm attempted to make noises then weirdly some engine fans come on. Anyways it needed a long charge.

@Big Rat Not many car owners can say that mate that's for sure. I think mine has dropped a few grand in two years going with prices on auto trader but tbh i've never tried getting any prices for it.

Hopefully an Ultrasonic blue ISF with black leather. Not sure though, when i owned my TT 6 sp supra it was just a quick old JDM import at the time that stood out like a sore thumb. Now everyone knows the tuning potential a lot of the manual box models were exported out the uk. Look at the price of some of the non turbo models, 12k for a 5sp NA is bonkers as they couldn't give them away 10 years ago. I think the ISF is a slow burner and given time when nobody can buy a V8 in the uk anymore they will start increasing in price. I'm also keeping an eye on Monaro prices as i think they have already bottomed out with the CV8's fetching decent money.

She might like sharing air biscuits with her mates though....

My trusty Yaris t sport has cloth seats and they are great. Alot warmer and comfier I think in the winter and won't take the skin off your legs in summer.

My old 2005 GS430 had them and they worked a treat. That was 8 yrs old when i bought it so i've certainly never experienced any issues with the cooling fans and that includes one of my previous RX450h's . Must admit i don't really miss them in the ISF but they were good for spreading trouser coughs around the car

Hmmm my ISF has two key fobs dunno anything about credit card sized smart keys.

Little video to whet our appetites

I know its not the same car but I remember working with a guy who was driving his XKR back from a service when the engine let go locking up going through the bonnet and taking out the gearbox at the same time. He managed to collect some of the oil pouring out of it and won his case that jag had filled it up with the incorrect oil. (must have filled it with Tar if you ask me but that was the story) It didn't help my nervousness on cars built by JLR anyways.

Sod it i'll drive down just to hear an LFA in front of me. Seriously though if the dates suit my work rota I'd be up for it. Just checked im off from 13th April for 3 weeks.

Don't hassle the Hoff lol. What a bunch of sell outs Looks spot on though @Big Rat can't be many going about in Black. I'm only jealous cos I'm not getting to change mine anytime soon.

Cheers for that. Yeah definitely doesn't have it.

@colin79666 ours is running Goodyear Eagle F1s so its been not too bad lol. Interesting to read that yours has the off button. I checked the usual spots for TRC button like below the dashboard on the drivers side near the fuel flap button and in the centre console but nothing. It's a 62 plate premier.

Thought I'd put a couple of pics up of the wife's CT in the snow. Been visiting Glen Affric for a few days. Glad I brought some chains with us as it's fairly unstoppable in the ice and snow. Without them we were getting stuck in some ruts but really it didnt do too bad though. Just wish I could turn the traction control off as I'm sure I could have got the car free again without it.