Picked Clean: Toyota Land Cruiser Junkyard Shoppers Must Move Quickly!
Sometimes I see a vehicle in a self-service junkyard that I know is going to look like the carcass of a Thanksgiving turkey by about December 4th, after all the bits of meat have been harvested for sandwich-making. The Toyota Land Cruiser is such a vehicle. When we saw this truck on May 10, it had been been stripped of some parts but was largely complete. When I returned to this yard a couple of weeks later… well, see for yourself.
The Land Cruiser is like the Acura Integra or International Harvester pickup; the word spreads that one has appeared in a low-price junkyard, and then the vultures swoop in.
Actually, this truck still has plenty of good stuff left, including most of the drivetrain and some interior bits. By the time it gets gobbled up by The Crusher, it will be a bare shell.
Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Autoblog, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars and Capital One.
More by Murilee Martin
Latest Car Reviews
Read moreLatest Product Reviews
Read moreRecent Comments
- Lorenzo People don't want EVs, they want inexpensive vehicles. EVs are not that. To paraphrase the philosopher Yogi Berra: If people don't wanna buy 'em, how you gonna stop 'em?
- Ras815 Ok, you weren't kidding. That rear pillar window trick is freakin' awesome. Even in 2024.
- Probert Captions, pleeeeeeze.
- ToolGuy Companies that don't have plans in place for significant EV capacity by this timeframe (2028) are going to be left behind.
- Tassos Isn't this just a Golf Wagon with better styling and interior?I still cannot get used to the fact how worthless the $ has become compared to even 8 years ago, when I was able to buy far superior and more powerful cars than this little POS for.... 1/3rd less, both from a dealer, as good as new, and with free warranties. Oh, and they were not 15 year olds like this geezer, but 8 and 9 year olds instead.
Comments
Join the conversation
that action puts a smile on my face. reused, recycled. delaying the date with the crusher. it's all good.
I am amazed the front axle is still there. I beleive these wagons have the very valuable high-pinion front axles.