Sunday 9/9

Sunday 9/9

Going west to see a Cruiser

    We took the train out to a couple dealers in the western suburbs we'd found online that had Land Cruisers we wanted to take a look at. The train stop was about a mile from the route the dealers were on, so we got to see great examples of the style of vernacular architecture of the lower middle class homes along the street. Almost all were one story with either Mediterranean tile or corrugated roofs and attached front porches.

    Our first stop was to see a Land Cruiser Wagon at Demeitras Motors. On the internet it was listed at $5499, but the price on the windshield said $4999. He said he had just put on the lower price. Since I had budgeted $10000 I felt pretty sure it would be a good deal for us. My actual budget has a $4000 loss on the difference between our purchase and selling prices. It's a '91 with around 190,00 miles.

    The body is in very good shape with only a couple areas of rust that had been bondoed and painted. The engine compartment is very clean with no rust or leaks. I checked the radiator fluid, and oil and both looked fine. Underneath the chassis and suspension has almost no rust. We started it up and moved it back and forth a few feet in it's very limited parking area. The clutch was tight, and the brakes seemed strong.

This is our Land Cruiser.  Note where we have it parked!

   We asked Joey if we could take it for a drive. We had told him that we were going to look at a Land Cruiser Troop Carrier (a different body type more like a cargo van) a mile and a half or so down the road. He said he didn't mind going out for a ride with us, but only if we were seriously considering buying the car if it drove well, since he was alone at the shop and had to go with us. He said, go look at the Troopy first, and that the car would be there if we wanted to come back.

   So we walked along the busy four lane street to the other dealer to see the Troopy. As soon as we saw it we both knew we wouldn't be buying it. Besides being $1000 more, it looked a lot rougher, the suspension was saggy, it had to have a jump start to get it going and the body style just wouldn't work out as well, especially for transport other people around when they join us.

Land Cruiser Troop Carrier (Troopy)

    So back to Joey's. We took a test drive around Olympic Park, which was right across the road from the dealership. Other than being a bit nervous about driving on the left side of the road the Land Cruiser seemed great. So we bought it.

     There were a few repairs that he agreed to make; a new high beam headlight, a handle for the rear door latch, check the thermostat, and replace a flexible brake line that had a small leak. He also had o take care of changing the registration. He said the car would be ready two days later, by Tuesday. We sat at his desk and filled out the paper work and chatted. Then he drove us to the train and we went back to Kings Cross.

     We stopped at a Mediterranean restaurant near the hostel, bought a couple of lamb shanks, cheesy cauliflower, Greek ratatouille, baked pumpkin, and a green bean mix. We took it up to the terrace of our hostel and ate watching fireworks over Sydney harbor.