18th Jul 2006, 07:02

Unlike most Toyotas, the Landcruiser is in my opinion, over-priced, overrated & contrary to what's been written here loses a great deal of it's value over the first couple of years.

It's a Japanese Hummer or at least a Yukon Denali!

Hey don't get me wrong, the Grand Cherokee is no prize either, but none of these sleds are worth $50 large!

7th Aug 2006, 21:41

I laughed out loud at the "Land Cruiser here I come" line. One of our best friends bought a Land Cruiser a few years back and it has been a TOTAL NIGHTMARE!! Now that they have almost been bankrupted by repair bills (at 5,000 miles out of warranty) they can't unload it for half of what they owe on it. Sure, dude, go buy a Land Cruiser!!!

7th Aug 2006, 21:46

My American made truck (Dodge) returned 92% of its purchase price after 5 years. I'd like to see ANY Japanese vehicle get that much of a return. They CAN'T, because unlike American vehicles they are grossly overpriced to begin with.

A Toyota truck comparable to my Dodge would have cost a full 50% more to purchase. You need to remember that it's the return on the PURCHASE price, NOT the LIST PRICE that determines the percentage of depreciation.

8th Aug 2006, 12:52

Having run into the myth (and it IS a myth!!) that Japanese cars have WAYYYYY higher resale value than American cars so many times on this website, I bothered to check KBB retail value after 2 years on the Grand Cherokee and the Land Cruiser. There is a whopping ONE PERCENT difference!! When you figure that Toyota DOES NOT discount the grossly overpriced and over rated Land Cruiser, while Chrysler discounts the Grand Cherokee by several thousand dollars, You'll get a LOT better return dollar for dollar on the Jeep.

Where people get these ideas about the "SUPER" resale value of Japanese garbage is beyond me!!

9th Aug 2006, 10:43

Toyota does not offer huge rebates on there vehicles because they do not have to, enough said. Daimler-Chrysler will give you thousands off a Jeep because it is the only way to move them off the lot. And you are silly to think the re-sale on a Jeep GC is in the same ball park as a Land Cruiser. Go on a good used car site and check out what dealers are asking for used Land Cruisers, with huge odometer readings. They know people will buy them, end of story.

9th Aug 2006, 13:03

It's amazing how people who abuse their vehicles, never wax or wash them, and get dents and dings all over them gripe because they don't have any resale value!! I've always kept my American made cars and trucks in A-1 condition and looking showroom new. I've always gotten excellent prices for them. The worst beating I ever took was on my one (and ONLY) Japanese car. It lost 50% of its purchase price in ONE YEAR. That's why I never bought another one.

9th Aug 2006, 22:28

Well duh... considering that the Land Cruiser starts out costing $40,000 more than the Jeep I imagine it WOULD sell for more after a couple of years. I think some folks need a math course!! Like the guy said, check Kelly Bluebook and see for yourself!! They depreciate at exactly the SAME RATE as the Jeep.

10th Aug 2006, 16:07

Looks like you just shot off your foot quick draw. I am not sure what math course you took, but your KBB puts the new car book value of the base Land Cruiser at $52,034 vs. the base Jeep GC at $26,833. It just does not seem to total a $40,000 difference in vehicle price. Your KBB also rates the Land Cruiser as "Excellent" for 5-year cost of ownership, while the Jeep gets a "Worse than average". These ratings factor in among other things the vehicle depreciation.

DUH!

10th Aug 2006, 18:01

The Toyota Land Cruiser used to be a fine 4x4, worthy of respect. Now, it's just another overpriced, fat, bloated SUV that has lost sight of its offroad heritage. It represented Toyota's effort to cash in on the SUV craze, and made it lose sight of the simple quality that used to characterize it. Who cares what its resale value is when it is no longer worth buying in the first place? At least the Jeep has some hope of actually going offroad and being used as a 4x4. The Land Cruiser is in the same market as the Lincoln Navigator, Cadillac Escalade, and BMW X-5, more pointless yuppie-mobiles that couldn't drag their fat, pasty asses out of a pair of ruts in a farmer's driveway. Nothing but a gold-plated turd.

11th Aug 2006, 21:21

Well, I have to say this rather energetic debate about the Grand Cherokee and the Land Cruiser certainly makes for some interesting reading!! Of course the whole argument appears to be over egos and not cars. Let's face it, a Hyundai Sante Fe will do anything that the Land Cruiser will do. As for the silly debate about resale value, one has to remember that if the Land Cruiser loses half of its outrageous $70,000 purchase price in the first three years (and it does), the owner of a Cherokee would still be about 5 grand ahead even if the Cherokee lost 100% of its value!! Of course it appears that the argument is not about which vehicle is "better". All SUV's have 4 wheels and will get you from point A to Point B. The only real hauling job that the over-priced (and over-rated) Land Cruiser will do better is hauling its wealthy owner's inflated ego. I'm reminded of my very wealthy father-in-law's remark about Rolex watches. I was with him when he was buying his third Rolex and made the comment that a Timex would keep time just as well and last just as long. His reply was blatantly honest. He said "Yes, that's true, but the Timex doesn't have "I'm RICH" written all over it!!"

11th Aug 2006, 21:24

How can you compare resale value on two cars when one of them cost 3 times as much as the other?

30th Aug 2006, 18:20

It's the myth perpetrated by magazine writers who receive huge perks from Japanese car companies that makes for grossly inflated prices on Japanese cars.

Both American and Japanese cars these days are equally well made and equally reliable. Japanese cars DO sell higher because they start out much higher to begin with. This makes American cars a far better value new or used.

A good example is the award winning and very reliable Ford Focus. It can be bought for nearly 7 grand less than a comparable Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic, and will outperform both and last as long or longer. To pay 7 grand for a little "T" or "H" symbol just does not seem rational.

1st Sep 2006, 16:37

Some years ago a "car enthusiast" friend of ours bought a very expensive Italian sports car. At 40,000 miles he started have every conceivable type of (VERY EXPENSIVE) problems. At 63,000 miles his dealer informed him he needed a new engine because that was "typical of this make". I knew his wife drove nearly 100 miles a day to school in a 12 year old Plymouth. I asked my friend how many miles his wife's Plymouth had on it. "170,000+" he said. I then asked "Have you ever had any problems with it?" He thought a minute and replied "No, actually we haven't." In spite of this my friend would still go on and on about his "superior" foreign car. Such are those who buy for ego's sake.