Hello from Lake Hartwell, SC

[bandit67]

Haven't ever owned a Land Cruiser, but was always a big fan of the older ones - I started to lose interest with the 100 series. Loved the old Broncos too. Actually tried to get a new Bronco ordered, still waiting for it after a couple years, then the new LC was finally introduced. I love the retro look, and frankly, the wife and I think the LC will be a better fit for us at this stage of our life. We don't play off road as seriously as we did back in the day, but still want to be able to go play in the dirt a bit, and we want something that will comfortably handle our pretty regular 4.5 hour road trips to see our daughter. I'm on the list for a Heritage Blue Land Cruiser grade. Hoping we'll have it by early next summer.

The last Toyota I drove regularly, out in Colorado, that I still wish I had, was a 1993 V6 Deluxe pickup. That was replaced by a 2001 Tundra that wasn't anywhere near as reliable. That '93 was the last year Toyota built the pickups in Japan, and it was a tank. Our 2019 Camry has been a pretty reliable, fuel efficient car, but with some minor, annoying flimsy plastic odds-n-ends that don't seem to like to stay attached. I like that the LC's will be built in Japan. Some old school photos of my '93:

Loaded my new-to-me truck up, and headed to Moab the 1st weekend I had it for some camping, wheeling, and getting our butts kicked on the Colorado river:

Camping trip to Grand Lake, CO for some wheeling and mountain biking:

After a fun weekend playing in the mud in South Park, CO. Yep, just a wee bit of mud from one deep hole made it into the airbox behind the driver's headlight, but not enough to get to the air filter.

 

[Skidaddl]

Those were great little trucks! Welcome aboard. I'm surprised to see as many "elder statesman" on here as there seem to be. I'm in a similar boat. I expect this could likely be the last offroad vehicle I'll buy, and I think it'll be the perfect weekend vehicle for my wife and I, as we spend most of our free time exploring the Canadian Rockies.

 

[El Chorizo]

Welcome to the site and glad to have you aboard! Thank you for the introduction and the wonderful story. Truck looks great!

 

[supersix]

Welcome to the new Land Cruiser Forum! Great photos and introduction!

 

[Dragoon]

Welcome to the forum!

I'm excited to hear about the adventures where your new Land Cruiser will take you!

 

[bandit67]

I guess I should also mention that for the last 3 1/2 years, I've been working in New & Pre-Owned Sales at a small, family owned, 3rd generation Toyota dealership in the Upstate of South Carolina. We DO NOT mark up our new vehicles beyond Window Sticker MSRP.

All of our new vehicles come from SET (Southeast Toyota), which is the "port" that handles our 5-state region (South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, & Florida), and is the only remaining non-Toyota owned "port" in the nation. SET does add some "port" options that they put on the Toyota Window Sticker before it is printed and affixed to the window as a factory window sticker - things like phone USB charge cables, floor mats, vinyl clear mask protection items, ToyoCare, etc. Those items can add anywhere from $75 to $800 to the original factory shipped suggested price, depending on what and how many items are installed. They are covered under Toyota's Factory warranty.

Currently, and since the supply chain issues began, we no longer have control over which of those port installed items SET adds prior to shipment to the dealership. If SET puts on one or two items that you don't really want, you either take it, or wait for the next build that may or may not have those additional items. However, those items are specified on the Window Sticker, and listed in our pre-shipment information screen, so we always know the final MSRP of the vehicle BEFORE it arrives on our lot, and are able to review that with customers.

Our dealership DOES NOT have a "dealer installed" list of "stuff" that gets pre-added to every vehicle and forced onto our customers. If you WANT any of those types of items, you work it out with the salesman ahead of time, or back in the finance office.

All of that being said, for anyone in our area that is interested in getting on our Land Cruiser list, you are welcome to PM me your information. We do not take a deposit UNTIL we have a vehicle with a preliminary VIN, Price, and a delivery ETA. At that time, we take a CC deposit so the vehicle can be reserved in your name.

Full disclosure: IF you are out-of-state, Toyota is pretty particular about protecting its dealership network, so you must agree to finance the vehicle through Southeast Toyota at the APR available at the time of delivery (I don't imagine Toyota will offer much, if anything, in the way of "special" financing on a vehicle in high demand like the Land Cruiser).

Ed

 

[El Chorizo]

I guess I should also mention that for the last 3 1/2 years, I've been working in New & Pre-Owned Sales at a small, family owned, 3rd generation Toyota dealership in the Upstate of South Carolina. We DO NOT mark up our new vehicles beyond Window Sticker MSRP.

All of our new vehicles come from SET (Southeast Toyota), which is the "port" that handles our 5-state region (South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, & Florida), and is the only remaining non-Toyota owned "port" in the nation. SET does add some "port" options that they put on the Toyota Window Sticker before it is printed and affixed to the window as a factory window sticker - things like phone USB charge cables, floor mats, vinyl clear mask protection items, ToyoCare, etc. Those items can add anywhere from $75 to $800 to the original factory shipped suggested price, depending on what and how many items are installed. They are covered under Toyota's Factory warranty.

Currently, and since the supply chain issues began, we no longer have control over which of those port installed items SET adds prior to shipment to the dealership. If SET puts on one or two items that you don't really want, you either take it, or wait for the next build that may or may not have those additional items. However, those items are specified on the Window Sticker, and listed in our pre-shipment information screen, so we always know the final MSRP of the vehicle BEFORE it arrives on our lot, and are able to review that with customers.

Our dealership DOES NOT have a "dealer installed" list of "stuff" that gets pre-added to every vehicle and forced onto our customers. If you WANT any of those types of items, you work it out with the salesman ahead of time, or back in the finance office.

All of that being said, for anyone in our area that is interested in getting on our Land Cruiser list, you are welcome to PM me your information. We do not take a deposit UNTIL we have a vehicle with a preliminary VIN, Price, and a delivery ETA. At that time, we take a CC deposit so the vehicle can be reserved in your name.

Full disclosure: IF you are out-of-state, Toyota is pretty particular about protecting its dealership network, so you must agree to finance the vehicle through Southeast Toyota at the APR available at the time of delivery (I don't imagine Toyota will offer much, if anything, in the way of "special" financing on a vehicle in high demand like the Land Cruiser).

Ed

Great idea... I just started a thread for posts like yours so we can get a list of dealers that are only charging MSRP! Here is a link: LCF List: Dealers charging MSRP for the 2024+ Land Cruiser

 

[bandit67]

Well, our desire for a Land Cruiser grade with Premium Package doesn't look like it's going to happen. Seat comfort has become a big concern for us at our age, with fairly regular road trips. We realized we would be going backwards in seat comfort from both of our current vehicles to the new Land Cruiser.

The seat issue is such a concern that we've decided to move over to the GX 550 OVERTRAIL+ with the power lumbar & massaging driver & passenger front seats - deposit placed today on the GX. I'm a bit bummed because the GX will be costing us almost $10k more than the LC, and frankly, I prefer the overall look of the LC compared to the GX. But, I'm sure once we get behind the wheel of the GX and sit in those seats, we won't be too upset about our choice. I will however, look at every Land Cruiser I see out on the road, thinking about what could have been...