Land Cruiser 80 series vs Toyota Hilux DC Cape Town to UK
 

We are planning on buying a UK registered vehicle for an overland trip from Cape Town to the UK in 2013. A double cab Hilux seems to fit our needs (we are a family of 4), but we have been advised that reselling an outfitted Hilux in the UK would be difficult as most people go for a Land Cruiser. Any comments or suggestions?

Either will sell but need to be diesel, hilux not so comfortable , but then it does not cost so much new ! Buy the one that suits you best , as thats the main criteria for travel , they are both pretty rugged with 4wd . Make sure you get the least abused that you can and service it well before hand . HTSH

Thanks for your reply. We're planning on a diesel. Our concern is whether an outfitted Hilux would resell once we are in the UK. All the more reason to get one in good shape!

I suppose it depends on how much you spend on the outfitting, but standard Hi-Lux's retain their value extremely well in the UK. I looked into buying one recently and had to accept I just couldn't afford one! Even battered old dogs with a quarter of a million miles seem to sell for thousands!

Of course, if the outfitting is costing you an arm and a leg, then you want to get that back. Although you could always ebay the parts and sell your Hi-Lux as standard. Not sure what the fuel efficiency difference is between a Hi-Lux and a Landcruiser, but might be worth factoring that into your financial decisions.

I'd generally agree with the statement above about buying what suits you, however.

:)

With the crazy prices that seem to be asked for Landcruiser 80 series nowadays..

How about buying a brand new Hilux HL2 Double Cab Circa £19K Inc Vat on the road (autoebid) fit a set of BFG A/Ts and roof tent and off you go. (Mpg in the 30s as well)

Do your trip, refit the original tyres, remove and sell roof tent and sell the Hi-Lux as standard.

As Matt Cartney says Hi-Lux's retain their value extremely well in the UK, check ebay for going price of a year old one.

In my mind this must be the cheapest way overall to do your trip and what I would do.

TLC80 or HI-LUX
 

Think about the High Sulphur / Low Sulphur diesel issue - Africa is mostly (totally?) a LS diesel fuel country so make sure your 80 or HiLux is a LS engine and not a HS one.

Cheers,
DickyBeach

It is an old thread I know but I feel I must correct this.

Africa is NOT a low sulphur diesel fuel continent.

Namibia and much of East Africa has less than 50ppm diesel. However most of the rest of Africa has 50 to 500ppm diesel. Egypt has over 5000ppm diesel. Your engine will certainly smoke in Egypt! And don't buy engine oil there.

Sadly most of Africa doesn't even subscribe to the Euro 3 standard according to the UN.

Total nonsense indeed.