Toyota Australia has warned dealers against price gouging with the last of the LandCruiser 70 Series V8s, but it has said it can’t stop private resellers.
That has proven true, as a slew of ads for extremely low-mileage 70 Series V8s have appeared online in recent weeks as buyers look to immediately on-sell their vehicles to make a profit.
Officially, the V8 range was priced from $80,900 before on-road costs for the single-cab-chassis WorkMate, topping out at $87,600 before on-roads for the double-cab-chassis GXL.
Toyota announced on July 8 it wouldn’t re-open orders for V8 models, which had been paused for almost two years.
A 70 Series listed on Marketplace
One ad on Carsales shows a stock GXL double-cab-chassis with a steel tray and under 400km on the odometer.
“The price is firm $130,000 please no tyre kickers,” it reads, with the owner claiming they bought it to tow their boat but have moved to the coast so they no longer need it.
Another in Melbourne, featuring a steel tray and a gross vehicle mass (GVM) upgrade, is listed at $128,000 and has just 22km on the odometer.
“If you can’t afford the car don’t enquire,” the ad says.
A low-mileage 70 Series wagon
Another similarly equipped example in Brisbane is priced at $129,888 unregistered or $139,188 drive-away.
Trawling Facebook Marketplace, we found a 2024 GXL wagon with 300km on the odometer listed two weeks ago in Brisbane for $110,000.
A GXL double-cab-chassis in Melbourne, also with a claimed 300km on the odometer, was listed at $110,000 three weeks ago.
Another GXL wagon in Melbourne with 300km on the odometer has been listed for $122,000, and the seller has used photos taken at the Toyota dealership where it was presumably bought.
The ad has been up for seven weeks now.
2022 70 Series with 349km on the odometer
Even pre-facelift models are being listed with high prices.
We found a 2022 model in Sydney with just 349km on the odometer, which was listed four weeks ago for $109,000.
Not only is the interior immaculate, there’s still bubble wrap on the driver’s seat.
Toyota Australia recently axed 70 Series models with the 4.5-litre turbo-diesel V8 engine after 17 years on sale locally due to “changing regulations and community expectations”, leaving only the recently introduced four-cylinder turbo-diesel.
Production of V8-powered 70 Series models will end in September 2024, except for 79 Series GXL single- and double-cab utes.
Final deliveries of V8-powered wagons, Troop Carriers, and Workmate and GX utes will reach customers by the end of the year, Toyota says.
Production of GXL utes will continue “well into next year”, with customer deliveries to be completed during the fourth quarter of 2025.
Toyota has said it will fill the oldest orders first. That means impatient people or those who missed out on placing an order will need to look at buying a used one, though judging by the prices on these ads they’ll almost certainly be paying a premium for the privilege.
“We will be speaking to our dealers and we will be putting very strong processes in place to ensure that those that have got orders get prioritised,” Sean Hanley, Toyota Australia’s vice president for sales, marketing and franchise operations, told Australian media earlier this month.
He acknowledged he had heard of dealers going against usual processes with the sought-after vehicle.
“Obviously the value of these cars is going to go up incredibly overnight, we’re acutely aware of behaviours that could be brought on because of this and we are going to put in very strong processes to try to negate those behaviours.
Mr Hanley said there’s not much he can do about 70 Series buyers who choose to resell their vehicles for a profit.
“What they choose to do with those cars is their business beyond that,” he said.
“Used cars are used cars, I can’t control that but I do not want people thinking they need to run out and pay over retail. Do not do it.”
