How high will Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series V8 prices go?

Prospective buyers of the venerable Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series V8 who aren’t already in the official order queue should brace themselves for a mammoth surge in prices for used and near-new examples of the charismatic off-roader.

And those who’ve placed an order or already own a V8-powered Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series pick-up, wagon or ‘Troopie’ in good condition stand to make a tidy profit following yesterday’s announcement that production will be wound down from later this year.

Toyota this week confirmed that 70 Series V8 production for Australia will end in Japan by late 2025 – as widely expected, in part due to the federal government’s new 2025 New vehicle Efficiency Standard – potentially leaving some patiently waiting customers without their V8 off-roader or having to opt for the new four-cylinder version instead.

The asking prices of ‘used’ 70 Series 70th Anniversary Edition vehicles went stupid as soon as the first examples arrived on Australian soil as dealers and private sellers alike leapt into action to turn an easy but extremely handsome profit, due to the assumption that Toyota was about to call time on both the 70 Series and its beefy turbo-diesel V8.

Pristine examples with well under 100km on the odometer were quickly listed on carsales as used vehicles by both dealers and private sellers for more than $70,000 above list price, with some asking prices even approaching $150,000.

A similar situation occurred when the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series arrived in late 2021, when scalpers were asking up to $200,000 for near-new examples of the all-new V6 off-roader amid year-long delivery wait times – and up to $280,000 for much older examples of the V8-powered 200 Series it replaced.

But the unprecedented surge in new and near-new vehicle prices doesn’t sit well with prospective customers or indeed Toyota Australia, which has issued a warning to its dealer network about price gouging now that the end of the legendary V8 LC70 really is coming.

Expressing concern that some dealers could inflate their prices in exchange for some cheeky queue jumping, Toyota Australia sales, marketing and franchise operations vice-president Sean Hanley said the Japanese brand would be “putting very strong processes in place to ensure that those that have got orders get prioritised”.

“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,” he said.

“My advice to anyone waiting [is] do not pay over retail.”

The same advice applies to those considering a used 70 Series: “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,” he said.

Right now there are more than 100 facelifted (MY24) Toyota LandCruiser 76, 78 and 79 Series used vehicles listed at carsales – some heavily customised and accessorised – with prices up to $240,000.

And there are 67 used, demo or near-new examples listed with less than 100km on the odo – one priced at $155,000 but the majority under $135K, which is still at least around $50,000 more than their new list prices.

Used LC70 asking prices have always been high in comparison to other models (even by Toyota standards) as owners look to capitalise on years-long wait times, and now we know for sure that V8 production is ending there’s every chance they will hit new records soon.

Toyota has at least taken the initiative to add a five-speed manual transmission to the options list for the previously auto-only four-cylinder 70 Series, for those that still want to shift their own gears.

And it says waiting times are as little as three months for the LC70 with the cleaner yet gruntier 2.8-litre turbo-diesel powertrain, though there are three second-hand examples currently for sale at carsales with less than 16km on the clock, each priced at least $10,000 higher than their new retail price.

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