64-Mile FJ Cruiser Begs the Question: Is an Ultra-Low Mile Toyota Worth It?
There’s good low-mileage and then there’s scary low-mileage. This 2014 Toyota FJ Cruiser seems like the latter.
While it’s barely out of production, the Toyota FJ cruiser is already well on its way toward classic status. As owners and potential buyers of these rigs know, resale values have always been high, and last month on Bring a Trailer a 4,000-mile example went for $68,000. So I think it’s safe to say that prices have officially entered the crazy-o-sphere. When it left production in 2017, many folks — myself included — wondered why Toyota was didn’t give the model an update. With the popularity of overlanding exploding, and the appetite for high-performance 4x4s at a record high, not doing a next-gen FJ seems like a missed opportunity.
That said, this week another low-mileage FJ popped up on Bring a Trailer, and when I say low? I mean super, scary low. Because this 2014 Heritage Blue model has just 64 miles on the clock.
Honestly, I was shocked when I saw that figure, so I decided to do the math. Breaking it down, that means over the course of its life, this machine has done an average of 10.6 miles per year, and a scant 0.8 miles per month. And when I look at that? Not only am I bummed this machine has never tackled a trail in anger, I’m thinking we might have a truly rare bird on our hands. Friends, we might be looking an unreliable Toyota.
Seriously, even if those miles were spread out equally — which I think is extremely unlikely — that’s not even enough time to get everything up to operating temp. And while a factory Toyota lands squarely between a mother’s love and the sunrise when it comes to reliability? Time is cruel.
Machines, whether they were built in the Toyota way or not, are simply not meant to sit like that. If you were to start trying to daily this baby, you’d be looking at a car that would be a lot more like modern Alfa Romeo than a six year-old Toyota when it came to headaches.
Which brings mean back to the question I asked initially. And if you’re familiar with Betteridge’s law of headlines? You already know the answer. At least in my opinion, paying a hyper premium for a modern FJ is never going to make any sense. While they will be classics and sought after? I think that bonkers, Bring a Trailer-style insanity prices will be relatively rare.
After all, these are still Toyota trucks which were produced in relatively large numbers, and unlike a Ferrari or other fragile exotics, putting miles on them, or even beating on them like they owe you money isn’t going to impact performance much.
Personally, I hope this FJ one winds up in a museum, as it’s probably best as a display piece now. But maybe I’m wrong? That’s happened a few times, so if you think I am, let me know!
Photos: Bring a Trailer
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