---
title: "Toyota Land Cruiser Before and After Pictures Show Why You Can Never Trust a Salvage Auction"
description: "Now you see extensive body and frame damage, now you don't."
date: "2017-10-06"
modified: "2017-10-06"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/watch-this/14932/toyota-land-cruiser-before-and-after-pictures-show-why-you-can-never-trust-a-salvage-auction"
categories:
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
  - "Toyota News"
  - "Watch This"
tags:
  - "Auction"
  - "copart"
  - "insurance"
  - "Salvage"
  - "Toyota"
  - "Toyota Land Cruiser"
  - "wreck"
---

# Toyota Land Cruiser Before and After Pictures Show Why You Can Never Trust a Salvage Auction

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/10/5f639ece-714a-463b-8259-109ce623b812.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Whether or not it's [a particularly active year for hurricanes,](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/14800/video-shows-millions-of-dollars-in-exotic-cars-flooded-by-harvey-in-houston>) a suspiciously cheap vehicle in decent shape at a salvage auction is [rarely the value it represents.](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/14020/how-to-repair-a-flooded-car-right-before-you-have-it-crushed>) And as this video shows, even something as durable as a low-mileage Toyota Land Cruiser is still potentially hiding some ugly, ugly secrets—a rollover crash, for example.

YouTuber Samcrac highlighted [this Copart listing for a 2016 Toyota Land Cruiser](<https://www.copart.com/lot/35856117>) located in Newburgh, New York with the microscopic starting bid of $60 and equally-tiny 212 miles on the clock. Though the ad describes both side and front end damage, the SUV looks to be in great shape save for a wrinkled right-rear quarter panel. Same with the interior, which appears flawless except for a large tear in the headliner and seat bolster caused by the right side curtain airbags inflating.

![message-editor%2F1507330986602-5f639ece-714a-463b-8259-109ce623b812.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1507330986602-5f639ece-714a-463b-8259-109ce623b812.jpg>)
**Copart**

Given the Land Cruiser's legendary reputation for toughness and longevity, this might seem like a pretty good deal to you. A little cosmetic surgery, and you've got yourself an off-road tank at a steep discount. But as Samcrac points out, things aren't want they seem.

https://youtube.com/embed/NDykhQ4drs0

There are a few telltale signs he picks up, like the misaligned hood and dodgy respray job along the side. It's googling the VIN, though, that reveals what really happened to this poor truck. As he shows, [and you can try it yourself,](<https://www.google.com/search?q=JTMCY7AJ9G4043969&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiyjYmVgt3WAhVii1QKHePlADkQ_AUIDCgD&biw=1920&bih=917#imgrc=FDyXyhCTl4wF6M:>) the very first image shows the it with heavy front end damage, a scraped-up side, and most importantly, a caved-in roof. This [Land Cruiser](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/11256/man-buys-used-toyota-land-cruiser-discovers-it-was-owned-by-nigerian-warlord>) was absolutely rolled, and as the vehicle history report shows, it happened exactly *eleven* miles after the new owner drove it off the dealer lot in 2016. [A previous salvage auction listing](<https://tempvin.com/lot/21783637>) shows even more pictures of all the carnage.

![message-editor%2F1507331160549-8b74332c-7574-4fe6-8b5c-29d4ca9d2f02.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1507331160549-8b74332c-7574-4fe6-8b5c-29d4ca9d2f02.jpg>)
**TempVIN.com**

Not only is the body all messed up (and in all likelihood, [the frame](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/12961/this-chevrolet-tahoe-frame-swap-at-a-dealership-has-not-gone-well-at-all>) too), but the interior is also a disaster area. It looks like every airbag deployed, and the seats are covered in shattered glass and suspicious-looking stains. If you have any doubt that this is the same car, Samcrac points out the quarter panel dent that's visible in the Copart listing can be seen in the wreckage pictures as well.

The $60 opening bid is probably a couple digits off the eventual selling price—if that still seems like a steal, just ask yourself, do you want to drive around in this all day? Even if you're not worried about the personal safety, just imagine the the chorus of squeaks and rattles that must accompany every single bump in there. Oh, the rattling.

![message-editor%2F1507331191750-6fb0bfaf-a78a-462c-b991-35a79146107b.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1507331191750-6fb0bfaf-a78a-462c-b991-35a79146107b.jpg>)
**TempVIN.com**

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)