Advice for my bro?

[schmik]

My brother in-law is looking at getting a 4wd. He is into trekking and canyoning and wants to get to some more remote places.

He could spend upto 20k but would need to sell his new(ish) and reliable daily driver.

He has test driven the 4.2 TD patrol and a 4.0 Prado. He found the patrol too large and liked the prado (1st series) but found that for $20k they all have high kms.

His other option is to keep the daily driver and get a cheap 4wd to see if he really wants/needs one. He has been offered a very well maintained 84 Pajero with muddies, storage in the back, foldout table and all sorts of other little things that make camping much more pleasant. We know the owner and know it has been maintained... this would cost him $2k.

Which way would you swing?

mike

[mavzilla]

pajero is a good vehicle, for 2k a well maintained pajero would suit his needs well.

[coxy321]

By "remote", do you mean "hard to get to", or remote as in "a long way away"?

If its not long distance stuff, Sierra's are fantastic for getting into spots bigger cars struggle to - and with that sort of budget you could buy one with all of the fruits, and still have a truckload of $$$ left.

The Pajero's are a nice car too. I'm not a fan of IFS (or IRS), but if he's after something "softer" and better for long distance, they're great.

[schmik]

He is not going to go very far away with it but wants to get to a few harder to reach places.

I did suggest a zook but he drove my GV and found that a little small for his liking.

The 84 Paj is IFS with solid rear axle.

mike

[NCpaj]

id personlly go the with the pajero, not being biased or anything but they are good cars.

The pajero is not a crazy rock climbers, blah blah blah the IFS, blah blah - yes we all know what you toyota and nissan guys say

but they do have a strong IFS diff, which is actually bigger than a hilux rear diff , the soild rear axel is strong and they come with a good couple of bash plates (one at the front, one under the engine and one under the transfer) also dont forget the whole road friendly handeling as you would find that majority of these places would be a drive of at least 60% road before the off road part. Also the engine choices arent bad.

is the pajero your talking about petrol or diesel?

also with muddies this would suprise some people with the places you could go.


Also antoher point to raise would you rather pay 2k for a car which is looked after but may need some other maininatce in the future due to its age.
or a new car that you have little idea on its history and may have problems after and becasue of the price have no daily driver to fall back on.

[cmarico]

Was it worth 3 posts?

I'd be keeping his daily and looking at the 84paj - or keeping his options open and still having a look at other 4b's around that price range. This way he keeps his compfortable, economical daily - and has a wicked car for the weekend.

Plus theres nothing worse than breaking something and not having a way to work the next day

[cmarico]

Was it worth 3 posts?

I'd be keeping his daily and looking at the 84paj - or keeping his options open and still having a look at other 4b's around that price range. This way he keeps his compfortable, economical daily - and has a wicked car for the weekend.

Plus theres nothing worse than breaking something and not having a way to work the next day

[NCpaj]

Was it worth 3 posts?

I'd be keeping his daily and looking at the 84paj - or keeping his options open and still having a look at other 4b's around that price range. This way he keeps his compfortable, economical daily - and has a wicked car for the weekend.

Plus theres nothing worse than breaking something and not having a way to work the next day

<<<< times a million

ahaha yeah, but was yours worth 2?

i kept getting crazy error messages. but all good now, theres also hilux's and older mq/k patrols around that price to. But with muddies and good service history its worth 2k

[coxy321]

Was it worth 3 posts?

I'd be keeping his daily and looking at the 84paj - or keeping his options open and still having a look at other 4b's around that price range. This way he keeps his compfortable, economical daily - and has a wicked car for the weekend.

Plus theres nothing worse than breaking something and not having a way to work the next day

<<<< times a million

ahaha yeah, but was yours worth 2?

i kept getting crazy error messages. but all good now, theres also hilux's and older mq/k patrols around that price to. But with muddies and good service history its worth 2k

Unless this guys brother is reasonably good on the mechanical side of things, i wouldn't be looking at an older Patrol/Hilux/Cruiser. They have a few years under their belt and i could almost guarantee that 80% on the market would need at least SOME loving before being properly reliable.

PS. I wasn't digging on the Pajero's - i know well and good how capable they are, and that they're a great all rounder (in fact, i did say they they were "great" before...). I have actually seen a stock old Paj wagon go through a trench that a 6" lifted 35" tyred V8 hilux couldn't.... how embarrassment!!!

[chimpboy]

Discovery TD5, $15k for a good one, use as daily driver as well.

Or same thing with a newer Paj. You can get a lot of Pajero for $20k, more than enough to justify replacing the DD.

[Zute]

NH NJ Pajeros are much better than the early ones. NJ about '94 on have better gearing and parts re cheaper. Things like power window winders cables can be bought separate from the motors.
They also have diff breaths, tow hooks, steel bash plates etc
Sorry I sold mine sometimes as I could count on it to be reliable.

[Zute]

NH NJ Pajeros are much better than the early ones. NJ about '94 on have better gearing and parts re cheaper. Things like power window winders cables can be bought separate from the motors.
They also have diff breaths, tow hooks, steel bash plates etc
Sorry I sold mine sometimes as I could count on it to be reliable.