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G'day all,
First post here so be gentle. Been looking at Prados for a couple of months now. I've also been reading up on the Prados on this site and almost every other car site on the web and learning as much as I can. Its time to make a move.
Looking at the 90 Series (mainly because of budget - trying to stay under $20k) and had a look at a 2000 GXL Diesel Automatic. They want $20k for it at a dealer in Canberra. It has 200,000 km and is an auto (otherwise the missus wont touch it). I wanted a diesel to get some fuel economy so this one should still have a few years of life left in her (if it was petrol I probably wouldn't go for it with these many K's). Tyres are all shot. They said they would fit new rubber all round (so I'm expecting some cheap Bangladeshi tyres).
Service books are all stamped until about 150,000k, and then theres nothing. So I reckon he must have been doing some home based oil changes. The car looks pretty straight and clean, no obvious damage. Took it for a spin. Drives Ok but has a fair bit of play in the steering and spongy brakes. Has anybody had experience with these two issues (Steering and brakes), Do they sound expensive? I would think they might be an easy fix but not sure. In any case I would probably take out some aftermarket warranty to help with costs.
We are two adults and two kids. It'll probably be our only vehicle for about a year or two then I'll get the wife a smaller car and keep this for myself. So looking for an all round commute car, kids taxi, wife shopping, towing the boxy with a load of rubbish to the tip, and probably twice a year or so with the odd camping trip into the bush. Probably not towing a camper but you never know.
I like the Diesel / Automatic option but It appears that it is a pretty rare combination on the 90 Series. Based on internet research, I reckon the thing is about $2000 - $3000 over priced. What do you guys think?
Cheers
Pedro
First post here so be gentle. Been looking at Prados for a couple of months now. I've also been reading up on the Prados on this site and almost every other car site on the web and learning as much as I can. Its time to make a move.
Looking at the 90 Series (mainly because of budget - trying to stay under $20k) and had a look at a 2000 GXL Diesel Automatic. They want $20k for it at a dealer in Canberra. It has 200,000 km and is an auto (otherwise the missus wont touch it). I wanted a diesel to get some fuel economy so this one should still have a few years of life left in her (if it was petrol I probably wouldn't go for it with these many K's). Tyres are all shot. They said they would fit new rubber all round (so I'm expecting some cheap Bangladeshi tyres).
Service books are all stamped until about 150,000k, and then theres nothing. So I reckon he must have been doing some home based oil changes. The car looks pretty straight and clean, no obvious damage. Took it for a spin. Drives Ok but has a fair bit of play in the steering and spongy brakes. Has anybody had experience with these two issues (Steering and brakes), Do they sound expensive? I would think they might be an easy fix but not sure. In any case I would probably take out some aftermarket warranty to help with costs.
We are two adults and two kids. It'll probably be our only vehicle for about a year or two then I'll get the wife a smaller car and keep this for myself. So looking for an all round commute car, kids taxi, wife shopping, towing the boxy with a load of rubbish to the tip, and probably twice a year or so with the odd camping trip into the bush. Probably not towing a camper but you never know.
I like the Diesel / Automatic option but It appears that it is a pretty rare combination on the 90 Series. Based on internet research, I reckon the thing is about $2000 - $3000 over priced. What do you guys think?
Cheers
Pedro
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