Help me narrow down and pick a car

[Trev_wants_a_prado Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Trev_wants_a_prado]

We have sold our family car and we (2 adults + 1 kid) are in the market for a 4WD. It is on my bucket list to cross the Simpson Dessert so hopefully our next car will be able to help me achieve this within the next year or so.

I have read many many forum posts and have test driven three Prado's over the last two weeks. Hopefully you can help me narrow down the range.....

What we currently do;
Go camping a few times a year (have a regular trailer)
Travel from Adelaide to Melbourne at least once a year
Only use the car on the weekend / holidays
Run 2 cars when friends and family from interstate visit

What we hope to do:
More camping (may get a camper trailer)
A bit of offloading
A few more longer distance drives (Flinders rangers, Ayers rock, QLD and Melbourne)
Only use the car on the weekend / holidays
Run 1 car when friends and family visit from Interstate

My preferred budget is $40k or under but we can stretch it a bit for the right car.

Based on what my friends have told me + reading the forums
1. Better to get a car that is stock and add upgrades as required (Planned - Bullbar would be the minimum)
2. DPF might not be good for me as the car will only get used occasionally
3. 2015 or older is a good choice
4. Tailshaft clunk is a thing (found this on 2/3 cars that I tested. One was much less severe than the other)
5. Cracked inner guards is something to look out for (haven't spotted one with this issue yet)


From the cars that I inspected,
The first - GXL, Had done a bit of off road work, dual battery, bull bar, serviced regularly. < 100,000km
The second - This was a VX. The owner had forgotten to service it once and ran it for just under 2 years and 22,000km (Total km under 110,000). Tailshaft clunk. Has had a fuel filter warning and the filters have been replaced very recently.
The third - GXL, hadn't been serviced very regularly, The interval between the 1st and 2nd service was about 15,000km. (Total km under 70,000). Occasional tailshaft clunk.



Am I on the right track looking for a 3L Diesel around 2015 or before? Any input would be really appreciated.

[RedAdventureWagon Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close RedAdventureWagon]

We had only our 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer CJ (manual) for a long time and used that for camping and towing a camper trailer, but we got to the point that it was just too small for camping, plus we found the weight of the trailer maxed out the Lancer's towing capacity. So we made the decision to get a 'cheap' 4WD for camping and weekend trips, whilst keeping the Lancer for commuting and shopping etc.

We ended up with a 2000 Prado 3.4 V6 (auto) petrol which I love, total exercise for us (including a full service, control arm bushings, and a few other jobs) has cost less than our 10k budget for it, plus gives us a second car for the days we need it. One thing to note going that old is safety - airbags/ABS were an option back then (both of which mine doesn't have) plus the middle belts for the mid and back row are lap belt only, which is not great. Auto is good for parking the trailer though, but if I had a choice I would have got a manual. Even if they are gas guzzlers, these old Prado's are fairly reliable though, ours has done 378,600km!

Unfortunately we couldn't sell up the Lancer and buy a newer Prado, as it's only worth about $6k so would not have given us a significant advantage price wise.

[carco Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close carco]

Same as us Red Wagon.
Bought our 90 to see if we really were into a 4x and of course it's been a great vehicle.
Has done everything and more we could ask of it, cost peanuts to buy.
Can't say the same to get it to the stage it's at now of course and whoever buys it will benefit from our labours.
But now we have a 2.3t van so bought a 150 which eats that load effortlessly.
We were going for an MUX as they were dirt cheap recently, around $43K drive away.
Of course you'd need a tow pack and front bar which adds a bit, but still it's a bloody cheap and very capable 4X.

[Trev_wants_a_prado Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Trev_wants_a_prado]

Thanks for the info. I did consider an older car as well as a new MUX. I did find the Prado to be a bit more refined than the MUX. I have never purchased a new car though due to the initial depreciation.

[Peterpilot Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Peterpilot]

When I was searching, I was shocked at how many Prados were written off or had speedos wound back, make sure you do your history checks and if the deal is too good, it's probably too good to be true.

I think you're better off with a second hand Prado over a new MUX, for $40k you'll find a good Prado, maybe with a bullbar already fitted. Consider the V6 if you're only driving on weekends and not going to be doing high mileage.

[RedAdventureWagon Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close RedAdventureWagon]

Peterpilot

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Peterpilot good advice about the history check, we did this for each car we inspected. Luckily came back OK for those but you never know. Perhaps not a great deal with a $6k car like us but if you're contemplating something in the tens of $k then it's definitely good insurance.

carco

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carco yeah the 3400 V6 would not go that great towing a 2.5t van, our camper is a very old 1983 Jayco Swan and it's right on 1t when loaded, so our 90 takes it fine. One day if the Lancer poops out then maybe we'll sell up and get something else, but money for us is more scarce these days now we have a child!

The good thing about 4WDs in general and especially Prados is that they don't depreciate fast, and if no major problems tend to plateau out and then never lose much value.

Also worth looking at is the 80 series Land Cruiser. We did look at one of these which I did prefer (had ABS and was manual) however the synchros on 1st and 2nd were not great, and I just knew my wife would not like the agricultural feel of it - she is used to the short shifter smooth-as-silk Lancer! I would have preferred it over the one we got though but was outvoted by my wife and son, and I have come to love the Prado 90 anyway!

[carco Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close carco]

Red wagon our 90 is a diesel and tows OK but I found at highway speeds, she didn't have enough reserve to overtake the clowns doing 80 until passing lane.....you know what I mean.
I too was also unimpressed with the finish of the Isuzu even though the Isuzu engine has a brilliant reputation, you do pay a premium for that Toyota badge.
I opted for a 2012 model 150, minimal emissions crap and heaps of grunt now that she's been tuned.
As for depreciation, check the prices for a 200 series. Older models are selling for more than their original new price !

[RedAdventureWagon Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close RedAdventureWagon]

carco

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carco I see what you mean, have not done much motorway towing in the 90 petrol, but on hills etc around Toowoomba it was fine if not a tad slow in terms of acceleration like the automatics of old, but went fine otherwise. We're going to NNSW next time so will do a lot of motorway then.

Suzuki Grand Vitara or Mitsubishi Outlander V6 were others that met my requirements (Japanese, naturally aspirated, petrol, non-FWD, manual or non-Jatco conventional auto) but the 2000s Suzuki GV I4 engine is prone to block failure alledgedly, and neither are very serious offroaders, especialy the Outlander.

Think you made the right choice though, and sounds like a similar 150 should meet your requirements

Trev_wants_a_prado

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[Trev_wants_a_prado Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Trev_wants_a_prado]

Thanks for the points. This discussion is very helpful. I might take a petrol prado for a test drive. There are very few in SA. May be I will crunch a few numbers to see the difference in running costs for me between a diesel and petrol

[rascal Member Find all posts View Profile Close rascal]

Thanks for the points. This discussion is very helpful. I might take a petrol prado for a test drive. There are very few in SA. May be I will crunch a few numbers to see the difference in running costs for me between a diesel and petrol

Make sure you take all the numbers into account (higher servicing costs, possible injector replacements, for diesel) rather than just the l/100km difference as that’s a truer comparison of actual costs.

[RedAdventureWagon Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close RedAdventureWagon]

Plus I am not sure if it's the case all over Australia but certainly in SE QLD it seems diesel vehicles are at least 1.5 times the price of comparable petrol ones. Not that they met my requirements, but I am not sure I saw any reasonable ones under $10k, even higher mileage (200, 300kkm) ones seem to go for a higher price.

Things that bit me that I did not check were:
- The cost of the lower control arm bushing replacement - whilst disclosed to me at the time of purchase I did not think they would cost too much to do.
- The towbar hitch was rusted into the receiver - had to buy a replacement from a wreckers as the original was rusted in solid and corroded.

[carco Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close carco]

Trev I reckon you'll find a 4.0L V6 a rocket ship compared to the D4D. (unless the D4D has been tweaked!)
Fuel usage isn't an issue these days as you can't keep up with the servos. One day diesel is cheaper than petrol, the next petrol is cheaper than diesel. The thing to note though is diesel prices only vary a small amount whereas petrol can easily fluctuate 30c. In my town you'll be well ahead in a petrol. With the big tank in a Prado, you can usually afford to wait for the cheapest prices.
Servicing costs are similar, but like Rascal said, the diesel has that $2000 injector replacement hanging over your head anywhere from 150,000k on.
Cam belt on a 3.0L diesel is dirt cheap and very easy to do. Won't comment on the 2.8 as there's a thread already.
Timing chain setup on the 4.0L is just a nightmare. Luckily they seem to have an excellent service life.
If you look at 120's and 150's, you won't have any worry about the front end. If you go for a 90, just replace LBJ's at 80,000-100,000 max and she'll be fine. (Don't forget the bolts)
LCA bush replacement is a pain in the 90 as you have to shift the rack. Unless you buy genuine replacement bushes you'll be doing the job again pretty quickly too. Last time I opted for complete arms after a very short run from Mackay bushes.