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Hi all. Not too sure whether this is the right place to be posting this.
In July 2010 I bought a second hand 2008 Prado STANDARD model from a dealer in North Queensland. I got a relatively good deal - 50,000km on the clock, no damage, and I got some accessories added for free (tyres & snorkel). The Prado came with a colour-coordinated ARB Deluxe Steel Bullbar as well. It was about a month until I had the time to get it off-road. When i did, i noticed a squeak coming from the front of the car, and a knocking sound occasionally happened when I went over a bump.
I meant to look at it, but I got busy and never got around to it. I took it into my local ARB (Still in NQ) and someone came out the front and had a quick look at it.
They said:
a) my bull-bar was too high on the car. There is meant to be about a 25mm gap between the bull-bar and the car / lights etc. I have a 10mm gap.
b) I would need about 2-3 other people to help me pull off the bull-bar, lower it, and put the bolts back in. I might need to drill a new hole for the bolts.
A few weekends ago when I went camping and got under the car and had a look to see what might be involved, and I had 2-3 people wiling to help me if necessary. When I took the bash-plate off, and looked down at the bull-bar from the open bonnet, i noticed that the bull bar was only attached by ONE bolt on the left hand side. I could grab the bull-bar on the left hand side and move it! The squeak and the thumping sound were the bull-bar moving and coming up and hitting the chassis of my car every time I hit a bump! If the bolt sheared off, the LHS of the bull-bar would have dropped off of the car. If this were to happen when doing 100km on the highway, or 70-80km/hr on a dirt road, well, it wouldn't be pretty. Also, If I articulated, the bull-bar could have come up and smashed my headlights apparently.
I went back to ARB just to get some extra bolts. They asked about it, came out, and took it around back and got some of the mechanics to have a look.
The BULLBAR, and the ENTIRE MOUNTING SYSTEM has been incorrectly installed. It will cost me approx $350 to get the thing taken off and re-installed properly. ARB told me to try track down who installed the bull-bar and we could attempt to get them to pay for it. ARB being the kind souls they are, drilled some extra holes in the LHS (because the bullbar is incorrectly installed and the holes in the bull bar do not match up to the mounting system) and put in an additional 2 bolts to secure the bullbar in the meantime.
I went back to the dealer, who gave me the previous owner's details. Get this - the previous owner was a Toyota distributor / ARB distributor / Hire car franchise, also in North QLD. They got the car, installed the bull-bar themselves and then used the car for a hire-car for a while before off-loading it to the dealer that I got it from. I've talked to them and it's prettymuch a fat chance that they'll pay for the bull-bar correction.
Luckily, ARB are considering forking out for it themselves - as the way the bull-bar is installed is currently un-safe, and it is an ARB bull-bar afterall. They are only considering it though. If not, I'm an extra $300 out of pocket.
____
Also, when getting under the car, I noticed that the radiator is ABSOLUTELY chockers full of spear-grass (between the 2 panels). To get it out, someone would have to remove the radiator, which is not cheap either.
So yeah, if buying a used Prado in NQ, give it a thorough look over before you buy. I thought I had, but I just looked at the standard kind of stuff. Other than the 2 issues above, the car runs great. I get FANTASTIC fuel use (about 9.5L / 100km - 80% town driving, 15% highway, 5% 4x4 so far). This decreases to about 9 - 8.5L / 100km on the highway. Overall I do about 1800km on 160-170L diesel. I took the thing up and down a wet (a bit muddy) slope of about 50 degrees and it didn't even struggle or begin to get stuck.
Just a forewarning to anyone in NQ Looking for a Prado.
Cheers
Aussie86
In July 2010 I bought a second hand 2008 Prado STANDARD model from a dealer in North Queensland. I got a relatively good deal - 50,000km on the clock, no damage, and I got some accessories added for free (tyres & snorkel). The Prado came with a colour-coordinated ARB Deluxe Steel Bullbar as well. It was about a month until I had the time to get it off-road. When i did, i noticed a squeak coming from the front of the car, and a knocking sound occasionally happened when I went over a bump.
I meant to look at it, but I got busy and never got around to it. I took it into my local ARB (Still in NQ) and someone came out the front and had a quick look at it.
They said:
a) my bull-bar was too high on the car. There is meant to be about a 25mm gap between the bull-bar and the car / lights etc. I have a 10mm gap.
b) I would need about 2-3 other people to help me pull off the bull-bar, lower it, and put the bolts back in. I might need to drill a new hole for the bolts.
A few weekends ago when I went camping and got under the car and had a look to see what might be involved, and I had 2-3 people wiling to help me if necessary. When I took the bash-plate off, and looked down at the bull-bar from the open bonnet, i noticed that the bull bar was only attached by ONE bolt on the left hand side. I could grab the bull-bar on the left hand side and move it! The squeak and the thumping sound were the bull-bar moving and coming up and hitting the chassis of my car every time I hit a bump! If the bolt sheared off, the LHS of the bull-bar would have dropped off of the car. If this were to happen when doing 100km on the highway, or 70-80km/hr on a dirt road, well, it wouldn't be pretty. Also, If I articulated, the bull-bar could have come up and smashed my headlights apparently.
I went back to ARB just to get some extra bolts. They asked about it, came out, and took it around back and got some of the mechanics to have a look.
The BULLBAR, and the ENTIRE MOUNTING SYSTEM has been incorrectly installed. It will cost me approx $350 to get the thing taken off and re-installed properly. ARB told me to try track down who installed the bull-bar and we could attempt to get them to pay for it. ARB being the kind souls they are, drilled some extra holes in the LHS (because the bullbar is incorrectly installed and the holes in the bull bar do not match up to the mounting system) and put in an additional 2 bolts to secure the bullbar in the meantime.
I went back to the dealer, who gave me the previous owner's details. Get this - the previous owner was a Toyota distributor / ARB distributor / Hire car franchise, also in North QLD. They got the car, installed the bull-bar themselves and then used the car for a hire-car for a while before off-loading it to the dealer that I got it from. I've talked to them and it's prettymuch a fat chance that they'll pay for the bull-bar correction.
Luckily, ARB are considering forking out for it themselves - as the way the bull-bar is installed is currently un-safe, and it is an ARB bull-bar afterall. They are only considering it though. If not, I'm an extra $300 out of pocket.
____
Also, when getting under the car, I noticed that the radiator is ABSOLUTELY chockers full of spear-grass (between the 2 panels). To get it out, someone would have to remove the radiator, which is not cheap either.
So yeah, if buying a used Prado in NQ, give it a thorough look over before you buy. I thought I had, but I just looked at the standard kind of stuff. Other than the 2 issues above, the car runs great. I get FANTASTIC fuel use (about 9.5L / 100km - 80% town driving, 15% highway, 5% 4x4 so far). This decreases to about 9 - 8.5L / 100km on the highway. Overall I do about 1800km on 160-170L diesel. I took the thing up and down a wet (a bit muddy) slope of about 50 degrees and it didn't even struggle or begin to get stuck.
Just a forewarning to anyone in NQ Looking for a Prado.
Cheers
Aussie86
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