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Hello Folks - I'm still in an "agony of indecision" on another vehicle, gotta be a 4x4, with at least 3.0T towing and 3.5 would be better. Only want to spend $20-25K.
Looked at heaps but can't make up my mind.
So - are there major cost differences in keeping older (200,000+ kms) Rangers/BT-50's/Dmaxs/Tritons going ??
Just my opinion,
"So - are there major cost differences in keeping older (200,000+ kms) Rangers/BT-50's/Dmaxs/Tritons going ??"
Towing 3-3.5 tonne,you are probably sitting on a grenade.
Not a fan of Jeep in general, but I know a roading contactor that tows a fucking huge three ton digger around all day everyday on a heavy as twin axle trailer (with heavy grunty ramps for the digger) behind his SRT jeep. Has done for 5 or more years, and so far all I have had to do to it is change the oil/fluids etc on the thing and do the brakes once a year. It has monster brakes, so that costs $3k each time. Not a single problem other than his demerit points when the trailer isn't hooked up, as it goes like fucking rocket.
Utes in that price range won't have 3.5t towing capacity. If they do, they'll have had the assholes already dragged out of them.
For that towing capacity you really need to look at larger vehicles.
Maintenance is everything. If the vehicle hasn't been looked after properly, it's most likely going to cost you later on.
Whatever you look at, make sure it has an extensive service history! Anything mechanical if looked after correctly, will last.
Hmmm - gives me an idea, if one was to go for a higher KM's ex-lease vehicle, that would considerably improve the chances of it having been serviced properly wouldn't it?
Well.................. we had a 2009 BT50 purchased it at 97,000kms it had done 118,000 when we ditched it 5 years later, we spent a shit load maintaining as per Mazda's recommendations and yet somehow (if we had not purchased the 3 year warrenty) it had over $14k's worth of repairs and was off the road 1 month per year in the last 3.Quote:
Originally Posted by cambo
I think all modern utes are time bombs and personally would never own one with out some type of warranty, manufacturers or otherwise as the costs to repair these modern wonderful diesels is frighteningly wallet bending.
Does it have to be a Ute?
Nissan GU Patrol with TB48 engine are all 3.5T towing capacity. Any of them with 200,000km on the clock and 15 years old are well less than $20K...that will give you some extra $$ for fuel, since you’ll be needing it!
Trouble with that is you've still got another 200,000 to do to finish 'running in' the engine.Quote:
Originally Posted by gqhoon
Correct. Most if not all are junk these days, sold to people to do maybe 80k flawlessly, instead of the 200+ of yesteryear, after which it's some other poor pricks problem. The initial buyer doesn't have a problem, and buys another. The days of utes/wagons routinely doing 400km and up are goneburgers. No more LN106 Hilux, no more Y60 Patrol/Safari. It's a real shame.Quote:
Originally Posted by mikee
There will be a lag of maybe ten years while the market figures this out fully but already lateish non common rail diesels are stuipid money even with 400km plus and the first generation common rails are worth less than their older siblings even with less kms.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tommy
At the moment if you are in the new vehicle market it is pretty econimocal to upgrade around that 40-50km mark with very little loss.....less than in the second hand market :wtfsmilie: and you take all the risk!
Towing 3-3.5 Ton is really light Truck territory,in my opinion you need something built like a light Truck to do it well.
We towed those sorts of weights alot with a F250 when I was in Aussie. They were slow but got the job done with minimal fuss. I know a couple of guys down south here using them for contracting utes, and a couple of guys with Dodge Rams for towing massive boats. Fairly cheap to get into a mid 2000's model of either, comparatively.
we have a triton, unfortunately it now suffers from the 4-3 gearchange issue. also the egr system is a pain in the ass and fills the intake manifold full of tar. this has now been remedied by myself building a wee gadget that turns the damn thing off electronically.
economy however is good, acceleration far better than a ranger or colorado. i have to say the rides pretty harsh until there is weight in the back. pain the arse if you want to change the stereo etc (twice). then i had to install amp and sub, led light bar, reversing camera etc etc . but in general a good vehicle
Presumably it will primarily be a work vehicle given the tow requirement.
Just lease a new one of whatever flavour floats your boat then get a new one after 3 years.
Rinse and repeat.
Your budget to purchase outright is fucked for what you want, as in dreamland material.
For towing that sort of weight I'd look at Japanese light truck, or American F250/Ram.
When you say 4x4, how 4x4? Do you want to tow weight where you need 4x4 or are you after dual purpose? Could you get away with buying a tow vehicle and a recreational 4x4?
Hmmm - here's the options I can see:
New and replace every 3 years - just about zero risk except downtime if it shits itself, however while affordable I hate new and shiny, leave that for the Jaffa's and Tron poofters (eh PK), also fencing is pretty robust and the new utes seem to be made of cardboard so resale is a risk due to body damage etc.
Truck on 6 tonne sticker (3T payload = digger on deck) so towing isn't much of an issue. Pair that up with an older bulletproof light ute. Issues are modern trucks are all now common-rail shit as well and my budget would be Gen one of these so quite risky. Running two vehicle's has advantages (if one is in dry dock the other is usually usable) but two lots of rego, wof's servicing etc. 4wd light trucks are around too but driving one for "run-about" purposes doesn't appeal.
Convert a Safari or Landcruiser - has a lot of appeal and is within budget, gets me down to one vehicle
Buy a Landcruiser F/D - I would prefer a 4.2 rather than the V8 I think (any thoughts on the difference in operating costs between the two ??) - however these are pretty sought after and command a premium price by about $10K - which I hate to pay on principle.
I've not owned a Yank 4x4 but drove a Silverado a fair bit offroad with mining gear, they are too wide and long for a lot of tracks and perform poorly in soft going
There's no answer really but it helps to chew things over . . . .
I would divide and conquer personally and buy a 4x2 light truck and a 4x4. Look mid to late 90's ish. Easier to work on, they can do big mileage. If it breaks down parts are not too expensive and they were designed to last longer than 10 years. They are not as comfortable, lower on power and not as fuel efficient. The difference in pretty won't last long in your line of work.
If doing towing avoid the 1HDT cruiser engine (12valve) the 24v is soposidly better but I would never buy another 6cyl turbo cruiser....to the point I would rather turbo a non turbo Safari/Patrol :dark mood::disapointed::dark mood:Quote:
Originally Posted by Tentman
Good luck with your search. I know a 2008 Triton with 178000km costs $6984.58 to exchange transmissions with a 2nd hand one. Only came with 3000km or 3 month warranty. When it went, it went well, pulled like a school boy, but kept the bank balance in the red. It depreciated heaps as well.
Hopefully the Hilux I picked up today will give me the yrs of trouble free motoring I'm looking for...,
Thanks Guys for the thoughts.
My daughters mans father is a fairly big time balage contractor . . . we visited on them on Christmas day and had a good talk about vehicles. Currently he has a Landcruiser (6 cyl turbo) and two Rangers (one auto PX and one manual PX) on towing duties, mainly the big rakes they use, which are over 3 tonnes, and they usually have a deck-load of wrap in addition. He has run other Landcruisers previously.
His conclusion - Ranger every-time now. He has had just as many issues with Landcruisers as Rangers (one blown auto trans in 180,000 kms between the two Rangers) and they are both expensive to fix. He reckoned that the Rangers do have the odd "lemon" but given the numbers they have been sold in as a percentage its probably a pretty modest failure rate.
We tow 3.5 tonnne most days and more off road.Any of the trucks capable on a cof will cost you alot more to run both in ruc charges,cost to run per km and lost time for cof renewals.We have trucks on cof and 79 series Landcruiser.American utes aside (to big for what we do)None of the modern utes have the torque or chasis strength that these do.But you do have to do some things to get them there.Change the brake booster,exhaust,clutch and a proper tune and you will have something that is reliable with upwards of 650nm depending how far you want to go.Also a 3 tonne digger leaves you only 500kg for a trailer that is not alot of steel for something strong that will last.Alot of friends here have had afew issues with the rangers.There is no perfect answer.
Theres a crowd at Auckland airport who use a LR Discovery 1 for towing aircraft, they tow a 12 tonne aircraft with it frequently.
They are also a dime a dozen on trademe, be cheaper to buy the whole vehicle than change the injectors on a modern vehicle.
Well - its to be a BT50, 2013 with 103,000 Kms, full service record with two owners both of whom spoken to, and two sets of tyres for $25K.