Member - Kroozer (WA) replied:

Look for cracks in the inner guards(under bonnet, around battery etc) and on dashboard. Check back door for cracks along seams also. Check in jack compartment in rear and tool compartment on rear door for dust/rust etc, get a good indication to where its been. Also get underneath of course and check thoroughly for rust/dings/leaks etc.

Very easy to get stung with an ex mine Prado these days.

RobertHL (SEQ) replied:

Hi Dave, "OTHER VEHICLES."




Sorry could not help myself.







Cheers,



Bob.

On Patrol & TONI replied:

Hi Dave
I see the Land Rover 130 dual cab utes are not too expensive new now & they come std with a dash board and upholstery & everything including fresh air.
Cheers Colin.

Anthony replied:

Hi Dave,

I bought the same model Prado, the 03 GX diesel manual, about 2.5 years back for $38,000. It was an ex Vic Government 4wd. Then 65,000kms, now 123,000kms. It going great still, as you would hope at that number of kms.

I had our local 4wd guy go over it before the purchase. He did a simple check of the engine compression by driving the 4wd onto a steep slope about 40 degrees with the front proint down, then turned off the engine and left in gear (1st or 2nd ???) with the brake off.

If the engine compression was poor, the theory was that the 4wd would move forward with the engine turning over from the weight of the 4wd on the slope and in gear.

If your GX has the std 6.5inch steel wheel, as mine did, I fitted 17 by 8inch stell rims and 245/70-17 tyres (Cooper STT). With this tyre size,I didn't need to add flares and the tyre diameter is abou 777mm, which is the same as the std GXL tyre dia. So the speedo was spot on still.

I think the GX 03 Prado is great, it doesn't have those plastic flare that fall off after a bit of a bump out 4wding.

Cruiser . replied:

Dave,

As you know I have a Prado (04 GX) and all of the above replies (well the serious ones anyway) have good advice.

You won't regret it if you do buy one, but as Kroozer said, be carefull its not an ex mine vehicle.

Cheers,

Cruiser

PradOz replied:

If its had a hard life check all cracking. I havent seen one with all cracks as mentioned as yet. I have heard about dash cracking though (not seen any yet) in some 03 and 04 models.

I know someone who was a dedicated Paj owner with many new models to his name over the years. It was only after getting a dead set lemon that Mits would not touch (under a year old and even under warranty as they could not fix it) he tried a Prado and said he would never go back. He said the ride is so much better. Its only when buying a Prado new you get hit so hard in the pocket that you start to look at the others for sale....

Dave... Adelaide (SA) replied:

Thanks for the replies everyone, checked it all out & everything looks the goods... Have put a deposit on it & as of Monday i will be driving a Prado...