To buy 100 series td, year 2000 $20K or Prado150R GX Td $40K Year 2010

100s for me as well.

The Prado will be a tight fit with 3 kids as well, whereas the 100s will have that little bit more room.


Cheers Kev

Good advice from MM ...compare like with like price wise and spend the $40K on a younger 100 series. A stronger more robust vehicle.
Also bear in mind the newer Prado would have a CRD diesel which, while more responsive engines, like all CRD are very suseptible to damage with dirty fuel. In terms of reliability abd trustworthyness I would go for a 100 series all day every day.

Cheers

Thanks Robin , i have been looking at a HZJ105 R , the consensus seems very clear in the replys , definitely a landcrusier over a prado , which really surprises me as the crusier is half the price, i'm just worried that the 2000 model is now 13 years old , mountain man earlier suggested spending more and getting a 2003/04 model landcrusier but would it really make that much difference with reliability ?? it's an extra $20K.
thanks John

Hi John

The two cars you have selected are quite different and its not easy to give valid advice.

If it was a saftey issue I would go with your cruiser.

If it was ruggedness with power not being a factor then the cruiser wins again.

Fuel economy is a win for Prado.

If it was interior space then cruiser again.

Reliability is a different issue and not what it first seems.

I remember on the occasion of the 1 millionth TV produced in Australia we did a massive reliability study
to determine what really counted - was it good design , better quality parts etc etc.

At the end of the day only 1 factor fundamentally determined the reliability of electronic devices
and that was heat dissapation.

As the designs were improved and the power consumption of a device went down so its reliability went up.


Back to cars - anything that has been on the road for 13 years has real potential reliability issues.
And anything just released has yet to be proven.

I don't question statements about that a 105 diesel engine can last 500k, it can !

But reliability doesn't end there.

18 months ago I had to make my own choice and brought a brand new petrol Patrol and reliability
was one of the biggest factors - I already owned a 2002 Patrol, but eveywhere you look hoses are getting old
fan belts are going , bearings and gears are getting worn , rubber seals are regressing , the steerings getting a little sloppy.

In actual fact the 2010 Patrol wasn't technically as good a car as the 2002 version but the sum of these little things meant
that it was a better prospect for one you goes to the remotest of places.

In effect I brought a 2000 year design that was made in 2010, every component was new had had its life in front of it.
As such it had all the ruggedness of a coil sprung live axle car with simple servicing practises and plenty of available field knowledge and experience out there surrounding it.

I paid for this in excessive fuel consumption - but it was a bargain I was glad to make as it meant no performance or reliability compromises.

P.S. There will be no real difference in the reliability of 2000 and 2003 100 series but there is a power difference.

yes the 5spd auto is better than the 4.
soo i think that 2004 on you should be looking at.

theres the response from drew.

if your chasing more power, custom turbos in perth are getting unreal torque and power from these engines, with no loss of reliability.

1300 should see you with a turbo that will haul ass, and even beat the 4.7 v8 landcruiser 100 series.


the prados arent built as strong as the landcruiser.
mate uses one up north as a stock and station agent, travelling round..
the roads are hard on the prado..
landcruiser eats it for breakfast.

also the prado engine isnt built like the 1HD FTE.
yanmah run the same engine but with over 1,000nm of torque in their marine range.

no issues what soo ever with the 1HD FTE.
prado has injector issues.. and thats just what i know.
and then some !!

I would also look at the 2004 Cruiser, its a vehicle you can keep that much longer and still be reasonably current and if later you decide to move to a large Tandem caravan will still be able to tow with ease. The Prado has an ATM limit for 2500, the Cruiser significantly more.

Peter