Why are there so many Hilux Surfs for sale?

60 series tojo would be alright they were largly responsible for toyotas popularity and are smaller and lighter than the current crop of huge overweight offerings. They are getting a bit long in the tooth now so a thorough pre purchase inspection would be advised. As for fuel try the sahara with the diesal 12ht turbo as it is a great motor. A sahara would fit into your budget and would have the advantage of making it easy to find a good low k vehicle that hasnt been offroad as these were the first of the "toorak tractors"

Sparkie,
Most surfs (and other grey imports) have had between 200 and 300k wound off the speedo and virtually all of them crack the head between the valves in every cylinder. My mechanic gets all of the surfs sent to him from the local Toyota dealer who won't fix them, and he now won't work on them either.
My father in law has one he had to put a new head, turbo, pump, injectors and the bastard still overheats on along run without towing and the speedo still only says 90k. He has had it 2 years and hates it but can't afford to get rid of it . He paid 20 k for it but to trade it is worth 5k.
I will be in Bundy in a few weeks if you want to look at a good landcruiser 62 series sahara. 100lt LPG, 90 lt petrol 1 oil leak but thats all all sahara extras (fridge/icemaker, dual air, electric windows, sunroof etc) only 357000k bullbar towbar, lights, new susp near new tyres, excellent cond. on lpg I get 500km approx to the tank and only cost $35 to fill in Blue mts Nsw.Time to trade up to an 80series. let me know if your'e interested.
Dave.

G'day Mate

If you have your heart set on a surf i would be doing some seroius research cause even though surfs are a grey import there are spare parts dealers that specialize in grey imports cars and 4wd and just see how hard parts are to get for a surf.
i would stay away from they
But every car has its bad points

If you are doing alot of towing maybe look at a 80 series landcruiser or 3.0 hilux they will tow a camper trailer very comfortably cause if you buy some under powered it will cost you more in fuel

All The Best

CHUBBS

Jeep!

Sparkie,
I currently own a 93 2.4 t/d smurf mobile. i have done a fair bit of work to it (just the usual suspects) to get it ready for offroad use. A s you mnight or might not have noticed the standard surf suspension is serioulsy not up to the drill. i had a 40mm sag in the ass end. a quick tirp to ARB in darwin and a new set of OME's all round fixed that. another problem is fuel ecconomy. out of the standard tank i was only getting aprox 430km out of 70 ltrs (oook that might have somthing to do with i went from owning a v6 ute yo the surf) so another trip to ARB and now i got 200 ltrs.
OOOOOOOkkkkkkkk...........now mecanical stuff: (problems i have had)

Cracked pedal assembly
Master cyclinder / slave cylinder and clutch
Fly wheel destroying itself and in the process taking out my new clutch ( more on that to follow)
new radiator
And now ive got at least 2 oil leaks comming from around my turbo
oh yeah and how could i for get my idler and pitman arm

Ok back to the fly wheel. the fly wheel on most (?) surf has spring in the guts of it. when these let go its pretty spectacular to see what is left in the bottom of the bell housing (read a handful of crap) that little lesson cost my $1900 in parts and labour

On the possitve side
ive kept up with 80's/100's St/Dx pajeros and the like on just about everything around the nowra area where i live. the only thing that has sotpped me usually are the lack of a locker. the indi front end dosnt lend itself to wheel travel but after scaring the hell out of myself once or twice i have learnt the point at wich the wheels will come off the ground .

The 2.4 is an Ok engine provided you dont want to go tear assing up any hills bigger than a speed bump and i have no dramas towing my dads ski boat (1200 kg on the trailer). speaking from experience i would stay away from them but it is my first truck and if nothing else i have learnt a hell of a lot about working on diesls from it . But i have to be totally honest with you mate, as soon as i get the money im jumping the fence for either a 100's or a patrol

If you want anymore info mate e-mail me at lee.hunt2@defence.gov.au

Have agood one

Rexy

Hi Sparkie,Ive had a surf in NZ for a few years it was a import,It went ok,But i traded up to a gq patrol(the family got bigger) The man you want to talk to is Jeff WA he has a 3lt surf ,which goes like a cut cat. We went for a drive in the hills around Perth.it seems to have plenty of power and is will appointed inside,Compared to my school bus (4.2 efi gq patrol) I think if you find one get it checked out and go for it.
regards uppy

$20K - have a look at jackaroos , heaps in your price range, many well looked after. Fantastic all rounder. (yes i am biased :-) )

This is my second Surf - I had a 95 model and it was great but I decided to upgrade just as the import market was closing with the Surfs. It is funny though I am presently deciding to sell the Surf as I will be renovating the house - but looking around at what other vehicles are out there with equivalent specs I am having second thoughts. My thing has all the bells and whistles and has the same motor and chassis/suspension as the Prado. If I am to replace it I would have to purchase a Prado Grande and I would be looking at around $45+K I believe - the Surfs are good value for money.
Parts I have had no problems with parts - I have had no reliability problems except for a leaking rear axle seal - it was a hilux part. There are a number of web sites that focus and Surfs and these forums are great as they can provide the correct part numbers etc for these vehicles - Toyota dealers quite often don't want to know about them and cannot look up the parts as they do not have the correct part CD's (some do though).
Insurance is an issue !
But the 3L diesel Surf - you should be able to buy privately a good 95 model for $17K with around 100 000 on the clock.
When I was in the Kimberley a mechanic offerred to buy my vehicle at Derby - he said the locals up here love them as they are cheap and can hack the roads - he also said sourcing the parts were not problem as long as you knew the part numbers (he had the correct CD's).

For $20k there are a lot of options. Surf is one. I had 20k to spend, and I wanted a low Km Diesel. Jackeroo's that were around that price were in very bad shape and still a little high on the k's. Tojo's, bloody hell they were all 200,000 or more on the k's.
Got my 3.0l Surf (it's the way to go if you got that kind of money, don't stuff around with the tired old 2.4's) and it's awsome. Very easy to work on, goes excellent. These people who have never owned a surf who insist on bagging them out were the reason I didn't by one 4 years ago, instead I went for a different 4by and then ended up having to loose money and trade up to a surf anyway as I needed a bigger car for the family. So yes I'm a little bitter about these people who go "ARRRGH IMPORT, STAY AWAY, DON'T TOUCH IT, BLAH BLAH BLAH". go row your own boats guys, comment on fact not "I had a mate, uncle, aunty' ex roomates second son's brother in law who had one and all the prolems blah blah blah."
If you want a surf, go to this site: Toyota Surf Owners Association and talk to them, they will actually give you information you can use. Like any 4by, get it checked out. Don't belive what the person to you is saying without it on paper.
Good luck in your purchase!

For sure sparkie, Surf's generally have a lot better seats in them than the oz models, I'm 6'3" and 105kg and am more than comfertable in the front, however you are correct my wife has sat in the back on a few trips when Big Benny (a mate of mine) has come along (his name says it all, hey uppy!) ;-) and she is cosy. I've got a 6 year old and another on the way, so the ol' surf will be fine for another 7 years or so as the little bloke doesn't even touch his feet on the floor yet! ;-) But yeah, in the back it's almost just a glorifed dual cab lux as far as leg room goes. Plenty of space in the cargo area though, and I've got a roof rack basket on mine too.

Sparkie, I've recenty been in your situation and am pleased to be out of it. I had a similar budget, similar kid situation and also have a camper trailer. I had a look around at the market and decided that either the surf, forerunner, paj or jack would have been just the right size. I however wanted a diesel (preferably turbo) which pretty much ruled out the forerunner. I had a look at some surfs but like you, was worried by negative comments about parts etc. I also wondered whether the fact that surfs are no longer imported would soon start to have a negative effect on price. In terms of driveability (and probably reliability) though, I'd have a surf.

So we decided to stick with paj or jack in a td. Pretty rare over here in WA, not sure about over there. Anyway, one popped up all of a sudden so grabbed it. 94 NJ Paj Turbo Diesel GLS, 170km for $16k. Got all the extras we wanted and is spotless, never been off the bitumen etc. (well it has now!) And I saved some $$$ - we were prepared to go to around $25k.

By the way, I was told that the imported vehicles (surfs) have a lower back seat than the aussie models. Not sure if it's true, and not sure whether it bothers you, but the kids may appreciate the better visibility of the aussie models?

I guess patience is the key. Good luck...rather you than me!

Grant

Sparkie, is this going to be a 'second' vehicle? If so and it is not going to be used to get the groceries, I would go for the larger vehicle & preferably diesel. Yes they are a bit heavier & not as nimble but after a period of time with a smaller 4x4 you will probably end up 'trading -up' anyway (especially if towing a boat). There are still some nice 80's around even if they are getting a bit old. They will be in your price range and most will already have a few extras.