Looking to buy a 4x4 in (or around) Cairns in the next week

Cameronqj,

Have you tried Carsales.com.au? Brace yourself for a few "we need more information" comments.

Skull

hi
The further north the more expensive and less choice u will find ,typically.
Considered hiring one ?
Remember unless its done under 80,000kms at least a $1500 servicing and some minor repairs will always be needed .
If buying a vehicle for a holiday reliability would be important .
All fliuds changed
all wheel bearings service regrease
all fan belts
cooling system flush ,pressure test
Trans mission flush
brakes tires and exhaust as needed
suspension check
Wheel alignment
tappet adjust
Full check over
At least have the vehicle checked at a RACQ [motoring body] major inspection

happy travels

If you are looking for something with locking diffs and sliders then chances are it will have had a hard time. If you intend looking for the roughest conditions you can find then you will need them. If you want to tour around and see the country then you will be able to see about 95% of it in a standard car. That includes countless mountain and central desert tracks.

Aswell as Carsales and Gumtree, have a look on LCOOL forum which will have Landcruisers for sale....you'll need to join to view it. Patrol 4X4 forum also probably worth a look at I'd assume, but I've not been on it myself.

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I personally wouldnt set off on a 4wd trip without having owned the vehicle for some time, it can only end in tears. No one sells a vehicle because its spot on. And there are some wild tracks up here. Perhaps reconsider?

Buying a well kitted vehicle that is in good order sufficient that it can be taken on “tour” immediately, especially one in the price range you are looking at ($10-15K) will be a tall order. I suspect vehicles meeting that criteria don’t last long and will be the reason you are not seeing much that fits that bill…

Something to keep in mind is that many vehicles fitting this type of description are on the back-end of their usefulness, unless fully overhauled. Especially a 4WD vehicle.

And as acknowledged by yourself, vehicles fitting this description don’t usually get advertised, but sell by word of mouth, so the difficulty you will face is sourcing a suitable (read good) one in the time-frame you have set yourself.

Putting that aside, something to consider is whether you have the resources and knowledge to rectify problems on the road. Taking a relatively older model vehicle into more remote areas without first putting it through a rigourous check and a couple of “shake-down” runs has the potential for unforeseen problems to arise.

But perhaps that is just the cautious side in me surfacing…

You haven’t indicated specifics on where you intend to travel and for how long. Maybe you don’t actually need the vehicle you describe and that a more standard style of vehicle may fit your purpose and need. It would certainly open up a larger range of vehicles to choose from

Just thinking out aloud here, but good luck on your search and travels!

Cheers, Baz – The Landy

I certainly appreciate the words of caution here. I will have my family with me, so of course safety is paramount. My mechanical know how is realistically on the low end of the spectrum, nor will we realistically have a bin of parts and tools along with us.

I think our know-how coupled with comfort level will leave us to the following identified kind of areas/tracks: Fraser Island, Stradbroke Island, Noosa Heads Northshore to Sunshine Coast, Moreton Island...places that from my general research mean I'm not going to be the only person out there. In general we prefer to 'never go alone'. Being on a new continent, we'll be forced to leave solo, but I don't expect we'll be anywhere solo.

Thoughts on the above itinerary? Would something like a newer Mits Challenger with decent muddies be a-ok?

Unless you intend to do the CREB track or the OTT , mud tyres and lockers would be unnecessary on any of the islands and the tyres would be a hinderance as the islands are completely sand.
My recommendation would be to approach one of the 4wd specialist used yards in Brisbane with a view to a repurchase agreement.
Ther is a well known one named FWD in Brisbane.
Any stock 4wd wagon can do the islands easily . I used to do them in a VW type 3!
A set of Maxtrax and snatch strap should be all the recovery gear required .
Regards Philip A

Look the simplest way would be to go into carsales.com.au and use the filters to isolate the search to Brisbane or cairns and the price range etc.

Carsales is the biggest new and used car search engine and listing in Australia.

Regards Philip A