Upgrading our 4x4

Buy it.

I have made an appointment to be at the dealer at 8.00a.m tomorrow and take it for a test drive. Its done 56,000 give or take few hundred. Has full service history. If it turns out be 100% OK will try and screw the dealer down a thousand bucks or more if possible, to compensate for the fact that it probably needs new tyres. And if he accepts my offer then will sign the papers there and then.

I am a retired mechanic - and still do my own maintenance and servicing of my families three vehicles - as much as I hate it, and would sooner get someone else to do the work, I cant find anyone who is trustworthy, and living here in Perth, I know quite a few people who have bought their Patrols from this dealer and all have been happy, BUT- and thats the $64,000 question. Lets have a look at it in the morning, and I`ll check that all the doors and panels line up correctly, check the service history, and see what sort of warranty they give. Get it up on the hoist and see if there are any signs of abuse. My bones creak and I`m not as agile as I used to be, but if I can still maintain it for a few more years then thats fine by me. I know it will take me longer to service , but thats the beauty of being retired - take my time , there is always tomorrow. I`m mainly interested in finding out what their weakness`s are - if any.

Yes this is a turbo diesel with intercooler. From a number of phone calls I put out to the people I know who have them, they swear by them and some claim diesel consuption of around 11- 15 litres /100 Km on the open road at 1oo - 110 Kmh. I realise that towing is going to increase the fuel consumption, but I have factored that into the equation. Its going to be a whole new learning curve frmo having driven petrol powered vehicles all my life, and going to diesel is a whole new ball game. We shall find out in the morning.

Hi Harry,
From what you have described, it sounds like a very good buy. They are a good solid four wheel drive and will get you where ever you want to go. With that mileage, the motor would only just be run in.

All the Best

Stephen

Gday V6Runner, you will probably thank yourself after the purchase of the 4.2 GU- they have been holding their value very well. As rare as anything to buy. We purchased an O6 GU ST low KMs a few weeks ago. Our third patrol in 11 years (1 x 4.5 Litre GU, 1 x 3.0 td GU grenade (2002) and now 4.2 TDI GU).

I should have purchased a 4.2 td to begin with back in 1998 and we would probably still have it.

It was difficult to find one that had no offroad history, or find one that wasn't sold before we got to see it. There are a few in Perth (is that where you are purchasing?) - DON'T sign or pay for anything until you have all the details, if its from the MV dealership on Canning HWY...

All the best.

Hi to all of you for your messages of support. The vehicle is not from the MV dealershiip on the Canning Highway but over in Canningvale. I had a damn good look at it and went through the service history with a fine tooh comb. Found out who the previous owner was, contacted him, and as it was on a company lease for 36 months or 60,000 Km it had reached its 36 months plus an extra three. Not been off road as such and has never been abused. Towed a caravan for touring purposes and he has bought something smaller, as now its him and his wife, and they dont need such a large vehicle. So after an hour going over everything including a full insepction of everything underneath down to how much was left on the disc pads - only to fnd the pads were recently replaced. Gave it a test ride for 40 minutes and wrote out the cheque, signed the papers adn take delivery Thursday any time after 10.00 am . Got them to knock $1200 off the asking price - that will cover the four new tyres and am now looking forward to bringing the vehicle home on Thursday.

So many thanks to all of you who have been so kind as to give me an honset answer to my question. All the best to you all.