Buying my first 4wd - slight change of plans

Rick,

For courier work, and I'm assuming most of it is suburban, steer clear of a diesel. Courier work is all about making a quid and you'll get the cheapest dollar per km running a petrol powered vehicle on LPG.

For $15,000 I'd suggest going for one of the less popular utes as you'll get a younger, lower km vehicle. Avoid Hilux like the plague as they command a ridiculous price premium because they wear the Toyota badge. Nissan are a little cheaper, but I'd give them a wide berth as well.

Have a look at Tritons, Rodeos and Bravo/Courier. I went through the same process nearly two years ago and ended up with a Ford Courier.

Is it he best 4wd ute on the market? Probably not but it is a good serviceable ute, quite good off road and cheap as chipps to buy and run.

Very grunty (albeit a bit old tech) 4L V6.

Hope this helps.

Jim.

The Mazda/Couriers td seem to do heads at an early age so stay clear of those.
Cheers Pete

Just for alternate thinking, what about one of these new Chinese Great Walls, or even Tata or Ssanyong ?
I haven't checked pricing, so they may be out of your nominated price range, but if you got a reasonably priced new cheepie brand, and as long as the warranty covered a replacement vehicle for servicing or breakdown, the warranty may make it a worthwhile option, and a newer technology engine may give better economy than an older model "quality" vehicle negating a gas conversion.

Cheers
Ian