Cheap 4X4
Posted by: garyi on 15 December 2004
Hello all.
well a successful move back 'Saaaf' came with the added bonus of a new job.
The downside is from every direction my new job requires traversing single track roads, steep twisty slippery roads and avoiding pheasants and peasants.
Frankly the old Ford KA is starting to scare me a bit anything over 20mph and I am all over the place, the brakes are no good in these circumstances and even though all the tires are brand new, I do not feel in control of the vehicle. lets be honest they arn't great cars and on the back roads of Hampshire and Wiltshire are not good at all.
So I am going to sell it, its an R reg and hopefully because its in excellent nick might raise me about 1500-1800 quid.
I wish to use this money for a cheap 4x4 vehicle. Thats all the money I have to spend, so I am not worried by age etc but I don't really want to pull into work in an X reg green landy if you know what I mean.
Can any one recommend a decent vehicle with 4x4 or at least better off road handling thats going to be cheap, I don't know much about japanese vehicles and what have you, but preferably something smallish.
Cheers
Posted on: 17 December 2004 by BLT
The Lada Niva was a very effective off-road tool, but pretty crude on the road. There was even one which used to compete (very successfully) in rallies in the early 90s. I came across it competing (on Tarmac) at Millbrook in 1993, it led the 1600 class all day until the Nova that was just behind him bought 4 brand new slicks for the last two stages.
Posted on: 17 December 2004 by Steve Toy
quote:
Steven no doubt the speed monitors will have something to say but the M1 or A1M ran generally at the speed, so I went with the flow, simple really.
The aforementioned will be squeaking,
"That's no excuse. You were breaking the law. Speed kills etc." LOL.
www.autotrader.comRegards,
Steve.
Posted on: 18 December 2004 by NaimDropper
Toyota.
Reliable, easy to fix, parts-a-plenty, run forever.
Landrover was king until Toyota ate their lunch in the '70's. Sorry about that.
Landrovers are beautiful (in their own way) and well thought out in many ways but require too much duct tape, fluids and string to keep them running for my tastes. And a large hammer should not be part of the regular maintenance tool kit for an automobile in my book.
I've got nearly 500,000 miles shared between 3 Toyotas in my driveway, wouldn't consider anything else.
David
Posted on: 18 December 2004 by Rico
Nivas can certainly go places - I thought of buying one recently and two mates "in the know" - eg actively driving them on and off road - said "be prepared to be under/over/around them with a spanner all the time".
I loikes the landrover. however, given *any* chance I'd always take a landcruiser in preference. If we're not going off road, it don't really matter too much. The Mitsi shogun sounds like a decent recommendation.
Ditto, Steve's suggestion of a mondeo - why not add a set of wheels from the wreckers with snow tyres on? Come to think of it, how about a set of snow tyres on the Ka? Might give you the control you're looking for - although nothing near as much as 4x4 or AWD.
oh okay then, buy the landrover. Best driven with some former carbon-based lifeform tied to the bullbar for characteris extremis. Wear a flat cap and oilskin. Watch yer elbows on the door.
cheers!
Rico
Rico - SM/Mullet Audio
Posted on: 19 December 2004 by Deane F
For Landrover references just ask the 4WDers in Aussie. The ONLY make of 4WD that you can drive unmodified straight from the showroom into the desert (adding a winch and letting down the tires a bit, of course).
A relative of mine bought a Landrover Defender secondhand in Melbourne and only discovered that the snorkel was improperly connected when he drove into a "puddle" in the Simpson Desert (that came up to the window) and sucked water into one cylinder. He drove out of the Simpson on three cylinders.
When I was in Australia I considered a 4wd but I was advised that the maintenance costs are much higher than road cars so unless I was seriously considering offroading I should stick to a plain car. All the parts for 4WD vehicles are overbuilt/larger and therefore more expensive than road cars.
Deane
Posted on: 19 December 2004 by garyi
Thanks for the suggestions guys, I think I will be keeping an eye out for a Suzuki Vitaru, seems to be the sort of size I am after at the right price.
As I clearly stated at the beginning I am not after a landrover
Posted on: 19 December 2004 by Rico
quote:
The ONLY make of 4WD that you can drive unmodified straight from the showroom into the desert (adding a winch and letting down the tires a bit, of course).
Australia, right. Are you sure you're not talking Toyota Land Cruiser or Nissan Patrol?
Rico - SM/Mullet Audio
Posted on: 19 December 2004 by Deane F
Rico
One of my cousins in Australia bought a new Patrol for trans-continental expeditions (I suppose trips of that magnitude deserve to be called expeditions?) and the first thing he did was spend thousands on new shock absorbers. He could have purchased a Land Rover Defender and driven it unmodified but the Patrol was more suited to the wife and three kids and was far more nicely appointed and larger for a lot less money than a new Defender.
It was my other cousin that had the Defender that he drove out of the Simpson. He subsequently purchased another one new.
Deane
Posted on: 20 December 2004 by Rico
indeed! Driving interstate in Oz amounts to an expedition. Surely the new shocks on the Patrol was a choice thing (could the stock system have been *that* bad?), just like leaving behind wife & 3 had he taken a defender?
I wish I wasn't so lazy as to prefer driving from
within my vehicle rather than getting out to check out water/mud depth and hazards before navigating, or spending hours re-learning recovery techniques... - I might find myself drawn to a mud-wagen
Rico - SM/Mullet Audio
Posted on: 21 December 2004 by Deane F
My cousin intended the Patrol for trips into the deserts in WA and elsewhere so for him the shocks were more necessity than choice. I dare say that replacing the shocks doesn't do much for a new car warranty but then neither would a trip into the empty interior of Aussie.
Yeah, my cousin did say that once he drove into the "puddle" he realised that it stretched out a long way either side of the track and looked like the "river" variety of "puddle".
Deane
Posted on: 08 January 2005 by Rico
Hey Garyi, did you end up getting some new wheels?
happy new year
Rico - SM/Mullet Audio
Posted on: 08 January 2005 by garyi
Thought it would be best to wait until round now to sell my KA.
I could have done with it today, the road I use was totally strewn with fallen trees, twigs and dead things, it was a nightmare.
All that to get to work which had no electric but 80 kids that wanted food!
Posted on: 09 January 2005 by Rico
No leccy? Slice one of the 80 up thinly, feed it to the other 79-odd. Job done - mwah hah hahh Or you could have fed them road kill?
Macarbe Rico.
ah well - good luck on selling the Ka. Looking forward to hearing what you sort out in its place.
Posted on: 13 January 2005 by Jonathan Gorse
We bought my wife a secondhand Daihatsu Sportrak - 4wd with seperate low ratio gearbox, 4 seats, 30mpg, we've had it 6 years and it has been superbly reliable. Cheap as chips too! It looks pretty funky. We had originally intended to get her a Vitara after we hired one on holiday but one of the dealers we went to had a Vitara parked next door to a Daihatsu Sportrak - no context.
A pal of mine bought a Sportrak after seeing ours and used his offroad and reckons that whilst it was not up to Land Rover standards it was pretty darned good.
Hope this helps - they also made a bigger 4x4 called the Daihatsu Fortrak - that is apparently popular with farmers and is bigger and supposedly even better off road.
Jonathan
PS the mechanic we use to service our cars bought a Sportrak for his wife too after falling in love with ours when we took it in for a service.
