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Hi Barney, Yes correct, My land rover cost me 19K for 2004 model, it then cost me 15k to get it to where it is now. So that is 34k. Jeep is similar in that they are not strong out of the factory, so some after factory work is required. If you ask any Jeep owner though they love them, same with us Land Rover nuts, you either love them or you dont. So it is up to choice again. Having said all this and having a son own 3 patrols (1 GQ petrol, 1 GU SW Diesel and one GU UtE Diesel) they are indestructable. Regards Dave.

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Hi Barney,

I have owned petrol and diesel Gq's I have owned Petrol and diesel GU's, I have owned both petrol and diesel 80 series and 100 series.

I have owned Hiluxes, Pajeros, Jeep wrangler TJ and JK, so have spent a fair bit of time with each make.

Ask yourself  the question, what will the truck be used for most of the time and what sort of tracks do you want to drive.

If all you want to do is tow a camper and do high country and camping etc you cant go past a diesel Pajero. They are reliable, comfortable and also very economical.

I have taken my Pajero into some pretty good places, If you place your wheels in the right location no issues. I have even driven a Pajero on 32" muds up Ellis track.

Patrols and cruisers are always gonna wins hands down off road, however unless you drive offroad everyday do you really need such a big car that doesnt behave as well as the medium ones on the road. The fourby you want to buy, is it going to be a daily as well??? Patrol or a cruiser driven daily can be a pain in the butt if you spend a heap of time in traffic.

go and test drive a few of these cars you have mentioned, you will make up your mind very quickly on the direction. If driven daily my vote would be on Pajero, they are a really good car, and cheap enough to buy. failing that consider a TD5 Disco, also a nice car to drive but can be hit and miss in reliability .

Good luck

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Hey Barney,

 It is down to 2 vehicles mate.

Patrol Or Cruiser really.

if your thinking GQ or 80 / 100 series then Patrol will be a cheaper buy but the cruiser will have that little bit more grunt which is a bonus with a trailer in tow.

Personally I would go for a GU that is already set up to suit what you want to buy for it. They are going very cheap and for the price you will get a nice one. Personally I would look for a 1 owner OR a 2nd owner vehicle. That reduces the chance of it being neglected.

Jeeps, well from mechanical expierence I would not go down that path mate (apoligies to those who have one).

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Hey Barney!!!

Looks like the boys have pretty much summed it up, certainly lot's to choose from.

The only other thing i'd weigh into, and this is only my preference choice is if towing relatively heavy trailer like campers or eventually a caravan, my choice is to stick to 4x4 wagons instead of the dual cab utes.  i now utes are generally cheaper to buy and run in many cases, but IMO they don't make good towers on heavy trailers, hence the many cases of chassis breakages etc,etc.  Wagons usually have a stonger rear end body which binds the whole rear chassis together and usually have greater towing capacity.  Just something else to condsider when making your purchase.

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Heh Barney

Yep, there a lots and lots of people who are convinced by the big marketing spend that Jeep are doing in the big cities.  But thats for the Urban Cowboys, go to any cattle station and say the word Jeep and be preapred to whatch a grown man pee his pants in laughter.

If you jsut wnat a suburban drive car with a rare slight off road track, then sure Jeep might do the Job, but a Pejero would be better.  If you get more serious in the bush, stick to a GU for reliability and value for money.

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RE your post 

what's the main issue with the prado that you see? Plenty in the price range. 

I think stick to Diesel for economy,  my brother had an older one and said for the dollars he paid it was great, and my nephew is delighted with his current late model deisel, but again, for a very samll outlay.  So like any used car buy,. you need to be more concerned with how it has been treated and serviced thern the absolute KMs on the clock.  My other Nephew bought a 78 series 8 years old with 100k and thought he got a bargain at $18k until he realised that the gearbox and clutch were stuffed and it had clearly been drowned,  yet I bought my one owner 2004 GU 4.2 Patrol with over 300k but serviced religously every 5000km from new  and it ain't missed abeat in 3 years and done some tough stuff under my ownership.  So its not about the KMs on the clock, its about the serving and usage history thats the key.  I think someone mentioned the point earlier, that often your better to get a factory standard one, as once they have been worked over with mods then they are more likely to have been worked over in driving as well !!

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Yep what a can of worms!! Simple really

1 if you want a truck to smash in the bush Patrol strongest you can get without dought BUT IMO ONLY crap engin for towing, bonnet is to big so crap vision when wheeling in the hard stuff and auto is the worst when engine breaking, the rear chassis spring mounts break but a easy fix as its a common issue with fully loaded rigs and not that flash to drive.

2 Toyota over priced for purchase and the most expensive for parts but the most reliabe, good in the bush but not that strong in the diff and gearbox department, 5th gear CAN NOT be used when towing or it breaks

3 Mitsamissing Paj, a great under rated unit but certainly some short commings, do some vehicle specific searches on the net

4 Jeep those who own them love them but admit they do cost Just Empty Every Pocket but man they go anywhere with a few mods, those who bag them the most have definately nearly always never owned one and go by horror stories heard from a mate who was talking to his neighbour whos brother in law had one...

5 And my favouite Land Rover, best engineered and designed BUT worst in build quality hence the bad rap but often its the same as Jeep, never had 1 but a mate.....

I have done well over 300,000km in the Disco's we have owned and never broken down other than 1 battery and 1 water pump and 2 other occassions that where both a direct result of faulty workmanship. Also the cheapest to buy second hand so the little extra in servicing is no big deal, I do 90% of my own and its really cheap and parts are dirt cheap from the UK.

My advise drive all of them and at least 2 of each make to get a feel of what suits you best, because they all go places and all have there weak points

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I'm not getting involved in the subject of which car is better but just don't forget to look at service/ maintenance/ parts cost. No matter what you buy it will need to be serviced and if you plan on doing frequent low range work parts will break or need to be replaced prematurely. Also if you plan on doing more remote trips you need to think about the availability of parts. It might not seem like a big deal but if you plan to keep the car for a while the costs can add up!

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Hi Barney,

Wow - from the volume of responses – and the really great suggestions – seems you have indeed opened a can of worms! GOOD WORK. Always good to have healthy debate.

I am going to throw in another option. But before I do – it does seem most of the guys reckon the Cruiser or Patrol is the way to go. The volume of sales in Cruisers and the amount of great quality older ones on the road makes a great and compelling argument. Similar for GU Patrols. 

The one challenge in every 4wd is the difference between off road and on road behavior and performance. And to get improved performance in either – what do you need to do (and spend) to change. I’ll admit a big bias – I prefer minimal modification.

My Land Rover County and then Defender were both brilliant good off road with no mods (ok – the County LOVED petrol). But to get to that off road experience – and tracvel on the road - they were hell on the road. I tried better springs, shockers and seats on the Defender – marginal improvement on road. But in short – a Defender is not a great option on the road.

My current Unlimited Wrangler Sport with Mopar Lift Kit and shocks is barely OK on road – but only just (I have had no reliability issues – touch wood). The 3.6 pentastar is supposedly the best engine – and the manual tranny is pretty solid – but you won’t get one of those for your budget. Off road - well they are almost as good as the Defender - but diff locks and full time 4 x 4 on Defender does see the Landy wiln out. I’ve had two Grand Cherokee – the first the old 6 – never missed a beat (but getting long in the teeth). The newer V8 Grand Cherokee had the common auto gearbox knock – never got it sorted. Those will be in price range – but need too much modification to be a good off road option.

My L322 Range Rover is brilliant on road – but in the 13 years I’ve had it – I would not dream of taking off road as the $ to fix is just not great. It is also one of the most complex electronic vehicles in the market place – all those technology items add at least one module and circuitry. My mates at Ford said the L322 BMW engine vehicles had almost 30. I had a lot of issues – with nearly a total of 12 months off the road under warranty. In short – watch ANYTHING with complex electronics that when you look have any issues electrically. It’ll cost you a lot to fix!. My wife now drives the Rangey - and loves it. But its just not something anyone who cares about a car would take off road (even though its supposedly an awesome off road experience). And never dent one (ouch!)

My NH Pajero (long gone) was excellent on road - and a competent off road option (again like everything mentioned - minimal mods). 

The GQ Patrol was awesome off road – but it was pretty rough on road. And the Pathfinder – great on road but would have required significant mods to get it into a great off roader.

If you read Mr 4x4 (and yes I agree he’s often just selling everything) there is an article on best value “cushy” 4wd’s. I don’t agree on his recommendation on the Range Rover (due to the electronics issues - unless sorted - as well as the cost to fix dents in that bloody soft aluminium). But he was right the BMW V8 is bullet proof - and the 5 speed auto (used by BMW but them Holden - and strong as a rock).

So – the recommendation?

I’d look seriously at the LR3 – Discovery. There are quite a few now for sub $20k – and you have had some good suggestions from DISCO on getting parts from UK (grab the UK Land Rover Owners Magazine – you’ll get contacts for Rimmer Bros, Craddock & Paddock who all send a lot of stuff to Aussie). The newest engines since the Tata ownership aren’t as good as some of the Ford and earlier BMW diesels. The on road manners are excellent (sorry Cruiser & Patrol owners – but for the same year – the Disco is a better on-road option). And off road with little mods – they are a formidable performer. Maybe just whack on a set of good tyres – they are a damn good option.

As with any car – the more complex electronics – the more can go wrong. Disco’s do have pretty complex electrics. So with a Disco 3 - check every electric function in every permutation and combination – every thing. Fixing electrics are really tough. And DON’T DENT THE ALUMINIUM BODY – it’ll cost you. If your in Melbourne – get RITTERS to do a pre-purchase check. But once a Land Rover is sorted – they are staggering reliable.

Whatever your choice – I hope you have a great time enjoying your new 4WD with your family.

And I feel for you having to sell the SSV Ute – that is just damn sad. No way I’d get rid of my SL55! 

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And just to throw a few more in the mix, pre 06 hilux (3l td) or a jackaroo (don't know about what problems they have but have seen a few on the tracks and are more than capable, even had one out drive me). Both are in your price range, can't speak for the jackaroo but the older hilux a are good cars

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