What to buy, 20k range

[[FL0SSIN]]

So the inevitable has happened and I've bought a block of land and a house is following shortly, this means I have to sell the love of my life (mk7 gti) and downgrade to a more affordable vehicle, the cheaper the better but that said I don't want an old heap of junk that's gonna cause me headaches ever weekend, I'm looking at spending around 20 grand, maybe a little bit more if the right vehicle comes along... So, what do you guys recommend? I've been looking at tritons and d40's and the odd patrol as well but I know they all have their pros/cons so would like to hear from those in the know, only real thing I want is that it's auto, don't want a manual, probably not gonna be used for towing and will spend average amount of time off road, k go

[n1ghth4wk]

A couple of the guys here are selling R32 GT-Rs around the 20k range ;)

[Damo 69]

$10k basic reliable falcon or commo

$10k toy

[[FL0SSIN]]

I posted this in the 4x4 section for a reason haha... Still have a Harley for the time being as well so that'll be my fun for now :/

[Damo 69]

haha sorry didn't see that

[Passage GT]

D40's come with a pretty good auto, 5 speed, I got one as a loaner once and i was quite impressed with it, my personal one was a 6 speed manual.
depends on what you're going to use it for, I was considering selling the y62 and buying a cheaper 4x4 recently, i'd pretty much decided on an early GU TI auto with factory locker etc and then looking into a low boost turbo setup on the tb45, very capable 4x4 and would drive pretty good on and off road too. Yes it would be thirsty but i wouldn't be using it as a daily.

[Marti]

d40 navara or GU TD42

[Brett_J]

Done
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/perth-airport/cars-vans-utes/02-td42-t-gu-patrol-4-2-litre-factory-turbo-diesel-engine/1085038994

[[FL0SSIN]]

^its sold already :/ anything i should be looking out for with d40's? a few have come up in my price range with a few good bits already fitted like arb/xrox bars, arb canopy, at tyres etc... people seem to bitch about the d40's for some reason though?

[Joe]

GU TD42

He said 20k, not 60k.

[Steppo_GT]

Done
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/perth-airport/cars-vans-utes/02-td42-t-gu-patrol-4-2-litre-factory-turbo-diesel-engine/1085038994

coil tower ripped off chassis....

[huggy_b]

;1262956']^its sold already :/ anything i should be looking out for with d40's? a few have come up in my price range with a few good bits already fitted like arb/xrox bars, arb canopy, at tyres etc... people seem to bitch about the d40's for some reason though?

They had a recall to fix up the paper mache chassis, personally for that reason alone I would never buy one.

[Sensible]

A mate got airborne in his modified D40 in Lancelin landed quite heavy on the front wheels car was a write off with a twisted chassis no body damage noticeable and the car still drive out of the area

[Passage GT]

They had a recall to fix up the paper mache chassis, personally for that reason alone I would never buy one.

wtf? that's news to me...

ok no dual cab on the market can match the chassis strength of an old patrol or cruiser... they will all bend with misuse, google any of them and you'll see pics of them.
early ones had a dual mass flywheel in the manuals (which most dual cabs do) which can cause issues with heavy off road use and towing, though there are conventional clutch kits to replace them and the series 6 onwards had a single mass standard, early ones had timing chain issues which were later fixed, interior plastics can be a bit rough... otherwise the yd25 is reliable and grunty, none of the issues that the patrols zd30 had.
Auto is the go for regular towing use, i had a 2012 ST from new, had the high output engine and 6 speed manual, once i'd run it in and done 25,000km + it got insane good on fuel, i'd regularly see mid 6's around town and mid 8's on the highway (they're a brick) and always had more than enough power for overtaking road trains etc.
jump on the asia navara forums and do some research, heaps of useful info on there.

[Fozzy]

Ive had my PK ranger for 150k kms and abused the fuck out of it plenty in that time (water over the bonnet, thick mud, corrugations, towing a camper, gibb river/tanami/gunbarrel etc) and ive had minimal trouble with it and the things that have broken have been due to lack of servicing (uni joint) and laziness alternator full of mud)

Great tourer not great for hardcore offroading like rockcrawling etc.. Nice and comfy Autos can tend to be a bit heavy on fuel but it could be user initiated reading around the forums.

[KAL SPL]

wtf? that's news to me...

ok no dual cab on the market can match the chassis strength of an old patrol or cruiser... they will all bend with misuse, google any of them and you'll see pics of them.
early ones had a dual mass flywheel in the manuals (which most dual cabs do) which can cause issues with heavy off road use and towing, though there are conventional clutch kits to replace them and the series 6 onwards had a single mass standard, early ones had timing chain issues which were later fixed, interior plastics can be a bit rough... otherwise the yd25 is reliable and grunty, none of the issues that the patrols zd30 had.
Auto is the go for regular towing use, i had a 2012 ST from new, had the high output engine and 6 speed manual, once i'd run it in and done 25,000km + it got insane good on fuel, i'd regularly see mid 6's around town and mid 8's on the highway (they're a brick) and always had more than enough power for overtaking road trains etc.
jump on the asia navara forums and do some research, heaps of useful info on there.

https://www.superiorengineering.com.au/image/webimages/navara_broken1.jpg
Wasn't this car but we fixed one at work same problem , it's very common.

[Chivalry]

Not just the D40 Navara that comes up in bent chassis photos. D22s, Tritons, Rangers, Hiluxs etc etc. All with a offroad trailer, huge toolboxes or camper on the back though but chances are it's more often caused by people not paying attention to the maximum GVM/GCM and abusing the shit out of them while they are at or over maximum ratings. No new Japanese 4WD ute will have a chassis as strong as a proper 4WD (new or old). And no old Japanese 4WD will have a chassis as strong as a similar vintage Land Rover.

The non-photoshopped version of the D40 Kal posted shows what caused the problem.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b229/Barry_Mundi/navara1.jpg

I doubt chassis strength is going to make a difference if you only want a modern 4WD. What's your definition of 'old heap of junk'? Because there is a 91 GQ 4.2 Turbo auto for $6500 on Gumtree, needs a injector pump. http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/west-busselton/cars-vans-utes/nissan-gq-patrol-4-2l-turbo-diesel-/1085612955

Spend $10k, have $10k left to put towards house, apparently Patrols never break down so you'll be right.

[Fozzy]

Most of the chassis failures I've seen across the brands are because of overloading and airbags installed.. I've towed two tone of camper around with mine through some pretty shitty spots and it's still straight.. Like anything look after your gear and drive within its limits and be happy.

[Passage GT]

Two posts above are spot on, google any dual cab and bent chassis and you'll find pics and articles, they all do and and for the same reasons.. first one i ever saw was several years ago, Triton towing a camper... seen hilux's, nav's bt50, ranger etc.

[huggy_b]

I agree that people trying to tow the advertised 3T and loading 700kg of shit into their tray have no idea that the load being carried significantly decreases your towing capacity (or that the driver and/or passenger(s) weight are consider part of the vehicles load rating) - I'm not disputing that has caused many of these dual cabs of all makes to have chassis bend issues. But that's an error of judgement by a person, not a design fault by a manufacturer - the D40 Navara did though (particularly with their OEM towbar) and they recalled like 30 or 40,000 cars to fix the problem, but only after many reported cases and pressure was bought to bear - for months they blamed over-loading by the owner until sheer weight of numbers caused them to recant and do a recall.

[[FL0SSIN]]

so theres no real issues with the d40's besides the people operating it seems? what about tritions? anything i should be wary of with them? besides the fact that there pretty damn ugly haha

[mys1]

Why a Dual cab? If you want a prettier Triton - go for a challenger. Same underneath essentially.

[The_Senator]

Currently have a D40 as my second / daily car...

Aside from an Electrical Gremlin that nearly drove me to burn it - it's been a good car.. 07-10 SPAIN BUILT (VSK Vechicle ID) had an issue with timing chains failing after the 100K mark (even though Nissan says fail rate too low to require a recall). So if you're going this route, plan to swap the Timing Chain (about 2K to do)...

Quirky problems that are well documented and easy to fix like Suction Control Valve on the back of the pump need replacing, Boost Control Solenoids.. Neutral Position Switch on the manuals... and if you get an '07 - '10 AUTO then you need to be aware they have a DPF and by that age are ready to be replaced (4k!) / removed ($400)..

They go great on the beach,Off-Road, and are a comfortable daily drive.. Plenty of bits available for them.. Mines done just on 230K now (I put in a new timing chain).. No real complaints now...

[ENYXR]

Didn't want to create a whole new thread

Looking at getting back into a 4x4 wagon and have found an 07 3.0 Patrol with 220kms which fits my current budget, will definitely avoid it if it doesn't have service history but how long can these be expected to last now? See plenty of examples on Carsales/Gumtree with high 200s.