Thinking of buying a new one, what's the good and bad. Also where do you get a bench seat to fit them from, that bypasses the Dealers markup.
phillip.weston,
Feb 8, 4:13pm
what's bad is they are a 27 year old van being sold as brand new.
lazzo,
Feb 8, 4:54pm
They've been selling this model for donkeys years, very basic but very proven and reliable. Almost zero safety features though.
Cheap and cheerful so a fantastic workhorse on the cheap if that's all you need.
wrong2,
Feb 8, 4:55pm
safety features are only needed for crashers
fatman08,
Feb 8, 5:04pm
Thought there was a thread on the above some time past where there were numerous problems with one that had been purchased new!
johnf_456,
Feb 8, 5:08pm
Indeed, the best safety one can have is having good driver training.
franc123,
Feb 8, 5:11pm
Whaddaya mean zero safety features, they put a thicker front bumper on it in about 1997 didn't they, what else is needed!
stevo2,
Feb 8, 5:12pm
Indeed there was. It had an appetite for drinking oil and Mitzi NZ said it was within the allowable limits and would not do anything for the original poster
ladatrouble,
Feb 8, 5:22pm
That was the 4D56, the L300 is only available in petrol now. Still the 3rd most popular van sold new, although only in 2 digits.
phillip.weston,
Feb 8, 6:43pm
I think you would be better off buying a second hand Hiace, Ducato, Vito, Trafic etc for $30,000. Heck even find a ~5 year old L300 for half the price - other than some miles on the clock it's going to be exactly the same.
stevo2,
Feb 8, 8:31pm
True that, but a Brand New LWB L300 is only $25k. Thats bloody cheap.
westwyn,
Feb 8, 8:58pm
Cheap and cheerful, yes, but they're actually a pretty decent tradie van for under $30K, Mitsubishi run special deals on them from time to time and you may even do better than $25K including GST.
Plus- you get a 3-year warranty, it's brand-new, their resale actually isn't bad when you consider the low price new, and parts are straightforward since nothing much has changed.
Minus- a very elderly design (archaic, even) but why change a good, but simple, thing, if it works! No frills, poor crash ratings.
The seat part is a little harder to quantify- if you need belts, you're better off paying the money and getting Mitsy to install (work out a deal) since otherwise, you'll need to factor in the cost not only of the seat itself (the easy part) but the engineering and sign-off by a seatbelt installer and certifier- not so cheap. Otherwise, technically, your belts are illegal, can be failed for a WOF, and could be a liability when comes time to sell.
I think I'm right in saying these vans are made in Thailand!
Good luck!
supernova2,
Feb 8, 9:16pm
Surely if the van is still the same as the last 30yrs you just get a seat and belts etc from the wreckers and fit them.If its a fold up seat then belts not required IIRC.If its all OEM parts and no modificatiosn required as i understand it thats fine for WOF
n3d4sp3d,
Feb 9, 12:42am
i think from memory the l300 is covered by the 10 5 warrenty for the first owner, as for the seat try van extras that is who installs the seats for lease companys who by their vans from us, they may even handle cert as well as the vans are always certed when they roll off truck for PD
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