Must be 4x4 reliable/road worthy around the 2k mark, whats the best bet, a swb rav 4?
brouser3,
Aug 7, 6:46pm
Road worthy 4 X 4 around $2K - good luck in finding something that you won't be spending quite a few $'s on when the next wof is due.
franc123,
Aug 7, 7:43pm
Be very careful buying any 4WD/AWD for that money, anyone trying to offload one that cheap is doing so because they know expenses are coming up. 4cyl petrol Vitaras/Escudos and RAV4's are certainly amongst the safer options, but they still need thorough going over. If you arent too fussed on ground clearance a Legacy wagon may be a feasible alternative.
gpg58,
Aug 7, 7:55pm
I would vote for Subaru(any hi lo ratio models) or vitara too.
desmodave,
Aug 8, 3:01am
v6 Nissan Teranno has been my beach wagon for the last 5 or 6 years . Just keep poring the petrol in . Normally have a trailer in tow to collect firewood while the rod or kontiki are doing their thing . On a 2g 4x4 you will be speeding money on it 1 way or another . I think i have had my $1750 ( purchase price reg and wof ) worth out of it .
intrade,
Aug 8, 3:19am
i sold my hilux for 1$ was 5 speed manual on farm rego wrackers from auckland have bid to 940$ local guy got it for a $ more . basically 2 grand is scrap matel 4wd vehicles are not sold cheap as per above unless they are close to scrap metal. good 4wd start from 12 grand onwards unless you find a needle in a haystack type deal. tyres for the hilux was the main reason i got rid of it i dont spend a grand on tyres for a rolling scrapmetal . to make it road legal i would have had to spend at least 2 to 3 grand again. so thats 5 grand if you find one thats not rotten to the core . and i sold the hilux without any holes in the mainframe only all 4 doors had rotted bottoms as main rust issue
tamarillo,
Aug 8, 3:27am
Because price is super low may I suggest Land Rover discovery petroleum V8. Now do t run away. Because of their V8 and rep they can be real cheap and can be found with good bones and running parts. Electric bits fail often but if sunroof is closed and you set mirrors all good. Golden bay mate has one for beach and pulling weights that was under $2 and with a battery charge always goes. Looks rough and interior bad but so what for then money.
gpg58,
Aug 8, 5:14am
I would not touch one again, even with a very long pole, total money pit (had a 97/180kms till recent), and in my opinion is very unlikely to meet op's requirement for reliability. Everything electric played up intermittently, Cruise control computer replaced, all engine electrics replaced, idle control replaced, windows would open then not close, the prince of darkness controlled all lights, it drank at 2kms/$, it wandered all over the road despite all efforts to improve, it leaked a oil refinery's worth of oil. Sunroof leaked, and was removed and refitted/sealed with all new rubber seals to fix, central locking sometimes worked, abs brakes intermittantly failed, turn off and restart and ok again, mostly missing some doors out, hood lining fell down and was replaced, engine intermittently lost power from one bank(suspect ecu), front hubs leaked all oil out as soon as put in(told folk change to grease). Stupid design has most circuits negative wiring return thru the body panels, not via wires, so with age many things were no longer getting a good connection, and more i have forgotten for now. Frankly was my worst ever purchase, even worse than the alfa 156, and that's saying something, was glad when after 4 tries on here selling, some sucker drove it away(at night with lights failing as usual), for just $500.
kazbanz,
Aug 8, 5:57am
I reckon in your price range you are bang on the money with the RAV4 For your purposes a Vitara unquestionably a better vehicle -BUT anything halfway decent is going to be priced out of your budget IMO A Rav aint as good being just full time AWD with no low ratio. That said one with clear coat peeled off etc is still gonna be really reliable and theres a few manual ones with diff lock.
desmodave,
Aug 8, 6:24am
What ever you get , keep some recovery gear on board .
tamarillo,
Aug 8, 12:22pm
Gpg, that’s the point! For $2 k you can get a sound mechanically one because of the reputation and thirsty petrol. For a fishing wagon who cares if sunroof is sealed with glue and windows fail. Get older one with simple stuff and less to brake. Just saying
kazbanz,
Aug 8, 1:05pm
Nope sorry--I get your point but ignoring all the annoying issues you are likely to end up stranded because of the electrical issues. -Ac or central locking dead--big deal- engine dead ---kinda makes for a bad day
gph1961,
Aug 8, 1:52pm
what about a horse? at least you could eat it when its knackered
Since the public registrations are closed, you must have an invite from a current member to be able to register and post in this thread.
Have an account? Login here.