How old is old

I have a 1996 Pajero and have just done up the motor. I am retiring next year and wondering whether I should update or not. It is still in good condition as I have replaced the shocks as well. I feel it should be still ok for pulling a van around Australia but thought I would get some other thoughts on it as well.

Jeff

Howdy Jeff,

Good to see a new category for the modern day horses that get us around.

Seeings as you have just done up the motor which probably cost a pretty penny or 3, i would be inclined to hang on to it for a while if everything else has been well maintained- get your moneys worth.
I would reccomend if you haven't already, to get advice from your accountant regarding things like this also. A big financial outlay like a 4wd might be more financially viable than keeping an older vehicle.

But then again, it is a itsafishi mitsubishi.

Cheers, Ferris.

well thats not old we have 1985 landcruiser bundera currently petrol soon to be diesel has 2 inch susp lift all terrains 31 x 10.5 sometimes 33 x 12.5 muddies and mate it goes almost any where we want in Tas but has lsd front and rear soon to be air lockers front and rear will be unstopable cheers Mick can send ya couple pics of setup if you email us at starrs253@hotmail.com

.

Just updated my kia sportage 1997 to a nissan xtrail 2002.The reason being cars are pretty cheap at the moment its a buyers market,got it for a song,original owner too.

Jeff a 1996 model ,you think is not old .
I have just traded my 1990 toyota cressida, had it since new , spent a few bob on the motor a couple of years ago and it was going like a limo, beeeuuutiful to drive , comfortable , quiet and all that limo stuff.

Decided to update to a new Suzuki 4WD to take detecting into those harder to get at places , as we only needed a small car.

Well did deal with the dealer and time came to trade in value. I didnt do my homework on internet secondhand car prices before looking at new cars. I was almost offended when they said loverly vehicle well kept ,best wev'e seen Bull.. Bull as they do and then "best trade in price $1200.00" I said ?/;*8^^> and walked . Went home and then checked the Redbook car prices on Net. and the price was real enough to sell without a roadworthy.
So went to another dealer and did the deal.

What I think, may be put some feelers out on what you may get for the Mitsu. as a sale with done up motor and also see what Red book prices are bringing and then toss it around . Its a hard decision parting with the 1 you know.

But Im happy with my decision now.

Thats my thoughts John

GoldstalkerGPX wrote:

ferrousfinder wrote:Howdy Jeff,
get advice from your accountant regarding things like this also.
Cheers, Ferris.

Hey Ferris Jeff is an accountant!!

Cheers

Well then, Jeff, you can stand in front of the mirror and say "are you talking to me".
You can then offer yourself financial advice and knock up a invoice and send it to yourself. (i don't think you will get in trouble if you don't pay the invoice though )

You may also wait and see how the rebuilt/ reco engine goes, but it seems the consensus in the bush is to run a landcruiser or a patrol.
You no doubt deserve something nice at retirement also and who really wants a golden pen- we all know golden nuggets are prettier...
There is some club called "spend the kids inheritance" ski or something like that. You could join that, if only for a little while.

Cheers.

Gday


My toyota pc is a 1991 model, and is the best bush vehicle I have had to date, and they are perfect for the bush, tough and reliable, when I bought it four odd years ago I was looking at pc's up to about 2003 models but most that I saw were ex mines vehicles or had high mileage, this one had 120,000 klms on the clock and had the one owner, it was straight and plain, he only sold it as he was in his seventies and was having trouble climbing up in to it.

I have had the usual issues with it, bits and pieces have had to be repaired from time to time, usually bush damage, the rest has been only servicing and maintainence, but to date (touch wood) no serious failures, one of the very reasons I settled on the toyota pc's was that there are so many of them about, particularly in the rural and goldfields areas so spare parts are widely available, the engines are basic and relatively easy to work on and as long as you keep up on the oil changes and servicing there is little else to do.

I dont think that the age of the vehicle is as important as its condition and its past history, if it has been driven sensibly and has had regular servicing then that really increases the odds of it being reliable and trouble free, which is what you really need when you are venturing into the bush, if the vehicle has been roughly treated and bashed about the bush like a rally car then it will more than likely let you down at the worst possible time.

If you have had the vehicle for awhile you tend to get to know the ins and outs of it as well, and can more easily spot issues, and are more likely to take notice of unusual sounds, so if the vehicle suits your purpose and you are familiar with it then its better to keep it (the devil you know) rather than replace it with something you dont know about, some vehicles are just lemons and I truly believe that, I have had some experience with a couple that I would not trust to make it out of the driveway let alone go hundreds of klms into to the bush with.

cheers


stayyerAU

Whether you spend $500 or $5000 rebuilding the motor, suspension ect, its the klms that let you down.
It matters not if you put a new motor in your ride, you don't get it back when you trade it... you get the same money whether its new or old, and at around 2k less for trade than privet.
Like stayyerAU said, its the devil you know vs the one you don't.

Jeff. i think you could go either way and be happy with your choice.

You might not get much $$$ for the pajero if you sold it privately, and definately less again if you traded it in. but that also depends on what needs doing to the car. If it's not letting you down, then i say keep it for a few more years.

If you feel the car is on it's last legs, get rid of it, trade it in and let the dealers worry about roadworthy and resale of the vehicle. Or sell it privately if it's not too bad.

Ultimately the choice is up to you. but a real 4b4 (not Rav4, etc) isn't cheap, but you know you won't have to put money into it to keep it running.

.

Well the Pajeros going ok for the moment, and with no extra $ around, looks like I will keep it for a while.

he only problem now is that it backfires intermittently just at the rear of the engine. The mechanic says that the gas system that is fitted, is not a good one, but that still doesn't help. It only started this back firing stuff after the motor was fitted and he can't get on top of it. Any ideas?

Jeff

Hi jeff,
I,m very pragmatic about these things......and the way I see it is thus:

four out of every ten men do not live to 65 years (insurance company statistics), so we have to make the most of "now"....so I would take out a reverse mortgage on the house...say 20% of market value which will buy a shiny new 4wd that will take you around Oz stress free....there are no repayments on the borrowings and you and your wife live there until the last one goes.....in the meanwhile you will get lots of trips to the goldfields trouble free(less stress= more nuggets).......too easy!

Thats certainly food for thought. We are renting whilst a new house is being built. It will be ready in July next year.
However it will mean we will have over $400th just sitting there doing nothing.

Will keep that in mind Thanks

last week i bought a 1999 Land Rover Discovery II Diesel for $12,000 from a private seller. It's done 270,000Kms ( and being a diesel it's just middle aged - just like me ) it has been religiously serviced by the previous owner. i'll soon spend $3000 on a rebuilt auto tranny and it'll go for another 200,000kms with regular maintenance no probs.

onebob

Jeff,

I had a VR holden with a gas install, would occaisionaly back fire- i blew a few air filter boxes up as a result....

I now have a VY holden with a gas install. Gas has been in for more than 40,000km's with not a single backfire.... this mechanic put in some spark plugs with a slightly smaller gap, a v groove, and a colder heat range (needed for the hotter temperatures)

I also drove a GQ patrol on gas- company vehicle. All sorts of trouble between gas and petrol. Went back to the mechanic many times until he finally changed the gas/petrol solenoid.... all the trouble then went away.

I suggest you take the pajero to a mechanic that installs LPG systems for a fresh perspective/ 2nd opinion.
A different fresh engine would possibly need the LPG system tuned/ adjusted.

Also, if its not trouble free on petrol, gas won't be any better.

Cheers, Ferris.

Hi Jeff
If another motor was fitted perhaps air is entering the exhaust through a manifold gasket or pipe flange and reigniting the unburnt fuel a common cause.Gas cars are set a little rich to protect the exhaust valves.Maybe just tighten the manifold bolts and flanges.
Steve

Thanks fellas

I am going to take it the company that originally installed the system and see what they say.

Over the weekend, it lulls into a false sense of confidence and goes for kilometeres then just once it does it.

Mongrel. Scares the sh*t out of everyone.

Jeff

I dont have any advice to add but just wanted to say that in feb this year i bought a 1999 pajero 150'000km and its awesome. Must admit i do need to replace the shockers after the long trip to central aust earlier this year (found a few rough river beds when lost in the mountains in the dark, lol). But it had a full service history when i bought it. I love it! Makes my prospecting trips feel like an adventure, lol.

.

Hi Jeff, I have a 2002 Pajero. I think that this shape feel a little more stable than the earlier model. It may be worth test driving something newer and checking this aspect out. If you are towing a van that extra bit of stability may be worth the effort. I'm in a similar position and may tow a van next year over to the west. I am slowly fixing up the old Pajero but may update to a newer one yet.
The one I have was about 60,000 new repayments of about 13,000 a year. It is worth practically nothing now. But if I spend about 6 or 7,000 a year on it to keep it in good shape then I am way ahead, as a newer one will similarly be worth jack s.. in another few years. but the newer the vehicle the better the design generally. By that I mean better handling, safety, fuel economy etc.
I guess it's what is more painful to you, an older possibly less reliable vehicle or less money in the bank. Down to your tolerance level for older less safe cars and funds at your disposal.
Sparowfart.

I have had a few 4x4.s. I just recently purchased a 2005 ssangjong musso 2.9 turbo diesel. I must admit I was a bit skeptical when I bought it as to its capabilities. On my first serious trip out 4 wheel driving the damn thing really surprised me. I had a friend with me who was in a landcruiser that had been done up for 4 wheel driving { 2" lift kit serious tyres and all the rest of the goodies } My musso is completly stock standard and had no trouble going where ever the land cruiser went, and at a price that is well below what I would have paid for a well known brand of the same year I tend to think it was money well spent.

hi JEFF IVE GOT A 89 HILUX JUST REBUILT HIM GEARBOX MOTER SPRINGS SHOCKERS 145LTR FUEL TANK DRIVES LIKE THE DAY I GOT IT NOT ALLOT OF POWER BUT AT LEAST U CAN WORK ON THEM YOUR SELF CLEAN AIR CLEAN FUEL REGULAR SERVICE AND THEY JUST KEEP GOING AND I OWN IT NO PAYMENTS

My Motto!! Adventure before Dimentia !!

Take the worst case scenario, and if you break down crossing the Nullabor, have a good vehicle recovery
policy and a Sat Nav phone to get help. Leave the rest to chance and take the bull by the balls.

Cheers, Buckinroo Jake.

Thanks for the advice fellas, but the matter was taken out of my hands

The Pajero was parked outside my house one night and a young bloke came past, took his eyes off the road and wiped it out - a writeoff. Still got a cheque from the insurance for $7000 and have to upgrade.

Solved the problem with having to pay additional expenses to an older car.

Jeff

What's the young mans name and phone number?
My girlfriend's mazda has been playing up

Well Jeff at least you can now buy a REAL 4wd like a Toyota

Robert

Get a rodeo, the only time you'll look back is when your overtaking Nissan's, Fords, Toyota's ect....oh...and Suzuki's.