A colleague has just bought herself a house. It's in hill country and the final approach is a half mile or so of steep in places and periodically rutted unmade track. They also get snow there fairly regularly in winter too apparently. So she's one of the few people who really does need as opposed to just want a proper 4x4. Due to circumstances surrounding the financing of her mortgage etc she also needs to realise most of the money in her current car so has only a short, indeed quite short, £3k to spend. She'll be commuting about 20 miles each way after getting onto tarmac so the vehicle needs to be at least adequate for that too. Won't be a lot of budget for repairs in the short term either so needs to be a good reliability bet.
I've suggested a Suzuki Grand Vitara. Seems you can get those in budget. We had one on hire a couple of years back on holiday and used it extensively off and on road. Not wonderful on road but simply brilliant on the rough stuff.
Any other suggestions?
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Does it need to be a proper off roader or would something like an Audi Allroad or Volvo XC do the job? Might be a better bet for the 20 mile commute?
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3k AND CLEARLY CAN'T AFFORD AA or XC PARTS. DUH!
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Steady on Martin, chap was trying to help, no need to bite his head orf !
:-)
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>> 3k AND CLEARLY CAN'T AFFORD AA or XC PARTS. DUH!
>>
Anything for 3K with off road capability is going to be a gamble. I have run 4 Audi's one to over 160K and all have cost peanuts to run, so I can only speak from my own experience.
I guess the shouting implies that you have far more first hand experience of these models ?
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>> 3k AND CLEARLY CAN'T AFFORD AA or XC PARTS. DUH!
>>
I am with him
Someone who has clearly never lived in that environment before and does not understand the issues.
When snow is expected park the car at the road end of the drive and walk the rest of the way home, if it drifts she won't even get a Defender out.
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You may be able to squeeze a Panda 4x4 out of that budget, though may be slightly above that. Supposed to be excellent though, also cheap running costs...
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Jimny? Not at all refined for the on-road but might be newer, and cheaper to run. And won't get stuck.
Not convinced that an Allroad or XC70 are the car for someone on a budget, nice as they are to ride in.
Last edited by: Manatee on Mon 5 Dec 11 at 20:38
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>> I've suggested a Suzuki Grand Vitara. Seems you can get those in budget. We had
>> one on hire a couple of years back on holiday and used it extensively off
>> and on road. Not wonderful on road but simply brilliant on the rough stuff.
Be careful.
Some were made in Spain by Santana.
If my memory is right the VINs start with VS*
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Hyundai Tucson
With a little negotiation this would come near budget and should prove reliable
tinyurl.com/c8nnqlv
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I guess after Humph's intervention earlier (tongue in cheek I know) I shouldn't respond, but hey ho! I wouldn't trust this dealer with my dog. Just read the advert. Morons.
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Thanks for the suggestions so far from all and indeed the inside knowledge from Tony. I'll mention that.
She's seen a 2004 soft top Vitara for about £2.5k with around 50k miles. Looks ok from photos. Jimny looks good too. I mentioned a Panda, it's probably what I'd buy given her brief but the suggestion was met with disdain. ( Woman remember ! ) Actually, what I'd have bought was a flat in town but...
:-)
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>She's seen a 2004 soft top Vitara
She'll regret *that* in the snows of winter! The hood is a single layer of vinyl and has more draughts than the world checkers tournament. That's one where she'll regularly need to de-ice the *inside*.
My sister had one. Great fun in summer, truly awful in winter. One of the very few cars compared to which my MGB roadster offered better weather protection....
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Ebay 250941736137----Mitsi Outlander (put this one in as an example so you know which model i mean, good car these), Forester or Legacy Outback, Rav 4, Honda CRV/HRV, Kia Sportage.
From the sounds of it a soft roader will do her fine, she probably doesn't need serious off roading clearance, if she does maybe a Hilux 4 Runner/Surf or Mitsi Challenger Shogun Sport.
A posh totty, phwoar, lady friend has a Vitara LWB V6, good motor and trouble free but serious drink problem..the car..;).
The problem with her budget as you know is that good Diesel examples will be rare, except in the larger vehicles, and then care is needed.
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As you all know Jimny for me too. Folk can be too fussy. Actually they aren't that bad on road over a short/medium commute. I really enjoy mine on road. It ticks most boxes and it never seems to want to 'fall over' as the wider motoring wise men would have one believe.
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10 ish year old diesel Freelander.
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Money pit...................Y/N
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Forester or CRV petrol.
Both drive much like normal cars, but with decent rough road performance (Forester better than CRV).
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If it is a periodically rutted unmade track then a 'standard' Legacy estate will not have the ground clearance. An Outback may, but will probably cost more initially.
And it is probably the wrong time of year to try and pick up a bargain in a private sale.
I can vouch for their reliability...I ran all 3 of mine with 100k+ mileages and never had any problems. Should get a good 'un for sub £3k.
Mpg of 32 was not world beating, but the zero cost of non consumable spares was!
Try to avoid buying one with a towbar, because in all probability it will have led a harder life.
Same goes for the Forester.A good friend of mine who lives on a farm ran his Forester for 180k trouble free miles before he replaced it with another.
Last edited by: legacylad on Mon 5 Dec 11 at 21:40
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If your friend is anywhere near Stirling one of my colleagues is selling his Freelander - very good condition:
www4.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201147430207691
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Not really but thanks for the link. Not sure about that engine mind. Hear of head gasket woes I seem to think? Might be wrong.
She's seen a Shogon Pinin 1.8 petrol advertised. Any feedback on those?
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I think the Mitsu GDi (petrol direct injection) engine doesn't have a good rep for longevity.
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>> She's seen a Shogon Pinin 1.8 petrol advertised. Any feedback on those?
Horrible in every way. About 10 years ago, the rental car companies used to offer Pinins as "upgrades". I got to hate them with a passion.
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Mrs. B. would love a Fiat Panda 4x4. High driving position, funky styling (she thinks) and 5 doors. They do make a lot of sense as a cheap small 4x4 option that is ok to drive on the road.
She also likes the look of the Jimny, but frankly, no way. Like driving a tractor on the road even though the modern ones have coil springs.
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I'm very pleased with my LWB Grand Vitara TD Auto. I don't do any off road apart from campsites but I've no reason to think it wouldn't cope. It works very well on the tarmac. On the few long distance motorway runs I've done, it has cruised quietly and comfortably at 70/80. Enough for me.
Just so happens I still have my old one, also a TD Auto. It needs a couple of quick jobs for MOT but it has a fairly recent cambelt change, head gasket and new radiator. A bit scratched here and there but might just do the job at around £600 with a new ticket. Tyres are all good. Towbar and stereo....nothing fancy or posh !
Come on down...the price is right ! :-)
Ted
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Is the road that is the problem private? If so park the car there and swap to an old (cheap) 4x4 for the last part of the journey. So compromise needed for normal driving etc.
Edit: Just reread Hump's original post. Sounding like the car is going anyway. If the road is private the 4x4 would not need insurance.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Mon 5 Dec 11 at 22:17
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Or as the bloke with the hat says "Noisy, unsophisticated and cramped. Poor ride and handling".
:(
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Anything - so long as it's got winter tyres.
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- - - > Anything - so long as it's got winter tyres < - - -
+1 ;)
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I feel a breadmaker thread coming on...
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I wasn't being entirely flippant.
An ordinary Panda with winter tyres, or more importantly, tyres with chunky tread, would cope with most conditions.
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Friends who have long unmade tracks say they wreck the suspension of any ordinary car within a year, and that that is a much more important problem than winter access.
You need either a good 4X4 that is built for rough roads, or a really cheap banger which you write off. The knack of negotiating a rutted track with poor adhesion is to keep going. You can't be fussing around being nice to the suspension.
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>> Or as the bloke with the hat says "Noisy, unsophisticated and cramped. Poor ride and
>> handling".
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I knew her too.................
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The old ones are best (the jokes that is!)
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Which cheap but good 4x4? - mikeyb
