Before you buy consult with the forum first!

[PMC]

G’day Trendsetters,

This thread is all about looking after your mates before they buy a second hand Patrol.

Folks if you do not have any mechanical knowledge about Patrols, please consult with one of the Church of Patrology brethren for advice before you commit or spend your hard earned cash on a second hand Patrol first.

We do not want to see another member of our flock being ripped off by being sold a doggy vehicle by a low life farken scum-bag!

Poor Healy and his family have suffered a very stressful and financial period by purchasing a lemon (second hand Patrol) from an unscrupulous squeezer!

To help mitigate this from happening again to another forum member, I suggest that any member that is in the market to purchase a second hand patrol in the future be given help and advice by another forum member who has a sound mechanical background with 4x4s.

We could post up a thread with a list of members with a sound mechanical background of Patrols who are willing to volunteer there help look over vehicle for a member who is in the market place to purchase a second hand Patrol.

I live in the Coffs Harbour region and if you are prepared to pay for my fuel, I am prepared to travel up to Brisbane or down to Sydney to look over a vehicle for a forum member.

PS, Otherwise, I suggest that you pay a qualified mechanic to check the vehicle for you and provide you with a written report of all defects that are found and the potential financial cost to fix all defects found.

Regards,

RLI
:icon_victory:

[threedogs]

Agree 100% RLI too many starting threads "I brought This and it failed" This is more product than Patrol
but same applies.Things are cheap for a reason , mostly made from cheap material.
Everyone save Or as GSC have a lay buy so you can get quality without breaking out
the Hanky, Its true you get what you pay for. Ask first thats free.

Thought my Patrol was a good deal $25K for a 04 stock standard never been offroad, and did have Lady driver only 100k on the Clock
Washing it one day noticed some texta colour marks on the rear driver window, these are either Auction on wreckers marks not sure.
But point is They lied to get the sale, never the less very happy with Nev the nissan

[Alitis007]

I've posted something in a thread a while back i'll see if i can find it and post it here when i get a chance!!

[BigRAWesty]

X2.. I'm in lower south east and put my name up to assist with inspections. Doing it for my bro, but is going a heep... (im trying to convert him... :banghead: )

Kallen Westbrook
Owner of
Westy's Accessories (http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/showthread.php?15134-Westy-s-Accessories.-A-small-back-yard-builder.)

[Alitis007]

These are just some of the thing i look for when buying a car that i posted a while back if it helps your cause RLI

The body, look for rust in the usual spots like windows, roof gutter, dog legs ect the ones that i looked at had holes in the firewall and rust along the seam of where the top and bottom half join on the firewall. Check the chassis as well.

The motor is a bit more tricky mainly coz you have to listen for excessive noises like piston slap, a little bit is ok aslong as the motor doesn't sound like some one is bashing it with a hammer. Look for oil leaks and fuel leaks on the injector pump and injectors and lines. On the turbo make sure its not leaking oil thru the housings. Also when you start the motor have a look how much smoke it blows, once you start it if it smokes for around 10 to 15seconds thats fine.

The running gear look at swivel hubs, the diff centers, gear box and transfer case for oil leaks.
The rest you have to drive and feel how tight it is and if there is strange noises and stuff like that. You can generally pic how its been treat fairly easily just by looking over it and a quick drive, one of the trols i looked at was fairly good for the first minute of driving but then started to loose puff after that.



Now, the interior you should have a fairly good idea whats what coz you can compare it with your current 1. I usually touch everything to see if they work lol.

Before you run the engine check the water to see its level or color, compare it to your nice and clean cooling system and check the engine oil. It will probably be black but make sure its not thick like sludge and touch the block or crank bolt to see it its warm coz some people warm the engine then let it cool down so when you come along and start the motor it doesn't blow much smoke.

While your walking around the car look at the gaps between doors and guards for excessive clearance thats an easy way to look at the panel work to see if its been hit hard!!

Look at the tires and see how they are wearing, if one tyre is chopped out on 1 edge more then the rest the car will have an alignment issue.

[Cuppa]

When purchasing my vehicle from what was effectively a car yard it had an RACV test done on it, which to be honest wasn't worth the paper it was written IMHO. The tester even commented that the gearbox had serious problems. I don't think he had heard of the td42 low rev 'rumble'.

I paid for an inspection to be done by a 4wd specialist, ( about $100 or $150 I think) worth every cent as, as well as being reassured that there was nothing wrong with the gearbox, I then had a list of items for the seller to rectify before I bought. Nothing serious, but it would have added up to a significant cost to me, certainly way more than the cost of the inspection.

A fair bit more to check out on a 4x4 than on a conventional vehicle.

Cuppa

[PMC]

When purchasing my vehicle from what was effectively a car yard it had an RACV test done on it, which to be honest wasn't worth the paper it was written IMHO. The tester even commented that the gearbox had serious problems. I don't think he had heard of the td42 low rev 'rumble'.

I paid for an inspection to be done by a 4wd specialist, ( about $100 or $150 I think) worth every cent as, as well as being reassured that there was nothing wrong with the gearbox, I then had a list of items for the seller to rectify before I bought. Nothing serious, but it would have added up to a significant cost to me, certainly way more than the cost of the inspection.

A fair bit more to check out on a 4x4 than on a conventional vehicle.

Cuppa

Good onya Cuppa!

Regards,

RLI

[threedogs]

Saddens me when there are rrrrs holes still out there stealing as thats what it is from someone who's not familiar with mechanicals
Well done, Two thumbs up to you mate, I mean that

[Alitis007]

There are many mechanics that give US a bad name but there are few that try to save you a dollar and do their best they can!

Not naming names but the other day i was told a work shop near mine was graffitied on, calling them names and that they had wrecked the customers car and over charged them!!

[NP99]

RLI
I like your idea of the forum using and trusting each other, sadly so many mechanics don't have the skill set, lazy or just want to rip you off. The good ones are keepers!
I do the same for friends prior to house purchasing......

[threedogs]

Alitis so you're a mechanic,,,welll doggie lol

or is that vehicle technician

[Alitis007]

Alitis so you're a mechanic,,,welll doggie lol

or is that vehicle technician

Doggie as they come mate lol i am a Light vehicle automotive techinition

[PMC]

RLI
I like your idea of the forum using and trusting each other, sadly so many mechanics don't have the skill set, lazy or just want to rip you off. The good ones are keepers!
I do the same for friends prior to house purchasing......

Good onya mate!

Regards,

RLI

[meh]

I also got duped ! Fresh paint job on the bull bar, looked great at first until it rained a couple of months after and now its dull faded and patchy!!
Now just waiting for my holidays to pull off, paint properly and install a winch :)

[MC97GQ]

Top idea guys,

I wish I had known about this forum before I'd bought my truck as I would have done things a lot differently. I only started coming here to help sort out problems with the vehicle.

I love my truck now(even though there is more work to do on it) but I reckon I probably could have saved a fair bit of money if I hadn't bought a truck from a bloke who had no idea.

Nice work for offering with helping out for potential buyers.

Thanks

Mark

[PMC]

I also got duped ! Fresh paint job on the bull bar, looked great at first until it rained a couple of months after and now its dull faded and patchy!!
Now just waiting for my holidays to pull off, paint properly and install a winch :)

G'day meh,

Sorry to hear about your misfortune as well mate.

It is important to get this thread up and running so to help other members not get caught buying a suspect Patrol.

Regards,

RLI

[PMC]

Top idea guys,

I wish I had known about this forum before I'd bought my truck as I would have done things a lot differently. I only started coming here to help sort out problems with the vehicle.

I love my truck now(even though there is more work to do on it) but I reckon I probably could have saved a fair bit of money if I hadn't bought a truck from a bloke who had no idea.

Nice work for offering with helping out for potential buyers.

Thanks

Mark

G'day Mark,

Not a problem mate!

Regards,

RLI