UndeadHomer
19th September 2013, 02:29 AM
Gidday,
first of all - a great forum, lots of information provided and it seems that there is a bunch of nice guys out here. Although I have been through the search function I would like to hear a few opinions before putting me money down.
[The big edited part] Fair enough - here comes the introduction. Name is Alex living in Perth and not new to 4WD. Enjoying the beaches down south and the odd track in the woods in the south western, mainly around Harvey. Currently driving a well-modified Pajero but looking to swap to a Diesel for more range per servo stop - I currently use 20+ litres unleaded per 100km which gives me a range of roughly 400km and even with the current Diesel prices I hope to be much better off on Diesel. I am fairly technically minded and did most of the maintenance and upgrading jobs myself and keen to keep that up on the Patrol as well ! You do it yourself - you know it has been done properly. Plus you grew a few brain cells (and killed em with a few stubbies during the job, ahaha !). Anyway...
I am planning to buy a Nissan Patrol, aiming for a GU3 ST 2003 and as most of the newbees I am a bit concerned about the grenading issue. My budget is around $20k. What odo reading is the max you would buy a GU3 with ? A lot of the offers in this price range have crossed the 200k mark, are they still save to buy or do I expect serious problems from there on ? I am fairly mechanically minded and can do most of the servicing myself and feel confident of installing the NADS parts. However if the engine was nearly fried by the previous owner how good are the chances that the engine does not blow up after NADS installation or is the damage already done ? Can I hear / spot / feel that the engine has been mistreated and is on its way to its gods ?
Any comments are very much appreciated - what specifically to look for at the test drive and inspection ? I am not new to the 4wd world, have been owning a Pajero for almost 6 years (still runs fine so I am not in a rush to buy the patrol) but want to swap to a Diesel engine eventually and love the looks of the GU3. TD42 is way out of my budget so ZD30 seems the only option.
I will use it 90% on the tarmac as daily drive but keen to continue offroading. Mainly beach driving and the odd weekender in the woods. Will graduately upgrade equipment, so a car with no equipment is not a deal breaker if the price is right. Looking forward to your replies - any tip is welcome !
And please feel free to move it to the appropriate forum. Still learning here...
first of all - a great forum, lots of information provided and it seems that there is a bunch of nice guys out here. Although I have been through the search function I would like to hear a few opinions before putting me money down.
[The big edited part] Fair enough - here comes the introduction. Name is Alex living in Perth and not new to 4WD. Enjoying the beaches down south and the odd track in the woods in the south western, mainly around Harvey. Currently driving a well-modified Pajero but looking to swap to a Diesel for more range per servo stop - I currently use 20+ litres unleaded per 100km which gives me a range of roughly 400km and even with the current Diesel prices I hope to be much better off on Diesel. I am fairly technically minded and did most of the maintenance and upgrading jobs myself and keen to keep that up on the Patrol as well ! You do it yourself - you know it has been done properly. Plus you grew a few brain cells (and killed em with a few stubbies during the job, ahaha !). Anyway...
I am planning to buy a Nissan Patrol, aiming for a GU3 ST 2003 and as most of the newbees I am a bit concerned about the grenading issue. My budget is around $20k. What odo reading is the max you would buy a GU3 with ? A lot of the offers in this price range have crossed the 200k mark, are they still save to buy or do I expect serious problems from there on ? I am fairly mechanically minded and can do most of the servicing myself and feel confident of installing the NADS parts. However if the engine was nearly fried by the previous owner how good are the chances that the engine does not blow up after NADS installation or is the damage already done ? Can I hear / spot / feel that the engine has been mistreated and is on its way to its gods ?
Any comments are very much appreciated - what specifically to look for at the test drive and inspection ? I am not new to the 4wd world, have been owning a Pajero for almost 6 years (still runs fine so I am not in a rush to buy the patrol) but want to swap to a Diesel engine eventually and love the looks of the GU3. TD42 is way out of my budget so ZD30 seems the only option.
I will use it 90% on the tarmac as daily drive but keen to continue offroading. Mainly beach driving and the odd weekender in the woods. Will graduately upgrade equipment, so a car with no equipment is not a deal breaker if the price is right. Looking forward to your replies - any tip is welcome !
And please feel free to move it to the appropriate forum. Still learning here...