Looking at buying a gu s4/5

Hey guys I'm looking at getting an 04-08 manual zd30 gu st wagon. Currently have a trusty old gq coil cab td42 that iv had a long time and spent alot of money on however it's time for something newer with more seats. Prices of td42 gu wagons are just stupid in wa so I'm opting for a zd30. Most the cars I can find are 200kish, from what i have read 2004 and above fixed the whole "grenading" issue however I will be fitting nads. I will be getting a car with as much service history as possible, could possibly stretch my budget to a commonrail but is there any massive advantage to this? And what should I be looking at when buying what im after, obviously knowing the basics to look for. Budget is low 20s, have a mate got a s4 with 140k manual for 17 which seems like a bargain and it's beautiful to drive. Every one I have looked at so far seems to have a bubbled dash but I understand that's an issue most do have. Cheers

G'day mate. I have a Di GU4 2005 year. 234000 on it and never missed a beat. I have done NADS on it. Having said that, some late models have still grenaded but MUCH less prone to it than the earlier ones. Aparently there is a guy in Perth doing recovering bubbled dashes, mine was done by the dealer on purchase. I think a lot of peeps will say keep the td42, but you know what you want the best. Your mates spunds like a bargain, but bear in mind it may still grenade and don't loose a friendship over it if it goes bad for some reason.
I have read, and my mechanic has also said that quite a few ZD30s are labled grenaded when they are in fact just head gaskets or whatever that can be repaired. Its just easier in some cases to tell the customer it "grenaded." I personally know of one that just needed a head skim and new valves where the customer instructed the shop to put it back together and he would sell it on Gumtree. Probably if thats the way you decide to go your mates or a stealership might be the way to go because the Customer Repaired Automotove Product is out there. I should make it perfectly clear that the above incident did not involve a patrol club member or a member of this forum.

Yeah my td42 has been very faithful and trusty and I'm loving it still gona cry when it sells I rekon haha. I worded it badly I meant my mate paid that he's not selling it just using for reference on an idea to base my purchase on. Not much around atm so I may need to be patient I think, alot are auto or commonrail and out of my budget

Mark,

It was a sad day when my TD42 left the driveway for the last time, but I can honestly say that there are some things I don't miss, and the 3 Litre goes everywhere my old 4.2 went and probably more, and after relearning how to drive it, I love it and wouldn't go back ( at this stage ..... much prefer the 10K servicing, and I have had a great run out of mine )

Found a really nice 2008 st with leather and only 122k on the clock for a great price BUT it's commonrail. Any feedback on the commonrail? Have heard mixed reviews

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Originally Posted by mark89

Found a really nice 2008 st with leather and only 122k on the clock for a great price BUT it's commonrail. Any feedback on the commonrail? Have heard mixed reviews

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2008 is either a series 5 or poss a series 6.
Nissan ditched the ZD30Di in 2006 and went common rail from Series 5 (2007)
Heaps better option than a Di in my opinion

Mark,

I would jump at the Common Rail Motor, over the Di ... later Di's were pretty sorted, and actually have a bit more get up and go than the Common Rail Version, but the Common Rail is proving to be a fairly reliable motor overall, and the failure rates are very low ( same percentages as any other make from those that make reports ).

I know of a lot of later Di's that have now done big kilometres with no issues, but there are still reports of failures that are higher in percentage than the Common Rail Version.