What started it all for me?

[Dirty Driver]

FO, for me it was a case, or process of elimination. Being the ever practical fella I was back when I started looking to replace the then daily driver, I had to look closely at what the vehicle would be used for and how much I could realistically spend on it.
As most of my weekend work was confirmed to good forestry tracks I didn't need something with lift kits etc, just a good solid unit that could handle the crap I'd throw at it.
In short for me it had to be the following;
- a diesel
- a manual
- coil springs all round
- a wagon
- a strong towing engine
- something that was very simple to fix and something that you could realistically get parts from most milk bars (so to speak of).

This criteria excluded a lot of things like Landrovers, Hiluxes, Pajeros and even the Landcruiser. It really only left me with the Patrol as an option. It also helped that my future father in law had worked for both Toyota and Nissan as a service manager and suggested that I steer away from the cruiser 'cause of the cost of parts.

Anyway after 18 months of patient searching I ended up with an '89 Maverick wagon with the 4.2 lt diesel. It was a one owner tow barge for a 28' boat and pretty much stock standard.
I had that bus for 12 years and gave it heaps of punishment. Not once did it let me down. Henceforth when it came time to purchase a second car for the family I looked no further that another Patrol.
Have driven many types of 4wds over the years and still come back to the Patrol as my personal favourite. It's just like putting an old pair of gloves back on, you know that they are just going to fit right...

Cheers
DD