Does a good 4WD vehicle have to be expensive?

[great08]

No!!!

This is a link to what is currently my favorite YouTube channel. In this video they are out on a trip having fun in a $2,500 Suzuki Samurai, a $5,500 Disco, and a $6,500 Jeep Wrangler. Not a single one of them has lockers.

They were all having fun and in a beautiful area. This is all you need to get out there.

I just wanted to share....

 

[CR-Venturer]

No!!!

This is a link to what is currently my favorite YouTube channel. In this video they are out on a trip having fun in a $2,500 Suzuki Samurai, a $5,500 Disco, and a $6,500 Jeep Wrangler. Not a single one of them has lockers.

They were all having fun and in a beautiful area. This is all you need to get out there.

I just wanted to share....

Suzuki Samurais are insanely expensive here. Like $8000+ for a barely decent one. I've seen guys asking 10k+ for them! Having said that, the point is very true. My rig is a Honda CR-V that was $1800 on craigslist.

 

[great08]

Suzuki Samurais are insanely expensive here. Like $8000+ for a barely decent one. I've seen guys asking 10k+ for them! Having said that, the point is very true. My rig is a Honda CR-V that was $1800 on craigslist.

Nice! I have seen some vids of guys putting those CR-Vs through their paces. They do surprisingly well!

 

[Correus]

My '63 SIIa cost me less than $6,000.

My nephew is building a street legal
overlanding/rock crawler out of a 1st generation GEO Tracker he got for $800.

He wants it as a daily driver so has to be careful with the rock crawler aspect.

 

[Joey83]

I say no, it does not need to be expensive to be a good 4wd vehicle (mine cost me $3000 and while I know that might sound expensive, it was actually pretty affordable considering Norway is one of the most expensive countries in the world and some 4wd vehicles are easily 10-20x more expensive here).

 

[CSG]

I'd guess "expensive" is in the mind and economic situation of the buyer. When I bought my used '02 LX in 2009, I paid $23.5k for a one owner rig with mileage in the mid-60k's. I thought that was dirt cheap at the time.

But I did my first traveling in a '63 Beetle that cost me $800 and never got stuck in it.

 

[great08]

My '63 SIIa cost me less than $6,000.

My nephew is building a street legal
overlanding/rock crawler out of a 1st generation GEO Tracker he got for $800.

He wants it as a daily driver so has to be careful with the rock crawler aspect.

I had my eyes set on getting a Geo Tacker many years ago. I thought it would be a great little vehicle for road trips/exploring. There is a pretty decent aftermarket for them as well.

 

[Renegade]

In this video they are out on a trip having fun in a $2,500 Suzuki Samurai, a $5,500 Disco, and a $6,500 Jeep Wrangler. Not a single one of them has lockers.

In fairness, a locker only add a few $hundred to cost. So even if they had a locker, they would still be inexpensive.

 

[great08]

In fairness, a locker only add a few $hundred to cost. So even if they had a locker, they would still be inexpensive.

That is totally true. You could still throw on some gear after a while and be affordable for most.

I would take a locker and some decent tires before anything else. Then later on just add protection where it's needed... on a level that is needed based on my personal uses. If I had these three vehicles... maybe just a front skid or two and that is about it. I prefer to stay light though.

 

[RainGoat]

Pre 2005 Nissan Pathfinders (R50) can cost $2-5,000, are incredibly reliable & can do alot more than people expect. I’m a part of that community along with the 5th Gen T4R community & they’re like night & day in who they attract. Lots of young newcomers in the R50 community & often kids who can think outside the box so to speak.

 

[Anak]

As to cost of vehicle, you can get much better prices than what you typically see on the market if you are just willing to be patient. For both my XJ and my Cummins I spent well over a year each watching Craigslist. The "deals" are not out there day in and day out. You have to be alert and ready. But if you are alert and ready and take your time then you can get a killer deal.

But most of this world seems to be obsessed with instant gratification. Instant gratification and killer deals are largely mutually exclusive. Instant gratification comes with a premium.

The other way to get a good deal is market timing. That is what I did with the Suburban. I bought it in '08 when gas was $5/gallon and folks were desperate to unload those monsters. I went for the biggest gas hog I could find: 3/4 ton, 4x4 and 8.1L. Nobody wanted that thing. It was on a dealer's lot and they knew they couldn't move it and I knew they couldn't move it. I still spent 2 months beating them down on price. Again patience is helpful.

 

[great08]

As to cost of vehicle, you can get much better prices than what you typically see on the market if you are just willing to be patient. For both my XJ and my Cummins I spent well over a year each watching Craigslist. The "deals" are not out there day in and day out. You have to be alert and ready. But if you are alert and ready and take your time then you can get a killer deal.

But most of this world seems to be obsessed with instant gratification. Instant gratification and killer deals are largely mutually exclusive. Instant gratification comes with a premium.

The other way to get a good deal is market timing. That is what I did with the Suburban. I bought it in '08 when gas was $5/gallon and folks were desperate to unload those monsters. I went for the biggest gas hog I could find: 3/4 ton, 4x4 and 8.1L. Nobody wanted that thing. It was on a dealer's lot and they knew they couldn't move it and I knew they couldn't move it. I still spent 2 months beating them down on price. Again patience is helpful.

I am doing the same thing right now for a home actually. I put myself into a great position to save. While we are saving we are taking our time and looking around for which neighborhoods we will like best in what areas. Now that we have narrowed it down we are just sitting back and waiting for a good deal to pop up... or one that we can turn into a good deal. No need to hurry either. The longer we sit where we are at... the more money we will save.

We recently finally looked/listened to Dave Ramsey. It is changing our life already. We are just getting started too. I will never take out a loan on another thing if I can help it. (Home loans excluded since we are not any where near that wealthy).

I have gotten some really good deals on used vehicles that nobody wanted over the years as well. I have a mechanical mind and can evaluate how much/hard things will be to fix. Body damage/frame rust is about the only thing I will avoid at all cost. Parts are cheap.

 

[Correus]

As to cost of vehicle, you can get much better prices than what you typically see on the market if you are just willing to be patient. For both my XJ and my Cummins I spent well over a year each watching Craigslist. The "deals" are not out there day in and day out. You have to be alert and ready. But if you are alert and ready and take your time then you can get a killer deal.

But most of this world seems to be obsessed with instant gratification. Instant gratification and killer deals are largely mutually exclusive. Instant gratification comes with a premium.

The other way to get a good deal is market timing. That is what I did with the Suburban. I bought it in '08 when gas was $5/gallon and folks were desperate to unload those monsters. I went for the biggest gas hog I could find: 3/4 ton, 4x4 and 8.1L. Nobody wanted that thing. It was on a dealer's lot and they knew they couldn't move it and I knew they couldn't move it. I still spent 2 months beating them down on price. Again patience is helpful.

Good point - patience is a virtue. Besides , the hunt can be fun. I spent two years finding my Rover. Since I had never owned one, let alone drive one, I sought out the help of a reliable broker as well. He helped me in knowing what to ask and look for. He helped me determine what I was want in the rig and expected out of it.

This is the main reason I push for anyone wanting an "adventure" vehicle, or "BOV", or "4x4", that has never owned one before, buy cheap and make it yours. When your able to, and wanting to go with something else you can pass your rig onto another newbie.

Too many times people just throw butt loads of money at the biggest, newest, baddest rig on the market thinking "this is what I need to do this" and end up making a huge mistake and ending up in horrible dept.

Just my 2¢...

 

[Correus]

I am doing the same thing right now for a home actually. I put myself into a great position to save. While we are saving we are taking our time and looking around for which neighborhoods we will like best in what areas. Now that we have narrowed it down we are just sitting back and waiting for a good deal to pop up... or one that we can turn into a good deal. No need to hurry either. The longer we sit where we are at... the more money we will save.

We recently finally looked/listened to Dave Ramsey. It is changing our life already. We are just getting started too. I will never take out a loan on another thing if I can help it. (Home loans excluded since we are not any where near that wealthy).

I have gotten some really good deals on used vehicles that nobody wanted over the years as well. I have a mechanical mind and can evaluate how much/hard things will be to fix. Body damage/frame rust is about the only thing I will avoid at all cost. Parts are cheap.

We did the same. We also listen to Dave.

The house we have now (large Edwardian on an acre inside the city limits) sort of fell into our laps. We spent over 3 years searching and waiting, looking in various small towns in our area. Lucked out that it was just 4 blocks from where we used to live. It was a house we had wanted for years but had been told it'd never go on the market and if it did it probably would be out of our budget. When we found out it was going to go up for auction we made the estate a decent offer, as is, sight unseen. They refused saying they would get more at auction.

We ended up getting at the auction for almost half of our original offer. It allowed us to keep our other house for awhile until the person we knew wanted it (badly) could afford it. With some of the proceeds from the sell of the "little house" to that individual I was able to pay cash for the Rover.

Good luck, and good hunting, for the right house! Not too many people get to go about it like you are - feels good doesn't it.

 

[CSG]

Not to take the thread too off track but if you like Dave Ramsey, buy a copy of "The Millionaire Next Door". Most people with *real* money don't look or act like people pretending they have money and living in debt.

 

[CR-Venturer]

We're starting to do Dave Ramsey as well. Wish I had read his book when I was young and single lol. In a sense, I was already doing what he advocates, and then I met my future wife and went off the rails a bit lol But I digress. All of this is the reason I'm thinking/planning for the eventuality of the CR-V's death now. I anticipate it lasting many more years, however if I'm planning now for what rig I want, I can be ready when the time comes. I may even end up importing a 79 series land cruiser from Europe. We'll see.

 

[great08]

Not to take the thread too off track but if you like Dave Ramsey, buy a copy of "The Millionaire Next Door". Most people with *real* money don't look or act like people pretending they have money and living in debt.

I may just doo that. So far I have just been using the free stuff on his website and listening to his YouTube channel on my 2.5hrs worth of commuting every day.

A co-worker told me about the first few baby steps several years ago and I followed them up to a point.

My wife and I have completely changed out mood and outlook on our futures now. We are actually excited about it. It turns out a person like me with a normal job can still succeed. Sitting down and crunching numbers with her has brought her on board with me. She is now willing to live in a smaller and cheaper home. Part of the design path so we can get out into the world and enjoy life. It is a very important skill to have to be an overlander!

Design your life so you can start living!

 

[Correus]

Not to take the thread too off track but if you like Dave Ramsey, buy a copy of "The Millionaire Next Door". Most people with *real* money don't look or act like people pretending they have money and living in debt.

Have it...it's a good read.

 

[Correus]

There are some really good books, and websites, that can help a person decide what they want in their rig and what they expect out of it.

There is an aspe t of looking for, and getting, that I haven't seen anyone mention.

If a person can find a decent rig, for a decent price, the money saved will easily help the person kit out their rig.

 

[great08]

There are some really good books, and websites, that can help a person decide what they want in their rig and what they expect out of it.

There is an aspe t of looking for, and getting, that I haven't seen anyone mention.

If a person can find a decent rig, for a decent price, the money saved will easily help the person kit out their rig.

That is totally true. Even just a grand or two saved would pay for lots of fuel and fun side activities on a long trip.