Hello overlanders :)
I need some advice on what to get as my next car. Currently drive a Suzuki Jimny, which I will keep as a pure off road toy. I live in Norway, and not that many cars with lockable diffs and even low range is available to us. I need room for a kid in the future, and my dog. Dogs have to be in a cage in the back. So half of the boot will be taken up by a dog cage. And will then need room for a stroller etc. Plus my gear :)
My GF will use it as a daily most of the time, and she sadly wants it to be automatic :/ :P
I am looking to spend between 13K and 20K $. And these are my options that I have found:
1999ish prado/land cruiser with over 300k km - 14k$:
Lots of milage on the engine, but few common faults on these. Ok roomy, and loads of options for off the shelf (and legal) mods on these. Not alot of power from the 3l td engine. Only 125hp. Old! There are newer models available in my price range, but with even more milage and rust, faults etc
2006ish Land rover lr3/discovery 3 with 250Kish km - 19k$:
My heart says yes to a LR! But they have a bad rep, and I can only afford the cheapest ones and will have maxed out my budget. Lots of electronics that can break. And at that milage, they usually need a bit of love. Possibility of engine failure due to people skipping the oil pump upgrade needed. Will be the nicest car out of all my choices luxury-wise. Lots of power from the engine with 190hp. At least parts are cheap from England.
2003-2007 Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero with 200k+ km - 13k$+ :
Nice cars, bith tight in the back. Prone to rust. Strong engines. I don't really like the look of the mk3 ones, but the 2007+ mk4 models are nice, but will max my budget and probably have quite a lot of rust.
2005ish Nissan Pathfinder R51 with 200kish km - 16k$:
Like the look on these. But they are known to rust and the frame breaks if not taken care of. Lots of recalls and buybacks from Nissan. Feel like these are risky. Plenty of room in them. Weaker 4x4 system and not alot of upgrades like lift kits, lockers etc that I know of. They do get a bit of love in Australia, but thats far away :P And the boot is not even remotely flat. Can ofc be fixed, but it is like Nissan put stairs in there.
2004ish Nissan Patrol with 200k+ km - 18k$:
These are tanks. Lots of space. Also prone to rust. Drives like a tractor. Not sure on what parts for these are in price. Very heavy cars, and not allowed to carry much weight. Only just under 600kg of passengers and stuff. Not sure how the engines like milage either. The engines that came with these in Norway, the 3.oTD, is know to be one of the weaker engine choices for these cars.
Would love to concider wrangler jk's, ford expedition, toyota 4-runner etc, but they are either waaaay to expensive or didn't come to Norway. Above examples are just that. They come in many milages and conditions. So can get some of them a bit cheaper but with rust and lots of more milage. Everything rusts in Norway. The LR3 example is the cheapest I could find though :P Can't really concider pick ups either, as winters here are cold, and the dog would not survive being in a cage on the back.
What would you choose and why? Please come with alternatives as well, but it is likely that I wont be able to get that in Norway.
I need some advice on what to get as my next car. Currently drive a Suzuki Jimny, which I will keep as a pure off road toy. I live in Norway, and not that many cars with lockable diffs and even low range is available to us. I need room for a kid in the future, and my dog. Dogs have to be in a cage in the back. So half of the boot will be taken up by a dog cage. And will then need room for a stroller etc. Plus my gear :)
My GF will use it as a daily most of the time, and she sadly wants it to be automatic :/ :P
I am looking to spend between 13K and 20K $. And these are my options that I have found:
1999ish prado/land cruiser with over 300k km - 14k$:
Lots of milage on the engine, but few common faults on these. Ok roomy, and loads of options for off the shelf (and legal) mods on these. Not alot of power from the 3l td engine. Only 125hp. Old! There are newer models available in my price range, but with even more milage and rust, faults etc
2006ish Land rover lr3/discovery 3 with 250Kish km - 19k$:
My heart says yes to a LR! But they have a bad rep, and I can only afford the cheapest ones and will have maxed out my budget. Lots of electronics that can break. And at that milage, they usually need a bit of love. Possibility of engine failure due to people skipping the oil pump upgrade needed. Will be the nicest car out of all my choices luxury-wise. Lots of power from the engine with 190hp. At least parts are cheap from England.
2003-2007 Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero with 200k+ km - 13k$+ :
Nice cars, bith tight in the back. Prone to rust. Strong engines. I don't really like the look of the mk3 ones, but the 2007+ mk4 models are nice, but will max my budget and probably have quite a lot of rust.
2005ish Nissan Pathfinder R51 with 200kish km - 16k$:
Like the look on these. But they are known to rust and the frame breaks if not taken care of. Lots of recalls and buybacks from Nissan. Feel like these are risky. Plenty of room in them. Weaker 4x4 system and not alot of upgrades like lift kits, lockers etc that I know of. They do get a bit of love in Australia, but thats far away :P And the boot is not even remotely flat. Can ofc be fixed, but it is like Nissan put stairs in there.
2004ish Nissan Patrol with 200k+ km - 18k$:
These are tanks. Lots of space. Also prone to rust. Drives like a tractor. Not sure on what parts for these are in price. Very heavy cars, and not allowed to carry much weight. Only just under 600kg of passengers and stuff. Not sure how the engines like milage either. The engines that came with these in Norway, the 3.oTD, is know to be one of the weaker engine choices for these cars.
Would love to concider wrangler jk's, ford expedition, toyota 4-runner etc, but they are either waaaay to expensive or didn't come to Norway. Above examples are just that. They come in many milages and conditions. So can get some of them a bit cheaper but with rust and lots of more milage. Everything rusts in Norway. The LR3 example is the cheapest I could find though :P Can't really concider pick ups either, as winters here are cold, and the dog would not survive being in a cage on the back.
What would you choose and why? Please come with alternatives as well, but it is likely that I wont be able to get that in Norway.
