Coc-ker

iTrader: (1)

After a Pick Up for my business and also for driving across europe at some point. Has to be 4x4 and big enough to sling ladders in the back.

Obviously what springs to mind is a Hilux, but are their other Pick-ups just as good that I should look out for.

I don't really care about the condition of the vehicle, just as long as it will keep plodding along for a long, long time.

Any suggestions?

Andy M3

For driving across Europe, I wouldn't have a pick up. They are not the best drive and crippling with leaf-springs!

There are some decent 4x4/SUV's out there with roof rails though?

What is your budget?

500

How about somthing along the lines of Dodge RAM 5.7 HEMI TWIN CAB on eBay, also, Other Cars, Cars, Cars, Parts Vehicles (end time 20-Jan-09 18:21:32 GMT) ??

Coc-ker

iTrader: (1)

Don't mind about the ride quality etc. it's purely gonna be a workhorse that is going to be abused. The budget can stretch as far as I need it to go to get something reliable, but I can't see in this market having to pay over 3000 for 10-20 year old pick-ups unless they'v had some offroad kit put on.

ScooByer Trade

If i were you i wouldn't bother with the Mitsi L200 2.5td they are slow & with a chip they are slow.Don't buy the Nissan Navara from about 2000 onwards, only scored 2 stars in the ncap crash test.If you lthink the Mitsi suits your need go to some owners forums first.I'm guessing the 2.4 Hilux is quite slow i don't know.All of the jap pickups are reliable to a point, it's just about how much reliability you want.£3,000 would get a decent Hilux i suppose & i would recommend one over the Mitsi, but you may need to fix a few bits and pieces.Ford make a pickup truck for here, don't know much about them though.

Here is a list of other pickups from the mag www.4x4i.com

score out of 100.

Ford Ranger top spec price £24,151 63/100
Izuzu Rodeo top spec price £29,374 62/100
LR Defender 110 top spec price £27,005 57/100
Mazda BT-50 top spec price £19,589 62/100
Mitsi L200 (top spec engine 165 bhp 258 lb ft) top spec price £24,733 64/100
Navara (highly recommended) top spec list price £29,211 68/100
Hilux (winner) top spec model list price £27,680 69/100


This is from Septembers issue.Pointless mentioning the cost, the Mazda is probably free.

ScooByer Trade

Edit the new Navara had niggly reliability issues with the driveline and clutch sorry about that.

SPEN555

Damn beat me to it, I thought of the Dodge as soon as I saw the thread

How about a Hummer I think they do an open back one?

4X4BOB

I have a Navara, just over 2 years old now, and not a thing gone wrong with it.
They all had a recall for the airbag software update (the crash testing showed the deployment was too slow/late) and the first few had some niggles which would have been sorted under warranty anyway.

I drive mine to Europe at least twice a year, each trip is 1,000 miles each way, and no problems. Just sail along the Autobahns with the cruise set at 90mph all the way.

What about this version of the Navara king cab:

Coc-ker

iTrader: (1)

The reason I'm attracted to an older, cheaper model is the fact I won't mind if it gets wrecked a bit through hard use.
Also in the current climate I don't want to buy a newer vehicle which will depreciate very quickly and am I correct in thinking most of the newer pickups are in the higher tax band??

al4x1

I've a 51 plate L200 for exactly the reason you want one, Cost £2600 plus vat on 85K so to me a bit of a bargain. Has a fair few scratches etc but thats fine by me as it will be abused off road. Not the fastest in the world but I do get 30mpg average it will do 80 so not too bad for a 4x4, not in your luxury 4x4 market but then who would take their poncy X5 off road and get it properly muddy. All I've done is basic servicing and put on some mud tyres and so far its been faultless. Watch for cracked heads on models arround 2003 and glow plugs can give agro but generally they are pretty good. Even a cracked head isn't the end of the world with new ones at £400 if you're handy with a spanner its not the end of the world. If you've had a 4x4 before most things are basic and fairly old style and easy to get at and change. Ladder wise you won't get the longest one in the back as the bed is fairly short but as a work / leisure vehicle I'd say its cheap motoring.

Coc-ker

iTrader: (1)

Cheers, good info there. I intend on having the ladders in the back and resting on a bar over the cab.

ScooByer Trade

Coc-ker you mean like frames on transit tipper trucks ?.

al4x1

if you get one of the less poncy models it'll come with the rack fitted, mine had it welded onto the body. Downside is you can't have one on and fit a canopy on the back

zip106

Pick ups are classed as commercial vehicles so you shouldn't pay more than £180 a year.

51st state

i have one of these
ebay Item number: 320332464574

best pickup you can get, vastly underated , i'm on my second one, have also had an L200(isuzu better and bigger cab, 4/5 adults no probs)
mine has been to nurburgring and back loaded with motorcycles at 80mph all the way
and all over the country, everyone who travels distance with me is surprised at the comfort
and a proper workhorse,
suspension isn't as stiff as L200 so has a lot better offroad travel
best engine is probably 2.8turbo , mine is 2.5turbo intercooler
just averaged 27mpg at 70/80mph with 4 adults and a weeks ski gear each in it to and from stansted to manchester
its 2002 model with 100k on it now,
as most of these isuzu's were imported there is no CO rating on the logbook so tax is £185 even if they change there status as a commercial
i've also , only been charged as a car on the M6 toll

ford rangers are very greedy fuel wise !!!
navara's have engine problems new and old!!
hi-lux good but no match for isuzu

4X4BOB

I hope thats not your ebay listing, its a p!ss poor advert!

And D22 Navara's had some con rods fail, so Nissan upped the warranty to 5 years on the engines!
The Later D40 Navara's DO NOT have the same engine problems, its a modded unit in the later ones.

Isuzu's I wouldn't touch with a barge pole, loads of engine related problems as well as being a poorly spec'd truck.

L200 are sloooooooow as **** and have a short bed, plus they're always breaking down.

Hi-lux are nice motors, older ones are better built than newr ones.

For a newer truck it would have to be the D40 Navara, its the fastest (over 100 is easy), biggest load bed and highest equipment levels of the lot.

Europes best selling pick up!

Mine os £120 for 12 months tax as I got it before the Euro4 cheap tax closed.


If I was going for an older truck, it would be the Hi-Lux.

zip106

Heh, bit of a sweeping statement there, Bob!

My L200 has 165bhp and certainly isn't slow (comparatively speaking!)

The new shapes are holding up quite well as far as breakdowns go, too.

BUT, I wouldn't recommend one pick up over another anymore. They're all just 2.5 tons of junk, held up on 19th century cart springs

51st state

this guy wants to spend about £3000, from what he's said !!
that rules out all the new pickups with the quick motors ( you don't get speed without fuel consumption!)
seems funny the isuzu trucks seem to fetch better money in country's that use them as work horses, and most breakers are being exported to the likes of africa etc
hi-lux engines are far from bullit proof !!!! unless you get the non turbo
the new shape navara is the best looking truck imo , shame its powered by renault engines(i have had old renault diesels , loved them aswell great cars)
new engines have issues with big end shells with engines putting conrods out at 30/400000miles don't they !!!!
the ebay ad isn't mine, but why the silly comment

4X4BOB

I know the guys looking at cheaper models, thats why I said for an older truck go for a Hi-Lux, I even put it in BOLD


New D40 Navara engines DO NOT HAVE ENGINE ISSUES
It was the D22 model that had the engine probs.
No4 bearing would wear, seize up and throw a con rod through the block.

D40 fuel consumption is better than most, an efficient engine gives you power and economy. Mid 30's mpg is easy to get unless you want an auto?

why the silly comment? Don't see it as SILLY, more FACT! It was a very poor ebay listing, which YOU drew attention too for some reason. Most would just say what vehicle they had rather than point to a ebay listing for one the same? Makes me think you are connected to the listing! Either way, I'd be embarassed if that was my listing!

As a Isuzu owner, what can I say about you that you havent said already?

ScooByer Trade

I think the engine in the L200 came from the mk1 Pajero, correct me if i'm wrong though.

ash002004

iTrader: (1)

You can pick up a decent working Warrior L200 for about £4000, as I saw in the local papers the other day!

al4x1

sure is

51st state

>I know the guys looking at cheaper models, thats why I said for an older truck go for a Hi-Lux, I even put it in [B]BOLD[/B<

so coc-ker should ignore 90% of what you say as its irrelevant to him


>New D40 Navara engines DO NOT HAVE ENGINE ISSUES <
thats no quite what i hear in the 4x4 world , anyway its pointless info for coc-ker

>why the silly comment? Don't see it as SILLY, more FACT! It was a very poor ebay listing, which YOU drew attention too for some reason. Most would just say what vehicle they had rather than point to a ebay listing for one the same? Makes me think you are connected to the listing! Either way, I'd be embarassed if that was my listing!<

perhaps it was shown because its at the price coc-ker was looking at
heres some more i have something to do with not
Item number: 280303294622
Item number: 370095284119
and i wonder how this one reached that mileage being so bad perhaps its had 3 engines
Item number: 380073624324

ash002004

iTrader: (1)

Didn't the Navara's have timing chain problems and nearly all of them had to be recalled?

I haven't read through since earlier so I apologise if this point has already risen!

G00ner

Isuzu are the worlds biggest selling pickup truck.

Anyway calm down moosh.

Matteeboy

Hi Lux all the way - used them in my Geotec Engineering job and they were bombproof despite being horribly abused.
Might sound daft but worth looking at a petrol one - the diesels are hardly any better on fuel and very noisy. Petrols are smoother.

Dad had an old Ford P100 pickup for a while. Had a 400bhp V8 dropped in it (not sure what it had done to it but it was evil), air suspension and a few minor visual tweaks. It was almost stock looking but was insanely fast and flipping lethal! Could carry two tonnes (partially due to the adjustable suspension) of cr4p one day then race 911s the next!

Coc-ker

iTrader: (1)

Good info here, keep it coming!!!

TBH petrol would be good as I have a fuel card for it!

So far the Hi-Lux looks promising. Also which companies do you insure them with? Any good ones to look out for?

Cheers, Tim.

51st state

if petrol is ok then you could go for the L200 TROJAN (i think its that one) it has the 3.0 V6 petrol in it , ideal for cruising long distance , should be as good at least as the diesel engines at 80mph and above
they will be cheap and will have done little work compared to diesel trucks ,
just a thought

s20pe

I have had an L200 d22 and a ford ranger and bottom line you cant beat the ranger for value . not bad on fuel cheaper to buy and reliable after all its basicaly a mazda and coz its a ford there is a lot of dealers and you can take it to mazda as well , you will pick up a ranger for a better price than other makes take a look on www.brightwells.co.uk its a auction for 4x4 of all discriptions I have bought loads of vehicles from there and they are good value it's a good web site and they have a recent result's page so you can see what stuf is making

ScooByer Trade

Have a look at this video on youtube, it's about the Navara.Nissan advise anyone who owns this model to have a recall done about airbags deploying too late.This video is the euroncap test and scored 1 star not 2 stars, and said the one star was struck through (meaning it didn't get 1 or more stars).I still insist you watch and read the description, even if you own the upgraded version.

YouTube - Nissan Navara Crashtest