used 4x4 advice - sense vs risk .... heading for a fall?
Discussion
Hi, looking for people who know more about cars/4x4's than me to steer me in the right direction.
I need/want a decent sized 4x4 that supports 20k miles a year for visiting various sites for work with kit in the boot, and act as a family wagon for weekend trips, UK hols and rugby festivals/similar. The boot space needs to be biggish.
I now want petrol as I get a 'deal'. Fuel costs are ZERO impact for me.
I currently drive a 2007 Nissan Murano. Its beginning to get too tatty and has many niggles - for a working vehicle. I don't love it but it serves a purpose. The boot is better than some may think as although low on litres it has a decent floor space - after all you put stuff on the floor first. My cars seem to get very messy very quickly hence cash buys on older cars. This is mainly due to rugby kids rather than work e.g. boot prints on the ceiling of my car...that's life I guess.
This is what my plans are:
A) sensible choice: get a 2013 Honda CRV for about £14k. Drive it for 4 years and then get back what I can. Mileage will be near 150K by then, so not much and I accept that. I like the cars. This is not a drama. Possibly an Outlander PHEV as a backup
B) what might happen if no good CRV option: get another Murano. for about £7k. Drive it for a couple of years and bin it (as good as)
C) what I'd really prefer but goes against my slightly risk averse nature: get a old RR, RRS, Toureg, Lexus, XC90, similar for about £8k drive it for a couple of years and then bin it.
My query on C) is reliability. I don't mind spending, even spending a bit more than I'd like, on ongoing bits and bobs. But I do mind spending £X,000, and it being off road for long periods, on a car that I'm only looking to last 2,2.5 years. Before my Nissan I had a Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0D. I loved the car but it was a bit of a dog. I was always wondering if it would start properly, what would go wrong next. It just played on my mind. The Nissan is tatty etc but I have been fairly sure its going to start each time. Its been quite comforting after the Jeep.
Of the options in C) (other suggestions are fine) what ones should I simply discount due to 'not being worth the hassle'. Obviously all individual cars are different. You could get 4 years out of a RR no real probs and get 2 years drama from a Honda - but I am all for generalising when trying to make a call.
thanks for reading
I need/want a decent sized 4x4 that supports 20k miles a year for visiting various sites for work with kit in the boot, and act as a family wagon for weekend trips, UK hols and rugby festivals/similar. The boot space needs to be biggish.
I now want petrol as I get a 'deal'. Fuel costs are ZERO impact for me.
I currently drive a 2007 Nissan Murano. Its beginning to get too tatty and has many niggles - for a working vehicle. I don't love it but it serves a purpose. The boot is better than some may think as although low on litres it has a decent floor space - after all you put stuff on the floor first. My cars seem to get very messy very quickly hence cash buys on older cars. This is mainly due to rugby kids rather than work e.g. boot prints on the ceiling of my car...that's life I guess.
This is what my plans are:
A) sensible choice: get a 2013 Honda CRV for about £14k. Drive it for 4 years and then get back what I can. Mileage will be near 150K by then, so not much and I accept that. I like the cars. This is not a drama. Possibly an Outlander PHEV as a backup
B) what might happen if no good CRV option: get another Murano. for about £7k. Drive it for a couple of years and bin it (as good as)
C) what I'd really prefer but goes against my slightly risk averse nature: get a old RR, RRS, Toureg, Lexus, XC90, similar for about £8k drive it for a couple of years and then bin it.
My query on C) is reliability. I don't mind spending, even spending a bit more than I'd like, on ongoing bits and bobs. But I do mind spending £X,000, and it being off road for long periods, on a car that I'm only looking to last 2,2.5 years. Before my Nissan I had a Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0D. I loved the car but it was a bit of a dog. I was always wondering if it would start properly, what would go wrong next. It just played on my mind. The Nissan is tatty etc but I have been fairly sure its going to start each time. Its been quite comforting after the Jeep.
Of the options in C) (other suggestions are fine) what ones should I simply discount due to 'not being worth the hassle'. Obviously all individual cars are different. You could get 4 years out of a RR no real probs and get 2 years drama from a Honda - but I am all for generalising when trying to make a call.
thanks for reading
I think if you want a petrol powered proper 4x4 then your choices are fairly limited. Usually these kinds of vehicles are exclusively diesel powered, other than perhaps the very top of the range 'sporty' version.
Some alternative suggestions off the top of my head would be Skoda Yeti, Subaru Forester, Toyota Rav 4, Lexus RX.
Some alternative suggestions off the top of my head would be Skoda Yeti, Subaru Forester, Toyota Rav 4, Lexus RX.
If you can find one 4.2 V8 Touareg could be good.
L322 Range Rover an obvious one, good as they are they are not reliable cars.
Mazda CX-7 with the 2.3 Turbo from the MPS are nice if you don't mind the tax and mpg. Cheap too.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
L322 Range Rover an obvious one, good as they are they are not reliable cars.
Mazda CX-7 with the 2.3 Turbo from the MPS are nice if you don't mind the tax and mpg. Cheap too.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
Edited by LayZ on Thursday 9th March 19:53
I've had a 4.5s Cayenne for about 4 years now. Had a few issues in the beginning but been reliable fur the last couple of years even though it's 13 years and 100k miles old.
Fabulous car - far more fun than something like this should be (air suspension is great, flick it in sport mode down a twisty road) and very practical.
Fabulous car - far more fun than something like this should be (air suspension is great, flick it in sport mode down a twisty road) and very practical.
Option C is real 4x4 territory so you will be hit with the running cost of a 2ton + car, tyres, break pads, discs etc etc will cost more that the CRV's of this world.
Touareg good shout. Tough car. V10 or V8 if fuel cost not issue although personally I would find a well maintained 3.0tdi. Only 2 mains issues on these, get the propshaft bearings changed every <70K and if the gearbox clunks between 4/5th then avoid or budget in £1-£2K fix.
RR or RRS will be more of a minefield, although a tidy low spec Disco 3 will be worth considering. Although the 2.7TDi is a peach of an engine its sloooowww in 2.5ton Disco
Touareg good shout. Tough car. V10 or V8 if fuel cost not issue although personally I would find a well maintained 3.0tdi. Only 2 mains issues on these, get the propshaft bearings changed every <70K and if the gearbox clunks between 4/5th then avoid or budget in £1-£2K fix.
RR or RRS will be more of a minefield, although a tidy low spec Disco 3 will be worth considering. Although the 2.7TDi is a peach of an engine its sloooowww in 2.5ton Disco
Just done similar very recently, with same criteria. Ended up with a 2005 Cayenne S Diesel. Has had coolant pipes & prop done. Previously had a Jeep Grand Cherokee which is a 2000 4Litre. Some of the bills have been heavy but generally not too bad. Most of the running gear is designed around a 2+ ton car so lasts a reasonable time. At 12K a year it has been brakes every 2 years or so.
I went option A a couple of years ago when my 2003 xtrail started playing up. In a 2009 Rav4 now, just passed 54k miles today and will probably keep it till it gets to at least 125K. The xtrail started playing up at 120k. The Rav isn't anything fantastic, so perfect for day to day stuff, only cost £9k and has all mod cons.
When I did my research it did seem to be if you want something 4x4ish and a few years old then you do need to go jap for reliability and value (the Rav has cost a pittance to run so far) however there is absolutely no prestige/badge credibility with this choice.
When I did my research it did seem to be if you want something 4x4ish and a few years old then you do need to go jap for reliability and value (the Rav has cost a pittance to run so far) however there is absolutely no prestige/badge credibility with this choice.
exelero said:
How about one of these?
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
Unremarkable engines, but the Yamaha V8 XC90 is a bit special. Seem to be reliable, and rare.http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
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