Is it possible to get a Pickup for under £3k?

[Louisa911]

The other half is looking for something bigger than his current hatchback runabout to transport our mountain bikes and gear, preferably inside the vehicle rather than on the current bike carrier. Price needs to be around £3000, maximum would be £3500. Perfect option would be a VW transporter but judging by current prices, that won't happen anytime soon, all are incredibly high mileage if you find one for under £5k. The Vito is an option, but I think a much better solution would be something like an L200, Navara, Hilux pickup with hartop canopy and would probably be a bit more versatile as a daily vehicle.

I've had a quick scout around autotrader and ebay with little luck, some vehicles are sub-£3k but always tend to have an offputting factor of some kind, usually mileage or general agricultural wear. Are there any other similar pickups or vehicles that I could look into that may offer something along these lines for that price?

Many thanks

[Pothole]

Series Landy/Defender?

[busta]

Why not look at estate cars? Plenty of Mercs, BMW, Audi and Volvo estates in your budget that would easily swallow several bikes. With the back seats folded they will all give you a longer load bed than any double cab pickup, are more secure and far far nicer to drive. Running costs wouldn't be much different either. Few diesel pickups get more than 26mpg- that's 250hp+ estate car territory.

My Volvo 940 can fit 3 mountain bikes in the boot, back seats still up with only the front wheels removed from the bikes, and I have a large subwoofer in a box taking up quarter of the boot space.

BMW 540- Perhaps a little thirsty

Saab 9-3 2.0T

Audi A4 2.5TDI Quattro

Another BMW- 523 touring

Food for thought, I know what I'd be getting.

Edited by busta on Wednesday 7th July 00:39

[jbi]

land rover would be easiest to find and cheapest to keep on the road, but they also like tender loving care, and can be quite temperamental.

Hilux would be your best bet... make sure you get one with the 3.0 litre engine as the 2.4's had head gasket issues.

trucks hold their value well, even at high mileages, because you can use them to earn money.

[arfur daley]

jcb?

[sherman]

arfur daley said:

jcb?

Where in the cab would you keep a bike? The OP already said it has to be stored in the car.

[arfur daley]

sherman said:

arfur daley said:

jcb?

Where in the cab would you keep a bike? The OP already said it has to be stored in the car.

oh bugger yes.

[Louisa911]

The large estate idea is a very good call, if it were me I think I'd be going along those lines. The Saab in particular I do love those. Will send him the suggestions, he may see sense! haha.

But forgot to add, he also has a part time plumbing and chimney sweeping business with his grandfather outside his regular job, so a van/pickup type thing would be a good investment for work as well as biking, once he fully continues the business when his grandfather no longer can.

Thanks for the help and info so far.

[WestYorkie]

busta said:

Audi A4 2.5TDI Quattro

Now that looks like a good buy

[5potTurbo]

WestYorkie said:

busta said:

Audi A4 2.5TDI Quattro

Now that looks like a good buy

Good, torquey engines. I had a new one of these in 2000.

[OnTheOverrun]

This is what you want and you should find one in budget if you're careful. It will definitely manage with the weight of the bike in the back. . . . . .

[C8PPO]

I recently bought a truck and was amazed at the money these Jap pickups fetch. As the OP says, a lot have been used for the intended purpose which tends to make them seem fairly tired by the time they reach 5 or 6 years old.

You will find - although not easily - a pickup for £3000-3500 but you'll have to hunt, be patient, and be prepared to travel. You're probably looking at 2001/2002 vintage maximum at that money (there are always exceptions, but generally.....).

I ended up paying £4k for a 2004 Ranger which was more than I planned to spend as it was very much a second vehicle, but if I wanted one then that's what it took.

[Jgtv]

Doubt you will get a Navara or something like that, running in decent nick for 3K.

You will get a half decent van, or a high miles Pickup for that cash though.

http://www.anchorvans.co.uk/vans/small-vans/5000-p...

Not my site, I have nothing to do with it, but there are plenty of vans to choose from, even a few pick ups about 3-4K mark although they are quite high miles.

[Matt_N]

Toyota Hilux?

[Lensey]

I had the same dilemma, after thinking about it long and hard I decided that a pickup was going to be too slow to take me to the trials, Wales is 250 miles away and the Alps 500 so I wanted something I could cover the distance with speed and comfort, I got a 53 plate Accord tourer, paid £4k for it with 88k miles and it’s been brilliant! Room for three bikes and all the gear in the back so it’s quite big inside, 2 litre engine so quite economical, oh and it goes really fast for an estate!

[mattviatura]

Considering your username and the post topic it's a good job this wasn't mistakenly posted in The lounge.

[Louisa911]

mattviatura said:

Considering your username and the post topic it's a good job this wasn't mistakenly posted in The lounge.

Who's, mine? I don't actually like 911s that much btw, its just been my username for years on many different accounts since I was a kid and never changed it.

[300bhp/ton]

Louisa911 said:

The other half is looking for something bigger than his current hatchback runabout to transport our mountain bikes and gear, preferably inside the vehicle rather than on the current bike carrier. Price needs to be around £3000, maximum would be £3500. Perfect option would be a VW transporter but judging by current prices, that won't happen anytime soon, all are incredibly high mileage if you find one for under £5k. The Vito is an option, but I think a much better solution would be something like an L200, Navara, Hilux pickup with hartop canopy and would probably be a bit more versatile as a daily vehicle.

I've had a quick scout around autotrader and ebay with little luck, some vehicles are sub-£3k but always tend to have an offputting factor of some kind, usually mileage or general agricultural wear. Are there any other similar pickups or vehicles that I could look into that may offer something along these lines for that price?

Many thanks

Any such vehicle at this price range will have high'ish mileage and have been used and abused. That is exactly what they are built for. Many will however still run for years.

Have you consider looking at a Land Rover Discovery? £3k should get you a tidy one, and with the seats folded down (or removed if you don't want them) makes for a large secure load bay.

[arfur daley]

300bhp/ton said:

Louisa911 said:

The other half is looking for something bigger than his current hatchback runabout to transport our mountain bikes and gear, preferably inside the vehicle rather than on the current bike carrier. Price needs to be around £3000, maximum would be £3500. Perfect option would be a VW transporter but judging by current prices, that won't happen anytime soon, all are incredibly high mileage if you find one for under £5k. The Vito is an option, but I think a much better solution would be something like an L200, Navara, Hilux pickup with hartop canopy and would probably be a bit more versatile as a daily vehicle.

I've had a quick scout around autotrader and ebay with little luck, some vehicles are sub-£3k but always tend to have an offputting factor of some kind, usually mileage or general agricultural wear. Are there any other similar pickups or vehicles that I could look into that may offer something along these lines for that price?

Many thanks

Any such vehicle at this price range will have high'ish mileage and have been used and abused. That is exactly what they are built for. Many will however still run for years.

Have you consider looking at a Land Rover Discovery? £3k should get you a tidy one, and with the seats folded down (or removed if you don't want them) makes for a large secure load bay.

and with the back seats down it will go faster.

[Rusty Arches]

Go with the Talivan:



Cheap as chips, cool as hell, won't need fixing every 30 meter like a shoddy Land Rover.

http://pistonheads.co.uk/sales/1833991.htm