"Budget" Vehicles for DD/OL/Expo

[clemson]

Hello,

I have come a long ways the past few days. First and foremost, I have realized something that I have been trying to get my wife and buddies to do (travel camping out of a vehicle) has a term! I am in the middle of some major vehicle research and I would appreciate some insight. 90% of the time, the vehicle I choose will transport my wife and dog on the usual outdoor activities (hunting, fishing, hikinh, kayaking, etc). The other 10%, I am interested in making some longer range trips camping out of the back of the vehicle. I am in SC and would love to make the trip to Montana. Budget is 7k.

I started off looking at Jeep Cherokee Xj. I like the vehciles, but I can already tell it will be hard to find one that is in good condition. Granted, I have not been searching long, but XJ's have been the most beat up vehicle on my list. I also notice they are more popular with the hardcore off roaders.

Second I moved to 4runners. I love 4runners. But I think they offer the least value because of their price used. I don't want to spend 5-8k on a vehicle that is right at 200k miles. If price was not an issue (and it always is because I am a cheap SOB) I would go with the 4runner.

Finally, I have moved on to the "other" category. I really do like both the Isuzu Trooper and the Mitsubishi Montero. Aesthetically I prefer the trooper. I do prefer an automatic transmission. I have found nicely priced examples of both models and I think they are a great value. What I do worry about is reliability. I know the trooper has some transmission issues with the automatic. I have not found anything of note on the montero. How do these vehicle compare to the legendary 4runner as far as reliability? Are they easy to work on?

What would you guys suggest someone with limited wrenching skills go for? I am open to learning and working on my vehicles, but I don't want to wrench more than drive.

 

[95Gstman]

For what it is worth, I absolutely love my 1992 Trooper. I actually sold a 1991 Land Cruiser, and am happier with the Trooper. I know that won't be a popular opinion on here, but the Trooper gets way better milage, is faster relatively speaking, brakes better, and can still get me everywhere I need to go considering it is a daily driver. I really feel like these vehicles are highly underrated, which is kind of a good thing, because it means you can get them at much more affordable prices than most of the Toyota stuff. Got the truck below for $1200 with a few minor issues, and plan to keep it for a long time. Don't get me wrong, I have had quite a few Toyota 4wd's and love them (FJ Cruiser, Tacoma, 80 Series) but I don't think I have seen a better bang for the buck expedition/overlanding vehicle than the Trooper. Good luck on the search.

 

[jschmidt]

Look at Xterras

 

[ExDementia]

On top of XJs, you should look into ZJs and WJs as well. Just as capable, but available in a wider variety of engine configurations (although the 4.0 is the most reliable and easiest to work on by far), and you might be able to find one in better condition. I would still take a solid XJ over them, but you're right, they can be somewhat difficult to find in decent condition.

As Jschmidt said, Xterras are often overlooked. They're solid off roaders and are just as practical as any other on the list, though the aftermarket isn't near what the Jeeps have.

Good luck!

 

[87Warrior]

The XJ is a fantastic vehicle and they are still plentiful on the market. Seeing that you are located out of the rust belt, a nice rust free XJ should be relatively easy to come by. The XJ's cousins, ZJ and WJ are also solid choices. They all have their nuances so pick your battles.

A $7k budget does yield a lot of possibilities for you, more so if you are willing to do some maintenance yourself. Even the 100 series Land Cruiser and GX470 are within those bounds. I bought my '99 100 in January for $6k, put $1k into it and have driven it 19k miles in 11 months. My wife and dog love it too.

I have no experience with Troopers, but after being around a few Monteros I wouldn't hesitate to seriously consider those as well.

 

[Martinjmpr]

I've been very impressed with the R50 Pathfinder I picked up in September. It's pretty much my DD but with a few modifications could be a great trail vehicle. It's on the small side but big enough for sleeping in the back, though just barely.
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R50 Pathfinders (1996 - 2004) are very common on the used market here in CO, not sure about SC.
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With the vehicles you've mentioned, one issue you're going to get into is age. 2001 was the last year for the XJ Cherokoee, and AFAIK Monteros and Troopers stopped being sold in the US around 2002 - 2003, so anything you consider will be 12+ years old and probably over 150k.
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Another one you might want to consider would be the Chevy Trailblazer/GMC Envoy. You can usually find those with lower prices in pretty decent condition and they were made through 2009. Body-on-frame construction with easy-to-find GM components. the 4.2l I-6 is apparently pretty powerful for its size (275hp and 275 tq.) Only real potential weakness might be the 4L60 transmission but any decent transmission shop should be able to fix that if necessary. There's not much aftermarket but a mild lift and decent tires will probably get you every where you need to go. If it wasn't for the fact that I like shifting my own gears (the Trailblazer platform was only offered with automatic transmissions) I'd have one now instead of the Pathfinder.
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For something a lot more common with lots of aftermarket, consider a Chevy Tahoe/GMC Yukon or Ford Expedition. Cheap, easy to find and pretty rugged with full sized truck components.

 

[BigBamBoo]

I recently was in the market for a "new-to-me" hunting/off road/camping rig. I was looking in the $8000-10,000 price range. What I discovered was pretty much everything I was looking at would take an additional $1000-3000+ to satisfy MY willingness to trust in the vehicle.

Lets face it, used rigs with 100,000+ miles are going to need some work. Maybe some minor work or...hopefully not....major work.

But for me I would want to know for sure that I gave it a tune up, changed all the fluids, good tires AND spare, if it has a timing belt, replace it, and a good battery. So you can do the math on all that right there.

If your handy, you can do a lot of the work yourself and save a few dollars. If not, get a quote and then add that to your final cost.

I do a lot of solo hunting and camping trips. And to pretty remote places with zero cell coverage. So taking a untried, older, used rig out to the middle of no where and end up with a dead battery or broken timing belt would not be fun.

I ended up keeping my current hunting/off road rig and putting some money into it as I already know what needed to be fixed.


So with that out of the way, when I was searching I found quite a few Troopers and Monteros that had pretty low mileage around $7000-9000. The Toyota's and Nisan's where either all beat up, or more then I wanted to spend. One of the hidden gems I kept stumbling on was the later model Suzuki Grand Vitara's.
There are quite a few 2006-2010 with around 50,000-75,000 miles and priced in the $7000-9000 price range. If you do look at the Grand Vitara's, make sure to get the one with the low range transfer case.

I know the Xterra was mentioned, but after having owned a 2012 I would NEVER recommend one. Mine was nothing but problems. Alternator went out, rear end had to be replaced, tire pressure monitoring system saw "ghost" flat tires about once a week. There was high pitched whine at hwy speeds that the dealership could never track down. And they have a internal radiator transmission cooler leak issue which will kill your transmission if it has that problem. A well documented problem. Search "Xterra milkshake" and see for yourself.
Luckily, all these issues where covered under warranty.

Yes, everyone can get a lemon, but it sure put me off to the Xterra.

Good luck on your search. Let us know what you come up with.

 

[BEG]

I would recommend a Montero in either the Gen 2.5 with a winter package or the Gen 3 with the 6G75 engine ('03-'06). They are reliable, overbuilt trucks that have some real advantages over the competition, IMO.

The 2.5 is (subjectively) a great looking truck with a solid rear axle that was available with a factory air locker ('98-'99 winter package). The transfer case is manually selected and has a true 2WD setting as well as full-time 4WD. Locking hubs are an easy upgrade and low t-case and diff gears are available as well as aftermarket air lockers. The Montero also has a rear mounted spare, real third row and a gigantic sunroof. This would be my pick (I owned two) for a more offroad oriented overland rig.

The Gen III is the pick when a more road-oriented rig is required. It's no slouch off-road (has a record holding number of wins in the Dakar Rally) despite being IFS/IRS and has an incredible traction control system. It's a monocoque body design which is stronger than a unibody (and, since you're looking at XJs...). The last year for these was '06 in the States so they don't have as big a following as some of the other platforms, but there's a wealth of information worldwide under the "Pajero" search term.

The biggest drawback I can think of is that the service intervals are very short for things like timing belts and water pumps and, unlike other makes, they don't have much of a safety margin built in. IIRC, the timing belt interval is only 60,000 miles. When I did the TB job, I reused a factory tensioner that tested out ok per the manual and it ended up fragging the engine (interference type). Access to the components is also a bear. The entire intake manifold as well as the upper and lower plenums have to be removed just to access the spark plugs. They also have a very slim aftermarket in North America, but that seems to be picking up as more people are building them.

The biggest mechanical issues seem to be oil leaks (cam seals front and rear, valve seals) and crank bolts that walk-out on their own (fixed with updated OEM bolt and washer).

My current rig is an LX470 which suits my family better for a variety of reasons, but I often miss some of the features of my Monteros.

 

[clemson]

I recently was in the market for a "new-to-me" hunting/off road/camping rig. I was looking in the $8000-10,000 price range. What I discovered was pretty much everything I was looking at would take an additional $1000-3000+ to satisfy MY willingness to trust in the vehicle.

Lets face it, used rigs with 100,000+ miles are going to need some work. Maybe some minor work or...hopefully not....major work.

But for me I would want to know for sure that I gave it a tune up, changed all the fluids, good tires AND spare, if it has a timing belt, replace it, and a good battery. So you can do the math on all that right there.

If your handy, you can do a lot of the work yourself and save a few dollars. If not, get a quote and then add that to your final cost.

I do a lot of solo hunting and camping trips. And to pretty remote places with zero cell coverage. So taking a untried, older, used rig out to the middle of no where and end up with a dead battery or broken timing belt would not be fun.

I ended up keeping my current hunting/off road rig and putting some money into it as I already know what needed to be fixed.


So with that out of the way, when I was searching I found quite a few Troopers and Monteros that had pretty low mileage around $7000-9000. The Toyota's and Nisan's where either all beat up, or more then I wanted to spend. One of the hidden gems I kept stumbling on was the later model Suzuki Grand Vitara's.
There are quite a few 2006-2010 with around 50,000-75,000 miles and priced in the $7000-9000 price range. If you do look at the Grand Vitara's, make sure to get the one with the low range transfer case.

I know the Xterra was mentioned, but after having owned a 2012 I would NEVER recommend one. Mine was nothing but problems. Alternator went out, rear end had to be replaced, tire pressure monitoring system saw "ghost" flat tires about once a week. There was high pitched whine at hwy speeds that the dealership could never track down. And they have a internal radiator transmission cooler leak issue which will kill your transmission if it has that problem. A well documented problem. Search "Xterra milkshake" and see for yourself.
Luckily, all these issues where covered under warranty.

Yes, everyone can get a lemon, but it sure put me off to the Xterra.

Good luck on your search. Let us know what you come up with.

I think I am getting tripped up by the fact that I don't know anybody with a montero or trooper. Everybody I hunt with runs Tacomas or 4runners and they don't have many issues. My dad is a die hard toyota fan. The appeal is there is so much support for Toyota. I'm still looking at all my options. But I am leaning more and more to increasing my budget and going Toyota. I can pay cash either way, but its tough to justify big money (big money to me) on vehicles that will still need a fair amount of work/money tokeep on the road. Even 10k puts me in a high miles vehicle with the 4runner.

 

[clemson]

The XJ is a fantastic vehicle and they are still plentiful on the market. Seeing that you are located out of the rust belt, a nice rust free XJ should be relatively easy to come by. The XJ's cousins, ZJ and WJ are also solid choices. They all have their nuances so pick your battles.

A $7k budget does yield a lot of possibilities for you, more so if you are willing to do some maintenance yourself. Even the 100 series Land Cruiser and GX470 are within those bounds. I bought my '99 100 in January for $6k, put $1k into it and have driven it 19k miles in 11 months. My wife and dog love it too.

I have no experience with Troopers, but after being around a few Monteros I wouldn't hesitate to seriously consider those as well.

If there are cheap Xj's around, then I am not seeing them. A few 2x4's are cheap. The average XJ in my area is running 3-4k with 200k miles on them. I seen a 01 that was priced nice, but I heard that year is prone to blowing a head. I really like the XJ, but I don't feel they warrant a premium.

 

[87Warrior]

If there are cheap Xj's around, then I am not seeing them. A few 2x4's are cheap. The average XJ in my area is running 3-4k with 200k miles on them. I seen a 01 that was priced nice, but I heard that year is prone to blowing a head. I really like the XJ, but I don't feel they warrant a premium.

Cheap XJ's simply sell fast. While Jeeps in general have a premium mark up, it is less than Toyota. I am a fan of both. The terms cheap and low mileage have different meanings to everyone. A 200k mile Toyota has lower miles in my opinion and I wouldn't hesitate to buy a $5k rust free XJ.

 

[Traveling 2gether Journal]

I had a '89 Montero for a few years that was pretty capable as a stock vehicle and never had any major mechanical issues. I sold it at close to 200000 miles.

You may also want to consider Suzuki Grand Vitaras. I've never owned one, but I've heard good things as far as budget vehicles with god mpg for light off-road use.

 

[bikerjosh]

Montero 2.5

97-99 Montero 2.5 would be (and is one of) my choice(s). With the winter package (you can tell from photos by presence of headlight washers) came with a rear air locker stock as well as a center locking diff, and a 24 gallon tank. You can run 33 inch tires w/o any suspension mods. While there isn't much aftermarket support, there are a few aftermarket sources and some pretty good support forums. Usually you can find them between 3-4k in reasonable shape.
Good luck in your search

 

[AZ4X4DUDE]

I would narrow it down to your specific likes and what you're going to be doing with the vehicle. I had a couple of XJ'S in my past and for an expedition rig they are fantastic in my opinion, not to mention the immense amounts of aftermarket support for them (jeeps in general)! I own and drive a JKU sport and am happy with it, don't have much done to it, but love the stock feeling for now!

 

[RobertD]

Finance a GX470 and use your 6K on outfitting it