Zero docs, very clean, bought on faith with full warranty. Downhill since. I'm the one at the other end of the stick when it comes to happy Montero owners. Love the way it handles, power is good, but I'm not in love with it. If I didn't have the warranty, I'd be out on the streets.
2001 XLS with 140K
- Thread starter newworld2004
- Start date
Were you able to determine if the miles were actual? I'm sure you are aware, but these trucks have often had their gauge cluster replaced and mileage is often not accurate. When I was looking probably 75% of the trucks with less than 100K miles had an inaccurate odometer. Just curious if it is a mitigating factor with your issues. Hopefully your luck will improve!
newworld2004
Adventurer
How can we make sure miles are accurate ? Carfax or just by looking at gas or brake pedals may not be enough. last week another 05 with appx 20K sold 11K in Washington D.C area.
Swank Force One
Adventurer
Title will show mileage as exempt.
PajEvo
JDM Journeys
I like being able to start in second in the snow. The extra gear is great when towing my trailer. But the 03+ also gets one of the best traction control systems available imho, which makes an 03+ worth it, all on its own.
OP...did you say the timing belt had NEVER been changed? At 140k miles? Yowsers...
OP...did you say the timing belt had NEVER been changed? At 140k miles? Yowsers...
No, the transfer case in the 5 speed cars has an actuator to shift from high to low range.
The carfax we had showed continuous records for registration, NY state. Nothing was amiss.
Yeah, but I thought we were talking about the transmission, not the transfer case.
This isn't a good indication as many states do not check for mileage discrepancies when issuing titles and only rely only on the seller's "certification" that the mileage is actual. It is certainly illegal to falsify this statement, but hard to catch people doing it.
My '02's title showed only 60K "actual" miles, but I'm quite sure it was over 170K based on the carfax service records and a bit of math. Still, it was in great shape. The only giveaways I noticed were a number of burned out dash/hvac lights and all of 3rd brake light bulbs (which honestly shouldn't burn out in with such minimal use). The wheels were pretty dingy and pitted, but at the time I didn't have another Montero to compare it to.
As long as you are in a state that provides inspection records to Carfax, a CF report is probably your best bet.
nw2004,
Personal recommendation is to look for a Limited. As many have stated, you can get one in that price range. If you really hate leather, aim for a 2003 XLS which is nearly the same as the Limited but with cloth -- and gets you the larger engine and TC.
Having owned both an earlier and later model Gen3, I can say you won't notice much of a difference either way. I personally like the more aggressive look of the 01-02, but there is something to be said about having the newest/best condition truck you can find in your price range.
You'll probably have a hard time finding ANY Montero for sale that isn't due for a timing belt so I'd just budget for it or learn to do it yourself. Granted you can hopefully use that as a bargaining chip with the seller.
Personal recommendation is to look for a Limited. As many have stated, you can get one in that price range. If you really hate leather, aim for a 2003 XLS which is nearly the same as the Limited but with cloth -- and gets you the larger engine and TC.
Having owned both an earlier and later model Gen3, I can say you won't notice much of a difference either way. I personally like the more aggressive look of the 01-02, but there is something to be said about having the newest/best condition truck you can find in your price range.
You'll probably have a hard time finding ANY Montero for sale that isn't due for a timing belt so I'd just budget for it or learn to do it yourself. Granted you can hopefully use that as a bargaining chip with the seller.
Mrknowitall
Adventurer
The two go hand in hand- the 01-02 XLS had a different trans AND T-case. It used the old carry-over trans from the previous model with 4.90 axles. The T-case is NOT the same as the older Monties, however, since its a simple part-time box. All 5speed equipped trucks have the fancy t-case. Also, the ratio spread on the 5speed is much greater, so even with the 4.30 gears that came with all 5-speed trucks, 1st is numerically deeper. OD is the same, so an XLS would POTENTIALLY deal with bigger tires a little better on the freeway, but not around town.