is his head in the sand?

[jeep-N-montero]

Anyone else read this? https://expeditionportal.com/top-10-used-overland-vehicles/

 

[loremordred]

Lol... That old blog.

Yeah, seems he only likes expensive vehicles... I was wondering why no Monty /Pajero..... Maybe because he never drove one, been to Australia or the Philippines /Latin America where they are more prevalent.

Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk

 

[Swank Force One]

No... I personally think the list is fine. Consider the author is in the US, where our trucks are not common, not well supported, and generally not as easy to purchase/build/live with specifically for the purposes laid out in that article, as the options given.

On this continent they're a niche vehicle that simply doesn't exist in quantities to be compared with that list on a general/large scale scenario.

Can SOMEONE build a Monty in the US that stacks up great against that entire list? Of course. Can ANYONE/EVERYONE? No.

 

[Toasty]

Man, you guys may not know this but i was almost a Landrover guy. Had i gone down that path I'd probably be a millionaire but i chose Monteros, maybe i should build Discos and Rangies to fund my Montero addiction.

 

[offthepath]

Good. I like when stuff like this comes out. Placing the montero at #1 would drive up the price of used vehicles

I did find it funny Mercedes and Landrover were on the list. I can't imagine what after market parts for those cost. More than a whole montero, and probably custom in most cases.

Honestly, it read like a typical fan boy piece. Very little critical thinking and geared for the mall crawler crowd who like to talk about their EPIC adventures.

 

[Swank Force One]

Mercedes and Land Rover are both better supported here. Land Rover parts are not extremely expensive, and in fact their suspension stuff is pretty much priced same for equivalent parts.

Now... Would i want most of the motors they came with? Hell no.

...but I don't want the motor my Gen2.5 came with either.


Are we still under the disillusion that we can have a turnkey ready to rock Monty for $3.50 and some pocket lint? Because you can't, no matter how much we as fans want to believe that.

 

[Salonika]

You can get em cheap, but they require investment to bring them back up.......

 

[offthepath]

Well I got my Gen 3 with 98k in damn near perfect condition for 6500. I gueantee you nothing on that list will come close. Front and rear arbs, Tcase gears, etc and Im still several k under what a stock 200k mile 100 LC costs.

And I guess I don't know Mercedes but again I'm sure bumpers, lifts, lockers, sliders, etc are not pocket change.

Are there vehicles that need work out there? sure. But I think dollar for dollar if you can find a good condition Gen 2 or 3 montero it would blow away anything on that list. Can you make a better 4x4 no doubt, but not for under 10k and any Monty you will be in it all said and done for 10k or less.

I will say monteros are not for the mall cruisers whose montra is bolt on everything. You will have to fabricate stuff on a montero. The important ******** is available but yes, you need to be a little handy to make it work in the end.

 

[Swank Force One]

Well... My dad got a perfect late LX470 with about 130k miles for about what you've got in the gen3. And i bought an FZJ80 in perfect condition for over $1k less than your gen3. . (i also bought a cheap Montero because you all said they were great, and I liked our Gen3.)

The list was pretty obviously taking more than cost into consideration. I bet Mercedes armor isn't cheap... But i bet there's multiple options and a more complete range available. How much are bumpers oops i mean "bumper," (singular) for your gen3?

The article was about the top 10 used overland vehicles, not the 10 cheapest.

 

[Mundo4x4Casa]

The list only covers the H.D. SUV segment of the expo population, most with a transfer case and little room for 'stuff'. I'd like to see a list of long term, used expo 4WD vehicles (with lockers and manual transmission) that have enough space and living amenities that you could load up for two, live and travel in for 6 days, 6 months, or 6 years, *self contained, and drive over any road; during any season; in any weather; urban or rural; in any country in the Western hemisphere and nothing to set up or hang outside the rig. Oh, and cost less than $40K US, and will run on 3rd world diesel. There are surprisingly a few out there. I wonder how many thousands of people have already discovered this trend in living and traveling, "inside the box".
*self contained: hard side box; 2x pane windows; insulation good down to 0 deg. F; queen bed; propane or diesel heat source; solar power; range top; fridge; wet bath with shower inside and out; potable water tank with 12v on demand pump; grey water tank; black water tank; not top heavy; not too wide; not too tall; enough storage; and finally plenty of self extraction equipment and ability to use same. jefe

 

[Swift_45a]

I will say monteros are not for the mall cruisers whose montra is bolt on everything. You will have to fabricate stuff on a montero. The important **** is available but yes, you need to be a little handy to make it work in the end.

I think this is what separates us from the rest of the crowds (Toyota/Landrover/Mercedes/Jeep and dare I say even my fellow Nissan brethren) we don't mind having a chassis that requires you to not only know how to turn a wrench, but also to not be intimidated to have to fab things up if needed. A friend asked me why I'm so obssesed with these rigs, I'm on my 3rd 2/2.5 Gen Montero and was thinking of buying a 3.5 Sport today, and I told him its the Mechanics/DIY Fabbers Landcruiser at 1/3 the price.

In most of the World the Montero/Pajero is comparable to the Landcruiser; and for good reason, they're both built with amazing quality but what separates us from them is that we usually don't just own one we like ours so much.

Keep us out of the lists, I'm still buying more chassis'; I honestly think as soon as some rich Korean pays a fab guy like our Eurostar to take on ICON with Monteros you'll see a rapid upsurge in prices, until then I'm glad to have something no one really but an enthusiast knows what it is, let alone know what its capable of; how many people really know what the Dakar rally is, let alone why these rigs dominated it for longer than any other make/model in its entire History.

 

[coffeegoat]

Don't forget this list is also old, circa 2011. I read this exact article when I was choosing my vehicle, and I still picked up my Gen 3 (perhaps if I would have been more patient I would have got one with the 3.8.....) My initial determination still holds up, I can get a mitsu and get all the maintenance done for less than buying a comparable Toyota. I was specifically looking at GX470s at the time because land cruisers were way out of my price range (still are), but I'm still on track to finish my maintenance/build for ~1/2 of what a comparable GX470 would have been - without any maintenance. This starts being less true as the rigs get older just because rigs are generally cheaper because the maintenance cost is roughly the same and the price differential is shrinking, providing you're willing to wait for them.

However - to make that happen I've turned the wrench on everything. Furthermore, I've been willing to do the research, read the forums, etc to find the parts and experience to make it happen. It's also a been a pain to find parts, to get any upgrades and to find that information. It's still outrageously expensive to get headers for a 3.5/3.8, and everyone's exhaust manifolds are cracked... This is also a pain with resale, I know we buy these trucks to use, but a G-Wagen or a well fettled Land Cruiser won't depreciate - like at all - if you put 20-40k miles on it. Which means you can buy a truck, use it for a couple years, and then try a different one, that's a pretty neat perk.

At the end of the day the Mitsu works well for me, because I can do what the truck needed (and I'm too poor to pay someone else to do it) and the truck can do everything I need. It's easy to mock the guys with all the sweet bolt on gear, but if it means they can spend more time on the trail and less time in the shop, good for them. I would love to find an older G-wagen that was owned by a well-to-do soccer mom with all the options that they need to get rid of because the new model has the most amazing shade of puce, but I'd treat it the same as my Mitsu, and it would do the same job.

 

[Se7en62]

I was able to fly across the country and buy my first Mitsubishi ever, drive it 1100 miles home, and build it with the support of the community in my garage in 6 months. The community support and aftermarket in the US is both broad and deep enough to turn a Montero into a dedicated overland 4x4 in short order. I don't think a G-Series or a Land Rover of any shape or size is more reliable or easier to work on than a Montero.

 

[Capt Douglas Olsson]

I was able to fly across the country and buy my first Mitsubishi ever, drive it 1100 miles home, and build it with the support of the community in my garage in 6 months. The community support and aftermarket in the US is both broad and deep enough to turn a Montero into a dedicated overland 4x4 in short order. I don't think a G-Series or a Land Rover of any shape or size is more reliable or easier to work on than a Montero.

I agree...like 1000 percent~!.. I just flew down to Dallas Tx to buy my 4th Mitsu Montero. Its a 2005 3.8lt Gen 3 full size vehicle. I have had these vehicles in Panama and Europe and I KNOW how good their stock 4wd system is! I m nowe going to acquire a 3-pack skid plates from Adventure Drivers in December when they do their nesxt production run. Then some new Bilstein HD shocks...and new coil springs...HD... and finally a new radio/CD/USB unit to replace the old OEM one!... Drive Safe....Happy trails! heres some pics of my new( used ) Monty...

 

[nwoods]

I come from the Land Rover world, and as the trail leader to hundreds of runs leading older rovers, I can confidently say I've worked on them all. Older rovers (anything prior to 2004) are very easy to work on. If you've not spent any time in a Disco II , then you really owe it to yourself to find a clean example and sit in it. It's brilliant. The design has the drivers seat too close to the door and too close the steering wheel for big fat americans like myself, but otherwise the interior is unbeatable. The driving position is high, the window line is low, the command position that affords is unparralled in anything else I've ever driven. The high ceilings make it airy and spacious, as do the safari windows. The rear cargo bay is really well laid out, and the amount of storage cubbies vastly exceeds what the Montero has. But none of that matters. Its the Land Rover suspension that makes the difference. The near 100 inch wheel base and solid axles with coils front and rear provide SIGNIFICANTLY better off road performance than any generation of Montero. That's just a fact. The aluminum block Buick 4.0L V8 slips its sleeves and devours head gaskets like nothing else on the road, and the electrics are crap, but the fundamental chassis design is brilliant.

Montero's are tough, well built, comfortably designed, but under powered, and hampered by a very limited amount of travel/articulation in the front IFS assembly. Also, the Chrysler gas engines are crap.

I have opinions, but I paid for them. Get your own.