Suggestions for next vehicle

[acolic]

Hi

I need a bit of help narrowing down what my next vehicle should be.

I need to reduce the number of vehicles I currently have.

I have a Ram pick up and a day to day driving SUV.

Both are at their end of life and I would prefer to replace both with one vehicle.

What I need:

Something to drive back-and-forth to/ from work at about 120 miles per day. Gas mileage is important.

Something configurable to go overlanding .

Something to use off the road during hunting season.

Something with reasonable cargo space to carry materials while doing home improvements.

Something with enough market support when it comes to third party products.

Something reliable.

My budget is around 6 to 8K.

For some reason, I prefer older vehicles and rebuilding them.

Not a big fan of bodywork, but I can do everything mechanically up to rebuilding a motor.

I know there’s competing requirements here.

I would appreciate peoples suggestions.

Alex


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[vintageracer]

What you are looking for is a DREAM!

Spend $2K on a work beater and the rest of your budget on a hunting, travel, overlanding, hauling and everything else vehicle. It ain't going to be pretty, it will not be low mileage and you will certainly have to work on it.

No one vehicle can or will do it all based upon your requirements.

My suggestions:

Toyota Echo

OBS 4WD Chevrolet truck

 

[acolic]

I may have to do that, but I’m avoiding it.

Right now the number of vehicles I have is equal to the number of my kids.

And you don’t want kids on your insurance.

So I need to reduce my insurance by reducing the number of vehicles.


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[vintageracer]

You could always sell a kid or two?

 

[nwoods]

My budget is around 6 to 8K.
For some reason, I prefer older vehicles and rebuilding them.

I just thought, given the price of vehicles these days, that the second line was quite redundant, and it made me laugh. If you had said 60- to 80k, well then, now we've got options......Good luck. I think you need to set up a "choosing by advantages" matrix and prioritize your highly conflicted wish list. List priority one, find all the vehicles in that range. List priority 2, what is left? List priority 3, there's your pick. All the rest, well, refer to priority one again.

 

[Moyshe Kapoyer]

Subaru Outback.

 

[acolic]

My original thought was a 2000 to 2004 Nissan Pathfinder.

I’ve seen a listed on a number of overlandinf forums.

Seems like there’s a lot of aftermarket parts for it.

The fuel economy is OK.

Looks like the rear seat folds down so you have more cargo space.

Looks like rebuilding the motor and suspension is pretty straightforward.

Although I’ve read other reviews that because it’s unibody, it would not be a good off-roading choice.

But I’ve never driven in one, so I can’t really comment.


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[rruff]

A few years back I sold my '86 Toyota SR5 Xtracab 2wd with 70k actual miles. I hadn't used it since I'd bought the Tundra. A local guy who is retired but does yard work for fun, told me he loved those trucks and asked me if I'd consider selling it. I said "how much?" he said "$1000?" He hadn't really looked at it and didn't know its condition or even if it ran, but I liked him so I said "ok". He got a hell of a deal, and even prettied up the fading paint and fixed the deer impact damage that I'd "fixed" with a hammer and bailing wire... but in the first 6 months he had two deer hits that did extensive damage... which he completely fixed both times. Since then he's had better luck. It's his work rig and he loves it.

The moral of the story is... with your budget, you need to find a deal. Odds are you won't find a great condition old Toyota truck for cheap, though. But you might be lucky and find a basic 2wd Tacoma with not many miles with a 4cyl and stick for $8k. Or a Frontier?

Otherwise, forget about your overlanding rig being your commuter. At 120 miles/day and obviously being poor, you need to be commuting on the cheap. Actually I'd ponder whether a job that only pays you enough to afford $8k vehicles is worth driving 120 miles a day for...? Back in the day when I had a career there were guys driving that far, but at least they were making good money. I thought they were insane... but they actually liked the long commute. It seemed like they enjoyed being away from the wife and kids as much as possible...

 

[acolic]

OK I appreciate the advice.

The dollar figure of 8K comes from what I’m gonna get when I sell the previous two vehicles mentioned. Then it’s an even deal.

That’s where the 8k came from.

OK I leave my current commuting vehicle as it is and focus on replacing the Ram.

It’s at the point where it needs to go before I start having huge issues.

So suggestions for an Overlanding vehicle for 8K?


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[rruff]

So suggestions for an Overlanding vehicle for 8K?

I think at that level it's pretty much about the deal you can get, what appeals to you, and what you can work on. Something that you can bond with and take pride in so the work you do to fix it up won't seem wasted. Anyway, that would be my take...

 

[acolic]

What’s the thoughts on the 2002 - 2004 Land Rover?


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[Ozarker]

You didn't mention AC or Heater, so this checks all the boxes.

 

[nwoods]

What’s the thoughts on the 2002 - 2004 Land Rover?


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You mentioned reliability. The Disco II offers durability, but not reliability. The Disco III (LR3) is the opposite, it provides reliability, but not durability. Neither get mileage that would make you happy.
If you do end up looking at Disco II's, go for a 2004. Land Rover provided the center locking diff's back into the 2004, and they have better headlights.

 

[calicamper]

120 mile commute and only 6-8k budget? Don’t want to sound like a jerk but my financial advisor would blow a gasket and lecture me on getting my priorities sorted out starting with I can’t afford anything outside of a old corolla with as low of cost ownership and best mileage possible. If you need to haul stuff occasionally get a cheap trailer you can drag behind the corolla👍.

Then work on paying off any high interest debts, get rid of unnecessary costs, and find ways to boost your income👍. Learn a new skill that pays👍. The economy today and for the past few yrs has been very strong worker shortages has been a huge issue for employers till now.. Meaning the trend as of now is that job availability is dropping ie the economic cycle being expected is that job availability is going to catch up with the lack of workers thus pay is going to go flat or drop for job seekers the next say 24 months. Meaning its going to get harder to make $.

Definitely consider these factors when your trying to sort out the highest cost factor outside of your house etc.

My advice. Cut out all your monthly fee memberships, buy a grandma owned late 90’s Toyota Corolla for $2000. Drive it till it has 400,000 miles on it and you have a giant pile of $ sitting in investment funds making $👍. Then go hunt to your hearts content and go buy a truck etc. Hopefully get your commute to near zero or have a commute that generates way way more $👍. All good stuff but its work…

Good luck

 

[acolic]

I appreciate it.

I see a lot of early 2000-2006 Pathfinders, an Xterras for sale in my area?


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