I understand cars & bikes are very much a personal choice. I've seen all manner of vehicles in some very rough and extremely remote country, most all were having a ball.

IMHO the 61 series Landcruiser with the 12HT Turbo Diesel engine has one if not the best 6 cylinder turbo diesel engine ever built. It is not uncommon to hear these motors doing a million kilometers. Google 12HT and see for yourself. Ok it may well not be the easiest beastie to find however well worth the effort.

The 80 series turbo diesel is also a well proven vehicle and well worth the effort of finding a good one. I might add at this point, a popular modification over here is free wheeling hubs, constant 4WD chews tyres and adds to fuel consumption. Again IMHO well worth the effort.

Troopcarriers are for me access resrticted not having rear side doors and top heavy when fitted with with a roof rack and loaded. Again it's a personal choice simple as that. A quick search reveald the 80 Series Landcruiser (link below) which would easily be double the price in Oz. Provided the car is in good nick it's very well priced indeed comparied to the price of the Troopy, it's every bit as capable more powerful and comfortable too boot.

toyota landcruiser amazon 4.2 td 5 speed manual R reg 80 series in Auchterarder, Perth and Kinross | Used Toyota for sale | Gumtree.com

I'm guessing you're begining to think crikey this Ozi is a bit one eyed with the Landcruisers and you may well be right. However what we know is what we know ;-) All said and done longevity and reliabality is paramount, the last thing we need is mechanical issues, the time and expense while on tour, hence my humble opinion.

Hope this helps guys,

Cheers Dave

Hmm,

Toyota Landcruiser 3.0 D-4D LC3 5dr Diesel Sw 2004

Why is this so cheap?

Tinted glass and 22" alloys High mileage for a UK car.

because it's a con, if it was anything else 1000's of dealers would be all over this to make a few £K

Come to Oz, grab this, go bush then take it home with you !

Toyota 4x4 Turbo Diesel Landcruiser Wagon | Cars, Vans & Utes | Gumtree Australia Palmerston Area - Woodroffe

I'm not convinced that the Toys cost more in Aus, based on the current exchange rate.
Pound Australian Dollar forecast | Sterling to Australian Dollar GBP AUD Currency Updates | Currency News UK

But it's a long way to go to take delivery of a vehicle

__________________
Dave

True it is a long way although there is the adventure aspect and plenty of landcruisers (beaches, warm weather, cold ) to choose from like the one previously sent. I have noticed the HJ61 Series are hard to find in the UK. Having one imported from Japan would be a good option as there seems to be quite a few dealers doing this, landed MOT'd the lot. A good 80 series turbo here in Oz goes for around 20k most of what I have seen in the UK is around 5k cheaper.

Bought a Hilux Surf On ebay while alittle bit drunk... Lets see how it is when I pick it up.

Yes, presumably some models of Japanese vehicles are not imported into the UK because they are not popular and, therefore, would not sell as easily (or for the "right" price) compared with other vehicles - basically, if you were to ship, say, a container load of vehicles then you would bring in those which will make the biggest return. I say this while trying to put myself in the shoes of a dealer - a professional who is in business to make a living and not as an enthusiast for any particular make or model of vehicle.
Certainly, there is a good amount of dealers in the UK who make a business of importing LHD Japanese cars into LHD Britain - in their advertising it is always a selling point that such vehicles are sourced from a "road salt" free country!


Always a danger!!
I guess we have all done it, at least once.

__________________
Dave

Japanese cars are RHD.


The beauty of importing a car from Japan is you will find youself driving something unique, collectable, usable, reliable and if you make the right choice a vehicle with good resale value. The cars are mostly well looked after, unabused, often fully optioned and with low K's / miles.

Quite right, just as for you guys; I meant "LHD" as in driving on the left of the road, but it didn't come out too well.
Maybe I should have a bit more to drink

That second bit is straight out of the adverts that the UK importers of Jap cars use in their advertisements (+ they haven't had salt thrown all over the underside each and every winter, as occurs here).

__________________
Dave

Went to go collect the car, my god it was a shed.

Walked away after a test drive.

The driver floorwell was flooded.
It overheated after about 20 mins of test drive, smoke into the cabin.
The Cooling system had air in it, so I guess the head was gone.
That's all I found before walking away, as it wasn't as advertised.

Jesus.

We live and learn ! Revise the previous posts ! Try again !

That's a true pain, especially if you travelled some distance for the Surf ; I've bought and sold a few motorcycles via ebay (but never anything with more than two wheels) and it has always gone OK.

You did the right thing to walk away and hopefully you will get your cash back, either from the seller (with good faith) or via the ebay system on the grounds that the item description was not accurate.
No doubt the interior flooding would be caused by the recent deluge here in the UK, but that is no excuse on the part of the seller; similarly, s/he must have been aware of any over heating issues.
It's just as well that you took the vehicle for a decent length of test drive, but selling via ebay, many vendors would try to say that it was "sold as seen" and you should have inspected the vehicle before the end of the auction (or before the classified advert finished).

I'm not sure what you mean by "air in the cooling system" - I've never had a cylinder head gasket fail but I understand that it causes mixing of the coolant and the oil which is easy to see via the radiator cap; I'm just curious what symptoms you saw?

Better fortune with the next purchase!!

__________________
Dave

Indeed... I just wish I could find some decent trucks around here, maybe spring will make it easier.

I lost my deposit, but better then spending the full amount and having to worry about it fixing it. The guy used the sold as seen argument, but he stated it only had 2 owners, him and the previous owner, however it had 4 on the logbook, a clear breach of advertising. Really I could take him to small claims court to retrieve my money, but not worth it.

Well, the Engine cut out when stationary, wouldn't restart, then clouds of black smoke when it finnaly did, parked it, when it was stationary could hear gurggling / gushing in the cooling system, a sign of air in there, a lot of gurgling. Steam was entering the cabin from the engine bay and steam / smoke everywere, could smell the burning.

Anyway mainly is the sound of the air in the coolant system, either a airlock or a failing head. Also the oil filler cap had a white mayo like substance in it.

Sealed the deal really. Serves me right expecting it to be ok for £900!

Was only 5 hours driving wasted today.