Recommend Me A 4x4 For Under 1k

[DaveK 0]

The fiance really needs a jeep or minimum a car with 4 wheel drive for getting around. Got her 306 stuck in a ditch this morning in the snow, DOH!

 

Anyone have any good recommendations? Only got max £1000 to spend. And should be reasonably small if possible for a woman to park lol. Ive been thinking:

 

Frontera - the reliability is apparantly crap

Rav4

pajero/shogun SWB - expensive to fix ive heard

 

Then im fresh out of ideas...Help!!

 

Cheers folks

Edited February 10, 2010 by DaveK

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

To be honest any Jeep style 4x4 for £1k is going to be a minefield- you may be lucky, but you may also end up throwing hundreds and hundreds of pounds at it just to keep it on the road.

 

The only thing that springs to mind for that kind of cash that is reasonably reliable is something like a Subaru Legacy or Impreza non-turbo. Other thing to maybe consider is an A4 Quattro- but you may struggle to get anything decent for 1k.

[yippeekayay 18 1 Cars]

isuzu trooper 3.1 only... might be a few more quid than that but they do exist for 1300 1400 , just make sure it isnt rotten at the back under the rear bumper and fuel tank, though i have a brand new tank from the trooper i boought... the whole rear chassis was rotten so be careful, besides this they are bomb proof just dont buy a later 3.0td as the engines are terrible, the 3.1 will do 200k easy...

Edited February 10, 2010 by yippeekayay

[DaveK 0]

I like the Subaru idea, will be better on fuel too I bet. Forgot about those

[Miles 331 1 Cars]

Pajero/Shogun's etc are terriable on the reliblity front, Everyone I;ve known has either had engine or Gearbox problem's, thou the body's seem to stand up well

 

Can;t help on much else

[petert 586]

4.2L Diesel Nissan Patrol = unbreakable

[welshpug 1,657]

4.2L Diesel Nissan Patrol = unbreakable

 

Unobtainable for a grand too! Unless you want a totally rotten unroadworthy example that is...

 

I wouldn't say the Subaru's would be that much better on fuel than the diesel 4x4's at all.

 

 

Surely if the 306 ended up ditch side any 4x4 you get will as well?

 

Unfortunately you will be very lucky to find anything particularly reliable 4x4 for a grand, you need at least 2k to get something not nearing the end of its life.

[blue_haddock 2]

There are loads of little 4x4's around without having to resort to something like a pajero or trooper.

 

Vitara - loads of them about to choose from and parts are pretty cheap and available

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/adv...c&logcode=p

 

Subaru Justy - essentially a suzuki swift with 4x4

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/adv...c&logcode=p

 

Sportrak - similar to vitara

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/adv...1&logcode=p

 

Nissan Terrano - fairly tough and reliable but not massive

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/adv...c&logcode=p

 

Impreza 'sport' -

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/adv...c&logcode=p

[jimistdt 1]

If I get to speak to my uncle over the weekend I'll mention to him you're on the lookout, he's not too far from you in Gordon, and he spent 30 years in the motor trade, although he's an house builder now, he still keeps his toe in.

[hexhamstu 9]

Fiat panda 4x4!!!!

[stevec205gti 0]

If your fiance's going to be driving in ditches you might be best off with a tractor!

[pablo 0]

would you get an A4/A6 quattro for that money?

[hcmini1989 16]

suzuki sj410 quite small bits for them are peanuts aswell .or a shogun if you get a diesel one make sure you get a well looked after one otherwise it`ll be sh*T

[brumster 135 1 Cars]

Why not just buy a set of spare wheels and M&S tyres and be done with it?

 

I'd hate to spend £1k on a 4x4; I'd probably bank on it being a dog and so focus on getting something easy to fix by yourself and with plentiful bits. So I'd probably get an old Land Rover Series III for that money and just bank on having to spend lots of time on it

[one-lady-owner 1]

Steer well clear of all versions of Land Rovers for that money, they'll probably be on their original chassis, ie. a number of very very rusty poles held together by more rust, you'll spend more than twice your budget on top of the purchase price getting it properly road worthy!

 

Suzuki Samuri/SJ are definitely worth a look, cheap and cheerful, and not so much of a following to bump up prices to ridiculous levels!

 

Failing that I've always fancied having a go in a Subaru Justy..... as far as I've been told with their tiny engines they'll never go fast enough to cause any damage even if she did manage to get it in a ditch!

[Bigtimmy 1]

Back in 2006 I swapped the chassis on my Landy for a new galv one and needed some wheels to keep the business rolling whilst we were doing the work.

 

I went to an auction and bought a 91 Pajero which looked like a good buy at £775 inc auction premium. Took it to the local garage to fill up on my 90 mile journey home and it proceeded to piss diesel all over the forecourt. After the 90 mile journey home I looked into it and found that the return rail was cracked and leaking at one of the unions.

 

A phonecall later to some dubious characters near Heathrow and £10 lighter one arrived next morning in the post. Problem solved.

 

I ran it for the best part of 6 months (even after getting the landy back) as it was just such an awesome machine.

 

Electric everything and it all still worked.

 

It can be done, but be careful. I was lucky and had a man in the know at the auction.

 

I know a bit about Landys and I would agree, you'll struggle to find something halfway decent for a bag of sand.

 

Pains me to say it but...go jap!

[DaveK 0]

Cheers for the replies guys. I will up the budget abit and see how it goes, winter is almost over (hopefully) so she might be best just to make do with car she has until autumn.

 

It was a cracking job she did tho, was heading up a single track hill, very steep, didnt make it all the way up, spun it, and ended up facing back down the hill in the ditch lol.

 

Ill ebay a tractor!!

[Matt Holley 11]

Toyota Hilux?

 

My mate just got one and its not bad off road, you can pick them up quite cheap now.

 

Or a Trooper, a guy at work has one and its been very reliable.

Edited February 10, 2010 by matt holley

[Guest Stew]

Alright, I'm just new hear but feel I can contribute to this thread.

 

I'm running about in a freelander 1.8 just now (daily driver) and I didn't pay much more than a grand for it. This week spend £170 on it, new exhaust centre section(fitted), new discs and pads and a service kit. That is all I've spent in 2 years! Well actually I bought filters and oil so say £200 odd for 2 years motoring!

 

The car is very capable off road and in the snow. On ice, well it's like every other car! If you get a decent one it'll serve you well.

 

As others have said it's an absolute minefield buying a cheap jeep, better putting good winter tyres on a FWD car!

[johno_78 2]

I'd go for the Scooby Sport. I just sold my wifes' "W" reg for £850. In the 2 years we owned it, not a single thing went wrong and it flew through MOT's. It was a shame to see it go really.

[DaveK 0]

How much a difference do snow/winter tyres really make?

[brumster 135 1 Cars]

Quite significant, really. I'm talking from experience of proper M&S style tyres (ie. gravel rally tyres), which are a little extreme over proper "winter road use tyres" which are still a bit of a compromise. But you could pick up some part-worn ex-rally tyres and four s*itty rims for probably little more than £150. The big problem is having the space to store them for the other 360 days of the year you don't need them

 

Don't get me wrong, choice between my Pug on gravel tyres or the missus' Jeep Grand Cherokee on road tyres, I'd still take the Jeep in deep snow - but then again, you wouldn't pick that up for a grand. Given the reality of the situation - the number of days you're likely to need them in this country - I'd probably just plump for the tyre route myself unless I was lucky in finding a minter 4x4. They're not easy on the fuel, for example

[Baz 421]

Had a lot of mate's into 4x4's over the years, and screwloose is looking for one ATM! I've had a couple of RR's, but you won't get much on the budget, and i wouldn't really advise it anyway due to rot and un-reliability. Disco's are gash, Defenders are ok, but again not really in budget.

 

 

Generally advised everywhere is Fourtrak or Trooper, both great and obtainable for a grand.

 

Fourtraks seem to be prefered for off-road stuff, more rugged and reliable (pretty bombproof in fact!), Trooper's have a few more mod cons comfort/luxury and are bigger and heavier. As said go for a 3.1, but they do like a HG so bare that in mind, if not the older shape with a 2.8. Just don't touch the 3.0...

[omega 82]

405,cav,seirra and the old granada

Edited February 10, 2010 by omega

[wracing 19]

a friend had a rav4 for sale 600 pounds may be a bit to far away though!

 

james