Recommend Me A 4x4 For Under 1k

[Paintguy 0]

I too would suggest looking at a Scooby. I've been concentrating on estates, but a decent Legacy can be had for that sort of money, maybe even a Forester if you drop lucky.

 

Personally I spent a bit more. My requirements were slightly different, as I needed tons of space as well as 4x4 (plus pre 2001 to save on road tax), so I've just picked up a Volvo 850 AWD. £1500 for a car with below average mileage and complete history (every MOT, service invoice, Tax disc etc) was pretty decent, but I've seen them go for nearer a Bag with patchy history and starship miles. Not everyone needs the capability of transporting a wardrobe at 140 MPH though, so something a little smaller may be more prudent

 

The RAV4 is also a good idea though, if you want something a little less car-like. Nippy, usual Toyota reliability, and a pretty decent 4x4 system (especially on the auto version).

 

Just search "four wheel drive" and your budget into that auction site, and you'll get over 40 pages of ideas

Edited February 10, 2010 by Paintguy

[craig_007 1]

I've had my 3.0td trooper for 2 years and not a spot of bother,Each to there own though !!

 

Surely a little strong to say there all going to be trouble !!

[Paintguy 0]

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

 

Lots.

 

Even "standard" tyres vary hugely with the amount of grip they give on snow, and a proper set of sniped snow tyres will make a surprising amount of difference.

 

See here

[Baz 421]

Personally I spent a bit more. My requirements were slightly different, as I needed tons of space as well as 4x4 (plus pre 2001 to save on road tax), so I've just picked up a Volvo 850 AWD. £1500 for a car with below average mileage and complete history (every MOT, service invoice, Tax disc etc) was pretty decent, but I've seen them go for nearer a Bag with patchy history and starship miles. Not everyone needs the capability of transporting a wardrobe at 140 MPH though, so something a little smaller may be more prudent

 

Dad has one of them, no major faults and it's done 230k now, 200+ in his ownership. Excellent cars!

[mickie 3]

i bought a defender 90 3 weeks ago and now its gone.. it worked out cheaper to get snowed in for a few days, but i enjoyed not getting stuck and playing in the snowy fields..

 

25mpg isnt much fun either.. the right tyres and driving will so you out of most situations

[screwloose 6]

Daihatsu Fourtrak. Done.

[Baz 421]

Daihatsu Fourtrak. Done.

 

But you'll never buy one, just longingly keep looking at and reading about them all over t'interweb, perplexed, like a teenager that's just discovered porn. Wierdo.

Edited February 11, 2010 by Baz

[Paintguy 0]

Dad has one of them, no major faults and it's done 230k now, 200+ in his ownership. Excellent cars!

That bodes well, cheers.

 

I'm hoping to get it up on a ramp soon to give it a good check over, but the only issue I've noticed from driving it is a slight pull to the left on braking. I'm hoping it's just something simple like a sticky calliper from lack of use (previous owner didn't use it much). Permanent 4x4 means it's a bit of a mission to get it on the brake rollers though!

[DaveK 0]

Im going to hold my hand up and say id love a fourtrak! Look the dogs danglies. So maybe next autumn i will buy one for "her" and borrow it to hash around hehe

 

Cheers for the replies chaps!

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

Andy it should be OK on the rollers- it does have a centre diff after all. My old A4 quattro always went on come MOT time without issues.

[Paintguy 0]

Andy it should be OK on the rollers- it does have a centre diff after all. My old A4 quattro always went on come MOT time without issues.

Not too sure about that Tom. There's even a section in the manual about it, which shows you having to have the rear wheels in the air.

 

As far as I'm aware, rather than having a proper centre diff like the quattro system, it just has a simple bevel gear in the 'box to run a propshaft at front wheel speed. All the trickery is done by the viscous coupling in front of the rear diff, allowing small speed differences between the two 'axles', but gradually locking up as they get larger. With an automatic rear diff lock and ABS managed traction control on the fronts too, it shouldn't struggle for grip!

 

I spoke to our tester about it today, and he said it would be a Tapley Meter / discretion thing (if they feel alright when I drive it, they'll pass )

[dcc 855]

landrover series 3 are circe £500. I drove mine everywhere as fast as i could and she returned 30mpg from a 2.25ltr petrol. optional 4wd. 100% my fav ever car! only thing is the steering is a tad heavy... by a tad i mean quite a tad...

[welshpug 1,657]

Just been working on a Fourtrak, mate uses it to tow a 3.5T Digger about with it!

 

Van version on a P plate, 205k on the 2.8 turbo motor, only 110 odd bhp but enough grunt to tow with, if not that quick

 

Mechanically his has been fine apart from gearbox bearings, but they were an easy job with it being 4/RWD, rusty sills and rear arches but very solid elsewhere, usual bushes and balljoints everywhere to look out for.

[Baz 421]

That bodes well, cheers.

 

I'm hoping to get it up on a ramp soon to give it a good check over, but the only issue I've noticed from driving it is a slight pull to the left on braking. I'm hoping it's just something simple like a sticky calliper from lack of use (previous owner didn't use it much). Permanent 4x4 means it's a bit of a mission to get it on the brake rollers though!

 

They will go on brake rollers, as i discovered a stupid MOT tester trying on my dad's one year, to which i went a bit mad about, he then tried to tell me it was RWD!! I said, ''what the hell do you think the 'AWD' badge on the back stands for, not to mention the driveshafts at each corner!''

 

I seriously wouldn't advise it though, the pre-Haldex systems are a weak point, although we've never had an issue, they're said to be quite temperamental, even to the point where it's recommended you run the same make of tyre at all 4 corners, and keep an eye on tyre-wear!

 

The rear trailing arms were changed under warranty in the first few years as they had a habit of cracking, but yours should've been done i should think. The main oil seals are a common thing to leak, so well worth doing if the box is ever off to do a clutch etc, aswel as Turbo feeds as with all the B-series turbo engines. They don't commonly do HG's, but we had one at about 180k, and a crap gasket was used so was then done again 20k or so later, worth spending on the better parts here. On the subject of brakes, they eat rear pads for some reason, and seems to be hard to get the right ones, i think dad now asks for 760 or 940 ones, seeing as even Volvo have supplied the wrong ones in the past! From what i understand they're a fairly rare car, again even a Volvo Parts monkey has tried to tell me there's no such car! The ABS ecu has been re-conditioned as they tend to fail, causing the TRACS light to come on as it uses the same system, but it's just a dry solder joint on one of the PCB's and can be done DIY apparently. Door check-straps also go as they break away from inside the A-pillar and then crack the metal and pull through again a fairly easy DIY fix can be done by rivetting a small plate into it's place.

 

I'm probably making it sound bad to you now! But bearing in mind this is all across 13 or so years now, and the mileage as i've stated, it gets driven pretty hard, has been across farm tracks and fields organising motorsport events,(and trying out courses!) was even the opening car for a stage rally i think at one point, has done 2 Sprint championships, a couple of Gymkhana's (like a single venue stage rally!) goes sideways round roundabouts with the TRACS switched off quite nicely, tows fantastically, is cavernous inside, does a 1200-odd faultless mile round trip to the isle of mull every year for the last 10 or so years, and has been fantastically reliable apart from normal servicing/maintenance, i don't think it's ever broken down or needed recovery or even AA called out, it's a fantastic car and i'd recommend one to anyone!

 

 

And the only picture i can find is rather boring tbh!;

 

Edited February 12, 2010 by Baz

[McDude 33]

I think only Brumster has suggested - get some winter tyres and be done with it. 4WD won't stop any quicker, you've still got the same 4 wheels to brake with and unless you have the right tyre you are no better off.

 

I got a set of steelies from the Pug dealer for under £200 (106 Rallye steels that is) and some winter tyres for another £200. That's less than £400 total and my 205 will go through anything we are likely to see in this country. Wet weather handling is superb too. Plus it looks the pips on the steelies.

[Paintguy 0]

Wow, thanks for all the info Baz!

 

I'd heard about the tyre thing, so I'm contemplating getting a full set to 'start afresh' as it were. And I'd agree that they're at least fairly rare - I certainly had a job on finding a decent one out of the limited choice on offer. The brakes seem to be getting a bit better as I drive it (unless its just me getting used to them), but they'll still get a good going over as soon as I can. I'd rather spend money on brakes than anything else on any car. She seems to have a bit of an oil leak too. I noticed that familiar hot oil smell this morning, and it seems to be coming from way up top somewhere - beneath the spark plug cover I think. Not much of a problem in itself, but the fact that it then drip onto the hot turbo and starts smoking has me concerned!

 

The boot space is amazing too, but I can't ever see me braving a bit of sideways action in it. Mind you, I said that about my A8 when I first got it

 

EDIT: Oh, btw, if you don't mind another question - is the throttle pedal supposed to be quite stiff? It's not quite as stiff as the clutch pedal, but it's certainly one of stiffest I've ever used. Cable looks bright and shiny where I can see it, and the linkage shows signs of previous white grease lubrication (but I've just done it again). Maybe just a characteristic of the car? Ta

Edited February 12, 2010 by Paintguy

[Beastie 1]

Bargain reliable 4*4 of the moment: Frontera 2.8tdi

 

They are surprisingly rare and were only made for about a year but if you can find one (nearly all of them were N reg) in good condition then they are a winner. For this year only Vauxhall ditched their own asthmatic and unreliable engines in favour of a 2.8 Isuzu engine which gives (if in good nick) 35mpg in LWB form. They also ditched the rear cart springs for a proper coil spring setup - chassis was in fact almost identical to a Trooper. Build quality was excellent with the exception of the central locking and the leccy windows which are to the usual Frontera standard. By 1996 Vauxhall had got things sorted out again and were producing the usual unreliable rubbish. However for most people Frontys are all tarred with the same brush so expect to pay peanuts for a 2.8 tdi Acceleration isn't brilliant but torque is excellent. I get just under 30mpg from mine whilst towing a loaded 4 wheel trailer at motorway speeds. And in 30,000 miles it's cost me a rear silencer, a battery and not much else... except several central locking motors.

[brumster 135 1 Cars]

Mus agree with Beastie there, a chap in our motor club has run one for donkeys years and waxes lyrical about all things Frontera - webbie link here

Edited February 23, 2010 by brumster