Australia Toyota Purchase Opinions

[CYi5]

In a few weeks i'll be moving to Australia for up to a year. As it's such a large country with so much to see, i've been told purchasing a vehicle once settled is the best option to tour.

I'll be looking at toyota Hilux's and earlier Utes mostly, perhaps a land cruiser.

Does anyone have experience with these models and which ranges/engines are the most reliable? I could go car, but would rather go truck, geared towards reliability/MPGs...or KPL..

Will be a 5spd, petrol/diesel?

 

[ChuckB]

You're entering Land Cruiser heaven!! This should make for some good discussion.

Get a diesel Land Cruiser, any model you can afford. I'm slightly biased but have no experience with the diesels. I'm sure others will chime in.

Good luck!

 

[CYi5]

Yea, it's super tempting just browsing what's for sale online. It is cruiser heaven!! I'm afraid if I get one i'll be so attached I won't be able to leave it .

I've had no experience with diesels either, but i've always heard they are the bees knees for torque and MPGs. I wouldn't mind a late 80's simple 4cyl diesel 5spd, something I could diagnose problems with easily.

 

[ChuckB]

I'm afraid if I get one i'll be so attached I won't be able to leave it .

As long as it is older than 25 years you should not have a problem importing back to the U.S. There is at least one member here who has done this I believe. If you really want to read about importing go to Ih8mud.com and search.

(edit) you might get some more traction on this thread in the Land Cruiser section here on ExPo.

 

[HINO SG]

when I visited Australia, kind of a long time ago, there was a informal used car market near the youth hostels and Backpacker's hotels in Kings Cross, Sydney where budget travelers would buy and sell. It was more station wagons and worn-out delivery vans than anything but they all came with camp stoves, folding chairs, maps and spare water and gas cans.
This was before the internet really took off so it might not be there but kind of a cool scene even if you didn't buy anything.

 

[CYi5]

They do have backpacker oriented auto lots in which you can arrange for them to buy-back your vehicle when your visit time is up. Looking online they are just like you mentioned, hinoranger, mostly campervans and stationwagons.

If a mod does want to move this thread, i wouldn't be opposed.

 

[4Rescue]

They do have backpacker oriented auto lots in which you can arrange for them to buy-back your vehicle when your visit time is up. Looking online they are just like you mentioned, hinoranger, mostly campervans and stationwagons.

If a mod does want to move this thread, i wouldn't be opposed.

If you hang around and get to know some folks right around the time you're set to leave you can often times sell off your rig to some people just coming into the cou ntry who need a car just like you did. I've seen a Toyota Hi-Ace 4wd Van that had 560k KM on it and had grafiti from about 12-13 groups of travelers. The travel comunity down there is so much different and so much bigger that selling on rigs usualy isn't that hard.

Cruiser Ute's are a little nicer then the regular tourist heap, but they're are tons of them. Personaly, I would look into buying an 85 Troupy, driving it around for a year then bringing it back home to make us all jealous. Oh and while you;re at it mate, could you send me a 1KZ-Te diesel with the acompanying 5spd, and maybe a few Solid axled's dr. 2nd 89+ Hilux's. Oh and a couple 85-89 4dr Hilux's too ...

I seriously thought about doing that but couldn't find anything that I wanted to bring back in time. Be aware, these trucks are used like old chevy beater work trucks here. What we covet, is, to them the tradesman's best friend and VERY common. BUT it means that these trucks tend to live a hard life.

Have you ever been to Australia? If not, I think you;ll love it. I know I do. It truly is an amazing place if you can get out away from the city (not that the city's are bad, just not my style personaly). but hey, you'll have a Ute or Troupy and you can take yourself out to Uluru and Coober Peddy and those kind of places. You want to feel alone in the world, just drive into the middle of Australia, that is one big middle of nowhere and it is AWESOME imo.

Cheers

Dave

 

[CYi5]

Thanks for the input Dave!

I would love to get a troopy, I just need to look into the gas mileage stats on them. Since it is such a big continent, i'd rather not have to fill up every 200 miles .

This will indeed be my first time to Australia; I just graduated college and will be going alone. The job market blows here, so why not work and travel abroad for awhile?

With rigs like this in the 4sale section, i'm going to really have to watch blowing all my traveling money on the initial investment! :Wow1:

 

[Co-opski]

In a few weeks i'll be moving to Australia for up to a year. As it's such a large country with so much to see, i've been told purchasing a vehicle once settled is the best option to tour.

I'll be looking at toyota Hilux's and earlier Utes mostly, perhaps a land cruiser.

Does anyone have experience with these models and which ranges/engines are the most reliable? I could go car, but would rather go truck, geared towards reliability/MPGs...or KPL..

Will be a 5spd, petrol/diesel?

I think they used Liters per 100km but in Japan they use km/l. Just trying to help. :smiley_drive:

 

[ttora4runner]

What are you doing for work?? Good luck on finding a vehicle.

 

[CYi5]

What are you doing for work?? Good luck on finding a vehicle.

Good question:sombrero:. The visa limits you to 6 mo. per job, so nothing too serious. I'd love to get a job in one of the parks or reserves, or i wouldn't mind working somewhere on the coast. The itinerary is pretty up in the air, we'll see when I land *gulp*.

 

[Hilux_Max]

If you can get one of the new hilux's....they are a really nice truck, but in standard form they have their limitations....you'd need to raise them and fit some larger rubber to begin with.

the 1KD engine is a pearler....343nM from 1300 right through to 3000rpm....

the auto is great to drive, but its only a 4 speed unfortunately, manual has 5 speed's and better geared but they suffer from a poor quality clutch that doesnt last too long.

if fitting bigger tyres, I'd say manual as the 1st egar in low range will still give you good engine braking, something the 4 speed auto suffers with.

Towing ability is awesome.

in standard trim, the manual D4D gets 8.1 litres per 100km and the auto's get 9.1 litres per 100km.

A;ternatively, you can got the landrcruiser V8 diesels....thou they are much more pricier....

you'll be surprised how much more vehicles cost in Australia than the USA.......

 

[red87]

You should grab me a diesel swap while you're over there. This may be sorta blasphemous here but I'm a big fan of the Nissan Patrols...

 

[Rando]

Being a true blue aussie, who grew up the great southern land and then returned there a couple of years ago to do just what you are doing, I can give you some advice. I took a 6 month round the country trip in 2001. I bought a 1984 HJ47 diesel landcruiser troop carrier, and promptly put about 13,000km on it. This was a 6 cylinder diesel 2H motor, slow as a dog but decent fuel economy, maybe 12l/100km and totally reliable. It came with a main tank and a reserve tank totaling maybe 120l, so the range was excellent. However the main issue was fuel costs. Diesel is slightly cheaper than petrol, but both are about twice the price as in the states. I paid $2500AUD for it, but it came with bent tie rods and bad ball joints and had to be towed to the shop. I put a simple bed in the back and some storage and set out on an adventure. I sold it for close to $6500AUD when I was done.

However if I were to do it again I would consider either a 4wd Hiace van, of which a decent specimen can be had for $3000AUD or if you have more money a 70 series LC (around $6000 - $12000). Other good options are the Nissan Patrol and Mitsubishi Pajero if you want something more rugged. To some degree reliability is more of an issue than 4wd ability (although good ground clearance is a must). There are some VERY remote places to explore that are technically 4wd (such as the Oodnadatta track) but don't require more than the ability to withstand endless wash board.

If you have any specific questions feel free to ask.

 

[CYi5]

I'd love to pick up a new hilux Hilux_Max, if only my funds weren't quite so limited! They do look like awesome rigs and can't wait to see them in person.

red87: if I can check it on the aircraft, i'll bring you back one. You may just have to drop in to pick one up yourself.

Rando: Thanks for the input, you've got a PM!