Montero may be totaled. What now?

[offthepath]

Well guys, we hit a deer with our montero. Fender, bumper, hood, radiator have obvious damage. It is at the body shop now getting an estimate. We have full coverage, so this may be premature and it gets fixed without a hassle, but my guess is they will try and total it out. Especially given the problems of finding gen 3 Montero front end body parts. I'd be surprised if I got $4-5k from it.

Really sucks beacsue for the money I don't think we could replace it. 147k miles, inside in very good shape and set up really well: winch, 4.9 gears, front and rear ARBs, 255s tires, skid plates, sliders and rear bumper with tire swingout.

If they total it the first choice would be to get another gen 3 and swap over all the parts. However, I very rarely see clean gen 3s. So, I'm triyng to figure out what direction to go if I cant get another montero.

What do you guys feel are some good 4x4s to replace a gen 3 Montero? This is what I need:
-Under $10k. 15k MAX
-Ideally under 150k miles
-Needs to be a newer vehicle (2000s+)
-Comfortable as my wifes daily driver with 2 small kids
-Cargo capacity for multiday off road camping trips
-a 3rd row would be nice, but I may have to skip this.
-Good off road. I dont need a rock crawler, but it needs to handle anything I throw at it and not break (like a fully locked montero, LOL)

Some vehicles I'm considering:
-Nissan Pathfinder
-Nissan Frontier double cab
-Toyota 4runner
-Toyota Tacoma double cab
-Land Rover Discovery II or LR3

Any input from the Montero community would be helpful.
Thanks!

 

[coffeegoat]

Man that sucks, sorry to hear it. I was hunting this weekend and was worried about just that thing. I'd add the Lexus gx 470/460 to that list. I'd also head over to the land Rover group and ask about the LR3, I saw a few faces I remember from the montero group.

 

[Salonika]

Another Montero.

 

[nwoods]

LR3 definitely will deliver on all points, but they are more needy than a toyota. It will be odd things, like batteries, brake switches, coolant crossover pipes, sunroof drain tubes clogging up.

If mom is driving this, she will LOVE it, but make sure to get one with the cold weather package. Heated seats, mirrors, and windshield, its magical. Turning radius and ride are far superior to the Montero, cargo capacity is much larger, yet the LR3 is more compact externally and super easy to park.

I recommend 2007-2009 model years.

I also like the Frontier. They ride great, are pretty roomy, and are well made. They’ve been around in the current body style for something like 14 years, so value has dropped. In stock form, they are better off road than Tacoma’s.

 

[Toasty]

Fight the insurance company with the receipts from building the Montero, including hours you've put in. They won't find anything to compare it to, send them a link to Sonicmasd's Gen 3 sale ad to compare and get the most out of it. I'd say just grab another Gen 3 as they still exist and you have the parts already BUT there's also taking the insurance money, buying it back and selling it to another Montero guy to minimize your loss but also keep the truck (even if just in spirit) on the road.

The Pathfinder is the closest to the Montero being fully independent suspended. You can also find 100 series Landcruisers that meet your criteria as well and those are worth a look at least.

 

[offthepath]

Thanks guys. The insurance company left a message and told me they are going to total the car out. I still need to find out how much money they are going to give for it. I think right now my plan is to ask the body shop how much it will be to get a hood and fender and have them paint it. I'll install all the parts and just buy it back from the insurance company. Even if I end up paying 1-2k it would be worth it when seeing what I would need to spend to repalce the Montero.

 

[PaydayGabe]

Please do yourself a great favor. Stay far far away from the Land Rover,,
Unless you have an unlimited amount of money and enjoy unreliable vehicles.
I had a 92 LR classic. Brilliant drivetrain?, very pretty to look at?, but as unreliable as an
ex-girlfriend.
Good riddance..
Hope your situation works out. ?? G.

 

[nwoods]

PayDayGabe makes the common mistake of equating a Ford designed and part sourced LR3 with a classic Rover. You can treat his comment with a HUGE grain of salt. The LR3 is infinitely better built than anything LR built before 2005.

However, the LR3 will require more care and feeding than a Toyota, no doubt about it. Toasty’s suggestion for a 100 series Land Cruiser is a solid one, but I suspect your wife might prefer the LR3. You should also look at Sequias too. Based on the Tundra platform and drive train, but with independant rear suspension. They are big and heavy, but get the job done and run forever. They are quite a bit more pricey than a used LR3, but a bit cheaper than the LC100 or LX470

With regards to driving salvage, consider your wife’s piece of mind with that. Its sort of like a home robbery, you never quite feel the same way in your own house. Was she in the Monty when it crashed? It might emotionally bother her to continue driving it. Just something to think about.

 

[SONICMASD]

Oh man, that sux! I worry about hitting a deer or elk as well - your ARB front bumper didn’t save the Monty? Post pics if you can.

Ok some points:

1. I have an extra $10k of additional coverage for like an extra $200 a year on my Gen3 for this exact reason. If something happens, they are going to want to give me $4k cuz of blue book value on a vehicle that has over $14k invested and could sell for $12k right now. Something to think about for your next build.

2. Another Gen3 is definitely going to be the best value even without being able to swap your parts over, that just makes it an even bigger disparity. Finding a clean one isnt that hard if you give it some time and are willing to either travel or have it shipped from the Southwest.

Ya, if you need a replacement vehicle tomorrow it’s not going to work but if you can give it a few weeks, you’ll find one.

3. Out of the vehicles you mentioned, I’d go with the LR3 hands down. They are imo the only reliable land rover and get mixed in with the unreliable brand image, which is fair but not accurate. One owner 2006+ years are plentiful and cheap, not as cheap as Gen3s, but close. Main thing is checking to make sure the trans fluid has been changed. LR says its a lifetime fluid and there is no dip stick and nothing in the maintenance schedule. So naturally they die young but if you find one owned by someone smart enough to do tranny services then you found a winner. They are comfortable, can tow sooo much better than our Montys, and have better approach and departure angles. Very capable offroad, maybe the most capable in stock condition out of all the vehicles listed. With some mods, you’ll be able to do any trail you want. The most annoying thing to me about them is the abundance of tech. You can’t just lock the center diff with a button. No, you gotta remember which of the 5 terrain modes does that, so you select Rock Mode which locks the CDL but then also does a bunch of other stuff you may or may not want like change the height of the air suspension (this can be swapped out to regular shocks and coils), adjust articulation amounts, and throttle sensitivity. But on the plus side, you got a V8.

4. Vehicle’s not on your list that should be:

A. 100 series land cruiser/Lx470. Definitely the most capable and and one of the nicest/most comfortable, and of course the most reliable. They’re expensive but can be found in your budget. I looked at a one owner 2003 2 weeks ago with 148k that needed $2k worth of general maintence that they were asking $9.5k for. Bottom line, $12-$14k can get you a 2003-2006 with 150-200k miles and theyre almost always 1 or 2 owner vehicles with good service records (the opposite end of the montero spectrum). If you go 100 series, definitely get 2003-2007 since they got the side airbags and a 5speed trans, 2006-2007 also have VVTI for an extra 40hp.

B. The best Toyota offroading value is the gen 1 Sequoia, 2005-2007 being the years to target for the same reasons as the 100 series (side airbags, 5 speed, and VVTI). They have traction control, same very reliable 4.7 v8, body on frame, lots more room, and still very capable. Theres youtube vids of the AZ Sequoia Group doing trails I would never take my Gen3 on (for fear of body damage) and they get through them.

2005-2007 with 150k miles can be found for $8-10k.

The biggest down side is size you’re going from one platform with not a ton of aftermarket support to one with waaay less and even more importantly, way less owners who wheel them or do their own maintenance as they are primarily used asn soccer mom suvs. But OME does a lift kit so you can run 33s, there are a few front bumper options (thanks to the shared Tundra components), and you can attach sliders easily cuz of the ladder frame.

I’d say, go test drive a LR3 and a Sequoia if you decide to switch from Montero. BUT the only reason I see that making sense is if you want more power, and/or interior room, or need a replacement vehicle right away. But then again, even if you need a car rightt away to get around, I’d buy a cheap car that was a good deal and drive it for a few months while making the best decision on the offroader conundrum, then just sell it for what you paid.

5. As Toasty said, pm me and I’ll get you details on my 2003 Gen3 which sold for a much better price than what insurance is likely to offer you for yours and it was way more used than yours and had less $$ add-ons.

 

[SONICMASD]

Oh and also, if you just need some font end parts to rebuild your Monty that is totally doable. Yes, hard to find parts locally but just hop on car-part.com and have the fenders shipped to you.

 

[SONICMASD]

116,000 miles: https://goldcountry.craigslist.org/ctd/d/auburn-2003-mitsubishi-montero-4x4/7007706839.html

122,000 miles: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/584785472293273/

137,000 miles: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/691361401335741/

151,000 miles: https://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/cto/d/tacoma-2005-mitsubishi-montero-3800/7011193951.html

 

[offthepath]

Insurance called and said the body shop said 6k+ to fix it so it's for sure getting totaled. They did not know yet how much they would give for the car and how much the buy back will be, but I decided just to fix it regardless.

I found most of the major body parts (hood, fender, grill, head light) for $775. Once I tear it apart I may need some other stuff like a radiator etc, but I think for a $1000 or under I can get it back on the road. I also just ordered an ARB bumper too Figure why throw away money on a beat up used bumper.

Thanks for the suggestions, but in the end I like the Montero and don't see anything else accomplishing everything it does.

 

[SONICMASD]

Good choice, if you need any parts let me know - i have quite a few extra Gen3 parts stockpiled. No radiators but I've got the intake tubes, maf, and fan shroud.

 

[Salonika]

Post up a photo of the deer damage, I’d love to see the results of deer vs Montero.

 

[leeleatherwood]

Insurance called and said the body shop said 6k+ to fix it so it's for sure getting totaled. They did not know yet how much they would give for the car and how much the buy back will be, but I decided just to fix it regardless.

I found most of the major body parts (hood, fender, grill, head light) for $775. Once I tear it apart I may need some other stuff like a radiator etc, but I think for a $1000 or under I can get it back on the road. I also just ordered an ARB bumper too Figure why throw away money on a beat up used bumper.

Thanks for the suggestions, but in the end I like the Montero and don't see anything else accomplishing everything it does.

I agree with you, fix it yourself for much cheaper. You can even take your time and wait for matching color body panels.