Best second hand Jeep

Albert Johnson · 02-01-2018 08:12PM #1

Hi folks,
Long time reader first time poster. I need to change my current car as it is no longer suitable for my needs. I am considering a 4x4 as I believe it would be more suited to my day to day work.
I currently farm a small holding which I hope to expand and do a fair amount of towing. The extra load space, ground clearance and towing ability would make a real difference to my daily activities.
I am leaning towards a lwb land cruiser but have limited knowledge of diesel engines so am open to suggestions. My yearly mileage would br roughly 35,000km and i would have a budget of €10,000. I am situated in the northwest, sorry about the long post and would appreciate any feedback.

Grueller · 05-01-2018 05:07AM

kay 9 wrote: »

No dmf in them older ones either.
How much did the clutch cost?

€460 supplied and fitted by a local independent mechanic.

05-01-2018 11:42AM

_Brian wrote: »

Tyres for sisters Toureg were €400 a corner for direct replacements, they opted for something cheaper, “almost €300” a corner is what I was told they finally cost.

Shopping around is so key with tyres that I would not rely on what other people pay. The prices I hear some people pay for tyres is criminal compared to what they could actually be bought for with a few phone calls.

_Brian · 05-01-2018 11:48AM

Gawddawggonnit wrote: »

Lovely.

Yea, the upgraded alloys seem a bit excessive now

joejobrien · 05-01-2018 12:26PM

Owen Petite Cobra wrote: »

Shopping around is so key with tyres that I would not rely on what other people pay. The prices I hear some people pay for tyres is criminal compared to what they could actually be bought for with a few phone calls.

When it comes to tyres, you pay for what you get. theres a lot more to it than price, but sadly most goes on price.

Gawddawggonnit · 05-01-2018 01:14PM

_Brian wrote: »

Yea, the upgraded alloys seem a bit excessive now

Michelin’s are €300 a piece for it...and €135 for my own Jeep. Just a couple of inches in the rims, is all that’s between them.

Bass Reeves · 05-01-2018 02:39PM

joejobrien wrote: »

When it comes to tyres, you pay for what you get. theres a lot more to it than price, but sadly most goes on price.

That dose not preclude you from shopping around for the best price on a particular tyre. I have come accross a 25% difference in the price of a set of tyres and tracking:rolleyes: by pricing around and the distance between the garages aws less than 5 miles. However there is a certain amount of trye snobbery around and lads can pay for that. There are mid ranged priced tyres out there that have as good and better preformane rating than some higher priced tyres. Sometime you are in a tyre shop look at the rating stickers on the tyres and you may be surprised at what you see.

Op as a matter of interest what level of driving milage wise do you do for your work and how heavy will the loads be that you tow. TBH farming wise a decent trailer behind a tractor will move a lot of stock fairly fast it is something I am looking at myself after that I pay for most haulage IMO it is cheaper than running a jeep. If you are doing serious work milage virtually any jeep will cruify you in cost between fuel amd maintenance

Bullocks · 05-01-2018 02:45PM

Bass Reeves wrote: »

That dose not preclude you from shopping around for the best price on a particular tyre. I have come accross a 25% difference in the price of a set of tyres and tracking:rolleyes: by pricing around and the distance between the garages aws less than 5 miles. However there is a certain amount of trye snobbery around and lads can pay for that. There are mid ranged priced tyres out there that have as good and better preformane rating than some higher priced tyres. Sometime you are in a tyre shop look at the rating stickers on the tyres and you may be surprised at what you see.

Op as a matter of interest what level of driving milage wise do you do for your work and how heavy will the loads be that you tow. TBH farming wise a decent trailer behind a tractor will move a lot of stock fairly fast it is something I am looking at myself after that I pay for most haulage IMO it is cheaper than running a jeep. If you are doing serious work milage virtually any jeep will cruify you in cost between fuel amd maintenance

The wife burst her front tyre on a pothole a few weeks ago , the replacement was 100 Euro which I thought was dear but she said it was the cheaper of the two tyres he had .
I burst the new tyre in the same bollix of a pothole a few days ago and had to buy another tyre . Same tyre , shop and man but he gave it for 65 ! Some difference .
He caught the wife rightly !

Bass Reeves · 05-01-2018 04:46PM

Bullocks wrote: »

The wife burst her front tyre on a pothole a few weeks ago , the replacement was 100 Euro which I thought was dear but she said it was the cheaper of the two tyres he had .
I burst the new tyre in the same bollix of a pothole a few days ago and had to buy another tyre . Same tyre , shop and man but he gave it for 65 ! Some difference .
He caught the wife rightly !

Never send a women to buy a tyre or to get a puncture repaired. I bought the tools and strips to repair punctures because every time the better half went to get a tyre fixed they were trying to pawn off a new tyre.

Muckit · 05-01-2018 04:46PM

Tell her she needs to learn how to bat her eye lashes!

Bass Reeves · 05-01-2018 04:51PM

Muckit wrote: »

Tell her she needs to learn how to bat her eye lashes!

They would add another 20 euro to the price of the tyre

Albert Johnson · 05-01-2018 05:13PM

Op as a matter of interest what level of driving milage wise do you do for your work and how heavy will the loads be that you tow. TBH farming wise a decent trailer behind a tractor will move a lot of stock fairly fast it is something I am looking at myself after that I pay for most haulage IMO it is cheaper than running a jeep. If you are doing serious work milage virtually any jeep will cruify you in cost between fuel amd maintenance

Work related mileage wouldn't be excessive anymore due to moving back closer to my home place and work place in the last month. This should mean less mileage but more towing and rough work as I have more time to farm in my own right.
Tractors are a kind of love hate relationship with me being honest. I understand your point about using a tractor to do the bulk of the haulage but that would require investment in a suitable roadworthy tractor and not something I'd be that interested in. My land type is marginal so for most of the year a tractor would be confined to the road and for that reason a quad is ahead of a tractor on my wish list.
Some lads around keep a car for work and have a jeep solely for farming but I couldn't justify running 2 vehicles at the moment anyway.
I think I've narrowed the search down to either a Toyota land cruiser or a izuzu dmax. The land cruiser seems more popular second hand but the dmax seems to offer better value for money.
I understand that coming from car ownership that running costs of a 4x4 will increase but I feel it's a worthwhile trade off with the added benefits that a jeep would bring.

05-01-2018 05:39PM

joejobrien wrote: »

When it comes to tyres, you pay for what you get. theres a lot more to it than price, but sadly most goes on price.

I fully agree I wasn't sugesting budget tyres just shopping around for good ones. I dont even use mid-range tyres, only premium (in reality I always get Good Years as they are in my opinion the best tyres money can buy).

Gawddawggonnit wrote: »

Michelin’s are €300 a piece for it.

What size are they? The most thing that makes tyres expensive is not size its how common the size is. I've see one or two small cars have comparatively very expensive tyres because they are a weird size (size being the combination of width, profile and rim size) which very few other cars use.

orchard farm · 06-01-2018 02:15PM

What about a land rover defender?serious machine for towin cheap to maintain and will outlive us all??

White Clover · 06-01-2018 02:22PM

orchard farm wrote: »

What about a land rover defender?serious machine for towin cheap to maintain and will outlive us all??

Are you sure about the cheap to maintain bit?
Also, are they not very reliable, as in lots of small things giving bother?

Who2 · 06-01-2018 07:58PM

orchard farm wrote: »

What about a land rover defender?serious machine for towin cheap to maintain and will outlive us all??

Serious rough yolk to drive with a very rough clutch and poor leg room. But I'd still love one. But I reckon the hilux is still the better option.

Albert Johnson · 06-01-2018 08:21PM

Who2 wrote: »

orchard farm wrote: »

What about a land rover defender?serious machine for towin cheap to maintain and will outlive us all??

Serious rough yolk to drive with a very rough clutch and poor leg room. But I'd still love one. But I reckon the hilux is still the better option.

Never drove a defender but having looked into a few the driving position seems uncomfortable. There looked to be a serious lack of leg room which would put me off the idea of owning one. They do seem to be a serious work horse though what ever about the reliability.
A hilux seems a great option if a crewcab is a necessity. I don't carry multiple passengers that often so 2 seats would suffice most of time.
See a dmax king cab recently, it seemed to me to be a good compromise between extra seats without overly decreasing the load bay area of the jeep. Anyone have experience with a king cab and what were your views on it? I know they might be hard got second hand.

greysides · 06-01-2018 08:23PM

I'd say seats in a King cab are really only for small children. Or, maybe remove them and use the area for clean storage...

Albert Johnson · 06-01-2018 08:31PM

greysides wrote: »

I'd say seats in a King cab are really only for small children. Or, maybe remove them and use the area for clean storage...

Your probably right about the small children, leg room would be a limiting factor.
I was thinking more about taking them out and using the area for storage. I'd like to have space for the multitudes of jackets and other necessary junk that accumulates in every vehicle I use. Be nice to have a dedicated space without moving them constantly out of the way.

orchard farm · 06-01-2018 10:03PM

White Clover wrote: »

Are you sure about the cheap to maintain bit?
Also, are they not very reliable, as in lots of small things giving bother?

Always found parts easy to come by,practically indestructible alot of farmers up north drive em,not most comfortable ill agree but seem to hold there value well and great farm workhorse.

06-01-2018 10:07PM

orchard farm wrote: »

White Clover wrote: »

Are you sure about the cheap to maintain bit?
Also, are they not very reliable, as in lots of small things giving bother?

Always found parts easy to come by,practically indestructible alot of farmers up north drive em,not most comfortable ill agree but seem to hold there value well and great farm workhorse.

Land Rover gets you there, land cruiser gets you home.
Such an uncomfortable hateful yoke.

Cattlepen · 06-01-2018 11:57PM

Turbohymac wrote: »

Just go for a Toyota.. if 3 litre landcruiser is a bit heavy on fuel go for 2.5 hilux. Very good vehicle..
Steer clear of the soft vehicles and focus on a workhorse..

Can't agree with this. Having owned three hilux I think I can honestly say that they are not what they used to be. Toyota sold out its independence and reliability a few years ago. Plenty of hassle with them. Isuzu all the way. Best jeep I ever had was 3.1 litre trooper. I would have it over amazons or any other. Now have a defender. No trouble so far but only 60k on it. They are an acquired taste but very practical. No carpet, electrics etc

Albert Johnson · 07-01-2018 12:07AM

Can't agree with this. Having owned three hilux I think I can honestly say that they are not what they used to be. Toyota sold out its independence and reliability a few years ago. Plenty of hassle with them. Isuzu all the way. Best jeep I ever had was 3.1 litre trooper. I would have it over amazons or any other. Now have a defender. No trouble so far but only 60k on it. They are an acquired taste but very practical. No carpet, electrics etc

I have to admit to zero knowledge of defenders but practicality is the name of the game with this purchase. I'm looking for a workhorse and maybe the defender could be it. I try to mechanically maintain my current car but cosmetics wouldn't be my strongest point. Something with no carpets to get dirty and little electronics or other non essentials to give trouble would be great. Once it's reliable, reasonably comfortable and economic within reason it's a definite contender.

orchard farm · 07-01-2018 01:00AM

Albert Johnson wrote: »

I have to admit to zero knowledge of defenders but practicality is the name of the game with this purchase. I'm looking for a workhorse and maybe the defender could be it. I try to mechanically maintain my current car but cosmetics wouldn't be my strongest point. Something with no carpets to get dirty and little electronics or other non essentials to give trouble would be great. Once it's reliable, reasonably comfortable and economic within reason it's a definite contender.

Good man youll never regret it,aluminum body too so never fade away

Bass Reeves · 07-01-2018 09:49AM

I think at some stage you said that minimum towing you required rating was 2T. Another option would be a Toyota Rav 4 2.2D 2008 version. A lot of these were bought as cars. While the tax is high you can convert to commercial. Fairly economical up near 40mpg from my understanding but still legal to tow 2 ton.

Just make sure you check the actual towing capacity of the actual model you buy as some RAV's are as low as 1 ton

adam14 · 07-01-2018 10:28AM

orchard farm wrote: »

Good man youll never regret it,aluminum body too so never fade away

There's a reason the UK is full of defenders. They are a reliable workhorse.

maidhc · 07-01-2018 11:29AM

adam14 wrote: »

There's a reason the UK is full of defenders. They are a reliable workhorse.

I think our cousins across the pond don’t always decide with their heads when it comes to “patriotic” matters. They were a sales failure in less hospitable places like oz and Africa.

A 1950s era vehicle with an underpowered engine and to be fair an average reputation for reliability isn’t a more sensible choice that a landcruiser. It’s looks far better, but I think that is the only upside the lander has.

Muckit · 07-01-2018 11:42AM

If the towing capacities were higher, the koreans woild have their jap cousins well and truly trumped. They have it done already with cars. Kias and hyundais. Great yokes.

Mooooo · 07-01-2018 12:22PM

With mileage of 35 k fuel cost will.be big, how much will be done without a trailer? A van for th days not towing could.save a bit

Albert Johnson · 07-01-2018 01:46PM

Bass Reeves wrote: »

I think at some stage you said that minimum towing you required rating was 2T. Another option would be a Toyota Rav 4 2.2D 2008 version. A lot of these were bought as cars. While the tax is high you can convert to commercial. Fairly economical up near 40mpg from my understanding but still legal to tow 2 ton.

Just make sure you check the actual towing capacity of the actual model you buy as some RAV's are as low as 1 ton

A Toyota Rav was actually one of the first suggestions my mechanic offered when I mentioned the idea of a 4x4. He reckoned they were very reliable and economic to run in general. I found it hard to find a clean second hand of that era though (2008 onwards). My biggest gripe with them apart from there appearance was that parts seemed as expensive as those for the bigger 4x4 such as a land cruiser or pajero. That was only my personal opinion and perhaps I was wrong.

Albert Johnson · 07-01-2018 01:54PM

Mooooo wrote: »

With mileage of 35 k fuel cost will.be big, how much will be done without a trailer? A van for th days not towing could.save a bit

I have recently moved nearer my work place so hoping that the mileage will decrease somewhat.
As regards towing I'd imagine the mileage would be split roughly half and half. I had researched the van option but found insurance a problem. They wouldn't credit my no claims bonus meaning the quote was eye watering. I drove a 4 wheel drive caddy regularly with a previous job including lots of towing and I wasn't overly impressed with it. I seem to remember that the mpg was poorer than expected and other little problems constantly arising.

Best second hand Jeep

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