4WD’s
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Category: General Chat
Forum Name: General Chat
Forum Description: For mums, dads, parents-to-be, grandparents, friends -- you name it! And you name the topic you want to chat about!
URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=31554
Printed Date: 15 October 2025 at 11:00am
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Topic: 4WD’s
Posted By: kebakat
Subject: 4WD’s
Date Posted: 10 February 2010 at 5:42pm
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I'm starting to do my research now..
I hate "my" car, I've always hated it. It runs perfectly fine but it was DH's car before we even met and I've just inherited it over time. Our goal this year is to get a 4WD, its what I really want so we can go do some fun stuff hehehe. For those who have 4WD's.. What do you have? Pros and cons? Petrol or diseal? We can't afford something flash or new so we will be looking 2nd hand for under 6k most likely. |
Replies:
Posted By: MissAngel
Date Posted: 10 February 2010 at 5:53pm
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Make sure if you do get a 2nd hand one that you take it to a mechanic who specialises in diesils (if you should choose a diesil one). A lot of mechanics say they can do work on them just fine, but its always worth it getting someone who really knows.
My dad had a terano and it was awesome. The starter motor went in it quite a bit and the tyres were hideously expensive, but other than that it was great. Just remember that they do have a higher centre of gravity and WILL tip over if you do offroading and you're going over stuff too high or steep. Also, if you do want to go offroading its worth purchasing a spare set of wheels with the right tyres. Road tyres are sh*t for offroading / offroad tyres are sh*t for on the road. Hope that helps a little bit! ------------- Alex, Thomas and Lily http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 10 February 2010 at 6:02pm
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I'm kinda lucky that my dad is an ex mechanic so I have that knowledge plus I'd take it to a current mechanic also.
I won't be doing crazy off roading but theres some places we wanna camp and dive where you can't take a car and its pretty flat. |
Posted By: MissAngel
Date Posted: 10 February 2010 at 6:07pm
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Then you'll be perfectly fine! Just get your dad to check em all out with you :D ------------- Alex, Thomas and Lily http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: Peanut
Date Posted: 10 February 2010 at 6:37pm
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We have a Isuzu Bighorn (1996 - I think) and it is great! Its a diesel, although at the moment if you include road user charges etc its actually not that much cheaper than petrol.
We had an issue with the motor but that was more our own issue as we imported from Japan so couldn't get it checked out as such so that cost as an extra 2 ground. I don't drive it as find it too big as my everyday car but we do use it all weekend and for family trips etc. Great for getting everything in etc but I find it really high to get into as am short and it was a nightmare when pregnant. |
Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 10 February 2010 at 6:41pm
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I was thinking petrol rather than diesel cause I don't see it being cheaper going diesel.. I had a look about road user charges but I couldn't figure it out (maybe I was looking somewhere dumb), how much do you pay? I could just ask my mum but I can't be bothered with a lecture lol
We are lucky in that DH has a company car which is fine for private use so we mostly use that. |
Posted By: mummy_becks
Date Posted: 10 February 2010 at 7:50pm
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I love the petrol big horns, my dad used to have one and it was nice to drive. I like Nissan Navara's as well (they are the green army 4WD's). We are looking as well and looking at Toyota Surfs as well. ------------- I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived! |
Posted By: MaeBeeBaby
Date Posted: 10 February 2010 at 9:52pm
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A lot less goes wrong with diesel's.
Terrano's are awesome - I used to have one and I towed the horse float with it very comfortably. Was a fab vehicle and always fitted my cr@p in it when competing! Then met DH and he had a Toyota Surf, so I 'upgraded'. Wasn't quite as noisy as the Terrano. Then we upgraded to a Toyota Prado and I LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT. Room for Africa! If you want a bash-around 4WD, the older (1990-1994) Terrano's are dirt cheap ($2-4k). Or you could take a leaf out my DH's book and have a rough-and-ready 'barbie car' which is a SWB (short wheel based) Pajero - his is black with a rollcage, kinda cool looking, but his mates call it the 'barbie car' LOL. It has a soft-top so it can be undone and it's awesome to take 4WD'ing in mud and water! No room for cr@p though cause it's SWB. If you can find a Surf under $6k there WILL be something wrong with it, or will be one of the older ones that are known as 'forerunner's' and DH says steer clear!!! You can easily find a very nice Terrano for up to $6k. Most are diesel. Cheaper ones are 2 door, you will pay more for a 4 door. And yes definitely get the vehicle checked out by a DIESEL mechanic. One thing to note though, with petrol it DOES matter how many km's are on the clock, but with diesel's it doesn't - the engines work very differently. My in-laws have had their 1990 Terrano from new and it has clocked twice over the engine and still going strong - they have replaced 3 gear boxes but they tow a caravan a lot so that's probably why. Another thing to know is that if you buy a full-time 4WD (which most Prado's are) you will go through tyres a lot faster - but with that in mind we got about 70,000kms on our last set over 2 years and we reckon that was pretty darn good. 
Our personal preference (and DH's mates are all 4WD fanatics - off road esp!) are diesel engines as less goes wrong, you don't have to replace them so often, and petrol tends to go up more than diesel - but it is a false economy with road miles etc so do keep that in mind - we reckon it works out about even but a diesel is kinder on the engine than a petrol. (My Dad is a diesel mechanic so I have kinda been brought up with all of this LOL!) |
Posted By: Mama2two
Date Posted: 10 February 2010 at 9:58pm
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We currently have a Nissan Terrano, but used to have a Isuzu diesel.
Our current car is petrol, which I would recommend if you are not planning on hard out 4wding. Like has been said the diesel will end up costing about the same once you pay for the road tax, plus NZ diesel is absolute rubbish so you can end up having problems with rubbers etc in the fuel system. You can buy an all terrain tyre for them which are generally 60% on road/ 40% off road. Good if you want the extra grip but only want to go easy offroading on grass and beaches etc. They are slightly more expensive than the road tyres but you can still pick them up for around $180-$200 each. They are blimmin noisy though! By the way, i have to endorse the Terrano's. We have the R3mr Ltd edition and it is so lovely to drive and be a passenger in. It is an older car but we have had very few problems with it in all the years we have had it. It is a lovely size for car seats and camping equipment etc 
------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: fattartsrock
Date Posted: 10 February 2010 at 10:23pm
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WE have a 2003 honda crv, petrol, which is great. Not only is it roomy, but it is fantasitc for off roading lite - takes in rugged hillclimbs without breaking a sweat, tows anything, roomy, roomy roomy. We do lots of travelling and go down the sounds and off the beaten track a bit as well as towing stuff (boats, caravans) Has gone through 2 sets of tires since we have had it (although we have had it since 06), but thats all we have spent on it. That said you'd pay about $18000 for one our year with our mileage on it, so a bt pricey. The olde rmodels are still good, but just uglier looking. We also have a desiel vehicle and as someone above said, its a bit of a false economy once you factor in road user.
We will trade inthis year and will either get an 07 crv or a ford teritory ------------- The Honest Un PC Parent of 2, usually stuck in the naughty corner! :P |
Posted By: queenbean
Date Posted: 10 February 2010 at 10:32pm
Yep, we have a territory and I  it. The back seat has so much space, and the boot can easily take a big stroller and a 30kg dog and there's still room for more!-------------   
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fattartsrock wrote:Posted By: minik8e
Date Posted: 10 February 2010 at 10:36pm
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We have a 1992 Toyota Landcruiser, and we it. It's a 4.2L turbo diesel, goes anywhere (full time 4WD), tows anything at 100km, and haven't had any problems with it. DH hasn't replaced the tyres since he's had it either (about 4 years now!), so even though they're expensive, they last well - they still have huge amounts of tread on them. Our particular model is based on the Australian one which was designed mainly for the outback and being a portable sleeper as well (the back seats fold all the way to the front seats, meaning the entire back of the car can be used for sleeping).
Road user charges depend on the weight of the vehicle, for example ours is 2 tonne, so road user charges are based on that. Is it cheaper being diesel....hrmm, probably not at the moment, but in saying that, it doesn't seem to go through much diesel?? And for us, towing uses less diesel than it would petrol (hence why our people mover is likely to be diesel as well). The only problem we have had with it was due to the batteries being flat, and it not being jump started properly (it has two batteries) - caused a trip in the relay to the alternator, but all good. It's also been used off-road, and as a push car for speedway (but not often, DH is a wee bit precious about it!). In saying that, it would probably cost around $15k for a model similar to ours, so not that cheap! |
Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 11 February 2010 at 7:54am
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Thats given me somethings to mull over.
But all the ones outside of the 6k aren't an option. It will take ages for us to save more than that and I refuse to buy a car and pay interest on paying it off - just my personal preference. |
Posted By: minik8e
Date Posted: 11 February 2010 at 8:03am
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My ex and I had a SWB Pajero as well (which you could get for under $6K) but I probably wouldn't recommend it with kids, because 2 doors is a mission, and there's not a huge amount of space. Ours was a 2.5L turbo and it was a dog, I hated it.
Friends of ours have a Isuzu Bighorn and they love it - it can have 7 seats, but they usually have their back two seats folded up because they have a husky. Theirs isn't very good at towing though. MIL also has a Nissan, which is great, although she has a SWB version so not practical for families. Hers is a very very old one though!! But it's been a great packhorse, tows FIL's trailer well, can maintain a steady 100km on the open road. |
Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 11 February 2010 at 8:10am
| From being nosey around (before putting this up) the 3 types I was thinking of looking at were nissan terranos, surfs and bighorn. My little head figured that they were really common therefore if anything went wrong it would be easy to get parts etc. A mate has a terrano and I love that car. |
Posted By: Kristy82
Date Posted: 11 February 2010 at 8:33am
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Just to give you an idea on road user charges;
We have a Toyota Prado and just purchased 10,000k's on Tuesday. It cost me $425. I just about fell over considering last time we paid them in August last year they cost around $380. In saying that we have only owned our Prado for about a year now and we totally love it. ------------- 
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Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 11 February 2010 at 8:35am
| Road user charges are yikes! I knew they were bad. We might stick to petrol. |
Posted By: MaeBeeBaby
Date Posted: 11 February 2010 at 3:36pm
That's another thing to watch - we have our Prado registered for RUC as a 4 tonne because we regularly tow two horses around in the float. You can get fined if caught for an under-rated RUC if you are towing, no matter how frequently or infrequently. |
Posted By: Peanut
Date Posted: 11 February 2010 at 9:18pm
| Our Bighorn tows really well. We have a boat and a caravan and wehave never had problems towing and have towed all over the SI and off road type places to launch the boat. |