Advice for a first time Pajero buyer?

[Clinton]

HI all. I'm thinking about buying my first Pajero. (Upgrading from a Surf, got too many kids now).
I have about 13k-17k to spend and was wondering what sort of specs I should be able to get for that money?
Would a diesel or a petrol be the way to go (i the fuel economy really worth that much)?
Is there anything I should be looking out for when purchasing? Any other advice?

Thanks heaps - much appreciated.

[Pickle]

Buy the NL Clinton. Either Petrol or Diesel as they are both good vehicles.
Should be able to get a Exceed with reasonable klms for those prices.
All the specs here
Dave

[Clinton]

Is there much of a difference going from a NK to an NL?

[Alex86]

Engine is the main difference- the V6 in an NL is bigger at 3.5L
You'll also get airbags in an NL and depending on which variant [Escape, GLX or GLS] possibly a significantly different body shape.

You might find a decent vehicle in that price range. The petrols chew about 14 per 100km as a slightly conservative figure around the city- obviously depends on how you drive it.

Of course you must check out the normal pre-purchase things when you find a possible rig. It's worth spending on proper inspections to save you buying a bit of a lemon.

The NLs dont seem to have any plagueing issues that I have come across. Expect normal wear and tear items, for your price range i imagine vehicles would be around the 150,000+km figure.

NL's are good, family has two [including mine, an Escape and a GLS], no complaints! Definately an all-rounder thats good for a bit of everything.

[actpaj]

nk has 3.5 dohc

[Alex86]

oops, my apologies there......... cheers for the correction actpaj

[Clinton]

Thanks heaps for the advice so far. Much appreciated. Looking around it seems to be that you pay a good $3000-$4000 more for a diesel with similar secs and km's. I'm looking for something that we can use as a family car around town, but we do a fair bit of camping (towing a camper trailer) and are planning a big trip around the country next year. The big question: Is it worth paying the extra for a diesel?

Any thoughts?

[6G74]

If your talking NL - then i dont think so, the petrol will return the same, if not better economy on a trip, and around town there will be little difference between the two, the petrol makes more torque then the diesel, and effectively from the same rpm (290nm at 2000rpm) and yet makes 45kw more. Even towing i doubt the difference in economy will be anything to argue about.

Between an NJ / NK or NL - NL would be your choice by far, unless you do decided for a diesel, in which case theres very little difference.

[Jaydee]

. The big question: Is it worth paying the extra for a diesel?

Any thoughts?

Yep..... you can get diesel anywhere in the scrub.... everything runs on diesel...

....and besides... you're never fearing whether the computer is gonna have a bad day at the office or whether it could get drowned if you take the vehicle for a wade.

The only thing that would stop the diesel electrically would be a complete power failure and the stop solenoid shuts off the fuel.... easily fixed with a 9V torch battery and a shunt start.

I dunno... I've always had the belief a petrol is more of a town car than roughing it in the wilds type thing... mostly that you need a multimeter over spanners to fix it... then finding someone who has a clue about what you need to fix it...

[RallyPaj]

Yep..... you can get diesel anywhere in the scrub.... everything runs on diesel...

A very important point if you're gonna head off on a trip round Oz. You can get diesel everywhere and anywhere; city, country, outback, no man's land.
Once you get off the beaten track petrol gets scarse.