Cheap shite 4x4

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I fancy repatriating my Fiat Argenta next year, this thing is too heavy to be safely A-framed behind my P100 so I was mulling over getting a real shitbox 4x4 to drag it home with, and then to have some 'fun' using it as a daily for a while, driving it through town, knocking over children and melting the ozone cap, machine-gunning polar bears etc etc. What are the options? The most 'shite' 4x4 I can think of is a Nissan Terrano. ebay seems to be chucking a few of those up for less than a grand, it looks like £800 should buy something suitably average, and I imagine they are fairly easy to keep going.

 

This one looks like it was a right barg:

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1999-NISSAN-TERRANO-II-TDI-SE-TOURING-GREEN_W0QQitemZ260526383505

 

What others are there? I'm not sure I could tolerate driving a grey-import Pajero mind you just because of the pikey connotations.

[Milford Cubicle]

Daihatsu Fourtrak? They aren't the best value for money, but I do like them. They seem much more of a workhorse than other Japanese 4x4s, and are surprisingly good fun and nippy in 2.8TD form. Or for uber shiteyness get a Ssangyong Korando.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Actually I think these must take the 4x4 shite crown!!!!

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1992-VAUXHALL-FRONTERA-SILVER-diesel-2-3_W0QQitemZ140367393972

 

Not a bad looker though i suppose and again, fairly easy to keep alive with rudimentary toolz.

[Milford Cubicle]

Yeah, they have a terrible reputation so are pretty good value for money. They have 3 different diesels - that ancient 2.3 Opel lump which makes for terrible performance , the 2.5 VM OHV engine and an Isuzu 2.8TD - the latter is the one to go for.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Isnt there also a 2.2 16V vauxhall diesel enigne? Are they all turbos or are some NA diesels? If there is an NA diesel that must have titanic-rivalling acceleration.

[Tayne]

.

[pogweasel]

Terrano's are certainly "adequate", my mates' dad had a couple of them (must have lost ££££ in depreciation as they were both new!) to tow their c*r*v*n. This time round they bought a Mitsubishi instead, but I think that was only prompted by buying an even bigger c*r*v*n.Frontera's are mega crap in that special vauxhally way - rot for england, interiors made out of papier mache etc, BUT the older ones come with 2.0/2.4 pez or 2.3 dizzle units all of which seem to be indestructable. Alot of the inbreds round here use them for 'pit' rides and other off-roading, so they must be tuff. Later ones are just rubbish through and through with powerplants totally unsuited to 4x4 application. Can't you get something really masochistic, like a land rover or C-reg Patrol or something equally horrid...??

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I've gotta sit in it for a 1200-mile round trip so no C-reg landrovers unfortunately! Plus its gotta cost next to nowt.

[Milford Cubicle]

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1991-MITSUBISHI-L ... 0399458862

 

I like the old boxy L200s, this seems like a reasonable one. It'd do the job of directly replacing your P100 too.

 

PASSENGER SEAT HAS BEEN CHEWED BY PREVIOUS OWNERS DOG

[Ratdat]

I drove one of those terrano II's a while back when my local Nissan dealer lent me one. I thought it was pretty shit to drive. It's handlibng was awful and it was amazingly slower than my old Japanese import Terrano R3M despite having the same 2.7 turbo diesel but with the addition of an intercooler. I wouldn't have one in all honesty. The R3M on the other hand was pretty nice. Joncedrics got it now as I just wasn't making much use of it any more. When they come up for sale they tend to be pretty cheap. There was a two door one on ebay a while back for £400. They did a 3.0l petrol V6 one which given the choice is what I'd have prefered. Those VG30E engines aren't bad on fuel and have heaps of torque.

[Cavcraft]

Terranos and Mavericks have an appalling reputation and are shite.

 

Shogun/Pajero a good bet, the 2.8TD being the better one of the engine range. For comedy mpg/ the ability to bankrupt you within no time try a 3.0 petrol one. I borrowed one for an open ended amopunt of time and gave it back after 2 days as it was frightening on fuel.

 

Fourtracks/Sportrack seem pretty good though will rot a bit and are slightly smaller than your average 4x4 so if ground clearance is a major issue you might want to give one a good test drive off-road first.

 

Vauxhall 2.2 petrol and diesel engines are shite unless they've had an oil change with top quality synthetic every 25 yards and you'd want to see proof. They also needed some sort of oilway mod doing, Albert Ross(?) I'm sure will know plenty more about them.

The 2.3 diesel was about as agricultural as you could wish and seem wank in the power/mpg/speed stakes.

 

2.0 Sport a good bet though, ideally an 8V. Petrol tanks can leak, the sender unit is wank, driver's seats can fray and the bonnet WILL go rusty on th leading edge (gaffer tappe fixes that lol) but neither of mine ever looked like going rusty despite some extreme use and abuse. Chassis seem like they're made from girders, they're suprisingly tough and can go a lot of places fancier 4x4s can...

 

Quite probably my favourite ever day in any car I've ever owned. They're stupidly cheap too: that one cost me £200 with 6 months MOT, 6 weeks tax and a nearly full tank of juice from eBaY.

 

Freelanders are dogshit by the way. Discos seem a laugh but they can rot for fun but there must be loads of 4x4s to choose from.

[pompei]

A bloke I know bought a cheapo Frontera a few years back and it was fuggin awful. Eventually led to his financial ruin due to the combination of fuel and repair bills.

[Pillock]

There's a chap at work who used to be into greenlaning and offroading and all that jazz, he had an SJ410 himself which I'd imagine is way too silly for your needs but he held Fronteras in high regard.Easily home-fixable as most of the mechanicals are parts-bin specials. For what you pay for one (even a smart diesel is well under a grand) they've got excellent off-road abilities, they're not uncomfortable for using every day, and they're nice enough to drive.He reckoned the biggest bonus was that they were so cheap for a dog-rough offroad-only one, if you ever rolled it or got it stuck up a tree you hitchhike home and buy another one.

[whitevanman]

Dacia Duster ?Tata 4x4 pick upcant get much cheaper or nastier.....though I'd stick with the P100 as tow weight might be more

[Milford Cubicle]

Didn't they make a P100 4x4? I'm sure my uncle who worked for the Forestry Commission had one as a work hack.

[Guest]

Bollox, I know a chap who got a 90s Landcruiser for under your budget, because it's the 2.7 engine or something. Apparently those ones aren't worth much at all compared to the 4.0 ones. Surprised me as I thought any Landcruiser was worth a fair whack!Also when you bring your Argenta over, I would like to drive it around on my own and possibly not bring it back.

[trigger]

From what i remember from years ago driving the things the Maverick was a pretty fine car to drive, Not quick but pretty car like compared to some, A chap i knew had two of them, Both a Mk 1 and Mk 2 2.7 TDi's and both proved to be fine workhorses for towing heavy tractors and other machinery (He was a tractor dealer).

 

Where else everyone I've every know who have had Frontera's have ended up hating them, My Sister in laws ex had one that left even more oil on the driveway than in the engine at the end of each day and they suffer from bad rot as well.

 

I guess other opitions would be a Isuzu Trooper which seem a decent enough drive, This one is £750 but has dodgy bucket seats and no T+T.

 

LONG AUTOTRADER LINK

 

or you could even get a import Hilux Surf?.

[Pete-M]

or you could even get a import Hilux Surf?.

One of the few Jap motors where they got Cadbury's to design the cylinder head. The Frontera is properly shite, but the Hilux Serf (preferably the Baldrick edition) is guaranteed to need the cylinder head replacing more often than a K series with a dodgy water pump.

[Andrew353w]

Want a truly shite 4 x 4? Look no further than the Dacia Duster! It was Romania's answer to the 4 x4 and was imported here in the 1980s. Top marks for rareness but the build quality was so poor I don't think ANY have survived! I can't remember the last time I saw one, anyway! Based on 1970s Renault 12 petrol engine technology and the associated feeble torque, it really was the shallow end of the 4 x 4 pool, even when it was sold here!That said, if you drove one, you'd be noticed, if only by A.A. & R.A.C. patrols!

[Pete-M]

There are loads of old Dacia Dusters in Czech. I saw a LWB 'crew cab' type one last time I was there and was almost tempted to see if I could buy it.Don't know what I'd do with it, mind.

[Milford Cubicle]

My aunt had a Dacia Duster for a while, I don't remember it being unreliable, but it was shoddily built, I think it was MOT failing rust that killed it in the end. They were OK off road, I remember her taking us quite far off the beaten track in it.

They were also available with the 1.6 Diesel from the R5.

 

 

Here's another forgotten 4x4, the UMM. I like them, especially the styling which they put a bit of effort into, but again they were rust prone.

[Guest]

If we're going to give really daft suggestions, why not ring that Bubblecar Museum and see if they've still got that Jago thing?

[KruJoe]

Mr B, I think you'll struggle to beat the Maverano for torques-per-pound. (He wants a hefty tow-car, folks!) Most of the others seem to have an 'image', so make more.

There are some cheap Discos now, and you'd make a tidy sum if you tidied up a tatty one.

There are always some cheap Mussos listed, but if you need some real ugly in your life:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1997-SSANGYONG-KORANDO-GLS-DIESEL_W0QQitemZ180447828193

 

Have these not been mentioned?

That was 4 litres of value at £420, T+T and LPG:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1993-JEEP-CHEROKEE-LIMITED-AUTO-BLUE_W0QQitemZ230414275384

[warren t claim]

or you could even get a import Hilux Surf?.

One of the few Jap motors where they got Cadbury's to design the cylinder head. The Frontera is properly shite, but the Hilux Serf (preferably the Baldrick edition) is guaranteed to need the cylinder head replacing more often than a K series with a dodgy water pump.

Do they use the same engine as the Estima? I know they eat their own heads for a pastime.I'm surprised no-one has mentioned the Lada Niva yet. Or maybe they have and I need to pay more attention...

[whitevanman]

Didn't they make a P100 4x4? I'm sure my uncle who worked for the Forestry Commission had one as a work hack.

not that I know of, but its a weekends work to swap the front gubbins out of a Sierra 4x4 into one

[Father Ted]

Probably unobtainable for scrap / shite monies but a UniMog would be FTW for 4x4 fun. The wife used to drive on on the farm up at Inskip and still thinks she is from the way she attacks snow and mud in the Zaffy.I never drove it but witnessed her hauling some telegraph poles over a very sh*ty field at a terrific rate of knotts like they wern,t there.Did they only ever come in Orange?

[warren t claim]

What is the plated weight of a Unimog? I'm sure they are over 7.5t.

[trigger]

Didn't they make a P100 4x4? I'm sure my uncle who worked for the Forestry Commission had one as a work hack.

It would appear that they do exist, this one was spotted in Spain it would seem.

 

[Cavcraft]

Mahindra Chief? 2.1 litres of Peugeot diseasel powered shiteness and impossible parts locatability but a right old laugh.

[whitevanman]

Didn't they make a P100 4x4? I'm sure my uncle who worked for the Forestry Commission had one as a work hack.

It would appear that they do exist, this one was spotted in Spain it would seem.

 

Nah... that looks like the lift kit that was sold in South Africa, an aquaintance of mine had one