[sridhar-v]

My 4th. hand Grand Vitara will be 10 years old in August. I have had it for 2 years now. I have had to spend about 60k over and above anticipated budget for repairs. I am now in love with the car. My wife is also in love with her "souten". I anticipate another 5 years life with slightly increasing maintenance costs.

Spares are cheap, but time consuming to source. Well not as cheap as an Alto, but somewhere near SX4 levels. If you get a well maintained piece, of 2009-2011 vintage, you can go for it with your eyes closed.

However going in for a 15 year grey market model will not be advisable as most of the wear parts will be nearing end of life. You will need good import sources for the same. And a lot of patience to get things repaired.

[Shreyas Agarwal]

IMO you should buy a used Fortuner because of the following reasons:

1. It would be newer and hence more reliable than any other car mentioned by you
2. It would be cheaper to maintain.
3. The parts will be easily available
4. The resale will be better than others after a period of about 10 years.
5. The car will have a longer life.

But if you want to have more fun than practicality (which you would as its a weekend offroader) then go blindfolded for a LC. You can also buy a brand new car like Isuzu D Max V Cross if you stretch your budget but then nothing is more fun than a Pajero or LC. I would not at all suggest a Vitara because of its monocoque construction, it would lose the real feel of an offroader.

LC, Pajero etc. would be cheap to buy but very expensive to maintain. Therefore, my suggestion is a used Fortuner.

With Regards,
Shreyas Kumar Agarwal

[pedrolourenco]

Originally Posted by GTO

Since you already have an X1 and are looking for a weekend toy, why not buy a used Thar / Gypsy for 5 lakhs? It'll be a lot more hassle-free to own & you'll enjoy offroading in one. Goa is anyway Thar country .

I'd prefer a Gypsy in that case. You may be surprised but finding a clean Thar in Goa is extremely difficult. A friend pick up one last year. The owner was moving to UK and the vehicle was only used for travelling from home to workshop and sites (He was a metal fabricator).

Buying a 15 year old import SUV for 5 lakhs is just asking for trouble. These cars are way past their prime & have multiple owners + cheap maintenance under their belt.

So I had the wrong impression. I thought these would be reliable even after 15 years.

Of course, it's a different matter if you find a pristine example, but these are incredibly hard to locate. Owners who've kept them well for all these years aren't willing to part with their ride either (or they quote a ridiculous amount).

I will anyway still keep my eyes open for such examples.

Originally Posted by dhanushs

I think I understand what you are looking for. My advice for you would be to put in a couple of lacks more and get a used Fortuner. Amazing offroad potential, reliability, serviceability and availability of parts. Also the benefit that its a newer model, with less hassles and better (newer) interiors.

I keep my eyes open for these too.

Or if you still want an import SUV, of which the snob value, the Fortuner will not match, go ahead and buy the 80 series LC. Even in Auto form, its a monster, and great for casual offroading, or rather trail driving. Just be prepared to go offline for a week if you are broken down, due to parts availability.

This option is open but going by the comments so far is now not looking so viable.

If you really want to enjoy offroading, get a Thar at go full on.

Yes. Or Gypsy.

Ah.. also be sure to fit a winch onto these heavy SUV's, since if you get stuck, you dont want to get recovered by others. All the tugging and pulling will have a toll on the vehicle.

[/quote]ery true.

Originally Posted by sridhar-v

My 4th. hand Grand Vitara will be 10 years old in August. I have had it for 2 years now. I have had to spend about 60k over and above anticipated budget for repairs. I am now in love with the car.

I did look around. Quite a few available at good prices.

Originally Posted by Shreyas Agarwal

IMO you should buy a used Fortuner

If one comes up at a reasonable price.

So the verdict is pretty clear. My idea was not such a good idea after all. So in all probability it will be ditched (unless a really good example of one of the 4 shows up) in favour of a Thar or Gypsy.

Thanks again for the valuable inputs.

[condor]

Spotted this ad : 2008 Pajero in bangalore @ 7.5L

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by Sahil

I am surprised you haven't recommended your favourite Montero!.

Originally Posted by GTO

Hahaha! Yes, yes - that's still my favourite SUV.

Completely OT and please excuse me for that, but had the Montero been available here in India at old prices, I don't think, I would be losing sleep over my next upgrade. None of the current SUV's on sale in India look like the Montero, Pajero GLX/SFX. That was the golden era as far as butch, boxy looks go, but thanks to exorbitant prices, Montero is touching 75 and the LC Prado at 1 cr...gulp

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by GTO

Hahaha! Yes, yes - that's still my favourite SUV

Tell me about it. I just drove down from Delhi to Chennai in one (a friend was relocating) and it was 2k plus kms of sheer bliss. The practicality of that so called, outdated cabin, the comfort of those right sized seats and the composure of the vehicle was immensely comforting. The vehicle just wafts around in majesty over all kinds of roads.

But at 81 lac OTR Bangalore....

Coming to the topic of the thread, if you are particular about buying something Japanese, a pre owned 2010-11 Pajero SFX is the only vehicle which comes to my mind at the moment which can be purchased and maintained without bleeding your money and blood.

The other option I'd suggest is that you buy a pre owned Gypsy and soup it up to your tastes on all counts. The kind of happiness a well modified Gypsy gives you is simply out of this world. It is also the perfect vehicle for short rides here and there with friends.

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by Shreyas Agarwal

But if you want to have more fun than practicality (which you would as its a weekend offroader) then go blindfolded for a LC.

Umm, the LC is heavier and more bulkier than the Fortuner. Can you please elaborate on how the LC is more fun than the Fortuner?

is more fun than a Pajero or LC.

Again, how is Pajero more fun? Its even slower and sluggish than the Fortuner.

I would not at all suggest a Vitara because of its monocoque construction

Are you sure the Vitara is a monocoque?

[A M]

It is blend of monocoque and ladder frame construction. Quoting from another thread.

Did you know that the Vitara is a soft-roader with a low-range 'box? Possibly the only one? Also, the chassis is a blend of monocoque and ladder-frame construction. That's pretty unique.

The Vitara was too ahead of it's time. Or maybe the fact that it's an SUV and wasn't powered by a diesel-engine that kept several prospective customers away? But even that doesn't make sense because the CR-V flew out of the showrooms despite being considerably more expensive.

Here is a link to Maruti Suzuki's website.

[Shreyas Agarwal]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

Umm, the LC is heavier and more bulkier than the Fortuner. Can you please elaborate on how the LC is more fun than the Fortuner?

Again, how is Pajero more fun? Its even slower and sluggish than the Fortuner.
Are you sure the Vitara is a monocoque?

I mean the fun of offroading. I think that a LC or Pajero would any day be better than a Grand Vitara or even a Fortuner because a LC has better offroading capabilities. The new fortuner is not even
a full time 4WD.

With regards,
Shreyas Kumar Agarwal

[rrsteer]

Hi Guys,

I have always wanted to keep an old school SUV as my personal car. I am getting an 80 series Landcruiser for around 8.5 lacs. Just wanted to check if its a good price or should I drop it?

The vehicle is a 1999 model built to UN specifications. Its an EX-US embassy vehicle and is now registered in Punjab (my state). it was bought from embassy auction sometime in 2010. I haven't driven the vehicle yet, though what I did see was that the engine fired in half a crank and the interior has been refreshed and it has got new Yokohama geolanders. It has run about 1 lac 40k kms.

I have no particular use for this vehicle and want to buy it so that I can keep it with me as long as I can. The only things that concern me are : 1) if the price asked is fair? 2) Upkeep costs (I am willing to set aside 40k for annual upkeep)

Please let me know your thoughts.