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If you couldn't have a land rover ...


hairyone

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A the thread title says what would you get. The background is that I've accepted a job in Grand Junction Colorado on a temporary visa, this means I'll be selling my '87 2.5 petrol 90. I'm guessing there is going to be very little mud there and from what I can gather 25 year old LRs cost over $10k. I think there are few trails for "wheeling?" and as US distances go the MOAB is just down the road.

The pay-n-play site I go to has a fair proportion of Suzukis which I have to say do pretty well with a bit of momentum, but what's cheap and fun in the US (apart from the petrol)

So what's worth a look for about $5k, so far as I can see Ebay is practically empty in that area.

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Buy a decent Series over here, ship it out there, use it and then sell it on?

According to these guys the shipping cost to Baltimore is $2k then I guess theres the cost of having it licensed for the US, all in all it looks like a big hassle despite the fact that early 110s and 90s are going for silly money

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A the thread title says what would you get. The background is that I've accepted a job in Grand Junction Colorado on a temporary visa, this means I'll be selling my '87 2.5 petrol 90. I'm guessing there is going to be very little mud there and from what I can gather 25 year old LRs cost over $10k. I think there are few trails for "wheeling?" and as US distances go the MOAB is just down the road.

The pay-n-play site I go to has a fair proportion of Suzukis which I have to say do pretty well with a bit of momentum, but what's cheap and fun in the US (apart from the petrol)

So what's worth a look for about $5k, so far as I can see Ebay is practically empty in that area.

Er.. Suzuki SJ? (known as Samurai). I do hear that jeeps can go off road too.

In the US they have worked out far better than us that fleabay is full of scammers/dummy bidders etc. Just google search the area and look for dealers with websites

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I guess some of what I have picked up on out here will hold true.

Nissan Patrol

Early ones are very very land rover like in technology terms. One to watch for is the Ford Maverick which is the patrol rebadged, and comes in a cool short wheel base form, about the same length as a 90, but I haven't measured or had the chance to do a back to back comparison.

The standard patrol is about disco length

Suzuki Sierra / Jimny

Well I just bought a jimny, the are still pretty low tech, and even the high tech bits have easy to access flash codes and stuff. (Land rover take note you gits - a paper clip should be a diagnostic tool on a bloody 4x4 out in the middle of no where - how could suzuki get it so right and you so wrong!!)

Isuzu Trooper

Was rebadged a few times here, watch out for the 4JX1 motor. Really complex design with loads of faults that make it a nightmare to run. I'm working on one now with a mate and it's carp. Over thunk, lack of diagnostic solutions and some cracking bad design for stuff (you thought some should be easy to reach things were hard on a landy, this thing was designed by a sadist)

Toyotas

well they had their own war named after them - how bad can they be? :)

A nice old 1970's toyota has a real bit of class if you ask me.

Landy

you could always just by a V8 disco or RR???

No idea if these sit in the US$5k range, I don't think the US has any MOT, so you would need to give any car a good inspection to ensure it wasn't a death trap, and I guess the same factors as here hold you shouldn't be freaked out by high mileage since it's a big place, and rust should be less of an issue in the hotter places. I'd guess Colorado sees a fair bit of snow and salt though - so perhaps a trip to a drier state??

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Landmannn,

The model you refer to is the D22.

The current model, the D40 is full of poor quality related issues:- I had one for a year and replaced (under warranty), the body computer, a grands worth of switches on the gearbox (twice!), the entire back axle assembly (3.5k pounds), the clutch and flywheel and even the rear view mirror at 560 pounds. All at just over two years old and before the thing had done 36k miles.. :angry:

Service and warranty correspondence from Nissan was very poor and I suspect other issues have come to light since I got rid of mine (injectors?) :rolleyes:

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According to these guys the shipping cost to Baltimore is $2k then I guess theres the cost of having it licensed for the US, all in all it looks like a big hassle despite the fact that early 110s and 90s are going for silly money

Grand Junction... you lucky sod! If you like mountain biking there is a place called Fruita next door that is slowly becoming very popular. Moab is one of my favourite places on the planet!

When we shipped our Camel out there (to Baltimore) in 2007 we put it in a container rather than Ro-Ro. Despite living in Southampton and Southampton having a fairly large container port, everyone we spoke to at the time said it was cheaper to ship from Felixstowe :unsure: Maybe worth looking into.

You are right tho, its a lot of hassle to do and the costs can soar if US customs decide to have a poke around.

On a couple of occasions we were offered $60k for our car, so if you are considering it, it could be quite profitable ;)

IIRC there is a large import duty if you sell the car within 12 months of it arriving tho (approx $10k).

Dan

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just back from a look see visit, and will probably settle in Fruita. Went for a drive around the Mesa and National Monument ... impressive.

Interesting input on the trucks .. not a single US manufacturer, my company car is most likely going to be a big chevy flatbed king / crew cab, don't remember the model (I was rather overawed by the sheer size!) but the passenger doors opened suicide style e.g. hinged at back. Did see a few rusting series vehicles on farms though.

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A the thread title says what would you get. The background is that I've accepted a job in Grand Junction Colorado on a temporary visa, this means I'll be selling my '87 2.5 petrol 90. I'm guessing there is going to be very little mud there and from what I can gather 25 year old LRs cost over $10k. I think there are few trails for "wheeling?" and as US distances go the MOAB is just down the road.

The pay-n-play site I go to has a fair proportion of Suzukis which I have to say do pretty well with a bit of momentum, but what's cheap and fun in the US (apart from the petrol)

So what's worth a look for about $5k, so far as I can see Ebay is practically empty in that area.

Grand Junction is an hour and a half from Moab, and is where Moab residents go to do a "big shop".

Your budget would get you a very good, well prepped Cherokee. You could likely sell it for what it cost when you leave.

Try phoning Darrin at Barney Brothers off-road in Grand Junction (look them up on Google). They are great blokes, who wheel themselves and will give good advice without ripping you off. They would probably source a vehicle for you too.

All I can say is - "you lucky barsteward"

Giles

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