Hello
Im from europe, we all drive diesels. Looking for a used SUV to drive through deep snow for $10.000. Is a 2005 Pajero 3.2D, 200.000km reliable or will it give me too much trouble at that age. I also looked at some older 2002 Pajero Sport(the truck based one) 2.5D, more of them for sale.
Was going to go with conventional wisdom and buy a Rav4.3 but I cant find a 2009 facelift, and the 2006 diesel ones have piston ring problems. And I really dont like the 2008 CRV mini van look. Would love a land cruiser but they go for double cant afford it.
Thanks!
Realize that although the powertrain on is quite good, it’s still a 17 year old car - so you want to have a very thorough inspection.
obviously it won’t be flawless reliably, it’s a 17 year old Mitsubishi AWD with millage - and yet if you don’t mind fixing random failures here and there it can be decent.
just make sure to get a very in-depth inspection, a lot can go wrong on an old AWD SUV.
In this market you'll have to forego looks & just spend wisely on both build quality/proven longevity.
I don't know if it's just France or the entire EU but I saw some politicians talking about outlawing diesel passenger vehicles in the near future so it might behoove you to research that prior to any purchase. With all the knee-jerk changes over the past few years I wouldn't put anything past them.
Back to the car in question, don't buy anything Mitsubishi, the last quality product they made was the Jap Zero Bomber....that equates to atleast 75 years of garbage.
Remember the Chrysler k-cars? Mitsubishi engines. My Nonna's car lasted almost a year then the engine went.
If you can get a Subaru Outback wagon there they have plenty of space for carrying whatever an suv of that size will & awd has been their forte for decades. They have no issues in the New England blizzards.
where I live Subarus are very unpopular so theres hardly any in offer and no service network. I found a 2007 Legacy 2.0 petrol so I guess its between that and a 2008 CRV 2.2d
Are you mechanically inclined at all? If so the 07 scooby is easy to fix yourself, as long as have access to parts & basic tools. The learning curve isn't very steep at all when getting used to wrenching on them.
If not I'd go with the Honda since they're pretty much immortal providing you get one with a stick (as is the case with any newer car, trans being the weak link) & keep up on the maintainence.
I am a bit, but living in an apartment I have no space to work on it, that being the situation for most europeans. I also quite like the 2007 Volvo XC90 2.4d but didnt find a lower mileage one
I'm in an apartment as well, I just have to be somewhat "sneaky" about repairs & keep a friendly rapport with neighbors/the groundskeeper so they don't rat me out to the owner.
If they ask for help/advice in respect to their vehicle (happens just about everytime I'm working on my truck) I'll give it a go as long as it's nothing excessive. Basically enough to keep them happy so they think they're better off keeping me around. So far, so good after 9 years of doing all my repairs in the same parking spot.
If you were in the states I would advise against anything volvo (or Euro cars in general due to cost) but if parts are affordable/plentiful there & you find one with under 100k miles on the clock it's an option.
The other upside of the Subaru is the fact you mention how unpopular they are there. That would be a huge factor in being able to talk the seller down quite a bit towards their asking price.
That's the case with Audi/BMW/Mercedes here, the value drops like a stone due to upkeep costs & not many people willing to work on them. The only time it's worthwhile here is if you can do the work or have a friend who works at the dealership.
no way I could work on it but the Subaru is cheap, 3.5k. headgasket thing scares me though, and it just doesnt have the clearance I want. I called 3 Pajero ads they all had cylinder head repairs, engines dont sound very reliable then.
might just get the subie and wait on a good Volvo, the parts arent plentiful but also not very expensive. my 1st choice was a jeep GC WK but theyre all neglected in EU
Yea if they had head gaskets done just avoid them like the plague. Chances are the head wasn't milled, even if it was the block can be warped.
Are those Jeeps the straight six engine type? If so they can go forever. My neighbor has 240k miles on his 2003, another has the boxy 90s style with over half a million miles on it. Neither of them really take care of them as they aren't car guys.
Granted they will rust but the drivetrain just keeps running as long as there is oil/coolant.
they are the 2007 v6 diesels, mercedes sprinter van engines. everyone poops on jeeps being unreliable but none of them had major engine work, just injectors. they did have driveshaft, diff leaks and such so I avoided em. similar situation to your EU cars, our mechanics arent familiar with jeeps and parts cost a ton
I guess pretty much everything is diesel there, don't think there has ever been a diesel jeep on the market here.
That's the other thing which is an issue here, finding someone who can work on non-industrial diesel & parts cost.
Fuel wise it used to be generally a dollar less than gas (it was .88/gallon in the late 90s), around 2005 the tables turned & now diesel is $2 more per gallon than gas.
well not everything but big cars like SUVs definitely, with our fuel prices triple yours its impossible to run a gas V8.
you did get the CRD jeep, but only for 2y 2007-2008 as it wasnt popular. EU had it the entire run and its the only one you'll find used. I had the previous WJ 4.7 converted to LPG, was a beast.