A definite goodbye to my trusty Patrol.

[Flying Torquewrench]

Went to have a look at a Nissan Pathfinder from 2009 with 54k miles on the clock. Called the dealership at 4pm yesterday. Drove 1:40 hour only to be told that it sold just before closing last night. Bugger.

The above was an automatic, which i am not overly keen on. However, with 54k miles it was worth a shot.

The manuals seem to eat clutches but at least if the gearbox does go wrong, it can be repaired at home. Not sure if I fancy raking an auto apart.

There is a 2013 model near us which doesn’t look too bad. Only downside is that from 2012 the Pathfinders are front wheel drive and they no longer use a ladder chassis.

 

[Bat21]

Have you considered an old Land Cruiser Colin?

When I lost my Patrol (link) in 2009 I replaced it with a 1992 Land Cruiser 80 series.... I still have it 15 years later.

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

Bloomin hell Bat! You are very lucky to still be with us. That must have been quite a shock to the system to be pushed off the road like that. It really puts the way I lost my Patrol into perspective.

I am open to any suggestion as long as the car can tow 3000kg minimum. Ideally 3500kg but I will settle for 3000kg. Also, I need something that I can drive straight away and not a car that needs loads of work. I have two screwdrivers left and thats it for the time being. Unable to buy any tools at the moment as we have nowhere to store them.

Any ideas where to look for Land Cruisers for sale? Autotrader only has the newer version. Seen a few older Land Cruisers but £20k for a car with 150k+ miles on the clock is a bit too much. In that case, I may as well buy the Patrol SWB for £20k with 35k miles.Amazing how the price of these older cars has shot up.

Yet, the insurance company would give me around £300 for my Patrol.

 

[Bat21]

Bloomin hell Bat! You are very lucky to still be with us. That must have been quite a shock to the system to be pushed off the road like that. It really puts the way I lost my Patrol into perspective.

It clearly wasn't my time to go.
I still remember it vividly... I can remember trying to 'steer' it while on its side, I remember every roll and I still recall putting it in neutral and putting the handbrake on when it finally came to rest.... it wasn't until I took my seat belt off that I realised something wasn't quite right

I am open to any suggestion as long as the car can tow 3000kg minimum. Ideally 3500kg but I will settle for 3000kg. Also, I need something that I can drive straight away and not a car that needs loads of work. I have two screwdrivers left and thats it for the time being. Unable to buy any tools at the moment as we have nowhere to store them.

Any ideas where to look for Land Cruisers for sale? Autotrader only has the newer version. Seen a few older Land Cruisers but £20k for a car with 150k+ miles on the clock is a bit too much. In that case, I may as well buy the Patrol SWB for £20k with 35k miles.Amazing how the price of these older cars has shot up.

Yet, the insurance company would give me around £300 for my Patrol.

The old 80 series are getting good money now, £10k and upwards for a decent one.

There's a nice looking 100 series here currently at £4,100

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

That is not a bad looking Land Cruiser. Just a shame that it has done 319k miles.

If it wasn’t for where we live I wouldn’t bother replacing the Patrol. Unfortunately I need to be able to tow a trailer as no lorry can make it down to the house. If I hadn’t bought my Volvo 3 months ago then I would have bought a nice pickup to replace the Patrol and my previous Audi. But it always happens after you changed one car. Frustrating really as my Patrol only did about a 1000 miles a year.

Was hoping to stay below £10k, the lower the better. However, there is also no point in buying a pile of cr*p cheaply and then spending lots of money on it to make it roadworthy. As I did when I bought my Patrol. Whilst I loved that car, I should have never bought it.

I have seen a couple of nice pickups but depending on the make they are not classed as cars and the insurance goes through the roof. A Nissan Navara is only about £350 to insure for the year. A Ford Ranger cost me closer to £1500!!!

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

This is the Pathfinder I am looking at. Asked the seller if he could take some photos of the underside. Whilst it is not too far to travel for me, if it already looks like its been in th sea then I give it a miss.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-de...48 7qg&price-from=5000&price-to=10000&fromsra

There are a few other Pathfinders for sale but the previous MOT history is not brilliant. It seems that corrosion likes the Pathfinder as much as it did the Patrol.

 

[Bat21]

That is not a bad looking Land Cruiser. Just a shame that it has done 319k miles.

Don't let the mileage put you off a Land Cruiser.
A well looked after example will still be running long after the world stops spinning.

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

I will keep an eye on it to see how the bidding goes. :thumb2

The more I think about it, the more I am drawn to the SWB GR on ebay/autotrader. It seems to be in immaculate condition and if it has no corrosion will go on for years to come. It is just such a hefty price tag.

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

Had a look at the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder yesterday. As such not a bad truck but she didn’t seem to be running smooth when at idle. A few cosmetic issues but that is to be expected from an 11 year old truck.

I know that a rough running engine doesn’t always have to be a big problem but at £9000 I wasn’t risking it. A shame really as I quite liked it.

Locally there is a SWB Mitsubishi Shogun for sale which could be a contender. However, it has a rev counter that doesn’t work. Not a big issue as it is an automatic but more work to do.

Also looking at a Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD. It has a good MOT history with a couple of fails on lights but nothing else. Not the ideal offroading vehicle but it only has to pull the trailer into our field. A bit of a slope but some offroad tyres and 4wd should make light work of it.

The extraction of the Patrol has been stopped by the structural engineer. They are planning on demolishing our garage to dpm level and rebuild. He is scared that I damage the walls that remain when dragging it out. It only has about 2” space on either side and no steering or wheels for that matter. I am now waiting for my 9” angle grinder to be delivered. (Hopefully tomorrow, should have been last Wednesday) The Patrol will then come out in pieces as there is absolutely nothing that is salvageable. I keep my fingers crossed that I can keep the axles but time will tell.

 

[Bat21]

It must be so soul destroying seeing possessions that you have acquired over many years reduced to that

.... Also looking at a Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD. It has a good MOT history with a couple of fails on lights but nothing else. Not the ideal offroading vehicle but it only has to pull the trailer into our field. A bit of a slope but some offroad tyres and 4wd should make light work of it.....

If you are considering a Jeep then don't over look the Commander.
Tough vehicles but a bit thirsty and the road tax or whatever it's called is on the high side.... a very nice looking one here:-
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202408122818655

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

Never heard of the Commander. Looks alright to be honest. I am still keeping an eye on the Land Cruiser on eBay. See what that goes up to and if I put a bid in. Hinckley isn’t too far away from us.

 

[Bat21]

Never heard of the Commander. Looks alright to be honest....

Not many people have.

A very nice one here, higher spec for £4.5k

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202409043655611

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

I look at anything that is half decent. The more basic the better. That is why the Patrol was ideal, hardly any electrics in it. I only do about a 1000 miles a year in it with the furthest it gets from home is about 20 miles. So luxuries are not on the top of my list as they only cause problems.

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

Might go and have a look at this little Mitsubishi Shogun. A nice SWB and should be roughly the same size as the SWB Patrol. Also a manual which I prefer.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-de...hogun&postcode=B48 7qg&price-to=10000&fromsra

 

[Bat21]

Might go and have a look at this little Mitsubishi Shogun. A nice SWB and should be roughly the same size as the SWB Patrol. Also a manual which I prefer.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-de...hogun&postcode=B48 7qg&price-to=10000&fromsra

Looks good and, like you say, about the same size as the Patrol.

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

Ordered a Metabo 9” angle grinder from Howe Tools last Tuesday. They do next day delivery if ordered before 8pm. My order was in by 7:50pm and promptly received a dispatch confirmation and that it would be delivered with DHL.

Not sure how it is elsewhere but in our area DHL is absolutely useless. To such an extent that if I know that a retailer uses DHL I will shop elsewhere. Next day delivery didn’t happen and neither did the day after that. I emailed Howe Tools and cancelled the order. In their return emailed they mentioned that an order placed before 5pm is dispatched with DPD and after this time it is DHL. As DPD is absolutely brilliant here I placed another order yesterday but this time before 5pm. DPD were here at 09:30am this morning with my order.

Nicely on time to start the horrible job of cutting the Patrol up ready to take him to the scrap yard. There is a lot of rust on the truck. Not from the fire and the fire brigade but in areas that were sealed or protected. The chassis is showing a few rust holes and the body had a lot of rust in the seams. Inside the body panels and the floor of the body above the fuel tank.

This is the sorry sight after a few hours cutting.

 

[solarman216]

Yes DHL not bad, DPD excellent, what a sorry state the poor old Troll is in, but axles should be OK, probably all you will salvage, if yours is the 233 diff I may well be interested, Rick

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

Rang the seller of the Mitsubishi but he never answered the phone. Today the add disappeared from Autotrader so not sure if the car has been sold or the add timed out. Will see if it pops back on in a couple of days.

Otherwise there is a similar one close home but it is an automatic and 6 years older. Higher road tax but slightly cheaper on insurance. The downside is that the rev counter is not working. Could be an easy fix but could also require a new instrument cluster.

Continued cutting up the Patrol today. Not much left of the engine after the fire.

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

Cut up the last bits of the body today. The more I look at it the more I get mixed feelings. There was soo much rust on the body and chassis that was perfectly hidden.

On both sides where the inner wheel arch meets the floor was completely rotten through along the whole length of the wheel arch. The strengthening ribs under the floor were paper thin above the fuel tank.

The rear off side panel behind the fuel cap was riddled with rust holes on the inside. The chassis rails either side of the fuel tank were paper thin on the inside of the rail.

All repairable but it would really require a full cabin strip and body removal. I had planned to sort of restore it once we had the work on the house done and I had time. It would have been a nice project to do with no time pressure.

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

So went to look at two Shogun’s yesterday. Both are relatively local.

I have decided to go for a SWB as the LWB is just too big for my needs. Only really need it to ferry the dogs around and tow the trailer.

First one we looked at was a 2015 model that is mechanically sound but cosmetically leaves a lot to be desired. Bit of damage on the rear door, front bumper has a tear in the plastic, glove box has deep scratches on the outside of the door, no tools to change a wheel and the headliner is very dirty. It looks like it belonged to a farmer that kept his dogs in the back.

Second one is a 2008 model that is in good condition inside and out but the rev counter is not working. Which could be a cheap fix or could cost a pretty penny.

The 2015 is £4k dearer but is £500 a year cheaper in insurance/road tax. The 2015 is Euro 5 whilst the 2008 is Euro 4.

Trying to make a decision which one to buy. Done some research and to change the worst damaged parts on the 2015 model will cost around £250 with an additional £50 to paint the headliner if it can’t be cleaned.