Hire or Buy a Four Wheel Drive Vehicles?Looking at vehicles for your Outback adventure? If you are planning a trip to the outback and intend visiting some of the outback secrets on this site you will need a four wheel drive. For any time longer than four weeks travelling, you will probably find it is cheaper to buy a reliable second hand 4WD rather than hiring one even if you have to sell it for less when you return home. With the downturn in the Australian economy larger vehicles are becoming cheaper even in the second hand market. Not only that, most hire companies have restriction on the off-road use of 4WD’s!! My favourite affordable off road vehicle is the 60 series diesel Landcruiser. You can pick up a good one for as little as $5000 and a really good one for under $10000 and it should take you any where you want to go. The 80 series is a more comfortable wagon and some are priced under $10000 but these usually have done a lot of kilometres. If you are able to do without the back seat, you should be able to fit everything you want inside the car without overloading a roof rack. Here is what I would look for: • Kilometres: Anything over 300,000km will be showing signs of wear and tear and won’t be as reliable. • Roadworthy Certificate: (RWC) Some states require a RWC with transfer of registration. It is probably better to pay a bit more to buy a 4WD with the RWC already done to avoid unseen costs later. • Oil leaks: This is what costs money when you try to get your RWC. While most minor oil leaks will not cause too many problems the authorities frown on them. Drive the vehicle first. Park it on a flat clear surface and have a good look for the other things on this list then move it forward a bit. Check for oil drips on the ground and crawl underneath to look for leaks from the engine, the diffs, and where the tail shafts exit the gearbox and transfer case. • Rust and cracks: One of the few faults of the 60 series was rusting and cracking where the door pillars meet the roof. • Uneven tyre wear: Check the front tyres for wear on one side. This may indicate expensive work needed to repair worn parts. • Four wheel drive: Look for excessive wear in the 4WD lever which may indicate a lot of 4WD work and subsequent wear in the transfer case. • Top gear noise: This will indicate wear in the gearbox which may lead to failure later. Don’t be put off by this list of faults. There will be a few Toyotas to choose from so keep looking. All motoring associations will do second hand vehicle assessments and roadside assistance so it is well worth joining up as soon as you can and paying for a mechanical check. If you don’t want to be stuck in a capital city while you look for a 4WD you can fly to Alice Springs or Broken Hill and look for one there. Take some daily bus tours while you are waiting. Please contact me if you need any help. Follow this link to get an idea of the cost of second hand four wheel drives in Australia.
80 Series Toyota at Warrina Cemetery Oodnadatta Track
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