Vehicle suggestions - $15-20k to spend

[Bird]

GU Patrol 2002-2004 3L Turbo Diesel
Navara Dual Cab 2005-2006 3L Turbo Diesel (not sure how comfortable the rear seats are for long trips with kids)
100 series Landcruiser 4.5L petrol (ouch on the fuel costs!)
Hilux Dual Cab 3.4L petrol
Landcruiser Prado 3L Turbo Diesel (although I've been told the cargo space is limited, and with kids + scouts, this could be a problem)

First thing, go to caryards and test drive everything.. even pretend your buying that day. You will kulll off several of them within 1 weekend due to room, power, ergo's etc... then with a short list go shopping.

For me it would be:
Pajero/Prado
Utes the ride is usually average at best.
Petrol is thirsty, if its not a daily driver it may not matter (after all Stan carried 20 jerrys on/behind/round/in his Playdo on a trip)

[ScottH]

Damn you Queenslanders seem to have much better 2nd hand choices than we do down in Sydney. It's close to justifying the flight and fuel cost to pick one up and bring it home, except for the cautionary tale about buying interstate.

After having the chance to look through a Prado that one of the other scout leaders just bought (albeit much newer that I can afford), they don't seem as bad on storage as I've been told. This seems to be moving up towards the top of the list. A mate has told me of a  one-owner 100 series 4.5L that belongs to a neighbour with ~120,000kms on it, and not driven often in recent years. I'm chasing that one at the moment as something with a known history and low kms would be ideal. Given the type of use, I'm even inclined to stick with an alloy front bar and H/Ts for everyday use, and a set of muddies for the fun times - I certainly don't need a winch, etc for the tracks I'm likely to drive.

Failing any joy in that area, my plan is to spend some time on Thursday & Friday at the car yards (less hectic than the weekends) driving anything and everything I can get my hands on, and taking the handbrake along for her input on driveability. I may even risk a look at an auction next week, depending on the catalogue.

[TheOtherLeft]

Damn you Queenslanders seem to have much better 2nd hand choices than we do down in Sydney.

Yes because they're all flood damaged... You've been warned.

[Matto]

Yes because they're all flood damaged... You've been warned.

Technically, any vehicle that was flood-damaged was put on the (surprisingly named) flood damaged vehicles register. You then had a maximum of (I think??) 60 days to have the car professionally repaired and then inspected by QLD Transport. They went over the car themselves, as well as going through your receipts showing the work that had been done. If they were happy, they removed the vehicle from the register, if not, or if your time limit expired, then your car is still able to be driven/registered/sold, but you can't get the VIN off the register (no matter what work you do in future).

So, if you're concerned about a car having been flood-damaged and not repaired, then a quick call to QLD Transport with the details should give you an answer. What you won't be able to tell is whether the car was damaged and then repaired, but I know the inspectors were casting a *very* close eye over the cars that they inspected, so I'd be happy that they had been repaired to a high standard. I know this won't be sufficient for some people, but for most of us who will then drive our 4WDs straight through the nearest mud-hole, I don't think there's really much cause for concern.

A plan ticket from Sydney to Bris isn't much, and it's only a day's drive back - I'd have no hesitation in buying interstate. Obviously I'll always suggest getting an RACQ report done on any vehicle you're interested in, but past that, I think it's quite do-able. We bought our Pathfinder from the Gold Coast, which is about twice as far away. I'd arranged the dealer to take the car to RACQ for the inspection, and I had friends go down there to have a look at it and see if the photos were accurate (it was in even better condition than the photos let on). So we transferred the money to the dealer, and the first time I laid eyes on the car was when I arrived at my Dad's place, fresh off a plane. Granted, you've got cross-state rego to deal with as well, but that's not a huge issue, especially if you're not buying a highly-modified vehicle.

Good luck with whatever you decide!
Matto

[markymark]

Go easy on the Ssanyong's looks, there are uglier cars out there.

Geez I reckon these are from the same family!

[BeNos]

the 3l patrol can be made reliable. just go onto the patrol4x4 website and search N.A.D.S  a few mods and a tweak here and there and they are a fairly reliable truck then.
nm-np paj diesel is another good choice. very few problems and a fairly good reliable donk.
as said utes of that era had no ride comfort at all. unless rear springs are reworked.
smaller pathies or playdos are good vehichles if not into the hard 4wding side of things.
or if your after a bulletproof diesel. a gq patrol 4.2 diesel with aftermarket turbo and a few other relatively cheap mods can be made a very family friendly reliable 4wd, tourer daily drive. though they do lack a small amount of comfort over a gu until you mod suspension(roughly 800 bucks for a good 2" lift)
which is the way i went and would do again. though mine now is costing well over 20k with all the mods and stuff ive done to her but im pretty happy with how it all goes.