[SteveHants]

Theres no way I could afford new car prices at present & to be honest new cars loose too much value, so I'd always prefer a 2nd hand 1 at present all I want is a 4x4 that is handy to feed livestock & deal with off roading & snow that'll tow a small garden trailer & sheep & pig trailer  that'll hold a couple of ewes or lambs - I won't be doing any heavy duty towing for a while yet plus I don't think I have enough experience to handle moving some of the massive 4x4s u lot have been talking about & some of the 1s your on about are way too pricey I'm only looking to spend £1500 give or take. This is why I'm on about SMALL 4x4s x

Old fourtrack - you can pick one up for x hundred quid as opposed to thousands - its just finding one. The Community farm I help on has a cracker that cost them £200...




Edited to add - its not quite £200(Sadly), but this is probably worth a look at: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201307037622808/sort/default/usedcars/model/fourtrak/make/daihatsu/onesearchad/used/onesearchad/nearlynew/postcode/sy81sd/quicksearch/true/page/1/radius/100?logcode=p

[carlb]

I have no experience of 4 x 4s but will post this and probably be laughed at. 

As you want something small, and the disco's are out. How about the old Lada Niva?  They can be picked up cheap.

Not sure on the towing capacity etc. With a 1600 engine it should be cheap on insurance.

[happygolucky]

A Lada Niva would do me fine, cannot afford the Landrover Defender, well not one that's not going to need loads of TLC.......thanks for jogging my memory, although its not my thread, we are going to be getting another car very soon and that's the sort of thing we want!

[Melli-Jane]

hi - my partner has got a disco series 1 - dirt cheap and rusty but passed its mot no problem, I have a suzuki vitara soft top 1.6 petrol 18 years old, it's fun but disappointing mpg at about 35, i have removed the back seats so can get a fair bit in the back, it tows our 6x4 livestock trailer ok with a couple of pigs in it. insurance isn't as good as you would think though - i'm late 30s with full ncd and still £30 odd a month. tried to get my 17 year old son on but they wouldn't insure it until he was 19 and been driving a year  daft as i had a fabia vrs with too many horses under the bonnet and that was cheaper! i would say get an old 200 tdi discovery, cheap as chips and you won't care if you dent it or fill with mud!

[Victorian Farmer]

iv been using most 4/4s  range rover pajaro show gun maverick nisan patrol but i have to say the cheaper the better 1.200 pound  not much you think but dis go diesel auto or Manuel can be bought but you have to travel next Volvo 2.5 diesel or auto some have the WV engine naw insurance 28 disgo 25 Volvo naw mpg  run to carlile  200 miles run 48 mpg Volvo disgo best 28 mpg best ride out of the lot Volvo lots for sale .

[happygolucky]

THis thread really interests me as we are after a cheap 4x4 that can tow yet but economical on petrol etc, I keep seeing the big 7 seater Discos and wonder if they are any less economical as the freelanders with 3 doors?  We saw a lovely Vauxhall Frontera but it appears to be bad on fuel but cheap on parts and good at towing......anyway....we actually want a car that is good off road due to our forest licence and that can pull logs and carry dogs!!! yet not drink petrol like I drink Whiskey

[plumseverywhere]

Sandy, we have both an old 7 seat disco and a brand new freelander, I don't think the disco is much thirstier than the new one at all but will check with Tony see what his evaluation is. Given the choice, both of us tend to grab the disco keys before the freelander - proof that the old classic is more fun to drive than the new luxury job    It was very affordable too and I think a lot of older discos are, yes things go wrong but they are generally easy and cheap to mend unlike some of the foreign imports I guess.  I found that people who said "eww, I'd never have a landrover..." were people who'd never even driven a landrover (my husbands uncle for a start...) and weren't basing their comments on experience, just on ignorance (this isn't aimed at anyone posting on here btw! I'm just hacked off with my husband and his unvle...guitars etc...not in this heat..doing my head in    )

[happygolucky]

Thanks, the common like on this thread is the Disco........ , we however could buy a 2004 freelander for £1,500 with a Diesel engine.....now I shall look at some big ones  THANKS...I still have not showerd, bloody car hunting

[NYorksBoy]

Can't fault my trooper 3.1
£800-£1500 typically around L M N reg
Bit cheaper than disco I think and less rust probs
Even runs off used veg oil
Most people say the newer 3liter diesel isn't as good.

[Julestools]

I have five landys at the moment

Disco 300 is ok but watch out for rusty sills, inner wings and boot floor
Disco TD5 is ok but big and heavy... drinks fuel and mine got nicked
Freelander 2.0 diesel is a good old bus... engine lasts for ever and rust is not a problem but the transmission can be
Freelander TD4 is ok but has the same transmission problems with the IRD and viscous coupling
Deffender... I have three. They will do anything and you can take the roof off in summer (the V8 is thirsty though)
Isuzu Trooper 3.0 pulls like a train.... then it goes bang
Isuzu Trooper 3.1 is better  but expensive to repair

[happygolucky]

Just bought a good ex council Freelander Van with a dog patrol light and wheel cover..just made for us and our dogs!!! and cheap to insure and buy!!

[gerpsych]

The Lada Niva was a good wee car. I had one, the Cossack version with go faster stripes (which didn't work), and really liked it. Certainly it was very capable off road but has very limited load space. I now have a Ranger dual cab and can't see how I managed without it; with Goodrich all terrain tyres and a Gamic top it does everything we need on the smallholding. It only does 32 to the gallon but then there are worse beasts

[shygirl]

Just bought a good ex council Freelander Van with a dog patrol light and wheel cover..just made for us and our dogs!!! and cheap to insure and buy!!

id love a landy with the hardtop pickup at the back - with the metal grill door so my dogs can sit in there. perfect
 

[happygolucky]

I have a bit of a bucket list and although a Landrover Defender was more the type of car I am also realistic and know I would need to spend a bit more money as I cannot afford a newer model, however a Landrover of any kind is good enough, we both are chuffed to bits....we do not usually or often drive long distances but go daily to the forest off road even friends around the area live off road.....so, for now (until it goes wrong) we are happy, one issue is the central locking, we have no manual and the key fob is worn so I press it randomly and frantly to lock the doors with all sorts of flashes and noises  HELP!!!

[TheCaptain]

You can pick up L200's quite cheaply but that's because they're crap!

i think they changed country of manufacture, since the move the gaskits go quite often, but the earlier models are ok.

The old ones have the 4M40 engines in them, the same that went in the Pajero/Shoguns and L400 Delica. They go on for ever and ever, and the L400 is an awesome vehicle