Looking to Join the Club

[Medic5916]

My wife and I live in the Dominican Republic and have serious problems with our current car (2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD V6). Our particular circumstance, and yes, the search feature did not help, is that we live in a mountainous part of the Dominican Republic, all mostly paved...some terrible though, and would have to do some uphill climbing on both paved and unpaved roads. What my wife and I are looking for, and found this criteria after the problems with our last car, is as follows

• Easy to maintain and service in a 3rd world country
• Easy to fix if there are problems (Toyota Prado is pretty prevalent in the DR)
• Built to last forever/really long time
• Rugged without too many bells and whistles (all of the bells and whistles seemed to freak out constantly on our previous car; ie- tire pressure sensors, park assist, aftermarket radio)

My question is if all of the Prado experts feel this would be a good car for our particular situation. Thanks for all the help. Forgot to mention that we are currently looking at a 2007 or 2008 Prado.

 

[clivehorridge]

Welcome to the forum Mr & Mrs Medic, and I'm sorry I can't help you as I have no first hand knowledge of the Prado.

But, there are several here that do and a few of them have made it clear that they are reliable. I'll say no more and hopefully you'll get some more specific advice on here soon.

 

[Beau]

The D4D Prado's are pretty Bullet proof really. I know the earlier ones suffered the whole injector related failure, think it had something to do with the material they used, but anyway they're good trucks and pretty reliable. Take of them, and they'll take care of you.

The D4D engines are powerful and surprisingly economical at the same time. They do have a good amount of electronics but Toyota's in general do not tend to fail on this side of things. The good thing is they also come in various trims so if you're lucky you might be able to find a base model with little interior electronics ect that will suit you better, and be cheaper. Some Prado's came with Active suspension/ACTRAC system (Correct me if I'm wrong here guys) and this can be problematic over time... So best to stick with standard springs/Shocks I reckon as servicing and replacing will be much cheaper!

 

[Medic5916]

Sorry, added question. The models here are listed as TX, TXL, or VX. As we are looking for a pretty basic model with no bells or whistles, what would be the best trim? I can't find much info on that.

 

[Beau]

Sorry, added question. The models here are listed as TX, TXL, or VX. As we are looking for a pretty basic model with no bells or whistles, what would be the best trim? I can't find much info on that.

As no one else is answering, my guess would be TX. VX is generally the leather model cruisers. I have no idea about the TXL model. And the ATRAC system isn't the suspension but a system that controls wheel slippage. It's a form of traction control that came with the LC5 models I believe...

 

[fridayman]

You should also consider the 70 series Troopies/Workmates if you want tough and not that bothered with bells and whistles. I think my next one will be a 76 - I dream about the 4.5l V8 D4D...

 

[Shayne]

Don't set your sights too low because of your experience with the Jeep , Toyota are renowned for building tough vehicles and the Landcruiser is their flagship , regardless of model or spec each will likely prove far more reliable than you expect .

 

[Medic5916]

You should also consider the 70 series Troopies/Workmates if you want tough and not that bothered with bells and whistles. I think my next one will be a 76 - I dream about the 4.5l V8 D4D...

Really do appreciate the responses. Great information. We are not set on any model/year. Really just want a rugged beast that will get us from A to B, even in off road conditions and remain reliable year after year, minus bells or whistles. Who cares about park assist or tire pressure systems? I can park and actually enjoy regularly checking my tire pressure to keep myself up to par on regular maintenance and find that helps with motivation.

The 76 looks amazing. I'm not sure they have any for sale here in the Dominican Republic. Is 76 the year or the series? What would I have to search to find the year? Obviously all available cars for sale are not listed on the websites we use.

 

[moggy1968]

things are far from straightforward when it comes to Landcruiser models!

The 70 bit refers to the model, not the year. They come in Light Duty and Heavy Duty Spec. The LD is known as the prado in some markets. The HD is more basic and tougher with generally bigger, simpler engines, and more basic suspension than the Prados which usually come with independant front suspension, but it's all relative. Any is better than a jeep!!

What I would suggest you do is when you see one you like, google the model details to get the spec as it varies massively across the range. Some of the prados were very underpowered (earlier models) and trim levels vary widely so you need to know what you are looking at.

I don't know if you have the 80 series over there, but they are also a superb vehicle for your needs.

The 40 series is a very basic model which is extremely tough and durable, but getting old now and they do tend to rust. With leave springs all round ride is hard but they are certainly basic, reliable and easily fixable.

 

[Medic5916]

things are far from straightforward when it comes to Landcruiser models!

The 70 bit refers to the model, not the year. They come in Light Duty and Heavy Duty Spec. The LD is known as the prado in some markets. The HD is more basic and tougher with generally bigger, simpler engines, and more basic suspension than the Prados which usually come with independant front suspension, but it's all relative. Any is better than a jeep!!

What I would suggest you do is when you see one you like, google the model details to get the spec as it varies massively across the range. Some of the prados were very underpowered (earlier models) and trim levels vary widely so you need to know what you are looking at.

I don't know if you have the 80 series over there, but they are also a superb vehicle for your needs.

The 40 series is a very basic model which is extremely tough and durable, but getting old now and they do tend to rust. With leave springs all round ride is hard but they are certainly basic, reliable and easily fixable.

Again, really appreciate the info. There are literally only one or two TX's listed on the "autotrader" website of the dominican republic. Almost every one of them listed is a VX. They are definitely beautiful cars, but like you said, all of the information I can find is definitely not straightforward. It is almost hard to even distinguish on the info you get what a normal land cruiser is opposed to a land cruiser prado.

Based on what we described in the original post, should we have been looking at basic landcruisers the whole time or did we get lucky and pursue the Prado, which was the right choice all along? Gas mileage isn't a massive factor, but would love a little fuel economy thrown in there. I assume the diesels would be our best bet.