Semi-OT: My Dad came over yesterday in his Frontera.

Plan was for a big meal, night on the piss, and big fry up in the morming. Been the first time we have really gotten together to get mashed since my mum's funeral.

Mission accomplished on all counts. I have a lard relieved partial hangover.

but I've been thinking about his Frontera. He bought that Frontera after the Diesel Pajero he first bought turned out the be a lemon that wouldn't do more than 40MPH.

He wanted diesel again, but couldn't find one and needed another 4x4 for getting to the fields in the winter with the horse feed. So he got a petrol one that came up cheap. At first he said it was a thirsty old barge, but now he seems to like it and even took it upto Scotland last weekend for a run upto his brothers for the weekend. I asked how it was on fuel and he says "it doesn't really use much".

What are they like as a motor, I normally dislike Vx stuff after they went FWD, and the thought of a fairly ancient NA 2.4 petrol struggling to pull something as big as the Frontera It is similar colour to this one on ebay

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with leather seats.Are they any good as a truck/car/4x4. I've never even considered one because I remember being in Luton when the staff got them as "staff lease buy" deal that year and they all bought them for their kids. So I would see a load of local Yob students chugging about in brand new trucks especially the swb and convertible ones, but as they get older the LWB ones are looking a bit nicer. And I had a lift in his when we went to organise the flowers for the funeral, and it didn't lurch or clunk arround as much as I imagine an old VX would do. Mind you he did need new rear springs for the last MOT as one had broken. Not sure I would like one enough to own one as an only car(I haven't driven one yet). But maybe when money is better and I get chance for a project/hobby car for some offroading, or maybe as a car to practice stuff like car audio and car interior stuff with (lots of room to play with stuff, and if doing the interior and I f*ck up, common enough to get cheap replacements for). Is the diesel version any better than the petrol, either on economy or performance? Would you say manual or auto? Older ones are getting cheap enough to own and abuse without feeling guilty if it takes a while to put right.

Reply to
Elder
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Oh come, you're a car nut, you *must* remember the reviews when they first came out? They're utterley dire both on and off road by all accounts. Quite comfy seats though IIRC - granted, I was 13 last time I road in one.

Reply to
Iridium

oil pumps fail making the oil light come on causing idiots to over fill with oil. gearboxes can have a few niggles. seen a few with blown head gasgets. there the few probs i've seen oh and avoid SWB rag tops they always go to shit.

personally i think there ok but you can get better. just look up everything that breaks on them and hold out for a good one. if you really want one that is.

Reply to
Vamp

I only did about 5 miles as a back seat passenger. Seemed OK. My dad is getting on for 60 now, but he isn't an old 60 and carried the coffin with us at the funeral. He is still active so it isn't a slowing down of life style that has lead to him wanting slower vehicles. He had a Mondeo last as a normal car, but my mother needed the 4x4 as walking got more difficult, becuase he couldn't just drop her at the top of the muddy track to the fields anymore, he had to take her upand sometimes do the work himself. I half expected him to shift it ASAP when it wasn't needed anymore. He is a Scot and taught me everything I know about being "careful" with cash.

Thing is, I had a look to see what people thought about them, most people like them that own them. And some you tube vids show them doing fairly well with other offroaders in the dirt. His seems to have held up really well. I'm just confused, because like you I remember them being total crap in revue too. Yet they still seem to last, hold up well, not disolve and seem to be one of the most prevalent of the older 4x4's still parked on the street.

Reply to
Elder

It was just a "something maybe" kind of idea. Something to slap a load of sound deadening into as it already weighs a metric fuckload so some more won't hurt.

Making things like proper custom speakered custom shaped door cards would be cool, or learn the tricks to actually re-upholstering the seats myself using a set from the scrappies, with the covers as a pattern and then recovering the frames then refitting. Could be kind of cool in a creative if not practical kind of way. Wonder how easy a body lift would be? The rears are leaf spring so you gain an inch or two with blocks and it wouldn't cost a mint.

Reply to
Elder

Do the world a favour and put the engine in a Manta and scrap the rest :)

Reply to
Carl Gibbs

They're shit, but if you really want one, my brother has a cheap turbo diesel 5-door for sale at the moment.

Reply to
SteveH

Not sure. I fancied an Auto this time round and there isn't an auto option. But where is it, and how cheap is cheap, and how well has it been maintained. It might do as a shonky old run arround until I can choose to buy something "better/stronger/more prestige" and costing proper car money. Like I said, don't know if I want one, but it might be something to consider. Oh and what colour?

Reply to
Elder

Not sure about how cheap, but we're talking hundreds not thousands.

He's had it a while and done all maintenance and repairs by himself, with help from a mate who's a trained Vx mechanic.

It's that sort of dark / mid metallic blue, with black leather.

In North-West Manchester - about 2 miles from the City of Manchester stadium.

He's just replaced it with an Impreza turbo.

Reply to
SteveH

Well, Manchester would be OK. That I could pickup if needed and if in the hundreds it might work out OK.

Can you find out what price he wants? It might do the job nicely, or even my dad might prefer in instead of his petrol.

I suppose with a VX, it might be a slow lumpy unreliable chunk, but at least the parts are fairly common, unlike some others I've suggested or considered.

Reply to
Elder

nice replacement!

Reply to
Vamp

I've mailed him.

Be aware that the earlier diesel struggles to hit the heady heights of

90mph, though.

This is true - he's had some niggly issues with it, but they've all been cheap to fix.

It'll happily run on veg oil, too. Allegedly - not that he's ever tried, of course.

Reply to
SteveH

Now this would be a huge advantage ;) We all know that it is always done purely to reduce our carbon footprint.

Don't suppose you know which engine it has? I think there were 3 turbo diesel lumps in the early ones, 2.3, 2.5 and 2.8 all sourced from Izuzu.

Reply to
Elder

AFAIK it's the 2.3.

Slow as a very slow thing, but most diesel 4x4s are......

I hate it but can see why he bought it - it was originally so he could get his kid's Yamaha PW50 in it to take to the motocross tracks.

Reply to
SteveH

Didn't your dad have a non turbo impreza too?

Reply to
Elder

Heh did, yes.

Someone Ashtrayvanman knows got an absolute bargain.

13k miles, FSH, £1500. No MOT, though - but I believe it flew through anyway.

I did tell my brother to keep it, but he wanted a turbo.

He's still relatively young and foolish, I'm hoping he'll learn and grow up one day.

Reply to
SteveH

Right, he's just put it through an MOT and had a fair bit of work done, so it's probably pushed the price up to more than you'd want......

Here's the stuff that's been done:

Replaced a couple of brake calipers New starter motor not long ago Propshaft coupling

It has a 'personal' plate - not worth a lot, though, but it's 'C7 ***'.

Chrome bull bars and side steps.

Bad things:

Oil pressure gauge is reading low, but he's had it checked on the diagnostics kit and the actual level is within Vx guidelines. Chucks out a bit of soot first thing in the morning and when you floor it. Needs a good clean inside.

That's about it - it's going in the autotrader for £1500, but he'll let it go at 'mates rates' for 250 quid less than that.

He was going to advertise it for less, but the MOT has just cost a fair wedge.

Here's a pic:

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I've just emailed him to find out what age it is - mid-90s, as I recall, though.

Reply to
SteveH

Yup, I can vouch for its slouchiness - same engine as my old Carlton TD. Not bad in a "it felt actually quite bulletproof" way, and whilst it had no urgency around town, on boost or not, it managed to hold its own reasonably well on the motorway.

Reply to
AstraVanMan

Sometimes the veggie oil cars do that.

Looks tidy. Which is a shame I was hoping for a bit scruffier and cheaper. But fair play, with what he has had to spend, it should be worth that.

The years ticket would have been nice, but it won't give me enough cash=20 in the bank for the mortgage. Shame really, I do like the look. If it=20 had been about =A3700 I would have snapped it for a cheap stopgap, but it= =20 looks too good, even if it needs cleaning out inside.

--=20 Carl Robson Audio stream:

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Playing at home:Gregorian-Join Me (Schill Out Version)

Reply to
Elder

Sometimes the veggie oil cars do that.

Looks tidy. Which is a shame I was hoping for a bit scruffier and cheaper. But fair play, with what he has had to spend, it should be worth that.

The years ticket would have been nice, but it won't give me enough cash in the bank for the mortgage. Shame really, I do like the look. If it had been about £700 I would have snapped it for a cheap stopgap, but it looks too good, even if it needs cleaning out inside.

**********************

What you need is my black BX!!

Reply to
Carl Gibbs

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