Next off-roader - advice

[Mohit Gurnani]

Since I bought my FJ new this year and have reached IM level, started realizing that the car is taking a bit of abuse (holding up super well mechanically!). While I love the car and the capability- was thinking maybe it would be wise to buy an older & cheaper car which I’d be more comfortable in pushing to the limits + adding mods if needed. (Latter is a no-go for me with the current car)

 

Below were some options in my mind (looking only at Japanese):

 

1. LC100

2. LC200 5.7l V8

3. Patrol safari 4dr

4. Lexus GX460

 

While option 1 is to get an older FJ, wise to consider any of these?

[Frederic]

2 minutes ago, Mohit Gurnani said:

Since I bought my FJ new this year and have reached IM level, started realizing that the car is taking a bit of abuse (holding up super well mechanically!). While I love the car and the capability- was thinking maybe it would be wise to buy an older & cheaper car which I’d be more comfortable in pushing to the limits + adding mods if needed. (Latter is a no-go for me with the current car)

 

Below were some options in my mind (looking only at Japanese):

 

1. LC100

2. LC200 5.7l V8

3. Patrol safari 4dr

4. Lexus GX460

 

While option 1 is to get an older FJ, wise to consider any of these?

Good point you are bringing up. And many off-roaders come to this point to keep using the daily driver vs buying an off-road toy.

Capability wise if you want to keep the same performance specs as your FJ, only the Xterra would come as equally capable, and would be within decent budget. 

My comments on the other ones you suggested:

1. Older FJ. Resale value is still very high. Expect to pay at least 40kAED for an FJ that might need some TLC to get it fully serviced and ready.

2. LC200 5.7. Heavy boat that has lots of power but you will be breaking more stuff than on your FJ.

3. Patrol Safari. Quite heavy but reliable and stable on the sand. But very difficult to find a clean secondhand one that has not been revving in the redzone from morning till evening....  

4. Lexus GX460. Similar to the LC200. Too fancy to abuse in the sand,

 

Here comes my two cents:

1. Keep the FJ and balance your off-road driving across different levels to minimize damages and repairs. Ignore this comment if you want to drive every week on IM level.

2. Get an Xterra for 25-30kAED. They are equally powerful but be ready to spend another 4-5kAED to make sure it's ready for the desert. If properly maintained they can take a serious beating.

3. Get an R50 3.5 Pathfinder for 15kAED and with some mods you can turn this into a real good dune basher.

 

[Gaurav]

FJC and Wranglers are the best off-road toys, money can buy.

If you already have one, I don't see a reason for another car. Your brand new FJC can very well hold weekly drives in stock shape and you should be able to find your peace with that for various reasons:

1. Off-roading is not all about climbing the fastest or tallest.
2. Stock FJC will be far more reliable to bring you back home, every time.
3. Stock FJC, will push you to learn real skills and techniques.
4. Stock FJC, will hold you back to not to do crazy stupid overconfident stuff.

What most people don't think and see while adding mods, is that every mod adds certain dependability on other parts of the car. So one leads to other failures and for most of your life, you will be busy tinkering with the damage caused by the first mod and perfecting its gain as you spend money for that one mod.

Example: When you add better suspension for 10k, you want to feel its worth and you start pushing the boundaries too fast and too rough. Which results in LCA, UCA, Axles taking immense beating and failing one after the other. You fix all this with another 10K expense and you start with round 2, to push more as now you are 20k down. Now comes the wheels, tires, beadlocks, bushes, bumpstops, drive shaft etc. You sort them for round 3, thinking you covered all and you are eligible for pilot license and then gravity prove you otherwise with nose dive, bent chassis or even write off.

I know above example is very variable depending on the sensibility each offroader have from scale of 1 - 10. But more or less, this applicable to everyone when we want to get into modification world. If you still want, stay between 1-5 scale for safety reasons, at least.

[Ishak]

2 hours ago, Mohit Gurnani said:

Below were some options in my mind (looking only at Japanese):

1. LC100

2. LC200 5.7l V8

3. Patrol safari 4dr

4. Lexus GX460

5. Pajero 😅🤣

Option 5 also Japanese

[Mohit Gurnani]

Thanks a lot @Frederic and @Gaurav for your expert opinion on the topic- this helps bring clarity!

 

I think one commonality in both your inputs is, don’t switch from an FJ.

 

So this narrows my choice to either keeping my current car and rotating levels, or getting an older stock FJ (and keeping it stock)

[DP1011]

Instead of getting a car for off-roading, just get a car for on-roading  -  

[Gaurav]

19 minutes ago, DP1011 said:

Instead of getting a car for off-roading, just get a car for on-roading  -  

Totally agree, so you can save FJC mileage for off-road use only and be happy for the next 10+ years.

Edited December 18, 2023 by Gaurav
typo - save

[Mohit Gurnani]

18 minutes ago, DP1011 said:

Instead of getting a car for off-roading, just get a car for on-roading  -  

That’s a great perspective too!

[Imran Asghar]

I have a rental for my work commute to Abu Dhabi daily from Dubai. Costs next to nothing fuel is cheap and hammering it's mileage. FJ on the drive at home for weekends or evenings. For commuting just zip around in a cheap rental. 

[Rob S]

Hi Mohit, can you explain a bit more what you mean by "car is taking a bit of abuse"

Although I drive a modified FJ (Lifted with Dobinson's suspension) I don't feel the car takes to much of a beating on intermediate level drives (though driving slowly through cross tracks is required!). Unfortunately I cannot compare driving stock FJ! 

I too bought another car as my daily now, so can keep the KM off the FJ and it can be my desert toy for many years to come. 

Edited December 19, 2023 by Rob S