Leaderboard

Sorry for the delay, but I have finally put any useful drone footage into a video with the help of my daughter.

Ford just finished up the lawsuit relating to their powershit, sorry powershift DCT this month too. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a30689585/ford-settlement-transmission-lawsuit/

A 2wd 4x4 is like a casterated man. You look, act and behave like a man but when it comes down to do it. You just can't get the job done

@Melenany @Kalahari @Remco Snoek @Pancho @Chaitanya D @Colin Jordan @Cara Jordan @paolo dassi @Hariharan @Shiju Manuel @Jamy B. @Anvar Sadath Bekal @Lorenzo Candelpergher @Shamil @Brette Due to the current COVID-19 ongoing precautionary advises, we are postponing this drive until next Friday, 3 April 2020. Please leave the event if you are unable to join, so that others can join the drive. Keep safe and see you soon back in the sands !

@Dale Panganiban - Fabrication, @Anish S @J J, @Nacho, @Jose Martin, @sebin, @Bibin Tom, @Tbone, @sheri, @Magellan, @Sajithsas, @Jolly Abraham, @Jun Zamora, @Pickey Singh, @Gregory Perkin Due to current COVID-19 ongoing precautionary advises, we are postponing this drive for the next Friday, 3 April 2020. Please leave the event if you are unable to join, so that others can join the drive.

Have a look here: front bash plate is not really needed from the start, but the rear lip needs to be removed when you go off-road or apply the fix as in post below:

There is currently a big law suit against Nissan in the US over this. That Nissan knows their CVTs are faulty and yet still willingly selling and have sold cars knowing this very well i.e purposely sold defective goods

Leave the pathy at home and come by for coffee one day. We must be due to catch up again soon. There’s only one exotic there? It’s one thing seeing nice cars on the road every day, it’s another when you can work on and drive them every day. You get to experience things there’s no way in hell you could otherwise afford.

Alright now it makes sense. Overheating causes premature failures. Thanks Barry.

@Vanessa8580, @Mohammed Osama @Nivin @Sherif Hamed @Zed @Denizzalbayrak @Shahid Mehmood @asifk @siddharth maheshwari @Nizam Deen @George Francis@MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ Due to current COVID-19 advises, we are postponing this drive for the next Friday, 3 April 2020. Please leave the event if you are unable to join, so that others can join the drive.

Mitsubishi Lancer can be a good choice for that purpose.

Wish I'd seen this thread earlier - interesting views on the xterra. I looked at the Wrangler and for reasons of questionable reliability and not being as comfortable, I chose to go for the pajero 3.8L, LWB. Its a great car, very comfortable and a good daily commuter car too. Drove it in the desert last weekend and it was great. It was a beginner drive but the Paj handled everything quite easily I thought. I did find the power a bit on the lower side when going up steeper dunes, but I managed to get up to wherever our capable guide @Gaurav took us. So I'm happy with the choice, but only now considering whether I should get a skid plate for the back at least and maybe front and back. views welcome !

Wow.. You guys saved me lot of money.. Thanks. 😃

This is 2020 model.

It's called Class Action Lawsuits. https://lemonlawexperts.com/naughty-nissans-the-trials-and-tribulations-of-a-defective-transmission/ https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/consumer-products/auto-news/nissan-altima-cvt-class-action-settlement/ https://www.carcomplaints.com/news/2019/nissan-cvt-settlement-reached.shtml

Which is better to use a 4x2 Chevrolet Captiva or a 4x4 Chevrolet Captiva?They have some different features, so what do you think?

I know what you mean, been there done that.

Ok

Both Honda and Nissan have failed in their CVT transmission. As Barry said they would last for about 60 - 100k km and would fail regardless of what best maintenance is done. I am not sure of the Toyota CVT, so no comments on the same If you were buying a new car you atleast have peace of mind that the car would last for some time, but when you are buying second hand it might be at the end of it's life

I think 4x4 No real reason other that need at odd times, for example I went to AlQudra lakes couple of weeks ago with friends and nearly got stuck in my rental HRV on sand and had to try another route. I have just bought a 2009 4x4 Captiva fingers crossed!

Understandable but nevertheless a pity. Was really looking forward to improve my desert driving skills. Hope to see you all safe and soon in de Sands.

Nissan CVTs are a different breed. The oil cooling in them is inadequate and they usually start to give problems around 60k. Sure, there are people who have bigger mileages on them but as someone who works on cars, I wouldn’t touch one. Nissan seem to have no intention of rectifying the problems either. They have so much money invested into the R&D of their CVTs that they can’t back out now.

But Sri Kumar... All the cars nowadays have CVT.. I used a Honda for 100k no issues at all. Toyota/honda/Nissan all have them. Corolla (2015 onwards...) Yaris (also same) 😢

You can try Honda Civic (2007-2013) models with a low mileage and full service history. Many of them come with cruise control. The gearbox is not as reliable as a Toyota but if maintained properly should be a good buy. Stay away from any car that has a CVT.

Thanks for your advise Thanks OK bro. Will search further

Most welcome

I'm not bringing my Pathy to your workshop.

Hi @Srikumar, @Carnity this is a good decision. Regards,

Wise move, thanks @Gaurav👍

Hello! I’m looking at buying a used Wrangler for off-roading, and wanted some advice on how to make the right selection. Since this is going to be a car mostly for the purpose of weekend drives, I don’t want to spend too much money on it, so 2005-2006 TJs seem to be the best bet for my price range. I’m looking at a 3-door, 4-litre automatic. I’ve never bought a used car before that’s as old as this, and definitely never a Jeep, so I wanted to get some advice from people who have either owned one, bought a used one, and people who drive in the desert. Is this a good choice for the desert? From what I’ve seen, it’s probably one of the most common cars in the sand. They have a great power-to-weight ratio, and the clearance angles are great. What’s the best way to scope out how good a condition the car is actually in? Most of the vehicles I am seeing are not available with full service history. Can I get a car checked at a mechanic? Who does this and how much does it cost? Should I look at cars with desert modifications/upgrades? There are plenty that I can find with lifts, larger wheels and tires, and upgrades to the roll cage done. It will be cheaper than getting a car that’s stock (assuming, of course, the car is actually clean. I am not sure how to actually verify this). How reliable are these cars? It’s hard to find anything in this model year range that doesn’t have at least 150,000 km on the odometer, if not 200,000 km. If I do buy a stock car (assuming it is clean), what are the basic upgrades that I should consider, where should I get those done, and how much do I budget for it? For a car this old, what mechanics/garages in Dubai are reliable and trustworthy for servicing the car? Is there something in particular I should look for (either as something good or something to avoid) when I inspect and test drive the car? Thanks in advance!

Some of the Netflix OC is OK. I enjoyed bird box and room. But I agree, a lot of it is making movies just for the sake of making movies. Movies purely for killing time that never seem to go anywhere or have a proper ending. And they seem to have some sort weird deal with Adam sandler going on.

If you been in Dubai for a while now these hardly raise an eyebrow anymore. Because these exotics ain't that exotic here

Agree. A good example is suits, which had seasons from 5 missing here. forced myself to cancel my netflix and amazon from new year. Moreover, netflix is in the stage of producing their own movies, which has made it look like a factory just churning things.

I would highly stay away from older Nissan of any age that has CVT gearing. They "fail" like a clock work precision and end up burning 5-10k hole in the pocket. If your selected model doesn't have CVT, then you are lucky. Google "nissan tiida cvt transmission problems" You are better off finding cheaper Toyota, Honda and Mitsubishi for daily use + cruise control model. You can also consider cheaper entry level Ford, Chevrolet, Hyundai and Kia's.

Most of the stuff I like has been mentioned already but I’ll add, Sons of anarchy. Brutal drama based around a gun running MC Lucifer. The devil turns up on earth and decides he wants to be a cop. One punch man. Hilarious anime about a reluctant superhero I’m thinking about cancelling my subscription soon. There’s just too much stuff missing off it. UAE is way behind on their lists. Most of the time I’ll watch a few series then have to stream the rest somewhere else to finish it.

which year model is this?

Congratulations!!

Hi @Gaurav i have done 2 drives with Newbie and look forward to explore more with my Jeep. Am i eligible to join this drive ? Thanks

Is it going to be the most crowded fewbie drive or what 😄

I havent heard of Reese, but they look quite sturdy. Check the rating, that is important and quality of rating printed is with good amount of information and not just 9000000 LB, AMP, PMPO lolol.

Bushranger is reliable and seems rated from your image. Ramy is not a brand, instead a shop that sells thousand brand product. Dig deeper and find out which brand pin is that? Is it rated? Why ACE doesn't have the bushranger pin....?

Brothers, Me n Saaji would love to join if any slot opens up.. please let me know.. cheers!

@Sajithsas @Muffy Acidwala Please take note this is a Fewbie level drive only. As per your current levels you are both still Newbie. Kindly sign out from this drive. You’re welcome to join the Newbie drives this weekend. @Denizzalbayrak has your rear towpoint been sorted ?

Too far 😁

congrats carnity bhai...

They are good too, but not better than Xterra in terms of offroad capabilities and approach and departure angles.

Great tips on looking for traces of sand, I'll definitely check that out. While I'm definitely going to scope out some Xterras, what are your thoughts on a 3.8l 3-door Pajero, assuming of course service history and no modifications?

Wrangler TJ with a 4.0 litre engine is a very capable car in stock condition. Also, you are in the right season to buy an off-road car as the offroading season is over and you can get a good deal. Few points from my side: 1. Buy a vehicle which is as stock as possible. 2. The 4.0 litre engine is bullet proof and you should not have issues with it. But regarding the automatic transmission, transfer case, etc. are things that need to be checked. 3. Try to get a GCC spec car. Try to find out the accident history of the car. Some cars have been in rolls or flips. 4. And you definitely will have to keep AED 5000 aside to get a full maintenance done and all fluid changes. This depends on your budget. If you can mention that you can get some good advice.