Frederic

Hi Gaurav, Thanks for your reply. I was initially looking for a slightly younger Pajero but fell in love with this one the moment i saw it. And as the saying goes: The more you're under the car, the more you'll start to love it The 6G72 engine had to be replaced 1 week after i bought it (one cylinder without compression), so that was an expense which was not really scheduled, but on the other hand it gave me the opportunity to have the mechanics go through all things and replace what looked shoddy or worn out. The car itself is in pretty good shape considering the age and the climate here. I have some future plans but ill try to keep the car original/elegant. The first proper offroad drive was in Fossil Rock yesterday, ending of course by getting stuck but after unloading the passengers, i was able to get out of the nasty situation i got myself into (stopped on the top of a dune and almost tipped over). The selfmade scaffolding boards did the job. I've read quite some interesting stuff on this forum yet, and i'd be happy to contribute where possible and hope i can shedule a 4x4 beginner drive with some likeminded people soon. Currently it's the wifey and kids who tag along and they seem to enjoy it, but we leave the dunebashing for the pro's out there Apart from the Christmas tree my 4WD select system already was, this morning it jumped out of gear in 2H but i was able to continue my drive in 4H. After the fossil rock trip i cleaned and hosed the car last night and i'm afraid i shorted the solenoid. I measured the resistance and the first one is 46 ohms (OK) while the second one is OPEN (NOK). Any idea where i could order these ? Should i go straight to the Habtoor guys or is there a shop where they would have these on stock ? Please not Sharjah..

Just found a little hack which i wanted to share with you guys. As in most MK2 Pajero's the inclinometer in the middle of the dash is defective. I was able to fine a smaller standalone inclinometer on desertcart.ae which fits inside the existing unit. https://www.desertcart.ae/products/45721366-car-inclinometer-level-tilt-gauge-indicator-gradient-balancer-tool-for-off-road-vehicle-and-self-driving-travelling-supplies I installed it today by removing the old inclino-ball, and putting the smaller ball inside. Everything works as it should again. Seems a 54 aed solution is never a bad thing

As a classic BMW lover myself i fully agree with Gaurav. I wanted to buy a 540i Japanese import first but realized that it would take me many trips to the Sharjah workshops myself to keep things economical for this type of cars. Where i come from in Europe we have more spareparts and knowledge available to keep these cars on the road and also the climate is less demanding. If you're not doing too many miles on a daily basis it might be worth taking the risk, but be fully aware that it might cost you another +15kAED the first year to get the car in the condition you want and to repair the critical things. I went for a 2013 316i because the resale value is indeed very low, and it was well looked after. A decent Japanese brand with more spare-parts availability will give you more ease of mind. Did you consider an Infiniti G37 ? It's japanese, and it's fast. Not sure about the reliability though but my colleague drives infiniti and is really happy with it. Good luck.