Siddick Sait

Thanks to Brette and the team for rescuing me out of trouble. It was a learning experience and I will come back better prepared. 
 

Apologies to the team to hold them up from enjoying their drive. 
 

Will reach out to @Brette for advice and guidance to prepare the car for the next drive. 

Hi Guys,

Thanks again to your responses. I think I am now seriously considering xterra based on the advise of you all. I have not seen this vehicle yet but it looks spacious. Is there any particular model that I should keep in mind: year, kms, trim? I have seen Xterra with mileage of 200k and 300k and years from 2008 to 2013 plus. 
 

I am sure that I need to look with the one with 4 L engine (newer ones have 2.x I think) but what about the mileage and year? Also as of now there is none with off road trim. Is off road trim important or I can slowly upgrade as required. I certainly want to make modifications as less as possible or as  absolutely required. 
 

Regards. 

Hi All,

Thanks for your response. It was very helpful and it helped me in seeing the very obvious : 

LR + 12 years old + 220K = Money pit.

Thanks @Gaurav for the formula. 
 

It seems I have two options now:

1. Spend 20 to 30 K and get an off roader which may serve your off roading purpose but which you may not be happy to drive around. Candidates for such option are Pathfinder, Xterra etc. 

or

2. Spend 50 to 80 and get something which will be good off roader and also serve as day to day vehicle. Options are Toyota FJC, Wrangler or even a Pajero. And probably Prado LC150 (not sure price range of LC150).

My need is not only for desert drive but also in Wadees and camping and need ample space to carry stuff.

My current JGC overland with V8 5.7 fits the bill but not confident it will handle regular off roading especially with air suspension. Hopefully I will get some advice during this Saturday newbie drive from @Brette who also drives JGC.

Meanwhile thank you all for your responses. 

5 hours ago, Zixuan Huang - Charlie said:

LR4 early models only offered v8 5.0, if it's v6 then it's a LR3 face lifted to LR4's look. 15 to 18 will be ideal cost for a LR3 v6.

 

Sell JGC and get a Prado LC150 for onroad and offroad 😁😁

I like my JGC. So far it has been very dependable and comfortable. I might keep that for daily drive and look for another for off road plus daily drive. Which year is Prado LC150 and what will be approximate price for it. 

@Chris Meir 

I have used Heev Off Road Flag Holder Compatible with JGC 2011 ordered from Amazon. 
 

More details pics on Amazon.

Will be using the flag first time this Saturday.  
 

Hi Group Members,

I do have a negative mindset with regard to buying  LR 4 (2010) based on what I have read here and when googled on it’s realibility. 
 

Last week I saw and drove a LR4 2010 6 cyl with 220000 kms. The car is fully maintained at agency and is being sold by second owner of 3 years. 
 

I liked the car. The stearing looked little heavy when compared to my current Jeep GC overland 2011 but overall I kind of liked the looks and the drive. 
 

Tomorrow I am taking the car for a auto testing center for a full physical and computerized checkup and will make a final call. 
 

I will be happy if I can use this car for 3 to 5 years without major expense. Will be not be using this for off road as I want to make my existing JGC as main off road car (This discussion for another time). 
 

Two issues that has come to light with LR4 as disclosed by the seller is (he discovered during recent inspections) is that the front bonnet is repainted by first owner (no record of it) and steering oil leak. 
 

Assuming that no major issues are discovered in tomorrow’s test, what will be your advise based on your experience? 

I am happy with the price (approx 27K). May negotiate it further. The seller has brought down the price during last one week from high 30s. I have so far not negotiated the price  

My main concern is not to get cheated or get a car which has some major flaw or has some major reliability issue. 
 

Thank you in advance. 
 

One more thing I am interested is to know if some of you have a good/Positive experience with LR4? 

16 hours ago, Frederic said:

Hi @Siddick Sait that model can only be programmed with a laptop, special cable, and Crony software which is mostly in Chinese. So you are better off getting a model with a programming display. 
 

Baofeng UV5R, Motorola or Crony MT777 are all good models that are easy to program without a laptop and we have the programming instructions posted on the forum here.

Thanks for your response. I will return/exchange the one I bought. 

Hi, Before I can read on Carnity about buying a radio, I ordered a Crony CN-988. Since it does not have a screen as recommended, I am not sure if this is the right radio for me.  I want to know if this can be easily programmed or shall I just return this and order a new one?

Thank you. 

Hi Brette, I don’t have a radio for this drive. I had ordered one online and it is yet to be delivered. I am open to buy one now but have mo clue where it will be available in Abu Dhabi. Can some arrangement be made for this trip? 
Thank you

siddick

Just saw the message that the drive is cancelled. Please ignore previous message. 

Hi Ale. I don't have radio for tomorrow but will buy it after first ride from Dragon Mart. Other then that all the other requirements will be met. Looking forward to my first drive tomorrow.

Agree. Hi My name is Siddick and I am from Abu Dhabi. I have 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I don't have any off-road experience.