Uncertain Economic Climate - Do I, or Don't I

[Shonky]

Hey folks,

This might come as a shock, but I'm thinking of selling the Navara, given the work situation lately, uncertainty in the future, and the ever increasing prices of day to day items I am finding myself in a bit of a dilemma, the money isn't going as far as I'd like, this week brought things to a bit of a head with bills piling up and not enough cash to go round.

For a little while now I've been thinking about changing vehicles, the Nav is a good truck, I love the thing, goes like a cut cat for a diesel, gives great fuel economy, but things like lack of space, drive line weakness, and the fact that if anything goes wrong with it atm I wouldn't have to cash to fix it, after much thinking on this I'm thinking need to downsize financially and upsize in vehicle.

For 10-12 grand these days I can get a GQ wagon, or 80 series cruiser (maybe even a 105), and it would cut my repayments in half or better since interest rates are much lower than when I bought the Nav, which would give me some much needed breathing room in the money department.

Do I or don't I, this is doing my head in!

 

[Matt - VNET Pro]

Personally I'd try to stick it out for another few months and see what happens if you can afford to do that, in my previous instances where money was tight, I've jumped the gun and sold some things then not too long after realised that probably didnt need to do so.....
Depends on how happy you are with the Nav and If you think you'd be happier or better off with another vehcile, weigh up the pros and cons.................thats my opinon anyway!

 

[Jason]

Yeah I agree with Matt, there would be nothing worse than the regret of selling it afterwards. It's a big ticket item and you are obviously working your way through setting it up the way you want it. Try to put a price on not only the parts you have added but your time as well.

Again only my opinion and you are the only one who knows your full financial situation. I would try to hold off that decision as long as I could.

 

[D22 King]

hang on to the nav. Just when you go out bush be a bit hesitant abou things the you would have done before when you had a bit more dosh

 

[Laith]

I got a patrol as you would know and whilst its cool i would much prefer to use my Navara for any sort of long driving.

It would be a disapointing step backwards id say mate.

Not to mention how much do you think you Nav would be worth now concidering how much you can buy a new STR for?

It wouldnt be good id say.

 

[navarian]

As others have said,i'd try and stick it out for a while longer.It's a buyers market and there are plenty of bargains around.I don't think you would get the price your rig deseves right now.I don't think any of us would.
I hope things get better for you.

 

[Navara_cruz]

Mate you need to do what suits you. Times aren't good at the moment with the economic climent and bills and repayments will always come in and as we know banks and others will not wait for the cash if they need it to.

The Nav will always be there in the future, you can always buy another one when times are good, but for now if cash is tight and the patrol is the way you need to go then do it. Take care of yourself, your family, your house first......

 

[Jon]

I would say it would be a good idea to get a cheaper rig but guess what. You'll also be selling the Navara cheaply unfortunately. So although it seems like you would be better off this may not be the case, the only thing that would make it better is if your Navara is under finance and you could now refinance at a better rate.

However you will have an older vehicle for starters which yes you can definitely tackle the harder stuff with but it still needs a lot of money thrown at it to make it capable, on top of that you will be forever repairing it just because it is an older vehicle. I dunno, I would think long and hard before buying or selling any vehicle in todays economic climate. I have thought about selling my GQ but can't make up my mind as I know I won't get much at all for it but I have spent a LOT of coin on her getting it to how it is at the moment and there is no way I would see any of that money again.

Its a tough decision but if you could hold out I probably would.

 

[tweak'e]

as far as breakdowns are concerned, i always work on the devil you know principal. selling it and buying another vehicle could cost you more due to what needs fixing on it. another vehicle is going to be a great big unknown and can sometimes turn out to be a white elephant.

i would keep the nav until things start getting really desperate.

 

[joshy]

As others have said....resale on the nav isnt going to be very good concidering what they go new for.. one reason why im doing up the nav instead of selling it and gettin a trol ute. But you cant really upsize the space.

 

[Shonky]

Cheers for the replies guys, I've got a lot of thinking to do, I know I'll take a hit on selling the Nav money wise, but if I got out of it for what I owe I'd be happy, not to mention I'll be stripping off everything I can and selling the bits after market that won't go on its replacement, as we all know extras aren't worth s!@t when selling a car.

Current 2nd hand pricing in Vic for an ST-R with similar miles to mine is around 20-22k selling privately (I owe just under 21), whether people are getting that is another thing, I'll have to keep an eye on the car web sites, watching what is listed and how long it takes to sell them to get an idea of demand.

If I was to go a GQ or 80 series, it would be a 4.2 diesel or turbo diesel if funds allow, I know with the Patrol 200-250k on them is bugger all, not so sure about the 4.2 in the Cruiser, might have to take a few for a test drive and get an idea on the space in them, and how they drive before making a decision either way.

At the end of the day, food on the table and a roof over our head is more important than whats parked in the driveway, so I'll think on it for a while and see what happens.

 

[big orse]

A mate of mine has a 4.2 TD Patrol ute and the fuel consumption is killing him. It regularly does 17 - 20l per 100km. He is almost ready to burn it and get another Nav. Be careful you don't get something that is too expensive to drive.

 

[joshy]

17-20l per 100? what size tyres does he have....or how does he drive it..
mate gets 10-12 per 100 with 35's on including goin offroad...

 

[Shonky]

A mate of mine has a 4.2 TD Patrol ute and the fuel consumption is killing him. It regularly does 17 - 20l per 100km. He is almost ready to burn it and get another Nav. Be careful you don't get something that is too expensive to drive.

Sounds like your mate needs to get his 4.2 tuned, My old man has a 4.2 turbo diesel and the only time he sees that sort of fuel usage is when he has the glide on camper on the tray and boat hanging off the tow bar. Unladen round town it does about 11-12 per 100k. Fuel usage isn't a big issue for me unless it's on a trip, my average week round home is only 60-70ks.
.

 

[big orse]

Sounds like your mate needs to get his 4.2 tuned, My old man has a 4.2 turbo diesel and the only time he sees that sort of fuel usage is when he has the glide on camper on the tray and boat hanging off the tow bar. Unladen round town it does about 11-12 per 100k. Fuel usage isn't a big issue for me unless it's on a trip, my average week round home is only 60-70ks.
.

It is an 07 model. He has taken it back to Nissan a dozen times and they have told him over and over that is normal consumption. He usually drives it 400kms at a time as he has a farm North East of perth. He drives very conservatively and his rig has standard sized tyres. He has had it tuned by a dyno place and it still drinks the juice.

The scary thing is him and two of his other farmer mates bought these Patrol utes at the same time. One sold his because of the rediculous consumption and the other put a 6.5l motor in his.

Prior to owning this Patrol, he had a late 90's 4.2 Patrol ute with aftermarket turbo. After racking up 650 000 trouble free and economical kms, he went out and bought another one in 07 and has been extremely disappointed ever since. His old Patrol ute was regularly doing 11 - 12l per 100km

 

[Shonky]

That is strange orse, I've never heard of fuel consumption like that with standard tyres and driven easily, no wonder he is pissed with it.

 

[big orse]

Yep. My Navara was his wife's car and he couldn't believe that she was using 32 - 38l of diesel to do the 400km trip to the farm while he was using 70 - 80l.

He has been asking me about the dgas option, but, I've told him that I'm not getting much of a fuel saving just sh*& loads more power. I have also struggled to get the sort of economy his wife was getting out of my Nav, but my driving style is not very conservative.

If he didn't need the huge towing capacity and 4wd capability of the patrol, he has said he would own 2 D22 Navs. Obviously 1 for him and 1 for his Mrs. She has gone and bought a new D22 since I bought hers off her 4 months ago. They are a cheap diesel vehicle to own.

Anway, getting back to your original post, if you do buy another 4wd, do your research and ensure it isn't going to cost you more to own in the long run. For eg I had a 2.7l petrol Hilux 4x4 before this Nav and it cost a fortune to run. Regularly used 15l per 100km and cos it was 8 years old, I seemed to be continually replacing worn components.

Best of luck anyway mate!

 

[Dave]

Shonky I dont know your finacial situation and its no one elses business either, so I am not going to get personal.

Like the others have said hold out and see what the future brings, well as long as you can.

It certainly isn't your quality of work that is holding you back. Advertise on a few forum's, good time to since the goverment is handing the cash out.

If you were closer and freight wasn't a killer I would line you up to do some fab work for me.

Good luck, all the best with whatever you decide.

Dave.

 

[D22 King]

hey Shonky, what do you do for a living?

 

[Shonky]

Cheers for the comments Dave, at this stage I've decided to hold out a bit longer and see what happens, I can't rush things anyway, if I do I'll just screw up and end up worse off.

So far work hasn't completely dried up, but the media aint helping with their "We are gonna have a recession" bullshit, all the tradies we talk too reckon they've got 6-12 months work in front of them but they are all pretty keen to hang on to their cash in case the shit hits the fan and the economy stops dead.

hey Shonky, what do you do for a living?

Design and manufacture aluminium tool boxes and canopies for who ever wants them. You can see a bit of what we do at Aussie Tool Boxes