Commdore or fourbie (first car)

[AdamLavv]

Option 1: Commodore

Option 2: 4x4 / 4wd

Option 3: screw it , buy a slab a day and keep the wife away

Okay guys , I'm looking at buying a car by the end of this year

however I'm unsure wether to get a commodore (VP) or a 4x4

Now I know I'll get a bias response as its a commodore based forum

I wanted to hear if any one has had bad experience or good ones with a commy or fourbie

Please poll and if possible post a response with pro's and con's

*extra notes
My place of work (apprentice mechanic) are a fourbie specialist shop ,
Most of my mates are getting VL commodores or imports (silvias, skylines)

Any help is appreciate

cheers
Lavvo

[AdamLavv]

Sorry guys , suppose to be a poll
my bad

[TVR-190]

in mexican kid voice "why cant we have both"



First off, how much do you have to spend.

do you plan to do any serious offroading or just puddles and fire trails.

[Tom_1569]

How much 4wding will you do?

What sort of budget do you have for a 4wd?

First off, a cheap 4wd is just asking for trouble, you want some thing solid and sound and reliable, hilux, landcruiser or patrol. These things have a higher running cost then a commodore, and parts are genuinly more expensive. Also if your a serious 4wder are you going to want to bang up your daily driver?

I travel dirt and gravel and roo fested roads everyday, and I drive a Commodore, because if I drive with some thought I dont have a problem on these roads, and my running costs are way down, also being young I drive everywhere I can. I was going to get a 4wd but the cost, plus running costs turned me off, but I do plan on getting a weekend hack 4wd just to thrash around up bush.
Also if you dont go lowering your commodore you will be suprised where it will go. My Vk sits fairly high, and I take it everywhere, mild 4wd tracks, just go to be smart and plan ahead.

I would vote for a Commodore, UNLESS you can get a factory turbo'd landcruiseror something economical aswell as practicle.

[nicko]

Buy the 4wd. I regret spending money on my commodore.

[alien]

Like people said above, Commodores. They can hit the mild bush tracks. Hell, they can even take some of them with trailers on. The VN/VP/VR/VS's sit fairly high at stock height (not FE2) and allow you to go on many 4WD tracks. I was able to go up one track off the great ocean road with a 5m trailer on my old VR. Hell, even a VY commodore you can take on light 4x4 tracks with a trailer (i proved that on the weekend, just a box trailer not the 5m one) [just make sure traction control is off and power mode is on (if auto)].

However, proper 4x4 tracks you'll have problems with a commodore. So if your planning on hitting a few of them every few weeks then look towards a 4x4.

If none of these options suit, then take option 3 and get the slabs! :P

[TVR-190]

ive done more in my calais than many softroaders would and thats sitting at FE2, only lost the radiator guard

[mulligan-can]

Depends on your budget. I wouldn't touch a diesel 4wd for less than 12k. They hold their value far too well for anything decent to filter down to less than that.

For a first car the commodore would really be the way to go unless you have money to burn. Seriously dude.

[AdamLavv]

"Depends on your budget. I wouldn't touch a diesel 4wd for less than 12k. They hold their value far too well for anything decent to filter down to less than that."

I have $3000 saved and hopefully getting $5000 to playt with from various family members

I've never really been keen on a diesel ,

[TVR-190]

8k will get you somethin, but it wont be brilliant in terms of a good 4x4, go a half decent commo for 5k and keep saving.

[Tas_HSV]

Drop a VN wagon body on a cruiser/patrol chassis?seen one in a **************** mag a while back....

[Hunter SS]

4WD's don't hold their value that well. If you want to do something more than forest trails you WILL have to spend money on it. Especially if you modify them.... you will not get back what you put into it. I spent 8 grand on a GQ Patrol, then spent about 30 grand on it. It featured in an issue of Australian 4WD Monthly. When i sold it, i got 12 and a half grand for it.
But.. it is fun!!

My Patrol




Mods were:
Injected 5.0 Litre V8 with a chip
6" spring lift
2" body lift
38" maxxis Creepy Crawlers
dual lockers
Custom bar work
DBA slotted rotors all round
and a shiz load of other stuff

now that i have finished reminiscing...... go with what you can afford. 4WD'ing is addictive... you WILL spend a lot of money on one once the bug gets you, and you can smarten up a nice commodore cheaper than you can mod a fourby to be half reasonable in the rough stuff.

[mulligan-can]

5k will really not go far towards a decent 4wd. And I've found diesel is the only way to go. We had a petrol 4wd at work and gosh, terrible on the road and terrible off it.

Oh and by "Hold their value" I was refering more to the fact that for 5k you can get a clean, well maintained commi but I've never seen a 4wd that wasn't thrashed to hell and back for less than 10k. Could be the area I live in though, rural areas tend to put an excessive premium on 4wd'ing

[Tom_1569]

5k will really not go far towards a decent 4wd. And I've found diesel is the only way to go. We had a petrol 4wd at work and gosh, terrible on the road and terrible off it.

Exactly... Diesel is the only way to go... UNLESS you want to run a 305/350 Chev, or a Gen 3

[greenfoam]

5k will really not go far towards a decent 4wd. And I've found diesel is the only way to go. We had a petrol 4wd at work and gosh, terrible on the road and terrible off it.

Oh and by "Hold their value" I was refering more to the fact that for 5k you can get a clean, well maintained commi but I've never seen a 4wd that wasn't thrashed to hell and back for less than 10k. Could be the area I live in though, rural areas tend to put an excessive premium on 4wd'ing

I've got a pretty good 95 Jeep (wifes car) that we will be selling for under 4 grand , seems to be about the going price, it's a very capable proper 4wd no matter how many you see in the city

[DANNY8]

I'd go a 4WD. ALOT more fun then ya everyday car.

My bro picked up a GQ shorty, 32's, 2" lift kit, 2" bodylift, winch bar, ARB air locker in the rear, dual batteries, light force spotties on the front, power windows, crane in the back door and it runs petrol and lpg (and it's more economical then my old VB). Picked it up for 6k, have spent a bit more on it now, but I still rekon it was a bargain. Only real problem it's had was a fuel leak near the carby which was easilly fixed, hasn't missed a beat since.

We've had heaps of fun in it, we take 2 fourby's out at a time so we can pretty much tackle anything we want coz we got the snatch straps and if one gets stuck, we simply pull it out and keep going...heaps of fun!!

Hey Hunter why did ya end up selling up and going to a Commodore? That GQ is sweet!

[Rossbx]

Mate i would go a 4by as you can go off road and have heaps of fun my mate has one and he has done all the mods himself and it goes just about everywhere. even where some locked 4by's have trouble.
and being a diesel it is great on fuel.

[nicko]

Exactly... Diesel is the only way to go... UNLESS you want to run a 305/350 Chev, or a Gen 3

Personally i wouldnt buy a petrol 4x4, BUT for most people it wont make a difference. The only real advantage is the ability to idle for hours on end and the availability of diesel in outback australia. Petrol engines do the job to.

[CANYONERO]

i want a diesel manual 4x4, maybe soon. i dont see a point in a " high-performance" ( according to my stupidly ridiculous insurance) car where you cant do any performing in it. no track, waste of time. i'll go play in some mud

[bezz]

Friend of mine just bought a very nice turbo diesel '92 swb patrol for about 6k. Really clean and in excellent condition. That's a lot of car for the money.

[Stupa]

Go the 4by mate, Ive got both and the patrol is just more fun to drive. for that you could pick up a decent shorty forty with a v8 on gas, or a late 80's hilux drop in a 253 and a gas conversion and your laughing or even an early 90's/late 80's diesel patrol. just stay away from cruisers. Lots of my mates love them but parts are a killer, the gq patrols are from what ive sourced so far much cheaper and there's lots of them around. even a gq with the rb30 (like mine) get the EFI manifold and computer from a vl and with a bit of tinkering you've just added a coupla hundred K's to your range.

The possibilities are endless

[evil_monkey]

i rekon go the commodore, wait till you get a bit of experience and cash under your belt before you go try rolling a 4x4 on the dunes

[redcv6]

just from a quick look, you have roughly 8gs to play with. mate you can get a very decent 4x4 with that money. 80 series landcruiser, hilux, mate even consider something like a bj40, i know they are older, but in the bush are unreal. short wheel base, tough as f*** and so very very reliable. you would also have a bit of money left over.

[AdamLavv]

Most likely go for a fourbie , maybe get a commo in the future as a project, I'm gunna get a sticker to piss ma mates off "yours may be fast , But mine can go anywhere"

[andyman]

Most likely go for a fourbie , maybe get a commo in the future as a project, I'm gunna get a sticker to piss ma mates off "yours may be fast , But mine can go anywhere"

thats all good untill it breaks down, or you get stuck in the bush