Re: Wombat's "mine truck to camping/touring weapon" build
Posted: Sun, 17 Jul 2016 8:41 +0000
A lot of people ask about buying mine trucks and either "don't do it" or how do you find a good one. I posted this on another forum recently and thought it might be of interest here.
I bought an ex UGL hilux last year at auction. Its a 2010 dual cab 4x4 diesel SR 120k kms. Got it for a tick under $18k after fees, rego etc. We gets heaps of ex miners through the auctions here in Townsville every week.
I was very picky. I had been looking at them for about 6 months before i found one i was prepred to bid on and $20k on road was my limit. If there was any spec of rust on the body, chassis or underneath, i would walk away. Above the windscreen and above the rear window, where drops of water sit, is a common place for rust to develop. If there wasn't a full service history from a reputable mechanic, i would walk away. I even rang the mechanic of the vehicle i ended up purchasing and got the detailed servicing records from them before i purchased. If the interior wasnt clean and dust free and in good condition i would walk away, too. Not because i wanted a nice interior, but the condition of the interior is a pretty good indicator of how hard the vehicle has worked. I had other conditions too.
I knew i would need to replace suspension and tyres straight away. Did that. I spent hours underneath it with the water blaster cleaning off mud, dust etc and, i suspect, some of the tar stuff referred to above. I pulled the bash plates off from underneath, not just the engine ones but on the transfer case and the fuel line heat sink too, knocked out any dents, stripped them back, reprimed and painted them. I went all over the body and touched up every paint chip. I plugged up the chassis and washed the dust and dirt out, a number of times.
Having said all that, we are only planning to keep it for 5 years max. It's a stepping stone to a dual cab cruiser, for us.
If you put time and effort in and stick to your standards, you can get decent vehicles and great value from ex miners. You can't be in a hurry, though.
The other thing to keep in mind is that plenty of dealers buy the straight ones, rip all the signs of mine use off them and sell them for $30k plus. So, it can be a case of better the devil you know.
I bought an ex UGL hilux last year at auction. Its a 2010 dual cab 4x4 diesel SR 120k kms. Got it for a tick under $18k after fees, rego etc. We gets heaps of ex miners through the auctions here in Townsville every week.
I was very picky. I had been looking at them for about 6 months before i found one i was prepred to bid on and $20k on road was my limit. If there was any spec of rust on the body, chassis or underneath, i would walk away. Above the windscreen and above the rear window, where drops of water sit, is a common place for rust to develop. If there wasn't a full service history from a reputable mechanic, i would walk away. I even rang the mechanic of the vehicle i ended up purchasing and got the detailed servicing records from them before i purchased. If the interior wasnt clean and dust free and in good condition i would walk away, too. Not because i wanted a nice interior, but the condition of the interior is a pretty good indicator of how hard the vehicle has worked. I had other conditions too.
I knew i would need to replace suspension and tyres straight away. Did that. I spent hours underneath it with the water blaster cleaning off mud, dust etc and, i suspect, some of the tar stuff referred to above. I pulled the bash plates off from underneath, not just the engine ones but on the transfer case and the fuel line heat sink too, knocked out any dents, stripped them back, reprimed and painted them. I went all over the body and touched up every paint chip. I plugged up the chassis and washed the dust and dirt out, a number of times.
Having said all that, we are only planning to keep it for 5 years max. It's a stepping stone to a dual cab cruiser, for us.
If you put time and effort in and stick to your standards, you can get decent vehicles and great value from ex miners. You can't be in a hurry, though.
The other thing to keep in mind is that plenty of dealers buy the straight ones, rip all the signs of mine use off them and sell them for $30k plus. So, it can be a case of better the devil you know.