buying a Ute - help/opinion

[KinLoud]

Looking for a ute, 4wd, canopy
2011 or later
Opinions on brands models reliability problems please
Thanks
Ken

[BlakeNZ]

any off road use, or all on road? how many km per year?

[KinLoud]

For our building industry business
Mostly on road - sometimes towing 2 - 2.5 ton load (trailer with small digger)
Needs 4wd for getting onto building sites with digger.
Probably 30 to 40,000 kms per year.
Thanks
Ken
021408863

[BlakeNZ]

most of the utes of that era will be fine. Don't get the nissan though. The YD25 is NOT a good motor. The Isuzu D-max would be my first choice. or the holden colorado with the 3.0 litre motor(Isuzu).
The Ranger (and by logical extention, the mazda BT50) is v popular, and will suit you too, but do have the odd issues. If you opt for a later Holden with the 2.8 motor, make sure you buy auto trans, as the six speed manuals stall in lower gear, due to lack of torque. Very economical though.
MY Jury is still out on the Triton and Hilux.

[KinLoud]

Thanks
Good info
Ken

[BlakeNZ]

the triton, navara and amarok are all smaller capacity motors, with plenty of boost shoved up them, so are unlikely to last as well doing lots of towing and high kms per year. Talking the to the transmission/diff shop, the modern navaras have a poor quality LSD that costs $3000 to fix/replace(unlike the older bulletproof nissan stuff).
The Ranger/BT50 and the Isuzu have larger motors, likely to be less stressed. Change the oil more regularly than those silly 15,000km suggested services, and the trucks will last a lot longer. There are plenty of stories emerging of the 2.8 holden motor using excessive oil, my contractor is having his motor rebuilt/replaced under warranty at 70,000km. It was using 2 litres per 6000km. However, Holden have addressed this issue at the factory, and the brand new ones shouldn't suffer this issue.
The nissan YD25 motor has many issues. The EGR system causes half them. it also has a v light duty timing chain.
In my opinion the hilux lost its reputation in approx 2006, with poor quality fuel system components. They have been fighting to regain their market share ever since.
as an aside, when I'm interested in a particular model, I ring and discuss said model with my auto electrician, a large transmission shop, and speak to the service manager at the dealer who sells the brand you are looking at. He WILL talk to you about any faults, as you intend buying a second hand vehicle, so won't cost his dealership a lost sale of a new ute.

[Boosted_162]

I was just going to mention the Colorado oil usage issue My father-in-law is currently doing the test to determine if his is considered 'excessive'. If it is, he gets a new motor under warranty.

Other than that he has been very happy with his. 2014 model, currently on 30k. Owned since new.

[KinLoud]

Thanks for helping

[BlakeNZ]

I believe the Colorado oil use issue is from a batch manufactured in a 4 month period in 2014. The test is, if the engine uses 3 litres of oil in 10,000km, they renew the engine. Some of these motors are stopping the excess oil use at around 70,000km, strangely. In my small rural district, I know of three. One getting a new engine, two undergoing the oil use monitoring. Unbelieveably, Holden's initial response to the issue was to replace the oil dip stick with a longer one!!!!!!!! True! From the horse's mouth. Astounding.
I suspect a LOT of 2014 Navaras will be up for sale in 2017, as they run out of warranty. Beware.
The issue with the Ranger is the manual gearboxes are not holding up as well as they should. The auto trans Rangers are fine (info direct from a fleet owner).
Navara owners are reporting several cases of issues with the manual gearboxes. Which means poor motor, trans, and diff. Sad news, for a firm that built legends like the LD28, the TD42, TD27, QD32 etc , with strong drivetrains (generally).
Bear in mind that many of the modern diesel utes are putting out 450-550Nm of torque, and are rated to pull 3-3.5 Ton, so any drivetrain weakness is being exposed much more quickly than in days gone by. To put this torque in perspective, an intercooled 3.0 litre Surf diesel is rated at around 340Nm, a nissan TD42 (4.2 litre diesel) turbo is rated at 330NM, and a Toyota 1UZ (4 litre V8 petrol) at 350Nm.

[KinLoud]

Awesome info thanks
Looks like our priorities have changed - just bought a small tipper truck
But will keep our eyes out for a ute in a couple of months.
We do know someone who was onto the 3rd gearbox in her Ranger Ute!
Had only done 40,000km
It was when the current model first came out about 5 years ago.
Auto box, never towed anything, lots of open road (rep for a vet supply company)
Gearboxes kept failing!

[BlakeNZ]

that's strange, as the auto box is (normally)much better than the six speed manual!(according to a guy running a fleet of Rangers, both auto and manual.
I have recently done more research on the Ranger manual trans issue. Speaking to a prominent gear box shop in Auckland, it appears the Ranger 5 speed (2011 and earlier I'm told), is OK, but the six speed(2011 onwards) is poor. The issue is low quality bearings. He said to get a long mechanical warranty if buying a Ranger, and if buying one over 100,000km, then the box is most likely to have already been reconditioned. He is seeing lots of these boxes. And the rumour that Ford fixed the problem with the release of the facelifted version (PX2 is it called??) is false, as he is seeing them too.

[Mr Ree]

Well, I certainly know who I will be speaking to, if ever I decide to buy a diesel ute

Outstanding knowledge there, Blake.

[BlakeNZ]

Unfortunately, none of it is first hand knowledge, as i can't justify buying new/newish utes that depreciate so much , especially more so when used on farm. But i have a few mates who drives later model utes, and i frequent the local (rural) garage, where I get a feel for (and a look at) some of the common issues. Have helped solve a few too...

[BlakeNZ]

The local auto trans shop said that the Ranger automatic transmissions have a propensity to overheat when towing at slow speeds, to the point that there has been an aftermarket trans cooler kit developed specifically for them.