New member and question about the NS's reliability?

[jamster]

Hi everyone, I'm excited! I am about to embark on a new adventure and that's owning my first 4WD. I have looked at both the Prado and Pajero and feel the Pajero is a nicer car overall. I really like the look of the Prado externally, but I really don't like the dash as it's very boring. The Pajero on the other hand looks and feels great. The car will be mainly used as an everyday car, towing a 1.5 tonne boat as well as a little dirt and 4WD'ing.

I am looking at buying a 3.8 litre petrol NS Exceed 2006-2007 model with anywhere between 70,000-120,000km's. A mechanic friend of mine said that earlier Pajero's had lots of problems with oil leaks and other reliability issues. How to the NS's stack up and is there anything I should be looking out for or paying close attention to? Will this vehicle give me trouble free motoring?

I am coming out of a VE SS Commodore 6.0 Litre.

Thanks everyone.

[Dazza.]

From what I'm aware there is next to no difference between a Petrol NS and a Petrol NT.

The NS diesel is known for DPF issues and does have a very noisy engine. However having a petrol discounts both of those issues.

Apart from that I can't really tell you, I've only driven diesels (both NS and NT).

[cjmarsh81]

DPF issues are only on the automatics. Manuals don't have one.

Me personally I would stick with a diesel. Treated right they will go forever.

I don't have any speed problems with my NS either. Goes like a rocket compared to the Diesel Navara I used to have.

[sharkcaver]

Me personally I would stick with a diesel.

And more so if your towing, but that will increase the budget

Shane

[digitout]

I have a NS V6 manaul VRX done 60,000km with no problem beside a leaky shock that was replaced. Very happy with the car tows well not too bad on the go juice Mine on LPG runs real well on it and cheap to run

[mrbitchi]

If you want to go petrol then get injected LPG fitted. Really cuts down on the fuel bills and you can't tell the difference performance wise.

[Jords]

Mate Just stepped out of a 2005 Holden Adventra V6 into a 2007 NS Diesel both cars had the same on the ODO 175000 But the Paj feels like new and goes great. I love the economy where I was getting low 300klms per tank to low 400s and filling it up twice a week. With the Paj Im so far getting 600-700klms per tank with the same driving as Im still doing the same work. Im in and out of the car approx 10 times a day minimum and I think the turning on and off plus the stop start really killed the ecomony in the Holden. Plus it was getting lots of small mechanical faults that were just bad design and were going to cost $$$$ to fix.
As for towing I cant wait to hook the camper up and see how it goes cause the Adventra wasnt great at all. I used to petrol station jump to our camping destinations and its only a 750kg camper.

Hope this helps.....

Go the Paj

[Dion]

I think the 3.8 V6 and the diesel in the Pajero are up there as some of the most reliable powerplants you can find.

[fisherjez]

I would recommend an auto if going offroad, given the clutch issues with the manuals.

[jamster]

Thanks for replies so far guys. Will definately go an AUTO. What's a Direct injected fuel LPG system cost these days and how much does the Government give up front? Converted my old car once and it was never the same again, so don't love the idea to be honest. Swore I'd never convert a car to LPG again....

Not thrilled about the diesel either, as it will be my everyday family car as well. Not sure if they wife and kids would appreciate the constant noise.

Happy to be advised otherwise though.

[BarryJ]

My NS diesel is my everyday car and noise isn't an issue; that's why vehicles have radios fitted. Then again, 99% of the time, I'm the only occupant.

[Pearcie]

Hi Jamster,
We have only had our NS 2007 3.8L Petrol Exceed for 2 weeks (done 2500km). This car replaced our NS X SWB 3.2DiD that had 122,000km. My experience is that if you are going to be towing heavy loads alot (100km on each weekend doesn't really count) then the Diesel is the way to go or if you were buying new then get the Diesel hands down as you would lose alot less in depreciation but buying second hand if you aren't towing or in constant city traffic then the Petrol costs about the same or seems to be a little cheaper to run and the Petrol motor is a much more pleasant motor to live with in every way. I must admit the Diesel is great for touring but I personally only get to do a really big trip every couple of years so having to pay a few hundred extra in fuel for the trip is a small price to pay compared to living with the Diesel noise day to day.

LPG system for these is about $4,500 and in NSW currently the rebate is about $1500. I'm not eligible for the rebate so I have pretty much decided it is not worth the hassle as it would take a couple of years for the saving to cover the cost and I will probably only have the vehicle for 3-4 years.

In terms of running costs the DiD (with accessories and Mud tyres) cost $180-200 per 1000km and the petrol is costing $150-200. I have spent about 25% of the kms so far with a box trailer ranging from empty to 400kg roughly of load. We live in a country town though if we were in the city the I estimate it would cost about $220 per 1000km based on what out economy gauge tells us when we are in Sydney.

Reliability wise it is early days but the 3.8L is similar to the NM Paj 3.5L which we owned before the 3.2L DiD SWB and we had issues with the rear main engine seal (it was driven very hard on the beach regularly though). One of the guys who has a 3.8L Paj has just noticed a potential leak from their rear main engine seal but aside from that I haven't heard of any issues and aside from myself I have only hear of one other rear main engine seal so I don't think it is a common issue.

Overall I am much happier living with the Petrol motor compared to the Diesel my biggest frustration is that the Petrol fuel pump is painstakingly slow compared to high flow diesel.

Good luck with the decision making mate either way you will love the car.

Cheers,
Kieron