Best place to buy a vehicle

[WharfRat1579]

Hi,
Some friends and I are in the begining stages of planing a trip around Africa. We were originally going to purchase something in England or Europe, but after a bit of looking around on this site, it seems that SA might be a better option. Can anyone help me out here, and if you have any websites, that would be very helpful as well.
Thanks!

[Robbert]

I'd think you'll find vehicles much cheaper in Europe. Kitting it out will be cheaper in SA.

Rob

[luangwablondes]

Have a look at this website luangwablondes | A guide for the overseas self drive, self sufficient, vehicle dependent visitor in Africa

[luangwablondes]

Have a look at this website luangwablondes | A guide for the overseas self drive, self sufficient, vehicle dependent visitor in Africa

[JulianVoelcker]

What vehicle are you looking for and where are you wanting to travel in Africa?

If you are only interested in the South then SA may be your best bet, otherwise if you are interested in North Africa as well, then Europe would be a better bet.

Also if you are looking for a LR there is a good selection in the UK, if you are looking for an LC then you can get reasonably priced 80s in the UK, otherwise look to Europe for other models although they aren't cheap.

Having said that, I'm not sure of the Carnet positions of travelling with a SA vehicle versus a European vehicle - something that is well worth looking in to.

[WharfRat1579]

Thanks for the replies everyone. We are not sure what we are looking for yet, LR or LC really. Any pro's or cons for each would be much apriciated. We are planning on following the coast all the way around the continent, as much as thats possible.

[bmw.bec]

It would probably be best to search the forum for vehicle preference as there has been a recent LR vs LC debate and numerous ones in the past on here.

We sourced our vehicle from autotrader and were fortunate that a lot of work had been done on it already. Another place we looked was ebay as sometimes there are expedition vehicles up for sale on there - mainly defenders 90 / 110's

Good luck hunting - its part of the fun!

Becky

[Dessertstrom]

The company I work for in Saudi used to run a fleet of 8 Land Cruisers for recreation trips to the red sea and surrounding areas. These vehicles were booked out at weekends by the workforce and were hammered without mercy and it was part of my job to keep them servicable. With regular servicing the only big jobs I ever had to do were clutches and the odd head gasket in over 400,000 klms.
I am British and have owned Land Rovers 2x 110 and 2x Range Rovers and rebuilt three Lightweight Land Rovers and still run a Lightweight only because Toyota Land Cruisers are so much more expensive over here.
Without doubt I would go for a Land Cruiser and forget the so called " Best 4x4 By Far "
The company also had a Discovery and a R/rover that got the same treatment at weekends but only covered 250,000klms during that time I did the head gaskets and the water pumps three times because they would over heat regularly. Clutches, airconditioning, autobox on the R/Rover, oil seals and gaskets on engines ,gearboxes and axles not to mention the steering box and power steering pump.
I have heard some folk say that oil leaks are part of a L/Rovers charm, FG idiots.
Now you are going to get a load of folk defending their Defenders and rubbishing L/Cuisers, It's up to you to decide.
Cheers
Ian

[ChrisC]

Well as has previously been said do a search and you will find plenty of posts and opinions on the Land Rover or Land Cruiser arguement.

IMHO here in the UK best choices would be: 80 series Land Cruiser reg'd from 1990/91-1998/99 6 cylinder 4.2 TD. Early models 12v then 94/95 changed to the more powerful 24v engine.
Alternatives would be - Toyota 60 series 4.0 Diesel or a 70 series but these are almost impossible to find, (there are some in Europe). Land Rover 90,110, 130, Discovery 1 or 2 or poss a Range Rover or maybe a Nissan Patrol if you can find one.

You can look in South Africa but I found the vehicles to be comparatively expensive and alot of them had done very high mileage. However, equiping for the trip is much cheaper and the kit more readily available.

Beware of the 2.8 diesel Hilux engine, as these do not have a very good reliability record - probably the worst record of any Toyota engine in southern Africa.

Try contacting Stuart Baillie wo is situated in Midrand, just up the road from Joburg, SA - he builds superb vehicles - personal experience - and may have or know of something available. contact details: B A I L L I E ' S O F F R O A D & S A F A R I S
tel: (+27-11) 702 2149.

G'luck