***Price Reduced***
I can't believe our journey through Africa is more than halfway through, but with a couple months left, it's time to start looking for a new home for PJ.
In the interest of full disclosure, I feel like PJ's story is best told in two tales; the worst of times & the best of times.
In the first tale, we begin with an engaged couple (us) who had an agreement and a down payment on a different overland car that we were set to pick up in Gaborone a week before our wedding in Victoria Falls. Two days before we were set to land in Johannesburg, we got a message saying the car had engine issues and wouldn't work for us. We scrambled to find a car in Joburg and settled on PJ, which we bought from a Park & Sell (used car dealer) with the assurance that its engine was "reconditioned." We had it checked out and knew we needed new brakes and suspension, but short on time, we decided to roll the dice. Long story short, we rolled snake eyes and a month into our journey, blew a bearing on the engine, destroying the reconditioned engine. Here ends our first tale!
The second tale is one of redemption. We found a great mechanic in Joburg who specializes in Mitsubishis (Mitspro) and he rebuilt our engine. I'm talking new pistons, head, crank, gaskets, oil & water pump – all original Mitsubishi parts. They also reconditioned the alternator and cleaned the radiator. You name it, we fixed it. On top of that, we added a new Old Man Emu suspension system and front brakes. Everything was redone at 245,000 kilometers (152,000 miles). Since then, we have driven it 11,000 kilometers from Johannesburg, South Africa to Kampala, Uganda through Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, and Tanzania. We’ve slept in the RTT almost every night, and it has handled everything Africa has thrown at it from poorly corrugated roads, steep rocky terrain, to deep sand. We've had no serious mechanical issues since replacing the engine and couldn't be happier with the car. Additionally, we just got a new battery (old one didn’t hold a charge very well), new windshield wipers, and got a tire replaced (one of the tires had multiple slow leaks).
Ok, if you're still reading, you're probably screaming at me to shut up and tell you the details of the car.
- Price: $8,000 USD or best offer
- Location: we'd prefer to sell in Johannesburg (and since it's registered in South Africa, it will be easiest there) but are open to other cities in ZA or surrounding countries (Mozambique, Botswana, etc.)
- Timing: second half of December or early January
- Year: 1995
- Kilometers: 256,000 (ending amount will depend on sale location, but we expect to do another 10,000 kilometers)
- Engine Kilometers: 11,000 (as above, expected ending ~21,000)
- Make: Mitsubishi
- Model: Pajero
- Engine: 3.5L V6
- Fuel: Petrol
- Drive: Manual RHD with 2x4 and 4x4 High & Low (Low has diff lock)
- In front: bullbar with winch and additional flood lights
- Seats: We kept one seat behind the passenger side – it is normally folded up but we’ve used it a number of times to give rides (you can fit two people back there if they’re friendly)
- Service Interval: We just had the car serviced in Kampala after 11K kilometers. We will have it serviced again upon return to ZA
- Registration: in my name in South Africa (we can help with TIN, we got it done in a couple days on a US passport)
Overlanding Gear (with the exception of the tools, all were purchased new in June, 2019 by us)
- Tentco rooftop tent (2.4m x 1.6m - I'm 6'2" and sleep in it comfortably)
- Engel 40L fridge
- Second battery to run the fridge and other electronics
- Tentco 2m awning
- Cadac two burner stove
- 5kg & 3kg Cadac bottles for cooking gas
- 20L metal jerry can & 20L plastic water jug
- Table & 2x camping chairs
- Bedding (2x pillows, 1x throw pillow, sheets, and blanket)
- Cooking/dinnerware for two (frying pan, pot, kettle, french press, knives, spatula, tongs, cutting boards, plates/bowls/cups/silverware) including everything needed to wash & dry
- 5 Plastic bins for organizing everything from clothes to food and keeping dust out with ratchet straps to keep everything in place
- A toolbox with a ton of tools, including everything you need to change your own oil
- Recovery gear (air compressor, rapid tire deflator, shovel, tow rope, fuel funnel, etc.)
- Safety gear (fire extinguisher, triangles, vests, plus all the stickers/tape for Southern/Eastern Africa)
- Binoculars (10x25)
- Camping lantern / spotlight
- Phone holder and Bluetooth adaptor because sometimes you just need to jam out to "Toto - Africa" on Spotify
Ok, everything sounds great so far, right? Well, it's not a perfect vehicle. Here's the issues we know about, and will absolutely have it inspected by a mechanic of your choice before the sale to make sure there's no other issues.
- Body. The car is old and the outside doesn't try to hide that. We've brought it through a lot of places off-road where it didn't quiiiite fit, so if you're looking for a showroom car, this probably isn't the vehicle for you.
- Rev counter doesn't work. We've been told that the fuse is fine, it just needs to be opened and flicked to get it unstuck, but we haven't done that yet.
- A couple small chips/cracks in windshield. They've been there since we bought it, hasn't bothered us and they haven’t gotten materially worse.
- Grip on the steering wheel is a bit chewed up.
- The awning got caught in a windstorm so some of the components are bent – it still works perfectly fine and there’s no holes in the awning.
- One of the front spotlights is broken – we have never used these so we haven’t gotten it replaced
- There’s a couple small rips in the canvas cover of the rooftop tent
- It's not a Toyota or a Landy. If you have your heart set on one of those, go get it! We understand. But the Pajero will go everywhere those will go and you'll have just as much fun doing it (we haven't had any break-ins either... coincidence?)
Wow, that was a lot of writing, but this is a big decision and a major purchase. Trust us -- we already got screwed over once (twice?), we get it. We're fellow travelers and absolutely believe in karma, especially on the road. We're confident that this car will take you everywhere you want to go (and maybe some places you don't) and won't leave you stranded. It's ready for you to throw your bags in and take off on your adventure rather than spending precious time in a city trying to get everything sorted.
I've tried to include everything here but if you have any questions, want more pictures, to see receipts, or just want to chat, please don't hesitate to reach out:
+16034907179 (WhatsApp)
Coons.benjamin@gmail.com
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