Originally Posted by TT-Kira (Post 225133)

Yes!!!

A minibus has also been in my thoughts ... seen a few Merc's on the market at reasonable prices and again I have buyers in CI taking them off me as a Ghanaian type 'Benz bus'.

Gil, don't know if you've been to CI, but all over they have Mazda minibuses, never seen them in Europe (never looked) very square looking things very sturdy but with leaf springs (know that as one I was in managed to stuff its springs a few k's from the destination). Do you know what I mean - they're 22 seaters in CI. Don't think I've seen them in Ghana as tro-tro's ...

Still not sure when I'd be going down, ideally April, depends on a few signatures first for work.

Would a Nissan etc be sturdy enough to do it? Mechanics easy enough for Africa, I don't want 'electrics' to cause problems ... as ideally this would be my 'first' vehicle down there. The contract will mean my return to Europe and another purchase with more money the second time around so 'the vehicle' has to 'do' me for a few months & be re-saleable!

There would be 3 of us taking it down at this stage, but only me able to drive (the third is my 13yr old goddaughter currently in Australia who's begging to go back through Africa with me!!!). Having a minibus or LWB 'something' would help as I'd offer a seat or two to other travellers to cut down on costs ...

Kira

Originally Posted by JulianVoelcker (Post 219784)

The thing that makes me laugh is that every overlanding style trip report I read in the LR mags seems to feature at least one trip report.

Also, pretty well every LC owner I know who regularly does trips to N. Africa and beyond, started using LRs, but upgraded to an LC due to LR reliability problems and have never looked back. And despite comments on this board, they have

And yes, LCs can break down, but that is more often down to poor initial servicing or abuse, as opposed to due to inherent weaknesses.

As for finding a vehicle, get in touch with B A I L L I E ' S O F F R O A D & S A F A R I S - Chris C and others have highly recommended them - they may be able to put you in touch with someone selling an LC.

Originally Posted by phtest (Post 219675)

which landrover to avoid?
All of them, run past them quick, Landrover are to the 4x4 world what Harley are to the bike world.
Stick with your Toyota mate, worth the extra money !