Living in Vancouver BC now and need an SUV for a mountain/camping mule for the next ~2 years, no commute, probably doing no more than 8k-10k miles a year, but a lot of that will be in long drives.
Budget around the $10-12k CAD mark so I was looking at various 6-8 year old Japanese SUVs when I came across early E70s around the same price. Example on autotrader.ca
So my question, is that a terrible idea?
My pros and cons, of which some are theoretical as I haven't driven an E70, or seen the condition of them at this price point yet.
Pros
1 - Much nicer drive than equivalent NA/JP/KR SUV at this price point
2 - Petrol is cheap here so don't care about consumption (not that it's terrible in the first place)
3 - VED is trivial here
4 - Vehicle doesn't have much bearing on insurance costs here
Cons
1 - Tyres much more expensive
2 - Services more expensive
3 - Higher risk of large bill?
So with many of the extra expenses it would incur were I buying this in UK not being an issue here (Tax, Petrol, Insurance), that leaves the higher price of tyres and servicing which I'm happy to soak the cost of to enjoy a more premium vehicle. Leaving my only concern being if something goes pop that costs $$$$ which is less likely on something from NA/JP/JR.
So, thoughts? What could go pop that I should check before buying? Is the risk of something big going pop such that I should just avoid this idea? Any SUVs you think I should be considering?
Budget around the $10-12k CAD mark so I was looking at various 6-8 year old Japanese SUVs when I came across early E70s around the same price. Example on autotrader.ca
So my question, is that a terrible idea?
My pros and cons, of which some are theoretical as I haven't driven an E70, or seen the condition of them at this price point yet.
Pros
1 - Much nicer drive than equivalent NA/JP/KR SUV at this price point
2 - Petrol is cheap here so don't care about consumption (not that it's terrible in the first place)
3 - VED is trivial here
4 - Vehicle doesn't have much bearing on insurance costs here
Cons
1 - Tyres much more expensive
2 - Services more expensive
3 - Higher risk of large bill?
So with many of the extra expenses it would incur were I buying this in UK not being an issue here (Tax, Petrol, Insurance), that leaves the higher price of tyres and servicing which I'm happy to soak the cost of to enjoy a more premium vehicle. Leaving my only concern being if something goes pop that costs $$$$ which is less likely on something from NA/JP/JR.
So, thoughts? What could go pop that I should check before buying? Is the risk of something big going pop such that I should just avoid this idea? Any SUVs you think I should be considering?