Sonic
UltraDork
4/8/19 11:41 a.m.
My in laws have tasked me with finding them a “beach buggy”. They love to go to the beach and have now found a way to get a permit to drive on one of their favorite beach areas and get away from the NJ shore crowds. Neither of their current cars are 4wd, so they need something else. This will really only be used for this purpose, maybe when it snows a lot.
Budget is roughly $5k. Need to be able to carry 4 people and maybe a small dog, along with cooler and chairs and stuff, for a 2 hour ride to the beach, air down and drive on the sand, then leave the beach and air up and go home. Knowing them, they also want this to be fairly comfortable for the 2 hour ride, so no old scouts or anything like that. It also can’t be as big as my Suburban 2500 as MIL isn’t comfortable driving something that big. It has been decreed no pickup trucks.
I am going to have to maintain (or at least oversee maintenance) on this, so reliability is important to me. Whatever we get will get some oversize tires and onboard air and basic recovery stuff, and typical maintenance stuff
I’m thinking real BOF with high/low transfer case and room for decent size tires. My my first thoughts go to a 3rd gen 4Runner V6, 05-07 Sequoia, 05-ish Pathfinder. Land cruisers are too expensive. TJ wranglers are too small and rough. Sequoia is better than comparable Tahoe/Expedition/Durango.
Anything I’m missing or anything I particularly need to know about the ones in question?
3rd gen 4runner sounds like the perfect vehicle for this task.
Yup. 4runner. I also have a soft spot for Xterras and always thought them underrated vehicles. 5k would buy you the very nicest one around.
Grand Vitara - BOF, small, reliable. Also the older Sidekick Sport in my opinion is decent. Just don't get a $400 one like me. ;-)
3rd gen Montero! (non-sport) John Welsh had good luck with his.
The Lexus Land Cruiser (LX470) seems to be cheaper than the Toyota, sometimes you get good deals on them. Here's one needing a transmission leak repaired for $4000: https://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/d/columbus-lexus-lx-470/6848180573.html The drivetrain stuff is really bulletproof on these.
Edit - here's an LX470 a little closer to you that "need TLC" for $5k: https://cnj.craigslist.org/cto/d/elizabeth-2000-lexus-lx470/6861049999.html
In reply to dculberson :
I agree about the Suzuki’s. Low cost, high value.
100 series (1998-2007) landcruisers can be had in that price range. So can Lexus GX470's, which is a tarted up v8 4th gen 4runner with leather and 3 row seating.
Clearly the only correct answer for a beach car is this:
The $5k part could be a problem though. As could the 2 hour drive to the beach, the 4 people plus a dog and coolers, the reliability, yada, yada, yada...
mblommel said:
100 series (1998-2007) landcruisers can be had in that price range. So can Lexus GX470's, which is a tarted up v8 4th gen 4runner with leather and 3 row seating.
the only GX470's you're going to find under 5 grand are 300k on the clock. same with the 05-07 Sequoia's, those years are desireable, and expensive.
I have enjoyed my '01 Mitsubishi Montero Limited. I was very lucky to get a well maintained example and got it at a great price. The Gen3 Montero that I have is actually not BOF but rather unibody. As such, its highway manners are exceptional but for the montero that does not mean that it has lost any of its capabilities. I am happy to say that my 213k mile Montero look exactly like a much newer and much more expensive Lexus GX
Picture from Austrailia where both are still sold new:
Earlier today I saw a Suzuki XL7 on the road. This forgotten model is also worth mentioning. It is a stretch Chevy Tracker. Its not a ton of additional length but it seems to be a good amount of extra length. It has a 3rd row but I am sure that 3rd row is pretty cramped.
A Chevy Tracker 2 dr will give them convertible capability but will sacrifice all the comforts and luxuries. This is how you "Jeep" at less than Jeep prices.
Salvage title Murano crosscabriolet is the answer here. Or possibly an Element, but most likely the crosscabriolet
Given how much they want to carry, going with a small SUV may not be the best idea.
It hasn't been said, and there was no mention of towing so:
How about a Grand Cherokee? It's got a bit more features than a regular Cherokee, and they can be fairly reliable.
lnlogauge said:
mblommel said:
100 series (1998-2007) landcruisers can be had in that price range. So can Lexus GX470's, which is a tarted up v8 4th gen 4runner with leather and 3 row seating.
the only GX470's you're going to find under 5 grand are 300k on the clock. same with the 05-07 Sequoia's, those years are desireable, and expensive.
Maybe where you are... They aren't uncommon here, although they have more like 200k miles rather than 300k.
Anything with a 2UZ that is '05 or later is more money because they got VVTi, but the older ones aren't terrible.
If you really want to go cheap Z71 Tahoe's from 00-04 in decent shape can be had for $3500 around here.
You may also want to consider 2nd gen. Xterras too. Recently saw 3 here posted in the $3500 to $4000 range with 4wd and 120 - 150 thousand miles.
I second the grand Cherokee suggestion. Should be able to find a mint, rust free southern one for a bit less than the budget.
Tough one, not a ton that fits all those criteria. Add in the fact that you will be deeply involved in the upkeep when you've already got your hands full in automotive adventures, that leads me to the nicest 4Runner you can find. To me, that's the easy button answer.
As a wild card, I'd have to consider the Explorer. In that price range they are BOF. I'm sure you've seen it too, but at work I routinely see them with 200k+ miles, they're pretty durable. They are everywhere, parts are dirt cheap. Plenty of aftermarket. Big enough for 4 and gear but not too big. Down here there are tons of them with big tires, recovery stuff, etc... though they're more mud than beach.
Jeep Cherokee or Grand Cherokee are some fantastic beach vehicles. Good ride height, proper 4x4, high profile or high float tires, easy to drive. Actually, some of the best beach cars of all time were the old Grand Wagoneers but that's a different story.
Growing up we had a Toyota PU on 31x10.50s and no other modifications. I've driven a lot of stuff on the beach, lots of VWs and Trackers/Samurais in that list, but almost nothing compared to the PU for it's float in super soft sand, especially coquina sand. The only thing that's better was a Kaiser M715 with 36" bias plys but that's not in the scope of this question.
I think the sand in NJ is a bit less fluffy/sugary than the NC beaches, too.
As others have said, a 2nd Gen Xterra isn't a bad idea if you can find one in that price range, either. They're pretty good overlanders with proper 4x4 if you don't burden them with steel bumpers and crap.
mblommel said:
Maybe where you are... They aren't uncommon here, although they have more like 200k miles rather than 300k.
I'm looking in Florida the next time I want a 4Runner. Being close to the beach, Uwharrie and the mountains has prices pretty high and flat in these parts.
Wally
MegaDork
4/9/19 7:18 a.m.
Depending on the sand a crossover may work too. We saw several of them out on the beach on Long Island without a problem.
Depending on the sand Subarus can be really bad. The foresters have great ground clearance but AWD doesn't like sand sometimes. I've seen plenty stuck and read of roasted transmissions.
You want a rally-spec center coupling and a lift if you want to take a Subaru out into fluffy sand.
A little over budget but I'm sure there is some negotiating room. Up until a few days ago there were two more with similar mileage posted for $4500 and $4300. You have to be a little careful down here though, when people move down here they bring their crusty, rusty crap wagons from the the great white north with them.
