nead to worry

[col b]

having wanted a proper 4x4 for years i looked at every car i fancyed and got it down to a jeep,landy , or a landcruiser ,my biggest priority was reliabilaty,with towing a lot.so after going out shopping with 5k in my rs pocket a dozen times and coming back with nothing, mainly because every one kept saying you dont want a landy/jeep whatever because of running costs,reliabilaty, i thought its got to be a toyota .so i bought an immac surf , expecting it to be as hard as a wrestlers ed. since buying it i started going on these surf sites and was stunned how much trouble people are having with there motors, are they realy such a week car ,and mainly should i have spent my hard earned on somthing else.mine doz ent go very far any more , use my bike ,

[Chillitt]

can i have it then?

[Dog_Book]

No, i think its like anything else....you allways here of all the bad points don't you? I mean, i dont go on this forum every few weeks saying how goos my Surf is do i?? If we all did then i'm sure the good threads would outweigh the bad...know what i mean???

[Predictable Bob]

There's nowt wrong with the Surf - it's just that people only post when they've got a problem.

If all the people who's Surfs were OK posted about it the server would fill up in a couple of days !

[mark g8awo]

What people seem to forget they are buyin a second hand car from the other side of the world where you can not trace its history to easily. Yes it will have problems but dont other manufactorers

If you are prepared to go with flow you will have hours of enjoyment behind the wheel.

The 2.4 do suffer with a head problem but once that is replaced the problem is gone for the rest of the life of the engine barring you keep on top of the usual service items, and if you take it off road something will break eventually its the law of averages.

[Silversurfer]

No, i think its like anything else....you allways here of all the bad points don't you? I mean, i dont go on this forum every few weeks saying how goos my Surf is do i?? If we all did then i'm sure the good threads would outweigh the bad...know what i mean???

Dog Book is dead right - for me the most important and most useful aspect of this Forum is the sheer amount of expert advice and information that is available just for the asking. Buy any other car and you will have to pay around £55/£65 per hour for that amount of expertise.
Just to put your mind at ease I bought my Surf last August. Iv'e done 12,000k, towed a double horse trailer, been off-road and used it every day for work and apart from servicing the only other thing iv'e had to do was to clean the contacts on the interior light cos it was flickering.

Maybe someone should start a thread on Surf reliability.

[whitehawk]

having wanted a proper 4x4 for years i looked at every car i fancyed and got it down to a jeep,landy , or a landcruiser ,my biggest priority was reliabilaty,with towing a lot.so after going out shopping with 5k in my rs pocket a dozen times and coming back with nothing, mainly because every one kept saying you dont want a landy/jeep whatever because of running costs,reliabilaty, i thought its got to be a toyota .so i bought an immac surf , expecting it to be as hard as a wrestlers ed. since buying it i started going on these surf sites and was stunned how much trouble people are having with there motors, are they realy such a week car ,and mainly should i have spent my hard earned on somthing else.mine doz ent go very far any more , use my bike ,

Must admit, i can see where you`re coming from. I`ve had my surf for over a year now and although i`ve had no major problems i certainly don`t think they`re all they are cracked up to be. To be fair though, it depends what you want from a motor. B4 the surf i had a few LR Defenders which i found to be very practical. Not being one of those people who can afford one car for playing in and one for everyday use, i found with the Defender you could fill it with bricks or rubble on a thursday, go off road at the weekend and bounce it off trees to get round tight corners and give it every kind of abuse, yet when you wanted it for taking her indoors shopping you could blast the crud off with a karcher, hose out the inside and be back to normal. Admittedly, normal meant a noisy, leaky and draughty tin can on wheels but at least you could give it some real abuse and if anything did break or go wrong, it was easy and comparatively cheap to put right. If anything, it even looked better covered in dings and scratches. The surf is a nice truck but expensive to run and maintain for what is really a flash estate car. I won`t off road mine because the thought of denting all that pretty chrome and shiny paintwork puts me off, not to mention the cost of spares and repair when things go wrong. The surf is a lovely quiet and comfortable drive and probably perfect for people with families or business needs, but not for me. I wish now that i`d kept my last Def but will probably keep the surf as the prices for 2.4`s seem to be rock bottom now and i couldn`t really afford to get rid. Don`t think badly of me folks - i`m not knocking the surfs at all, i`m just saying maybe not the right choice for me. Please see my personal info for details of where to send hate mail.

Ashamedly, Ken.

[TonyN]

having wanted a proper 4x4 for years i looked at every car i fancyed and got it down to a jeep,landy , or a landcruiser ,my biggest priority was reliabilaty,with towing a lot.so after going out shopping with 5k in my rs pocket a dozen times and coming back with nothing, mainly because every one kept saying you dont want a landy/jeep whatever because of running costs,reliabilaty, i thought its got to be a toyota .so i bought an immac surf , expecting it to be as hard as a wrestlers ed. since buying it i started going on these surf sites and was stunned how much trouble people are having with there motors, are they realy such a week car ,and mainly should i have spent my hard earned on somthing else.mine doz ent go very far any more , use my bike ,

You bought a 12 year old car, its not gonna last forever.

There are 2000+ members on here, its the beauty of the place, someone has had every problem your likely to have, and the answer is here.

Get a sence of perspective!

[Linda]

Ditto what others have said. We dont post on here all the time about what a wonderful day we've had driving our surfs around, We post when something is wrong and we want help. Given the number of members, the number of people with problems at any one time is small.

I've had mine 2 years, and contrary to Whitehawk's post, It gets abused off road, drives around the fields at home towing all sorts of stuff, carries the dogs in the back, tows trailers to transport other trucks, and is still used to go to work, take the parents out, etc etc. I've had other 4x4's before and love the fact that this has the comforts of a much more expensive car with the offroad ability too.

Its comfy, tough and very reliable. Perfect car for someone who wants a bit of both worlds.

[TonyN]

Must admit, i can see where you`re coming from. I`ve had my surf for over a year now and although i`ve had no major problems i certainly don`t think they`re all they are cracked up to be. To be fair though, it depends what you want from a motor. B4 the surf i had a few LR Defenders which i found to be very practical. Not being one of those people who can afford one car for playing in and one for everyday use, i found with the Defender you could fill it with bricks or rubble on a thursday, go off road at the weekend and bounce it off trees to get round tight corners and give it every kind of abuse, yet when you wanted it for taking her indoors shopping you could blast the crud off with a karcher, hose out the inside and be back to normal. Admittedly, normal meant a noisy, leaky and draughty tin can on wheels but at least you could give it some real abuse and if anything did break or go wrong, it was easy and comparatively cheap to put right. If anything, it even looked better covered in dings and scratches. The surf is a nice truck but expensive to run and maintain for what is really a flash estate car. I won`t off road mine because the thought of denting all that pretty chrome and shiny paintwork puts me off, not to mention the cost of spares and repair when things go wrong. The surf is a lovely quiet and comfortable drive and probably perfect for people with families or business needs, but not for me. I wish now that i`d kept my last Def but will probably keep the surf as the prices for 2.4`s seem to be rock bottom now and i couldn`t really afford to get rid. Don`t think badly of me folks - i`m not knocking the surfs at all, i`m just saying maybe not the right choice for me. Please see my personal info for details of where to send hate mail.

Ashamedly, Ken.

If you filled the Defender with bricks, why not fill the Surf, it has more room than a Defender, I doubt a Defender or a similar year and condition costs much less than a Surf. (cept you won't find one!! )

You say you won't offroad it, but thats why they are expensive compared to a estate car, a estate car won't carry 300+kg of bricks around an offroad course like a defender or Surf.

Your almost wasting your money not using it properly, you wouldn't by a sit-on lawn mower to cut 6x6' of lawn, so why buy a 4x4 if not to offroad it or tow things around?

Like I said in the other post, the Surf biggest downfall is that they are so good, people think they are getting a 2 year old motor with the latest technology. They arn't, they are over ten years, with well over ten year old technology and based on a Pickup truck. Which is why I love em'

[laser_jock99]

having wanted a proper 4x4 for years i looked at every car i fancyed and got it down to a jeep,landy , or a landcruiser ,my biggest priority was reliabilaty,with towing a lot.so after going out shopping with 5k in my rs pocket a dozen times and coming back with nothing, mainly because every one kept saying you dont want a landy/jeep whatever because of running costs,reliabilaty, i thought its got to be a toyota .so i bought an immac surf , expecting it to be as hard as a wrestlers ed. since buying it i started going on these surf sites and was stunned how much trouble people are having with there motors, are they realy such a week car ,and mainly should i have spent my hard earned on somthing else.mine doz ent go very far any more , use my bike ,

My Surf didn't break down today.

Nevillef

[laser_jock99]

My Surf didn't break down today.

Nevillef

.....or the day before.

Nevillef

[laser_jock99]

.....or the day before.

Nevillef

....or the day before that.

Nevillef

[laser_jock99]

....or the day before that.

Nevillef

To quote the Honda ad- isn't it great when things just work?

But people only post on here when things go wrong- that's why it might LOOK bad.

Nevillef

[mud-ge]

well mine aint broke,it is the nuts,there is nothing i would not feel happy doing or pulling with it,so i am starting the I's to the right and the few that dont agree should vote no's to the left, also if you regularly fill it with bricks, drive it off road and make a habit of bumping in to trees a dumper or JCB may be a better choice ,no road tax and red diesel are plus points