Gen 3 and a newbie

[Patch666]

I am hoping to buy my first Surf in the next week, it is a Gen 3 and I was wondering if there is anything particular I should be looking out for...any common problems etc. What sort of mpg should I expect from it, it is a 3 ltr diesel and have been told that it can run well on a mixture of Diesel and veg oil.

Any advice anyone can offer would be great as this will be my first 4x4

Cheers

Phil.

[KERRSURF]

use the search function mate, it will provide lots of the answers, oh and welcome to the forum.

[Predictable Bob]

I am hoping to buy my first Surf in the next week, it is a Gen 3 and I was wondering if there is anything particular I should be looking out for...
Cheers

Phil.

Yes there is - make sure it's got an intercooler !

(And avoid the common colours)

[nero279]

Welcome to the forum,

it will run on veg/diesel mixes without modification, it's a case of experimentation really, but people seem to run 50 - 80 % veg during the summer months and reduce it a fair bit during the winter. It can cause cold start issues and poor running from cold if you're running too strong a mix for the weather. There's a thread somewhere entitled "thinking of running on veg oil?" it's been running for some time now, so just be aware that much of the information in it (namely legal/tax implications, and general prices) is well out of date. The biggest change is for tax, as from 1st July last year you can run upto 2500l of veg a year without registering as a fuel producer and paying fuel tax on it. However the reciepts etc and records of how much you'e using and so on should be treated like any other tax records and that means keeping them for six years, to my knowledge no-ones been done for it yet but if they do it will be for tax evasion / fraud so could hit you with some nasty fines.

I don't really know of any significant problem areas for the 3rd gens, so treat it like you would buying any other car, make sure the 4wd works, and all the electrics, have a good look for any signs of corrosion / repaired accident damage, check the engine area gearbox diffs etc for leaks. Colour and smell of the tranny fluid and so on.

Oh... and enjoy it.


Happy Surfing