Any thoughts on Sean from SilverPeakTrading?
- Thread starter LCdreamin
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regarding the prado bashers out there
i owned a prado for 5 years and put on 170k on top of the 74k it had when it arived from japan, that totals 244k.
i did lots of offroading and some tough trails in utah and california. never, ever once did it:
1) overheat
2)breakdown
3)or blow a head gasket.
when i speak to my buddies in south africa and australia and comment on the head gasket thing, they always know what im talking about but none of them have ever experienced it or know anyone who has. and they drive the crap out of them!
i guess even toyotas 22r and 22re had head gasket "problems" and my personal one ran over 385 hard km's and so much so that toyota continued making that engine for many years!
all im saying is that certain --dealers-- out there are pissed because they havehad to warranty customers recently bought prados gaskets and its money out of their pockets!
bottom line is change the coolant and dont drive it like a sports car!!
i owned a prado for 5 years and put on 170k on top of the 74k it had when it arived from japan, that totals 244k.
i did lots of offroading and some tough trails in utah and california. never, ever once did it:
1) overheat
2)breakdown
3)or blow a head gasket.
when i speak to my buddies in south africa and australia and comment on the head gasket thing, they always know what im talking about but none of them have ever experienced it or know anyone who has. and they drive the crap out of them!
i guess even toyotas 22r and 22re had head gasket "problems" and my personal one ran over 385 hard km's and so much so that toyota continued making that engine for many years!
all im saying is that certain --dealers-- out there are pissed because they havehad to warranty customers recently bought prados gaskets and its money out of their pockets!
bottom line is change the coolant and dont drive it like a sports car!!
hey there lcdreamin
ive been reading your notes with SPT back and forth. by the way, nobody that sells these cruisers makes 1000 bucks a shot, come on, there arent enough days in the year to sell 200 or even 100a year, thats completely unrealistic. some dealers that you seem to trust actually make the most out of everyone on their sold vehicles, no s*** up to 10 grand profit per vehicle!!!!!! i have been to japan 12 times in the last 5 years and i know what people pay and who sells what condition for what price.
im not choosing sides here and i dont really care, i just love cruisers and have owned many different toyota trucks but, at the end of the day, no one really has true no- bull**** warranties!
otherwise, i like your rig, they are pretty rare here and i know they are pretty tough trucks too. enjoy the summer wheeling in the mountains!
peace
ive been reading your notes with SPT back and forth. by the way, nobody that sells these cruisers makes 1000 bucks a shot, come on, there arent enough days in the year to sell 200 or even 100a year, thats completely unrealistic. some dealers that you seem to trust actually make the most out of everyone on their sold vehicles, no s*** up to 10 grand profit per vehicle!!!!!! i have been to japan 12 times in the last 5 years and i know what people pay and who sells what condition for what price.
im not choosing sides here and i dont really care, i just love cruisers and have owned many different toyota trucks but, at the end of the day, no one really has true no- bull**** warranties!
otherwise, i like your rig, they are pretty rare here and i know they are pretty tough trucks too. enjoy the summer wheeling in the mountains!
peace
crushers
post ho
if the 2LTE are so good here is a deal for you:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?p=2272394#post2272394
i find your post quite humorous:
it ISN'T a "head gasket thing", it is a "HEAD thing". HUGE difference.
"10 frand per unit profit" do you have paperwork to back that up? a ctual exact cost spreadsheet to post up?
"been to Japan 12 times in 5 years" makes you an expert i guess.
if there are no head issues as you speak of, "when i speak to my buddies in south africa and australia and comment on the head gasket thing, they always know what im talking about but none of them have ever experienced it or know anyone who has. and they drive the crap out of them! " then why would ANYONE have to warranty a head?? oh yah, CAUSE THERE IS A PROBLEM.
of course the ones that warranty the heads "put of their own pocket" could have just said, check with Mr Snrub, according to him the problem doesn't exist so there is no warranty.
of course paying a few grand out of your pocket into someone elses truck will cause some ill feelings towards a product.
it comes down to this, if you like the engine, bully for you. don't go around pretending the head issue doesn't exist. there is WAY too many PROVEN cases where it IS an issue.
https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?p=2272394#post2272394
i find your post quite humorous:
it ISN'T a "head gasket thing", it is a "HEAD thing". HUGE difference.
"10 frand per unit profit" do you have paperwork to back that up? a ctual exact cost spreadsheet to post up?
"been to Japan 12 times in 5 years" makes you an expert i guess.
if there are no head issues as you speak of, "when i speak to my buddies in south africa and australia and comment on the head gasket thing, they always know what im talking about but none of them have ever experienced it or know anyone who has. and they drive the crap out of them! " then why would ANYONE have to warranty a head?? oh yah, CAUSE THERE IS A PROBLEM.
of course the ones that warranty the heads "put of their own pocket" could have just said, check with Mr Snrub, according to him the problem doesn't exist so there is no warranty.
of course paying a few grand out of your pocket into someone elses truck will cause some ill feelings towards a product.
it comes down to this, if you like the engine, bully for you. don't go around pretending the head issue doesn't exist. there is WAY too many PROVEN cases where it IS an issue.
Agreed, the head is a problem - there's one sitting at Ateb right now and they have repaired a bunch of them, and that is from the relatively few that have come over in the past few years.
Also, it is very entertaining this "backyard mechanic" comment that keeps coming up. Anyone who says that about Wayne doesn't have the remotest clue what Wayne does or his experience level, which is going to be way beyond most "Toyota Techs." I also don't get this "3 years experience" comment. Hasn't Wayne been wrenching on cruisers for over 20 years, and a lot of that experience is tech / fab work, not just simply repair. This kind of work requires a level of understanding far beyond that which the vast majority of mechanics possess.
As for the BEB, it's a KNOWN issue. There is no room for debate on this. That's why the Aussies have been routinely replacing them for years.
Anyhow this thread has been highly entertaining.
I know Wayne needs no help defending himself, but sometimes you just have to jump in....
Also, it is very entertaining this "backyard mechanic" comment that keeps coming up. Anyone who says that about Wayne doesn't have the remotest clue what Wayne does or his experience level, which is going to be way beyond most "Toyota Techs." I also don't get this "3 years experience" comment. Hasn't Wayne been wrenching on cruisers for over 20 years, and a lot of that experience is tech / fab work, not just simply repair. This kind of work requires a level of understanding far beyond that which the vast majority of mechanics possess.
As for the BEB, it's a KNOWN issue. There is no room for debate on this. That's why the Aussies have been routinely replacing them for years.
Anyhow this thread has been highly entertaining.
I know Wayne needs no help defending himself, but sometimes you just have to jump in....
"Also, it is very entertaining this "backyard mechanic" comment that keeps coming up. Anyone who says that about Wayne doesn't have the remotest clue what Wayne does or his experience level, which is going to be way beyond most "Toyota Techs." I also don't get this "3 years experience" comment. Hasn't Wayne been wrenching on cruisers for over 20 years, and a lot of that experience is tech / fab work, not just simply repair. This kind of work requires a level of understanding far beyond that which the vast majority of mechanics possess."
Well Wayne has a bakyard and does work in it, or at least the garage. At lest he is smart enough to have a Toyota tech (Mike)reapir any suspect trucks that come in.
No problems with BEB or Heads in Japan. Of cousre not they just sell them at acution, once they are out of country - see no problems in Japan.
This thead is like ford and chev, bottom line buy what you want and expect some repaires - they are used trucks, and no dealer or exporter is perfect, they all need to make a buck. (Raman & Pepis are expensive)
Well Wayne has a bakyard and does work in it, or at least the garage. At lest he is smart enough to have a Toyota tech (Mike)reapir any suspect trucks that come in.
No problems with BEB or Heads in Japan. Of cousre not they just sell them at acution, once they are out of country - see no problems in Japan.
This thead is like ford and chev, bottom line buy what you want and expect some repaires - they are used trucks, and no dealer or exporter is perfect, they all need to make a buck. (Raman & Pepis are expensive)
Good muddy entertainment this thread... I only wanted to comment on what importers may or may not make . I can only comment on my own experience with Outback though I have met many other clients of theirs on the roads or trails or through ih8mud. I paid a good buck. I have a very good idea of what was likely paid for my truck in Japan as I can still make out the scraped off figure in yen when I drive on rainy nights
... but when I take the ol' calculator out and do the math - if they made any money at all on my truck then good on em' cause it wasn't much.[re-post] I know, but for anyone who doesn't know... my winch was stolen in shipment - who paid? not me. my trucks paints was faded and was subsequently re-painted here - who paid? not me. my truck was long delayed at the docks cause' the fricken container was literally frozen to the ground - who paid? not me... and as for the certified jdm tech's they used to basically re&re the enitre truck (brand new old man emu's, gaskets, bearings, belts, top quality fluids, turbo inspection and on and on and on) who paid? I did, and that's exactly why I had agreed to pay what I did for my truck.
Now I have put about 50,000 trouble free km's on the rig and would have no reservations to drive it anywhere. If I ever did decide to sell it (over my dead body) I'm pretty sure mine will hold it's value with the best of em... to those who appreciate a well maintained cruiser.
So what the hell was my point? Oh yeah.. win some lose some. I'm pretty sure most trucks see a bit more profit on this end, but that's what allows an importer to stay in business and be there if you need them.
btw. When I left with my truck, I was told "as you know we can't offer a written warranty - but - if you have ANY problems we want to be the first to know about it and we WILL look after you." And they have.
Fair enough, except comparing a Toyota to a Ford or Chev is not really applicable. Completely different leagues in almost every respect. Now if you were talking Nissan vs. Toyota that might be a bit more fair. But if you look to the Aussies, where if your vehicle dies, you may well die well, about 90% of the vehicles in the outback are Toyota Landcruisers. That should tell you something.
Hmmm, Martin " These are the main features that continue to keep the Nissan Patrol and Toyota Landcruiser the most widely used vehicles in the Australian outback. " http://www.exploroz.com/Vehicle/Choices/Buyinga4WD.aspx
crushers
post ho
yes it is entertaining to re-read.
i have wrenched on cruisers for 27 years now... that is fabricating, R & R parts, rebuilding engines, t/cases etc. swapping gears to make a lower low range...basicly anything that needs to be done to a cruiser i will do it (except elec...i HATE elec)
i use Mike is when there is a R&R job i do not want to do or one where a warranty is good (i.e. BEB).
I have been importing for 5 years now... when i started there were 3 importers on the go, myself, Mustang and Lost Guide... a year later there was Rising Sun and OutBack and a slew of importers poping up...
it doesn't bother me in the least that someone calls me a backyard mech, i actually look at it as a compliment. i have enjoyed meeting Cruiserheads from all over the country. i have enjoyed the many many projects that i have created with my "3 AM wet dreams". i have watched as others have followed suit, wrenching with their own hands instead of paying someone else to do it.
People that choose to run down my work either importing or wrenching or fabricating have not seen it in action. the biggest difference between me and most is i really LOVE what i do...
how many businesses have you seen on Mud that actually participate, share their knowledge, suggest solutions to problems? how many importers have contributed to this forum other than sticking their shingle at the top? you really have to love waht you do to take the time to share what you learn...
finally, how many importers point out the flaws in their own units to the public? i can only think of a half dozen out of the 50+ importers and curbers. how many actually stand behind what they sell? once again i can only think of a VERY few... this sets us apart from importers that bring in / send over units with no waranty.
i am looking forward to my move to Ontario where i can build a better shop and build even more "wet dreams" and meet more cruiserheads from my home province...
cheers M8s
crushers
post ho
Hmmm, Martin " These are the main features that continue to keep the Nissan Patrol and Toyota Landcruiser the most widely used vehicles in the Australian outback. " http://www.exploroz.com/Vehicle/Choices/Buyinga4WD.aspx
yes, i beleive the Nissan Patrol took truck of the year for the first time last year in Oz... that is no small feat since Land Cruisers have ruled Oz since the dinosaurs walked the earth...
