Hi All,
I’m based in Colombia and looking to purchase a 4x4 so I can do a tour across South America, mostly road driving so don’t need anything extreme, but the roads can be of poor quality.
As used vehicles are quite expensive here I’ve been looking at mid 90s 4x4, what do you guys recommend? Looking for something reliable but that is also easy to work on should I need to, and aftermarket parts readily available.
Cheers for the help, I’m sure this will be the first question of many.
First of all this is a US based forum so the knowledge of what is sold there and the support chain is unknown . You need to talk local mechanics as to what they would consider a repairable vehicle. You are also asking about old vehicles so no one can even guess the reliability factor.
My guess is that you want a Toyota SUV or pickup truck.
Cheers,
Toyota does seem to fit the bill and the 4runner in particular looks quite good. I see a lot of Jeeps on the road. I would love a wrangler but a bit out of my price range and maybe not big enough but the Cherokee looks good.
If you were to buy a toyota SUV from the mid 90’s what would you get?
4 Runner or Land Cruiser depending on what you find for your budget. The Cherokee is a favorite cheap off roader of the guys who frequent the off road trails just up the highway from here.
4runner or Land Cruiser may be too large for some of the roads in Columbia.
There are many vehicles sold in South America that are not sold in the US.
I’m sure the roads wouldn’t be a problem. They might contain more potholes and go up and down more mountains but they are just normal roads.
I’m sure there’s more options in the US but it is still just the standard imports here. Toyota, Chevvy, Kia and so on. There isn’t a big market for South American car production, at least i’ve never seen one.
I second and third a Toyota… and in your neck of the woods they came with Turbo Diesel engines as well as gasoline. You aren’t going to out-do a Toyota in that habitat, no way, no how.
Can you get a Toyota Hilux there?
What is your budget?
I’ll vote Chevy. Mid 90’s tbi 350 equipped half ton rivals Toyota durability and surpasses Toyota capacity.
Why not a trailblazer or explorer from the 2000’s?
Yeah a trailblazer is on the list but i’m leaning towards the Toyota’s just because of the amount you see on the roads.
10k but you’ll be suprised how little that gets you here.
There is a reason you see so many on the roads. I dont want to open the flood gates on the well of pent up emotions and what have you that are mixed into the debate between American 4x4’s and the Toyota…so I wont.
Did I recommend the Toyota before ? Oh that’s right, I did… I’m sticking to that.
. I like the Toyota trucks too. I’d avoid the v6 automatic trucks, though. Would prefer a Chevy in that instance. 4 cylinder, standard shift Toyota is hard to beat. But, a 94 Silverado standard shift…I’d put it up against the Toyota. As long as I’m not buying the gas 
Unfortunately, most mid 90’s 4wd’s in my area has already seen its daily driver days come and go and will be a well worn hunting camp / mud truck. So condition may trump brand.
Then Columbia made significant improvements to their roads when I was there 4 years ago. There were streets in Bogota that were very very narrow. I was in a small car and another small car came the opposite direction…we had to retract our side mirrors to pass without hitting. Get outside the city and it’s worse. In the main area by the financial district or that road that circles the city which they close every Sunday…those streets are very modern.
Toyota made high quality stuff in 1990’s however that was over 25 years ago! So take reliability with grain of salt.
In US having a 1996+ was way better because of OBD-II computers that made diagnostics easier. I am unclear what happed down there with OBD-I vs OBD-II.