[extreme_torque]

I dont know of any other car from any other brand that can do this mileage with this kind of punishment in India and still work fine at the end. No wonder then because it is based on Hilux regarded as the most reliable pick up truck on the planet. Its the same here in Australia. Toyota’s are reliable and hold their value extremely well. Its not uncommon to see a used Hilux with more than 150k on the clock going for 60-70 percent of the brand new price! The LC200’s and Prado’s are a legend in the punishing outback. There is no other car apart from Nissan Patrol that you will find in the outback. The police and the ambulances are all LC70’s. Excellent thread and as GTO said wishing many more miles of reliable off-roady performance.

[Ranga]

Frankly speaking i have become a big fan of Fortuner after reading your thread.

There has been a lot of comparison of the new Toyota with Ford Endy in the forum . What inspires trust is the after sales and support at such affordable prices . Toyoto might be expensive when compared to others. But it does have a better spares prices when compared to competition.

One of my colleagues recently bought a 2011 Fortuner with a 80K on ODO. ( Not a bad decision at all )after reading the above thread

[Ace F355]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

wishing many more miles of reliable off-roady performance.

Thanks extreme_torque for your wishes. The formula is actually very simple at Toyota's end.

Simple Construction with good quality components = Supreme Reliability.

Originally Posted by Ranga

There has been a lot of comparison of the new Toyota with Ford Endy in the forum.

I will add my 2 cents on this. New Ford Endeavour is an excellent product. In my opinion, there is virtually no comparison between the new Ford and current gen Fortuner. Globally, Everest compares to Prado! We are lucky in India to have the similar product (that too fully loaded) at lower prices than current gen Fortuner.

However, we have had new Endeavour with us for a couple of off-road jaunts during our weekdays. I honestly feel it is too heavy of the lot and it's capabilities are guarded by a full battalion of electronic nannies. For someone who loves the simplicity of current gen Fortuner, I think new Endeavour isn't a brilliant choice afterall. In the long run, electronics may start giving headache to the owner (we don't know it yet, I am simply speculating) and Ford's sub-par after sales and service doesn't help the cause either.

Don't get me wrong. New Endeavour will be my first choice if I consider an upgrade. However, I will not be as comfortable with it as with my current Fortuner because of the electronics and apprehensions regarding Ford's service department. But for occasional off-roading and mixed family use, nothing beats the new Ford, period!

My ideal choice with Ford would have been 2.2L 4x4 Trend variant with Manual Transmission. Full off-road armory of big brother 3.2 and much simpler truck! Sadly, very few were sold and Ford pulled the plug of this variant too early in the day!

Originally Posted by Ranga

What inspires trust is the after sales and support at such affordable prices.

Agree, Toyota's after sales and support is one of the best in the country and probably most consistent across the regions too! Definitely a BIG plus.

Originally Posted by Ranga

One of my colleagues recently bought a 2011 Fortuner with a 80K on ODO. ( Not a bad decision at all )after reading the above thread

Congrats to him... wish him a lot of happy miles on his steed.


Meanwhile, another update. My truck's fuel tank was hit by some rock sometime back during off-roading and resulted in slight breakage of the fiber under-tank protection. I wasn't too comfortable with this situation and Toyota won't sell me just the under-tank protection! For them, this warranted for a fuel tank replacement. No way I said.

Solution: Got a custom protection plate made out of steel and put it below the tank. Whole work was done at Classic Service Point, Noida. I love these guys for their attention to detail for the work they do.

Will let the pictures do the talking now.

Notice the broken sheet on under-tank protection... Fortuner's fuel tank is also made of fiber.


2.5 mm steel sheet cut to perfection to over the broken piece... here they are rubbing it with chalk powder after anti-rust coating/drying.


Full piece being riveted on the main fiber protection plate.


Here is how it looks, all riveted and feels solid.


Finally, installed back under the tank with added protection.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by Ace F355

The formula is actually very simple at Toyota's end.

"Simple Construction with good quality components = Supreme Reliability."

One word - Absolutely.

That's what Toyota's vehicles are most known for. And I also say that from my own experience.

This thread is an inspiration. It makes me wanna buy a Toyota SUV. No other Fortuner or sundry SUV thread has done that.

[dhruvritzed]

Hi, great to see you using the truck to full potential.Would love to know the locations that you go to over your overlanding activities in and around NCR.
If you can post the locations here, would be great for fellow BHPians and enthusiasts.

[Ace F355]

Originally Posted by dhruvritzed

Hi, great to see you using the truck to full potential.Would love to know the locations that you go to over your overlanding activities in and around NCR.
If you can post the locations here, would be great for fellow BHPians and enthusiasts.

Thanks dhruvritzed.

Multiple places in Himachal, J&K, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan... plan was to cover NE India and Bhutan as well this autumn, didn't work out though due to Gorkhaland issue. May be next year.

[Ace F355]

Some more of the pics from various places... Most of these have been posted in our Ladakh travelouge, however my intention is to keep the good ones on my ownership thread as well. Enjoy.

On the banks of Suru River!


Near Parakchik Glacier.


Off-roading somewhere near Durbuk.


A stunning shot by Anshuman!


At Pangong Tso!




Another Day! Another Stunning pic at Pangong Tso.


At Tso Moriri.


At Tanglang La.


Enroute to Sach Pass.


Near Sach Pass vantage point.


Enroute to Shingo La Pass... We were one of the first ones to explore this area in an SUV. This track was only open for 4x4 vehicles back then!


Another Shot from same stretch.


Kyagar Tso! Anshuman taking a few shots of the lake.


Relaxing and making lunch on our way to Padum.


Another shot of quick Lunch Break on Pangong Tso! What beauty! What Perspective!


Somewhere in South East Ladakh... Notice the amazing red soil tracks.


A stunning shot featuring Milky Way Galaxy and Atlantis.


Somewhere around Pensi La.


A wide Panorama at amazing Drang Drung Glacier (2nd longest in India after Siachen!)... to which we trakked and did some off-roading too.

[RAHS]

Originally Posted by Ranga

One of my colleagues recently bought a 2011 Fortuner with a 80K on ODO. ( Not a bad decision at all )after reading the above thread

I currently own a Duster & plan to upgrade to pre-owned Fortuner by next year. How much did your colleague pay for 2011 Fortuner? Is it through a dealer or individual? Is it a 1st gen Fortuner? I believe the 2nd gen Fortuner was launched in 2012. Could you please share some details here? Thanks in advance

@ Ace F355, Thanks for sharing your experience. I like the way you have used this truck so far. Best utilization of a TRUE SUV! Mods done are simply superb & Photos are stunning. Wish you a many more happy miles with the mighty Fortuner

[Born 2 Be Wild]

Hi Ace wonderfully written thread, i was in the market myself for a 4X4 was almost booking the thar , but got an attrociously sweet deal on a used fortuner 2011 which had done just 40 k kms and running on the original set of tyres

I also want to install a suspension lift kit and after reading about you experience with ironman , i would really appreciate it if you could please share the details regarding your old man emu install costs involved and where you got it done. I am also in Ncr so hope to join you guys for an offroad meet someday.

Cheers.!

[Ace F355]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Be Wild

Hi Ace wonderfully written thread

Thanks B2BW!

Originally Posted by Born 2 Be Wild

i was in the market myself for a 4X4 was almost booking the thar , but got an attrociously sweet deal on a used fortuner 2011 which had done just 40 k kms and running on the original set of tyres

Holy cow! That's one heck of a deal you must have gotten for yourself! Heartily congratulations. Care sharing the price for your car? We have been looking into the market for low run Fortuners for almost a couple of months, alas no success!

Gave up eventually and looked for other options!

Originally Posted by Born 2 Be Wild

I also want to install a suspension lift kit and after reading about you experience with ironman , i would really appreciate it if you could please share the details regarding your old man emu install costs involved and where you got it done.

ARB Suspension kit for Fortuner is approx. 85k. I got it from our local ARB dealer, Air90. They are official ARB dealers. And being local in NCR makes it much easier to deal with any warranty related issues. Check their website for more details. You can use my reference if you wish!

LINK

Originally Posted by Born 2 Be Wild

I am also in Ncr so hope to join you guys for an offroad meet someday. :

You are very welcome to come over some day. Let us know whenever you plan to join, we will keep you posted about our upcoming plans for weekends.

[Born 2 Be Wild]

Originally Posted by Ace F355

Thanks B2BW!


holy cow! That's one heck of a deal you must have gotten for yourself! Heartily congratulations. Care sharing the price for your car? We have been looking into the market for low run Fortuners for almost a couple of months, alas no success!

Gave up eventually and looked for other options!



.

ya even i was in a state of frenzied shock when this deal came my way
happened last year November right after demonetization was announced, will tell you when i come for an off road event, to cut a long story short the gentleman was upgrading to an X5 this was a company owned car, i know dealers and one of them picks up exchanged cars at BMW through the sales guy. dealers made decent offers for a 2011 fortuner as it had jus 42 k odd on the odo everyone backed off after 8th nov the co. wanted RTGS/DD they pay cash

Their X5 deal was getting stuck so i jumped in bumped off a few digits from the quoted amount, did the RTGS next day, every one went home happy.i picked it up for 10.25 dealer had quoted 13

[Ace F355]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Be Wild

this deal came my way
happened last year November right after demonetization was announced

Haha... that's pretty sweet! Must say you were very lucky in this find, many other people would have been in your shoes as well, but yours is one GOOD deal because it is almost impossible to find a low mileage Toyota in the market and those who offer, quote some insane prices for the same! Good job there!

Anyway, should I add some more snaps? Feels like I am spamming my own thread by doing so...

[ralto]

Originally Posted by Ace F355

Haha... that's pretty sweet! Must say you were very lucky in this find, many other people would have been in your shoes as well, but yours is one GOOD deal because it is almost impossible to find a low mileage Toyota in the market and those who offer, quote some insane prices for the same! Good job there!

Hi Ace,
Any pointers on where in (and around) Delhi, can I scout for an used fortuner ? How hard will it be to find a decent one and what's the best tentative price (approx) that I should be looking at ?

[Ace F355]

Originally Posted by ralto

Hi Ace,
Any pointers on where in (and around) Delhi, can I scout for an used fortuner ? How hard will it be to find a decent one and what's the best tentative price (approx) that I should be looking at ?

Hi ralto,

Tonnes of Fortuners on sale in Delhi NCR. Best way to start your search will be online portals, Carwale, OLX, Quickr etc. My suggestion will be to focus on private sales, or only the trusted car dealers.

Originally Posted by ralto

Hi Ace,
How hard will it be to find a decent one

Tricky question to answer. With used car market, best deals are only as good as they last. Spend some time reading TBHP Used Car Buying Thread.

You will get ideas what to look for.

Originally Posted by ralto

what's the best tentative price (approx) that I should be looking at ?

Again, tricky to answer. But one thing I can suggest you, spend some extra money and find a low mileage run vehicle. Odo tempering is a common practice, better find that out before you make your moves on negotiations etc.

[ralto]

Really valuable suggestions. I will definitely be targeting the individual sellers.

Originally Posted by Ace F355

Hi ralto,
Odo tempering is a common practice, better find that out before you make your moves on negotiations etc.

My friend was a victim of odo tempering,when he bought a Corolla from a dealer. Engine performance degraded exponentially and had to later get rid of the car. So this is something which I am really scared of.

Thank you Ace.