[v12]

Congrats on the Prado KS!! Looks like a very clean and well maintaned example. Not to mention - a rare vehicle on Indian roads. In Mumbai too - you would hardly see any 2-door examples of a Pajero, Prado, LR etc.

Theres something very important that is missing in the Prado - - - the Team-BHP stickers

[khan_sultan]

Originally Posted by Frankenstein

Congrats dude.

I think iron man and tjm have 2 inch lift kits for this little beast.
Dont touch the pump, even if you have to it wont cost so much, max is under 10k.

Some pics of the engine bay?
Dont remove the injectors , once removed from a factory engine the smoothness is gone forever.

Black smoke might be due to timing problem.

Thanks Frankie. Would need help from diesel experts as I am a novice in diesel vehicles. All I know is that black smoke comes when I push the gas pedal (like i would in my petrol S10). However, when driven sedately, no smoke comes out.

Why do you think injector cleaning will impact the smoothness? Shouldn't that be just remove, clean/calibrate and put back stuff??

Originally Posted by Enigmatic

Many many congratulations on your new acquisition .
It looks to be in a good shape, specially considering its almost 15 years old. ...
P.S. At what price did you close the deal?

Yes, it is in reasonably good shape for a 15 year old vehicle. Don't ask about the price. It has no logic, as there are just half a dozen or so of these SWB Prado out there. So it's a question of demand/supply, what some one is asking for or ready to pay.

Originally Posted by Jaggu

... for the age of the vehicle, this piece is in great shape also. Just a few tweaks here and there and it will be in ship shape just like a 30-40k kms vehicle. Best part Toyota does all the work! What more can one ask.

Exactly, one can just take it to Toyota A.S.S and they will do the service and must say that they do a good job. Many a part is shared between the fortuner, innova, Qualis hence for most consumables one doesn't have to worry.

Originally Posted by Lukeskywalker

Ok, my official Tbhp congratulations to you on the aquisition
======
So, when do we go on a drive in the white beauty?

Thank you sirji. Anytime for a drive.

Originally Posted by F150

No plans for fresh tyres ? Looking at the sidewall tyres seem to be old.

City and off roading is OK. Do you really intend to do highway trips ?

Tyres seem ok to me for another year or so. They are of 2008 make and can easily run another 10-15 K atleast.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

... I often wonder how difficult it is to maintain these old gems. How are the service costs, and part availability in case something critical goes bust.

Infact, I am, as of now, pleasantly surprised by the easy maintenance of this Prado. The service costs should be comparable to an Innova in Toyota parlance and for example, i spent ~15K as the parts & labor costs for the following work as Toyota A.S.S:

Front Brake Pads (OE, Thailand Import): 5,000/-
Some 2-3 Belts (Same as Qualis): ~4,000/-
Engine Oil + Filter Change : ~1500/-
Side Indicators: ~1.2K/- (most expensive)
+ Labor charges for all above + small electrical work, all totaling up to 15K for parts & labor

Most mechanical parts are available from open market also and the only issue would be cosmetic/body parts and parts specific to this SWB model. However, as I said that many a part is shared between the fortuner, innova, Qualis hence for most consumables one doesn't have to worry

Worst case scenario: Give the part# to toyota and they will get it for you from Thailand/East Asia. Use the below link to get the part# down to the last screw:

http://www.toyodiy.com/parts/g_G_199...R-GJMRS_1.html

However, having said all that; one can't forget that this is a 15 year old vehicle and one should be mentally prepared for a niggle here or there or times where the vehicle is in garage for want of part.

Originally Posted by v12

...Not to mention - a rare vehicle on Indian roads. In Mumbai too - you would hardly see any 2-door examples of a Pajero, Prado, LR etc.

Theres something very important that is missing in the Prado - - - the Team-BHP stickers

Thanks V12. Yes, it's a rare vehicle and 2 Door specimens are very hard to come by.

The stickers, just wait saar. They will be there.

[naveen.raju]

Congrats on the Prado. Although am not a huge fan of SUV's, Prado, Pajero and TLC always fascinated me. For such an old vehicle I should say it's in one hell of a condition. Glad you made the move to get this monster. I'm sure it will last for another decade easily.

Kindly post some clear pics of the centre console and instrument cluster.

Have fun.

[coloneljasi]

Congratulations! The 90 Series is a very rugged machine. My uncle had imported a 2002 5-door TX in the same year. I used to drive it around quite a bit, though the slush-box it came with was a bit of a let down. But the low down grunt and the aftermarket dual exhaust more than made up for it. The only problem was that the local Toyota dealer refused to service it since it was an import and had to go to specialist garages in KL & KA, till my uncle sold it off a few years ago with over 125,000 kms on the clock. Strange because I've seen quite a lot of imports being handled by dealers in other cities, just like yours.

[mashmash]

Wow, thats an amazing upgrade from the Spidey. Prado looks in really good shape, considering its age. Glued to this thread, can only imagine what you do with this vehicle, seeing what you did with the Gypsy.

How easy or difficult is it for a person like you, with loads of SUV knowledge to maintain this Prado compared to a novice?


MaSh

[dhanushs]

Khan Sultan Sir,

I had seen this vehicle and innocent looking you, in Bangalore on the small OTR of 16th September. Little did I know that after Spidey, you THIS was coming!

The SWB version, looks catchy! Looking forward towards the upgrades.

- Let the ownership experience be unique, trouble free and let each mile on this beauty put a smile, or rather.. a big grin on your face!

[adilkhan5]

My prado 90 Series TZ 4 door

The two door seems more fun and more practical for city use though! Nice car!

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

Congratulations, lovely review, the car looks in good shape. I thought your next upgrade would have been a Jimny. You know what, every time I see a Jimny here, it reminds me of you.

Pretty surprised that you got a vehicle with IFS, the IFS may play in your mind and knowing you, I am sure you must have already planned something. Look forward to your upgrades, especially on how you tame the IFS for its vulnerabilities.

Spike

[khan_sultan]

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

... For such an old vehicle I should say it's in one hell of a condition. Glad you made the move to get this monster. I'm sure it will last for another decade easily.

Kindly post some clear pics of the centre console and instrument cluster. .

Thanks. Yes, if taken proper care this vehicle can easily serve your needs for several years to come.

Here are some pictures of the center console & the instrument cluster. As said earlier, pretty basic & functional in this model. No gizmos.

Originally Posted by mashmash

.. can only imagine what you do with this vehicle, seeing what you did with the Gypsy.

Thanks. But this will not get modified like how Spidey was done. The purpose of the 2 are/were different. This is for me to take me to off road spots in comfort and mostly jungle trails, bad roads etc. No offroading the type I did in Spidey.

How easy or difficult is it for a person like you, with loads of SUV knowledge to maintain this Prado compared to a novice?

I am a novice when it comes to diesel SUVs. so learning all the way. Infact when I bought gypsy was a novice then also and learnt on the way while doing the modifications.

Originally Posted by dhanushs

...I had seen this vehicle and innocent looking you, in Bangalore on the small OTR of 16th September. Little did I know that after Spidey, you THIS was coming!

Thanks sir. Of course I remember meeting you then. That time had brought it to the OTR venue for some picture shots

Originally Posted by adilkhan5

..The two door seems more fun and more practical for city use though! Nice car!

Yes, the 2 door is more fun & practical for our crowded cities. It's just the right size. The turning radius is small enough and one more good part is the excellent all round visibility one gets. Just see below -- the large fixed glass windows do ensure excellent visibility and that helps in city traffic.



However, on highways it's the LWB version that I would prefer. That is something else -- with all the bells & whistles.

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

Congratulations, lovely review, the car looks in good shape. I thought your next upgrade would have been a Jimny. You know what, every time I see a Jimny here, it reminds me of you.

Would have bought the Jimny if it was available. No idea when (or if) it will come to India

Pretty surprised that you got a vehicle with IFS, the IFS may play in your mind and knowing you, I am sure you must have already planned something. Look forward to your upgrades, especially on how you tame the IFS for its vulnerabilities.
Spike

As I said, the reason for buying this is different. It is NOT meant to be replacement for Spidey. There is NO WAY that this can do that. I am not into active offroading any more and my needs are different now. So, IFS/No-IFS doesn't matter to me.

The modifications/upgrades for this will be cosmetic/functional/comfort based and just about enough to satisfy those one-in-a-while offroad adventures.

No hard-core bashing around offroad in this one.

[codelust]

Congrats! I've been examining the possibility of a pre-owned Prado as a replacement for my Swift/Gypsy combination, but never been able to find the right combination of condition/costs that will make it feasible.

Will be closely watching this thread as the intended application looks very very similar to what I have in mind. It ticks off all the right points for me: exceptional reliability, uncomplicated yet functional, diesel, SWB.

If the vehicle came from Delhi, I'm pretty sure this is the same vehicle:



Read in its listing on a classifieds website that only 5 of these are there in India, so you are a really lucky man if that's true.

[khan_sultan]

Originally Posted by codelust

Congrats! I've been examining the possibility of a pre-owned Prado as a replacement for my Swift/Gypsy combination, but never been able to find the right combination of condition/costs that will make it feasible.

For me, this is the replacement for the Gypsy + Palio S10. Had to look for nearly a year to get this one. Had to remember that there will none that will meet 100% of my criteria of cost + condition + location +++ other things that one may be looking for. One has to arrive at a balance of trade off between desirable, must have and reality that exists out there.

This vehicle by no means is perfect and I had let it go on first pass. After the restoration and once over, I got interested in it again as there were nothing available and it had been brought to a level of refinement that was then acceptable to me. However, had to pay a small premium to get hold of this one.

Will be closely watching this thread as the intended application looks very very similar to what I have in mind. It ticks off all the right points for me: exceptional reliability, uncomplicated yet functional, diesel, SWB.

Agree. Ticks of all the right boxes. I think if manufacturers were to bring a SUV in this size, it would sell like hot cakes. Duster and the anticipation of EcoSport are testimony to this liking for small sized SUVs relevant to our crowded cities.

If the vehicle came from Delhi, I'm pretty sure this is the same vehicle:

Attachment 1022572

Read in its listing on a classifieds website that only 5 of these are there in India, so you are a really lucky man if that's true.

Lol. No, this is not the one. Although the one mentioned in that ad is also in Bangalore now. See carefully and you will see that the one in the ad doesn't have side cladding & the one that I have has side cladding all over. Infact, the one I have used to be Maroon in color before going through a restoration process. The front nudge guard is different, the rear spoiler is different among other things.

I had seen that ad here: http://newdelhi.olx.in/toyota-prado-...b-iid-50954936
and read about 5 of these SWB in India. Don't know if that is true or not but for sure there would be very very less of these in India.

Oh, here is a nice picture of the Prado & the Spidey together -- cousins as I say

[benbsb29]

Khan, this is a wonderful find, and I was surprised by the amount of thought that went into the vehicle from Toyota, even 15 years ago! True, the interiors are not much to speak about - comparable to that on my Scorpio LX (base variant again!) but they feel durable and sturdy.

The amount of space at the rear for luggage despite being a SWB is great! The folddown seats give you a hotel on wheels.

Looking forward to an outing with this.

[dwaraka]

Congratulations Khan Saab! 15 years old, still contemporary design and interiors and instrumentation.

Dwarak

[Shiraz Shah]

Many Congratulations on the purchase Shahnawaz!

I have always loved the SWB Patrols, Pajeros, Prados (what's with the letter 'P' man, he he) and I strongly feel (I guess almost all of us in the 4x4 section do) that this is the type of vehicle that India desperately needs. Nowadays, it is not uncommon to see a hatch, a sedan, and an SUV/MUV in one household. A SWB SUV can replace all these IMO and lo, here is the solution to the severe vehicular congestion problem in our cities

Congrats again Shahnawaz and thank you (coz you have reignited my love for these mini-monsters)

[anand_hc]

Congratulations on a fantastic buy!

One of my friend is Prado nut. He wants to buy a used Prado for himself.

He has few questions:

How Bangalore RTO assesses the road tax that need to be paid as this is imported vehicle ?
As this is 15 year old vehicle, are you planning to get vehicle fitness certificate from RTO.

Please PM me with your contact details, would love to reach out to you.

Happy Mile crunching.