Old member, tough decisions - comparion between L300 & L400

[joostio]

I like the idea of the rads not being so exposed to trail damage. I have been trying to figure out a way to relocate with out limiting air flow to them. a bit of a problem if you want to off road, lots of pokey sticks on the trail.

[fexlboi]

Probably not but I love the hightop

Looks like it is pretty top heavy :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMtSape57rU

[jessef]

Probably not but I love the hightop

Looks like it is pretty top heavy :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMtSape57rU

Haha... that made my day. Nice commentary

[josh]

I bet that guy needed to clean his pants after that. That was stinking funny. Bet adrock is the closest to understanding what they were thinking at the time.

Josh.

[Green1]

Bet adrock is the closest to understanding what they were thinking at the time.

oh I know EXACTLY what they were thinking! I can't believe I stayed right side up when I did that either....

[Blackberry]

Ya, so I subscribe to this mailing list from jpctrade.com. Sometimes interesting and humourous...though I've fallen way behind on reading it. Today the one in my inbox had the interesting subject line of "JPCTRADE Newsletters [#131] : Which car breaks easily?" so I read it. There's an interesting fact presented that's very salient to this thread. Have a read (if you are lazy I've bolded the info so you can jump right to it):
--------------------------
4 Nov 2009 vol.131
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

?Hot topics and inside stories of Japanese car auctions ?

JPCTRADE provides hot topics and tips on how to buy cars in Japanese car
auctions cheaply . You'll be able to get useful
information! Don't miss it!!

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

Which car breaks easily?

When we buy a car, one of the worrisome points is what sort of services are
included in their warranty. When we buy a brand new car in Japan, they usually
come with two different manufacturer warranties at the manufacturer’s
dealer’s: 1) General Services: 3 years after the first registration (or under
60,000km) and 2) Special Services: 5 years after the first registration (or
under 100,000km).

General Services apply to almost everything including electrical components for
free repair. Special Services are only for the engine, transmission and other
major components and of course the repair is free. Imported cars such as
Mercedes Benz, BMW and Audi usually covers everything within 3 years of the
first registration (no millage restriction).

Like this, when you buy a new car, you get all the protections so you can relax
but there is no set guarantee for second-hand cars. Normally, if you buy them
from a dealer, they provide their own services under their own policy which set
the time and mileage as they choose. So, as you can guess, the limitations of
warranty vary depending on the dealer. On a 5 year old car or a car with the
mileage more that 100,000km, there will not be any warranty from the
manufacturers, nothing will be covered for repairs and of course there is more
chance of having something go wrong than brand new cars. I personally think that
each manufacturer should report their failure rates for the cars past their
warranty time but apart from when they do a recall, I have never seen such
information. Each manufacturer makes great effort in design and production so
that their cars will not have a break down within the warranted time (5 years
after the first registration or under 100,000km) but after that, their ways of
thinking are different between them.

This is more obvious when you compare the policies between Japanese cars and
imported ones. For Japanese cars, compared to imported ones, as you know, it is
not so likely to have a breakdown or a problem which requires a repair even if
you have it for a long time. Even if your car needs a parts change or repair, it
is carefully designed so that you can change parts easily. For example, to
change the battery, it is well placed so that you can take an old one out easily
but in some imported cars, you require a special tool and need to remove the
bits and pieces around it before you take the battery out. Some imported cars
have really complicated layouts. Also, for a simple parts change, where if it is
a Japanese car you only need to replace a rubber part, for some imported ones
they require a whole shaft assembly change where the rubber part is attached.
Sometimes for a similar repair, the cost can be 10 times more than fixing a
Japanese car.

However, even Japanese cars, well-known for their hardiness, are only machines.
They do break. So which models break more easily? Makers never publicly report
this (or they might just not have the data) but the other day I asked the
insurance company we always use. Here you go. Insurance company disclose these
data as much as possible to car dealers to draw our attention and reduce
customers claiming insurance.

(Failure rate ranking)
1) Mitsubishi Delica Space Gear (PD6W, PD8W, etc)
2) Mitsubishi Chariot Grandis (N94W)
3) Mitsubishi Lancer (CE9A, CP9A, etc)
4) Nissan Largo (W30, NW30)
5) Nissan Skyline (R33 series, R34 series)
6) Nissan Primera (P11 series, P12 series)
7) Subaru Legacy (BH5, BE5)
8) Nissan Gloria (Y33 series, Y34 series)
9) Toyota Harrier (SUX series, MCU series)
10) Mazda MPV (LW3W, LW5W)

Some cars listed here include the ones which had problems as a car going on the
road, sport cars which went through too many conversions and not in the original
states at all, and of course the drivers’ bad driving habits also play a part,
so please do not judge the cars on this list as bad: but if you are buying a car
now, please check this list to choose the best one for you.



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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[Green1]

just a thought... but how would an insurance company know anything about breakdowns?

[jessef]

And what the heck does that post have anything to do with this thread ?!?!

Your post is the size of a book man !

[loki]

the "info" in that email you posted is a lot like the ICBC report, lots of data but used to make a point that is completely unrelated to the data, unless insurance companies in Japan pay for break downs.

[Blackberry]

And what the heck does that post have anything to do with this thread ?!?!

Hmm, point taken. Implied in "comparison" is that rationale for choosing one over the other can be put forward. Ok, so then my "comparison" is: The L400 is on that list but the L300 isn't. Anyway, my apologies for veering from the subject. Since it is your thread and you seem to think it's not relevant I will look for a more specific "L400 reliability" kind of thread to post this info. If I can't find one I'll create one. After that I will delete it from here.

Your post is the size of a book man !

I wouldn't want to post info out of context. It's not that big, just skinny/tall Disk space is cheap.

just a thought... but how would an insurance company know anything about breakdowns?

Dunno...ask BCAA (or Alta. equiv), maybe they know (I'm sure they'd care). I believe insurance companies sometime underwrite used-vehicle "warranties". Japanese are big on security/safety so maybe they can purchase insurance against vehicle failures & repair costs? If so then these insurance providers would, obviously, keep stats. by model, among other attributes.

...unless insurance companies in Japan pay for break downs.

It seems they pay for something that has a relationship to what model of vehicle their customers drive. They're obviously keeping stats on which models "break" because it's important to them... presumably so they can assess risk in order to determine price to charge.

[delicat]

Deleted

[Stiful]

Having had 4 l300s and 2 L400s a lwb and a swb. There is no contest.. Take the Lwb L400. I imagine you will spend a lot of time on highways and an L400 will cruise easily on 120. Smooth ,quiet, able to pass easily. Walk from the front to the back. If it is bucketing down rain and you have to get out of the car to get in the back or visa versa you will really appreciate the walk through. Pajero, Triton, Challenger and even Voyager parts will fit it. It is unlikely to break anyway. The only thing , that nobody has mentioned that is a real pain is the turning circle of the LWB l400.....L300=9meters....SWB L400=11meters.....LWB L400=====13 meters . They are a real drag in shopping center car parks and sharp 4x4 tracks....BUT.....The LWB still wins hands down especially with a lift kit to assist with going over hills and off dunes.
The photos a couple of pages back of the L400 with the pipes and ladders on the roof and the home made bull bar with winch.. He is a friend of mine. He is an electrician and he uses that for work. If you love your L300, and I can understand that as I had 4 in 14 years, and it is decked out just the way you like it , then I can understand you being reluctant to change but once you get used to it you will soon love the L400 even more... Have a good trip what ever you decide.
And as far as Subaru's and there AWD system... Fantastic.I will never have a 2wd car again, neither will my wife or daughter.. Cheers..

[jessef]

You can post that in the other thread SWB vs LWB L400's.
The points you said were never mentioned actually have been mentioned.

On another note, Turtle is on a nice road trip in the interior. Met with them on their way out.

[Stiful]

Sorry. I must have misunderstood. I thought you were asking for opinions as to which of the 3 Delis would be better to take on a long road trip.. Cheers

[jessef]

I went on short time but long distance trips in all three. L300 poptop, L400 SWB and LWB.

Out of all three, I preferred the L300 poptop 'Turtle' for long distance camping. But that's me. Maryna likes the L400 LWB but also Turtle.

What I'm shooting for now is an L400 SWB, low roof with the 'dual' sunroof / moonroof. That way, we can put a rooftoptent and climb up through the huge moonroof from inside.

The L400 LWB is too long for us as we live in the city and it's quite a big difference to maneuver around, especially parking.