So, I want to get a van because the wagon is no longer big enough. I really want a Hiace, preferably as new as possible. However, I haven't got that much dough. At best I've got maybe 10g. Hiaces in that price range are mostly well into 200,000 ks or more and ten years older or more. I always used to think a car was pretty much dead after this amount of work? is that still the case? Or are they more durable now.

I don't really want to buy one and then spend more on fixing it up.

Being a tradie for most of my life ive covered some serious mile's sorry K's, ive owned Fords,Mitsubishis,Toyotas, VW and a Merc. For me the best was the VW, really comfy Quite good on fuel bit expensive on servicing .As for the hiace it has a bullet proof engine, inside it has plenty of room for my tools, materials and windsurfing equipment, cabins a little small and i find it a little thirsty but other than that its the best van ive had.

fast though

ikw777 said...



I don't really want to buy one and then spend more on fixing it up.

i had to replace the left front door on my commuter and one from a normal hiace fits, basically theres heaps of spares around and not exy, my van will go from nowra to gosford on $22LPG average and just under 3hrs

Also concider a VW T4 Transporter. The diesels easily do 400.000 + km's. Drove them for work where they did 120.000 km's a year without any problems. We sold those after 3,5 years because of financial reasons but nearly all were still solid and reliable vans. Plus the VW's are the best driving van you can get. For a van that size you can't get any closer to getting a normal car feeling.

gregc said...

The only thing with the vw is when something does go wrong it becomes v expensive. Gearbox replacement (apparently quite a normal occurrence) is around 4 grand.

Yes, I was looking at those but there is a question over their durability. Some swear by them but there are a lot of reports also of large expensive failures like gearboxes. Parts prices are high too.

faster than the normal 4 cylinder that is in the Hi Ace. Although the SV6 with the new motor in it is quite fast, my licence is testimony to that (groan).

gregc said...

faster than the normal 4 cylinder that is in the Hi Ace. Although the SV6 with the new motor in it is quite fast, my licence is testimony to that (groan).

I know what your saying but it's all relative. You can lose your licence on a moped if you really want to though. The SV6 goes ok but is still not exactly fast. It's just fast compared to a Hi-ace and some other family type cars. Not exactly a performance car though

keef said...

gregc said...

I was chatting to keef and he reckons these motors just don't ever break. Its got a truck diff to so the drivetrain is almost bullet proof. If you go the commuter it has a great roof line to put stuff in and its super bloody long.

greg couldnt resist,remembering the car has been on LPG and we all know that will stuff an engine real quick

I'm happy to report that my Fathers '95 Hiace van has done 1,024,000 or so kms on the original engine, on lpg, and with very minimal mechanical repairs required.

toyotas - they fix themselves

Would this be a good time to mention the mitsubishi Delica??
Ugly as the neighbours dog, but reliable and roomy, especially the Lwb

My 94 Hi Ace 2.8 diesel is just a baby at 407,000kms.
Runs great, uses no oil and does 11km/litre.
Great vans, I've had lots of them, replaced them when they rusted out.
Comfort is another story but you'll never fall asleep while driving.
You'll also never get booked for speeding, they feel like they're doing 200 when they are doing 100kph.
They say when you're buying a Hi Ace you don't worry what the odometer says.

aus301 said...

qldnacra said...

gregc said...

faster than the normal 4 cylinder that is in the Hi Ace. Although the SV6 with the new motor in it is quite fast, my licence is testimony to that (groan).

I know what your saying but it's all relative. You can lose your licence on a moped if you really want to though. The SV6 goes ok but is still not exactly fast. It's just fast compared to a Hi-ace and some other family type cars. Not exactly a performance car though

Off topic, but I have driven a v6 commodore that would do a 10 sec 1/4mile, fast enough for you?? Admittedly it was also running twin turbos, massive stall converter and a pretty tall locker diff.

Closer to topic, I have also seen a few Hiace vans running 304 V8's (out of VS commodores etc). Now that motor can produce some serious HP when caressed nicely.

Not exactly SV6 spec running gear like what was mentioned though is it?

My 88 hiace came to me one owner and 600 000 k's. 5 on the tree and a front bench seat.

A mates old man sold it to me for a grand when he updated to a brand spanka, told me how he spent hours trying to get the old seats to fit in the new one, but it just wouldn't happen and was led away in tears by his missus when he finally, reluctantly handed over the keys...

It was well into the 900's with a couple of thick coat of hand painted hammered metal finish covering the rust when the head cracked and two pots gave up the ghost. She still went, and was probably the only two cylinder hi ace running up and down the south coast for the last couple of months of her life before the mechanic (a life long family friend) said he could no longer turn a blind eye to the bog and the rust that was more structural than the remaining metal....

She sat on my front yard as the most magnificent lawn ornament for nearly half a year when out of the blue, a small softly spoken islamic man by the name of mustafa mohammad knocked on my door and offered to buy her.

My old girl was a window van and the glass was becoming harder and more expensive to come by, he offered me $400, we settled on $800, he then asked if I'd drive it the couple hours to his home in south west syd for an extra $250

I had her near on six years, put a few hundred thou on the clock, never cost me more than petrol rego and tyres and sold her on for $50 more than she cost me..

When I left her in the drive way of mustafa's house and walked back to my friends car waiting for me in the street, the thought of my mates old man tearing up when he first dropped her off started weighing on me and by the time I walked down the driveway and got in the passenger seat I was wiping away tears of my own.

I've heard it many times since, '88 was the year of the last good hiaces

My HiAce is great! ive had it 3 years, and put nearly 90k on the clock, its a LWB 4x4 SuperGL being an auto, diesel and full time 4x4 its a bit thirsty i only get around 500ks out of a 70l tank, it seems to be getting ever so slightly better on fuel which is weird.

the only things that have broken on it were either caused directly by me ( a big rock took out the front diff mount for me ) or caused by my lack of proper maintenance ( im a mechanic and i cant be bothered fixing it myself and i dont trust anyone else to fix it )

It has a total of 230,000 on it and doesnt blow any smoke, starts everytime, my mate has an ex telstra one and its done over 400k no worries.

they are a bit noisy inside but i just turn the tunes up a bit and sit on 110kmh all day long.

Toyota - Just keeps going.

Great looking van mate! you need some decals on the side