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I'm looking for a reliable well priced vehicle to safely tow a tandem horse float.

I have found a 1996 TX Prado 3 litre diesel which has travelled 245,000kms. At 219,000kms the engine was replaced with a power unit from a Toyota Surf which had done 90,000km's. The turbo, cam belt etc were replaced / reconditioned at the same time and the vehicle has a good service history.

The asking price is $12,000. Is this a good deal?

Vicki

From the "Ask Jack" archives - 14 December 2009

I certainly like the Toyota brand for this type of work but have to say I would be a little nervous about the engine swap. I would rather keep power units standard to avoid any confusion further down the track re serving or repairs.

It may pay to visit your local Toyota dealer and ask the service manager / foreman if this type of conversion is an accepted practice or not.

Maybe there are a lot of similarities between the two engines.

These sorts of vehicles hold their prices very well regardless of kilometres so the price they are asking does not surprise me.

Whatever you decide I think the high mileage Japanese brands offer the best chance of reasonable reliability.