Transporter owner considering changing to a Hiace

Thanks for the measurements.

I measured my standard sized Hiace and the longest load (back to seat to tailgate) is around 113", the flat floor length is around 100".

So if I have a 80" bed there is 33" left which is actually quite good. Quite pleased about that.

Got your link:
http://www.moranbahweather.com/toyota/100series/lc_70_fzj10/ncf/ncf276e/m_08_0298.pdf

Mine is the LWB LH118 of the same body as the Super Custom, it has 290cm in the back.

The SBV has (just like the granvia) also been sold in the LWB, which is noticable by longer rear windows.

However, the SBV is like the H200 wider on the inside. Not much though.

trans2hi wrote:

Hiace4wd wrote:

These should be some examples of vans that should save you a lot of purchasing money and should be very simple to keep on the road, because of the common petrol engines. These are all in Australia!

Thanks very much for taking the time to provide all that info.
I had made a post in between yours but seem to have lost it somehow.
I will take some time to look at these more closely.
Those examples are all in NSW - and I am down in VIC - and my business makes it very hard to take a few days off to travel for cars.
Most of them seem to be in NSW - with a few down here in VIC.

I just checked Ebay, but there aren't many vans on it. I guess other sites are more popular for car sales in Australia?

trans2hi wrote:

The Granvias are about the same age as the Super Customs though - and one of your earlier comments about older vans being less likely to last that longer time frame has stuck in my mind.

Yes but the Granvia's are easer for you to use, and the engines are different. While the 1KZ 3.0 turbodiesel is much nicer to drive than my 2.4 liter diesel, the 1KZ sometimes has some ECU issues. It doesn't have to be a big deal, but on a 20 year timeframe it's not ideal.

The D4D diesels have less problems I think? And the petrols are also very reliable, service cost will be the lowest for the 2RZ and 3RZ I think.

trans2hi wrote:

Any Granvia's here are custom imports - but the Hiace SBV's were sold here till 2005 but only with the small 2.4 petrol engine.
I've got a few months up my sleeve before I have to decide which is good.

I think the 2.4 petrol is also fine. It should do 142hp instead of the 150hp like the 2.7
Please note that the earlier version of the 2RZ had 120hp, so that is a bigger difference.
For the Hiace SBV you have to check the rated horsepower.

The D4D's are newer in the Hiace here - from the H200 series from 2004 - but the early ones had significant problems - apparently those are ironed out but they are still common rail diesels and very expensive for any maintenance and injector replacement.
The 1kz were a more reliable engine and much lower cost to maintain - I saw a comparison of injector replacement at $300 compared to the D4D $3,000 - but they are much older now - it will be difficult to know how well they have been serviced - or even rebuilt - and if they did not have oil changes at 5,000km they were more prone to problems - and there is a cooling issue that can lead to cracked heads (in a quick summary).

So at this stage it seems to me for the longest life - and probably lowest maintenance costs - I am best off getting the latest 2.7l petrol.

I also am going to need at least 2753mm or 108" of load length.

And here is Australia ebay.com.au is not the most popular for vehicles - more for the lowest end.
Their sister site gumtree.com.au is more popular.
And the most popular seems to be carsales.com.au.
I also think there are far less "grey" imports here is Australia compared to elsewhere due to current anti competitive legislation I think.

I have been looking for an 'Ace recently and have even considered importing.

Have a look at this site. It has options to show the cost of shipping etc.

www.tradecarview.com

Thankyou. There are many more of the older vans that I can't really find here. But all the pricing shown, especially the current H200, the pricing is higher than I can buy the Australian stock. I will have a better look later on.

Well I've spent some more time reading and looking and I think I've decided to get a locally (Aust) sold H200 petrol manual.
Now I just have to find a well looked after used one for under AU$20,000 exc tax/gst
I've got just over 3 months to find one and failing that, I may get a new one.

A petrol H200 will give me the least problems, lowest repair costs and greatest spare parts availability over the next 20 years.
I also like how this engine has been around for a long time, especially the block, and still has a timing chain.

Thanks again for all the suggestions and advice.