Cost of servicing and outback availability

[davidd]

out of the cities many mechanics will refuse to work on a jeep. there are many who have been stung by chrysler and their attitude to non dealer workshops and lack of support when information is needed and also the difficulty in getting parts. whether it is justified or not, the ill feeling is widespread and is something you have to cope with. i have experienced it myself.

[r1chard]

Originally Posted by wranglertj

fact is it is a Jeep and is a niche vehicle and Toyota and Nissan parts will always be easier to come by so i think that is a given.

...

If out bush i think you may need to wait that bit longer to get the part you are after but there are so many aftermarket suppliers for Jeeps you can always get one of them to send the part if they have it rather than waiting for a dealer

OT.

On parts for Toyotas...

Some friends and I failed to get a CV joint for an 80's series Toyota in Birdsville in September... Neither of the local service stations could get us one, and with us we actually had a mechanic with orders for a service dept. in Newcastle, and he was trying warehouses all over the place.... couldn't even get one flown in within the 4 days we were stranded there by the weather... we were even asking randoms if with similar vehicles but of course no-one wanted to give up their spares. So we made it 2WD and pulled it through the tricky bits for the remainder of the trip... and in any case it managed Big Red in 2WD...

On the same trip I met someone who had been stuck in Innamincka for 1 week and a half waiting for a part... (they'd sent the wrong one first go), and someone who was stuck in Bidourie for a couple of days...

Outback trips you just have to be prepared to go with the flow, and hang with the locals in the pub for a day or three LOL.

I used to work for a medical imaging equipment company, whose service business logistics was managed by one of the global major logistics companies... they could get a part to pretty much any airstrip in Australia ex. Singapore, within 48 hours. While that comes at a $ price, but it amazes me just how bad the supply chain becomes for motor parts as soon as you step out from a major regional centre (and I hear CV joints for 80s series are a common item...).

_R

[davidd]

Originally Posted by Aus Patriot

Do what carvesdodo said and get a manual.

We did a couple of 4000-6000km trips last year and I made sure we had a manual.
Good idea from Stevil. Telstra is the only way to go when hitting the road.

Last year when we went to Exmouth I had my mobile which was with 3 might as well put it in the bin.
Was in the middle of Cape Range National Park had my lap top and telstra wireless and got a good signal and was on skype to my parents back home checking in and letting them know we were all good.
But no signal on my mobile with 3.

yeah, absolutely agree with that. i have telstra mobile phone and bigpond mobile broadband. while not the cheapest on the market the country coverage is the best available. off the main roads coverage is a bit hit and miss as they don't cover every inch of australia but on main bitumen highways you can drive right round australia and never be without wireless coverage. an enormous improvement on any of the others. with telstra and bigpond coupled with either a sat. phone or epirb for extreme outback use you will always have contact. for most folk, an epirb is the cheaper option, as you'd really have to be in strife to be that isolated you'd need to use it.

[cbm8880]

I use Ultratune for my servicing, and they are about half the price of Jeep. I've never had a problem finding the parts.

cheers

[michaelwheatland]

I was recently in Darwin with my JK with a couple of problems. I took it to the Jeep dealer and they had a look and said everything was ok. After another 2000KM I returned to Darwin and visited a place called Tom's Tyres. He sorted out everything.

As with all vehicles, problems crop up. There is no guarantee that any dealer or mechanic will be able to fix it or have parts. I have heard of Toyota taking 4 weeks to deliver a fuel pump to my remote NT town.

My suggestion, learn how to identify and patch/fix common problems with ANY car you buy. Carry enough spares to see you through and a big roll of duct tape.

Also, If you are buying second hand or not worried about genuine replacements there is a HUGE after market which usually supply better quality parts for MUCH cheaper than any genuine parts. Most also come with instructions.