To Rodeo or not to Rodeo.......

[Cloaked STP]

Hello Peoples of Farkin.

I have a question for all people that own a Holden Rodeo and have owned a Holden Rodeo.

What I would like if you can be bothered is Information on things like:

Running Costs
Maintinence Costs
Troubles
How was it on Fuel and parts
What you Liked
What you Disliked
Was it good for transporting Bikes

And basically your experiences and whether you would buy another.

Why am I asking well... I am Software Analyst I drive around Sydney alot, I live in Cronulla and my head office is in North Ryde thankfully I dont go there everyday. But come weekends, usually every weekend or every second weekend I go riding. Downhill riding.

At the moment I have an 08 RS impreza, now when I bought the RS I wasnt into Downhill. So it was the perfect car, zippy lil 2L with AWD perfect for blasting corners and annoying the rich guys at the lights. Its been perfect for what I use it for. But now....

For the past 8 months I have been using it to cart around myself and my downhill bikes on weekends, when it comes to putting bikes into it, its usally a fair wrestle even when taking the front wheel off. Not to mention the mudd, sand, dirt grease that it gets into the car. Now I have considered a towbar and a Grip rack, but getting the bike into the back is only half the battle, most DH tracks I ride. IE: Rimbah, Awaba, Killi and Keira are not exactly made for the RS's low ground clearance and more then once I have used the front Spoiler as a shovel (Awaba and Killi).

So I was looking for something with a little more ground clearance.

I saw a nice looking Holden Rodeo 05 Model LX (RWD) 3.6L Auto with just udner 70K on the clock for $22k.

Here are the Stats;

RS Value 21K trade in still owe 27K on it. Done 33k on the clock had it since new in Dec 07
Rodeo Value 22k has 68K on the clock and was built on the 08/05.

So as you can see I am losing around 6K on my current car and adding another K for value on the new Car plus gaining a shiteload of KMs.

Thats a big Financial hit during these times, one that I am confident I can whether as my Job is very stable.

But you never know....

So my questions to well... all of you now is would you take the hit that would be benefical for something you love but possibly a burden on your on your job/finances, or weather the storm with the current vehicle and deal with the issues mentioned above..

Sorry for the wall of text thanks for reading it if you get here.

*Edit* thanks everyone for taking the time to put your advice forward but I should of probably said, It needs to be a Crew Cab and doesnt need to be a 4WD although would help. And it will be used in the CITY ALOT.

Cheers
Will

 

[rsteven]

Can't you sell your car privately for more than the trade-in?

I have never had a Rodeo / tray back so I am curious how you will put your bike in the back?

If you lay it down it will rub and bounce about, unless you strap it (a pain every time?). This will also make it difficult to pack in camping/ fishing gear etc....

If you can get a big enough tray you can mount a roof rack type assembly so the bike stands up... Sounds good.

I have driven a Rodeo and a HiLux and I found them very very bouncy and rough. I ended up buying a Landcruiser which fits my bike (XC) in the back without taking the wheel off. A DH bike would prob need a seat down (or wheel off).

This way I still have a 5 (actually 6) seater car and it's more comfortable on the road.

You can get a great (older higher km) Landcruiser / Patrol for 20ishK if you look around. I would also check with Toyota as they may be inclined to offer you a better trade in as the Landcruisers have been slow to sell recently, but this may have changed.....

 

[Ivan]

I owned a single cab 98 LX Rodeo 3.2L V6 for two years

Running Costs
Very low as I did all the servicing myself

Maintinence Costs
Can be High to very High. Isuzu parts aren't/weren't cheap and the V6 Motor leaves very little space in the engine bay meaning even minor thing can be big jobs. My Starter motor shat itself at around 100,000km and the price for a genuine replacement was ludicrous. Even when I called Repco the guy just laughed when I asked him for a price of a non-genuine one. The Starter Motor was the only thing that broke on the Ute whilst I had it.

Troubles
Starter Motor.

How was it on Fuel and parts
average 14+L/100km

What you Liked
Lots of power and torque, seemed built well, the bucket seats were nice, looks.

What you Disliked
The LX was on the 4wd Chassis, so that meant it was quite a bit higher than the DX. This was good for "off-roading" but made loading motorbikes and other things just that bit harder.

Fuel consumption sucked the big one.

The LSD seemed to be so tight that the diff would be locked by halfway around a roundabout. Leading to......

Terrible handling in the wet. With no load in the back and a V6 up front, it was truly scary in the wet.

A low first gear. If your towing something this is great, but it just menat I took of in 2nd most of the time. This also left 5th gear to be quite low, meaning that fuel cinsumption on the highway was just as bad as that achieved during city driving.

Was it good for transporting Bikes
Yes, I could lay two bikes in the back side by side.

Overall, my experience was a positive one. If I were to get one again I would get a dual cab LX.

 

[jumpers]

I got a 1995 dual cab rodeo with canopy on back. Had it for 3 years and nothing gone wrong. I removed canopy so fhave full access to tray - canopy easy get on/off.
Definitely chews more fuel than my prev camry - not motor head so dont pay much detail to motor details. I surf everyday and hasnt rusted anywhere near bad as toyotas have.
Is bit noisy whilst on fireroads - but it is a ute so can be expected. Mine 2 wheel drive and i ride same places as you, never any dramas (except awaba in wet - all cars struggle). I put good pedders suspension on it.
Ride dh - i put 3 hooks on tray door and 3 hooks under back window on tray - 3 dh bikes sit in perfectly upside down with strap on back and front wheels- sits on handlebars and seat and dont move at all (even drivn into killi).

My first ute and will never go back to sedans/station wagons again. Even my big wave surfboards - 6"8 - fits diagonally in tray. Good at end muddy ride to throw all crap in back of ute - my car never been so clean of sand / mud.

I recommend rodeo - in my opinion anyway. Hope helps

 

[E-thugin]

Rodeos are nice, I had one, but it got written off by an rx8.

1995 model space cab, heads go on them earlier & fuel pumps pack it in, autos are pretty good on fuel.

 

[Cloaked STP]

Thanks for all the replies people.

Keep em coming... As for how would I carry the bikes in the tray...

I know my way around a Mig Welder and was going to knock together a Bike Rack that would slot into some bolts in teh tray probably around 4 bikes and then just strap em down at the other end. Obviously I would work more details after I got the rodeo but thats the rough idea.

Cheers.

 

[sam705]

Definetly look at a Toyota Landcruiser, they hold there value really well and are reliable vehicles.
My father is a mobile farm/diesel mechanic does a lot of km's a day. He absolutely swears by Toyota so much, every car we own (4) is a Toyota 4WD bar my brothers XR6.

 

[slip]

Huge discounts are to be had on cars at the moment. Be smart, and don't be afraid. Just because it's advertised for a certain price, doesn't mean they won't take thousands less (or that it's worth what it's advertised for)

 

[Cloaked STP]

Yeah I am making him work for it dont worry.

Im trying to get it for the trade in value of my car, plus a free cover and 5 year 280 000kms warranty.

Forgot to ask, how long do the bastards last cause I average around 30 000kms a year.

 

[Ivan]

I forgot to ad that the rear main seal had just started weeping before I got rid of it.

 

[BUSHPIG]

I thought this thread was about riding bulls, yee haa!

 

[downhiller_1]

the guy i worked with had a 02 rodeo ute... on desil... that thing ran of the smell of an oil rag... something like 800 km's per tank

 

[Jon]

Why a Rodeo?
I have had 3 Crew cabs as company vehicles, a 3.2, a 3.5 that needed a new motor at 68000kms, and a 3.6 that was excellent.
Thirsty as all fark, seats in 3.2 were best, motor in 3.6 best, had them over about 9 years and everything besides 3.5 motor was fine.
As an option Nissan are offering huge discounts on D22 (previous model) Navaras in both petrol and diesel. I have an ML Triton in T/diesel and get 800 ks /67 litres around Newcastle/Central Coast.
The best I ever got out of a Rodeo was 520 from 69 litres.
Buy a Diesel. Even with more expensive servicing it still works out cheaper for me by $4k/pa at 40,000 per year.
Have fun

 

[Cloaked STP]

Why a Rodeo?
I have had 3 Crew cabs as company vehicles, a 3.2, a 3.5 that needed a new motor at 68000kms, and a 3.6 that was excellent.
Thirsty as all fark, seats in 3.2 were best, motor in 3.6 best, had them over about 9 years and everything besides 3.5 motor was fine.
As an option Nissan are offering huge discounts on D22 (previous model) Navaras in both petrol and diesel. I have an ML Triton in T/diesel and get 800 ks /67 litres around Newcastle/Central Coast.
The best I ever got out of a Rodeo was 520 from 69 litres.
Buy a Diesel. Even with more expensive servicing it still works out cheaper for me by $4k/pa at 40,000 per year.
Have fun

A Deisel you say, this requires investigation!

And why a rodeo, I dunno there as common as arseholes so they must be ok, and I dont mind the look of them and this one was sort of in my price range.

 

[Gruntled]

I have used a lot of different Govt and other institution's 4wd's over the years. I would go a Hilux (mid 90's on) over any of the others utes I've used. The Hiluxs have always been dutiful and dependable, and they can get through some rough country too. I have been most dissapointed in the Rodeo's performance, when pushed a little bit off road and with loads, but I admit they are good around town except for fuel consumption, but what's the point of getting a 4wd for town?

 

[No Skid Marks]

Haven't read the thread sorry, just get a Hilux, much better in every way/aspect.

 

[Cloaked STP]

The OP explains what I plan to use it for.

So something good around town is what I need. Plus the one I am looking at is RWD.

 

[gravelclimber]

I just looked at similar 4wds and chose a Mazda BT-50 (admittedly new, and not 2nd hand). Top machine and top engine. There is a 3L and a 2.5L diesel RWD version. A mate had the previous model, a RWD Bravo (which would be more in your price range), which got thrashed almost to death but just kept on going (with absolutely no maintenance). Might be another car to consider. Cheaper than a similar Hilux I'd imagine - where you pay extra for the name.

 

[jackmac91]

My dad has a 04 LX crew cab (3.5 petrol) manual witch I will be buying of him at the end of this year.
so far:

He's had no problems whatsoever.
the thing has heaps of torque and a rather low first gear witch makes it a great car for towing or putting a big load in.
It can feel a little unstable in the wet if you have no load in it since the suspension is set up to be under a fair bit of pressure but its not anything to worry about, just take it easy on the gas in the first couple and you will have no worries at all.
I don't recall the service costs but i don't think its a massively large amount since my dad never whinges about it.
fuel is probably this car's weakest point, about 400 k's to the tank If i remember correctly (98 premium)
the clutch is a kinda strange one, not bad just different than most of the other manuals I've driven but then again I haven't driven many.
It is a bit on the heavy side but what do you expect for a ute this size.
the engine suspension and breaks do a very good job of compensating in the handling department.

the stuff I really like:
Its got enough balls to get round that bastard of a semi thats doing 10 k under the limit in a short amount of time.
its great for carting bikes, motorbikes, tools, luggage, and anything else you can fit in the tray, the only difference you feel with a trayload of shit and a family is the back end gets a bit more stable and sticks to the road better.
It's got a nice interior and is quite comfortable, the stock sterio is also pretty good.
Personally I like the look of the ute, don't know why i just do.

the stuff i don't like:
there isn't really anything I dislike about it, to a new driver the clutch is a little strange tho and loves to hop if you give it to much gas. not really a problem tho, we got my 11 year old sister driving it.

all in all, i recon its a fantastic ute and i can't wait to get my hands on it!
goodluck mate.

 

[kooty]

im a mechanic. every customer with a 3.2 or 3.5 rodeo whinges about the ridiculous fuel consumption. not one customer has been happy with the fuel side of things. apart from that theyre pretty well built vehicles. don't have too many other problems with em. i personally prefer a hilux, the rodeo's are a bit too 'floaty' for me on the road.