Imported Mitsubishi L200 Advice

I'm currently wrestling with issues around changing our current ageing
Disco (200TDi). My wife fancies a Mitsubishi L200 (she's decided she
must have A/C!) to pull her Horse trailer & 2 big horses (17 & 16
hands).

I've come across an imported 4Life (with A/C), 02 registered 20K miles
for about £12.5K.

I'd appreciate advice/ opinions on the following:

Will an L200 be a good choice for the towing job (import or
otherwise)? Other options might include another Disco/ Nissan Navarra/
etc.?

Opinions regarding spares & servicing I've read are pretty widespread
.. Between Main Dealers, who reckon lots of spares are significantly
different, not easy to get hold of & consequently expensive, &
Importers who say spares aren't a problem. Both these are quite
predictable & understandable, however my wife was talking to a local
independent Garage where she was getting the Disco MOT'd & the guy
there, who owns a couple of L200s, seemed to err on the side of the
Main dealer.

As a similar UK car (with A/C hence probably Animal/ Warrior spec)
seems to be likely to cost me another £3K+ I'm tending to think that
this extra money will pay for quite a lot of spares (& pain &
hardship).

Cheers

MWW

"mww" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'm currently wrestling with issues around changing our current ageing
> Disco (200TDi). My wife fancies a Mitsubishi L200 (she's decided she
> must have A/C!) to pull her Horse trailer & 2 big horses (17 & 16
> hands).
>
> I've come across an imported 4Life (with A/C), 02 registered 20K miles
> for about £12.5K.
>
> I'd appreciate advice/ opinions on the following:
>
> Will an L200 be a good choice for the towing job (import or
> otherwise)? Other options might include another Disco/ Nissan Navarra/
> etc.?
>
It has similar power and torque figures to your Discovery but lower towing
weight (1300kg less than the Disco with a coupled brake setup and 800kg less
on a std braked trailer) so make sure your combined trailer and horse weight
is still within the limits of the Mitsu. Also bear in mind that the L200 is
a pickup truck with cart springs on the back, so don't expect it to ride
like your coil sprung Disco, make sure your wife can put up with the bumps.
On a purely subjective level, I prefer driving the Navara to the L200 - it
is quicker and rides better, but I prefer the look of the Mitsu.

> Opinions regarding spares & servicing I've read are pretty widespread
> . Between Main Dealers, who reckon lots of spares are significantly
> different, not easy to get hold of & consequently expensive, &
> Importers who say spares aren't a problem. Both these are quite
> predictable & understandable, however my wife was talking to a local
> independent Garage where she was getting the Disco MOT'd & the guy
> there, who owns a couple of L200s, seemed to err on the side of the
> Main dealer.
>
With the money you are spending and the lack of independent Mitsu
specialists, I would stick to dealers.

> As a similar UK car (with A/C hence probably Animal/ Warrior spec)
> seems to be likely to cost me another £3K+ I'm tending to think that
> this extra money will pay for quite a lot of spares (& pain &
> hardship).
>
I can't see you having too many problems if you buy carefully. While the
Disco benefits from very cheap parts and lots of non-franchised specialists
the L200 is a simpler vehicle with less to go wrong (part-time 4WD, rear
drums, cart springs, no ABS brakes etc) so it should be reliable.

The most important thing really is, if you like it, go for it!

"mww" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'm currently wrestling with issues around changing our current ageing
> Disco (200TDi). My wife fancies a Mitsubishi L200 (she's decided she
> must have A/C!) to pull her Horse trailer & 2 big horses (17 & 16
> hands).
>
> I've come across an imported 4Life (with A/C), 02 registered 20K miles
> for about £12.5K.
>
> I'd appreciate advice/ opinions on the following:
>
> Will an L200 be a good choice for the towing job (import or
> otherwise)? Other options might include another Disco/ Nissan Navarra/
> etc.?
>
It has similar power and torque figures to your Discovery but lower towing
weight (1300kg less than the Disco with a coupled brake setup and 800kg less
on a std braked trailer) so make sure your combined trailer and horse weight
is still within the limits of the Mitsu. Also bear in mind that the L200 is
a pickup truck with cart springs on the back, so don't expect it to ride
like your coil sprung Disco, make sure your wife can put up with the bumps.
On a purely subjective level, I prefer driving the Navara to the L200 - it
is quicker and rides better, but I prefer the look of the Mitsu.

> Opinions regarding spares & servicing I've read are pretty widespread
> . Between Main Dealers, who reckon lots of spares are significantly
> different, not easy to get hold of & consequently expensive, &
> Importers who say spares aren't a problem. Both these are quite
> predictable & understandable, however my wife was talking to a local
> independent Garage where she was getting the Disco MOT'd & the guy
> there, who owns a couple of L200s, seemed to err on the side of the
> Main dealer.
>
With the money you are spending and the lack of independent Mitsu
specialists, I would stick to dealers.

> As a similar UK car (with A/C hence probably Animal/ Warrior spec)
> seems to be likely to cost me another £3K+ I'm tending to think that
> this extra money will pay for quite a lot of spares (& pain &
> hardship).
>
I can't see you having too many problems if you buy carefully. While the
Disco benefits from very cheap parts and lots of non-franchised specialists
the L200 is a simpler vehicle with less to go wrong (part-time 4WD, rear
drums, cart springs, no ABS brakes etc) so it should be reliable.

The most important thing really is, if you like it, go for it!