New Person!

[The Architect]

Hello people, unfortunatly I do not have a mini truck, so ill start off with just a few points about me.

My name is Sam and I live in Australia, Gold Coast to be specific. Im 15 years old and soon to be 16. For my first car I would really love one of these mini trucks, especialy the carry or hijet, but hey, beggers cant be choosers. I would like to spend no more than $5000 AUD and will be purchasing arround mid 2008, Im here to gain any knowledge I can, and hopefully find where to buy one of these little beauties.

Thank you all!

Sam

[Midway]

Come on in and pull up a chair,Sam.Greetings from sunny Florida.

[The Architect]

Thankyou Midway for the quick response, what truck do you have?

Now, after reading some threads, I see allot of people pose the question of, which is the best, and I as most new people would, am going to ask the same question, but this time from a different perspective, mainly reliablilty, price and parts. In Aus, hijet and carry seem to be the biggest and only contendors in the game, aven so, they are hard to find. But i found this www.quadtrucks.com.au and may possibly purchase from there, but if you guys think they are asking too much then i will reconsider, and remember folks all AUD.

Cheers, Sam

[Midway]

I have a 92 Hi Jet Jumbo 4x4with a 660 motor.I have put a am/fm-cd and speakers in it and looking for 13 inch wheels to put on it.I plan to have the bed X-lined and find or build bumpers.Ihave had the truck for 2 mouths and I love it,no problems.Have not drivin other makes so I can not help you there.

[frostback]

Hey Sam, welcome to the forum. What are your current import rules as far as age? I know NZ just went to an 8 year rule but I heard Australia went the other way with a 25 year rule. I just bought a Hijet myself, but it won't be here for a month or so.:(

Derek

[Barky]

Hey Sam, welcome to the forum.
I found that the more of these trucks you can see the more of their subtle differences will be revealed to you. I've driven a suzuki, subaru, and daihatsu and noticed what I liked and did not like. It largely depends on what your needs are. Some models like the daihatsu and subaru have a space behind the seats for a little bit of extra interior storage while the back wall of the suzuki curves in tight behind the seats - but you also get those few inches more of box space in the back which the others do not have. Mid-mounted engines have more space on the sides under the box to add on little storage boxes - some models even come with them. Rear -mounted engines make for a quieter ride. I plan on using one for work use in the city, driving to my studio and making deliveries, so I like it quieter, and am not so interested in the off road capabilities which apparently the suzukis are better for. Subarus have a little more cab space too. Yeah, check them out if you can...the right truck will choose you. I'm leaning towards the subaru myself, and the time is approaching.

[The Architect]

Ill see if the subaru is avalible in Australia, so far carry, minicab and hijet are the only ones...

Cheers, Sam