BT50 or DMax?

[4wdphil]

Everything is negotiable!!!
Push them hard, don't be in a hurry.
Most importantly don't get sucked into the "this is the price if you buy now" scenario
Be prepared to walk away.
Also when you settle on a vehicle try different dealerships to get the best price.
Also if you buy a Holden there is a member on here who is in Sydney who has a dealership and was very helpful when I purchased my Colorado. I actually was very close to buying it through him but my local dealership came to the party.

The Colorado that we bought was a LTZ dual cab with the auto.
I got all the following accessories
- tow pack with 12 pin plug
- red arc tow pro elite brake controller
- ARB ascent canopy - colour coded ($4000)
- Clearview mirrors ($900)
- weather mats front and rear
- bonnet protector
All for under $55k - drive away all fitted. Not going to give the actual price but it was very good. Although I did have to wait 3 weeks for the canopy to arrive and then be fitted but that was ARB holding us up.
Hope this helps

 

[Drover]

If you don't want their finance just walk up tell how much you want for a changeover if you are trading, otherwise how much you will give them for it with the basics fitted, tow bar and wiring, if they aren't interested walk away..
.Actually way better to swan around looking for a demo thats going, takes a bit of time to find but the price is better, it usually has some bits added and still has new car warranty and they have the bugs fixed, most important.

I prefer one with about 20,000 to 50,000km on the clock, bugs are sorted, it has the extras and taking it for a drive shows whats it's really going to be like for the rest of it's life.
As a replacement for my Colorado I have been tossing up between a Isuzu or another Colorado.

 

[megcam]

@4wdphil - How do you find the Colarado after a couple of months? Still love it?

Managed to finally get out to drive one today and I think I'm now ranking it in line or in front of the BT50.

 

[JT76]

Thanks @Tricky . I like the Ranger but prices seem to be $60 something rather than high $40's or early $50's of the Dmax, BT50 & Colorado.

As a more then happy Ranger owner I wouldn't rule one out thinking they are that much more expensive. As others said I too drove every variant of dual cab, joined every relevant forum and couldn't go past the Ranger for many reasons (bt50 close 2nd). But with price you will find what people actually pay sometimes on a forum post. New ranger.net had a post (haven't been on it for ages) saying something like what did you pay. In the end it helped me get a new xls auto with a few goodies for $41k drive away. I think the best price I could get on Colorado LTZ was $45k and the bt50gt in auto was around $44k. I got the lower spec xls as the xlt was hard to get for less the $50k and most of what was on the higher spec model I would have replace anyway. Otherwise it's the same car.

In the end the forums are your friend to get a good price and if you find the right dealer with the right buying technique the Ranger Should not be written off on price.

I know you said don't tell me to get Ranger etc and the rest in your OP but just thought I'd share my 2c.

 

[megcam]

Thanks @JT76 . Happy to hear all opinions (now ) and had largely discounted the Ranger on price. I must be the worlds crappest negotiator because yesterday I couldn't buy a BT50 in GT spec with towbar & towpack (approx $1500 worth) for $50k and I couldn't get the Holden guy to $50k on a Colorado LTZ with leather seats & towpack (approx $3000). Will trall some forums and see if I can find some current pricing and keep on smiling. :biggrin-26:

I'm starting to think all these prices people are quoting are like those stories I hear of a mate of a mate whose neighbour has a job doing hardly anything whilst being paid a crapload of money, with a free company vehicle of his choice every year and complimentary annual holidays to a tropical destination. :baby:

 

[4wdphil]

@4wdphil - How do you find the Colarado after a couple of months? Still love it?

Managed to finally get out to drive one today and I think I'm now ranking it in line or in front of the BT50.

Hi Megcam.
Well I am still loving the Colorado. I have clocked up over 16000km and the average fuel consumption according to the display is 9L/100km. That includes over 4000km of towing a 3 ton OB Starcraft. I am only putting in premium diesel as well. I really am loving this dual cab. I have only one issue which is how the torque converter works with the auto. However in saying that my mechanic has informed that all the new autos are exactly the same - Toyotas fords etc. I will be fixing this issue when I take it to Geelong Performance Centre her in Geelong. The Colorado is going to get a 3" exhaust and a remap on the dyno. This will fix the transmission issue and give me over 600nm of torque and better fuel economy. I spoke to a guy last weekend who bought my roll bars and he had his Colorado tuned at GPC and has stated that it was the best investment he has made to his new Colorado. He had the new base model Colorado.
There were a couple of things that steered us away from the BT50 when we were looking. Firstly was that the display for the reversing camera was in the mirror and was small where as in the Colorado it is in the stereo. And the other major issue was that the back seats were very uncomfortable. The wife was very unimpressed when she sat in the back during the test drive.
Any way my best advice is to drive everything, do your research (not going to bash a brand but one has lots of issues), push the salesmen hard and buy the best you can afford. I really wanted a Dodge RAM but was way out of my price bracket.
Hope you find your dream dual cab

 

[JT76]

Hey @megcam re pricing, and I believe this would be true regardless of what model you buy, I think knowing what other people have paid and then doing some work and you can get a much better deal.

My experience was once you decide on the model you want then do the deal over the phone, never try in a showroom as they will do the dance and check with the manager etc etc and just waste your time. You need to not only know the exact model you want but also what you want included, didn't include big ticket items only things like matts, bonnet guard and full tank fuel. The rest I bought over the first few months of ownership.

I knew others had paid $41k drive away for the model I wanted, the best price I could get from the local dealer was $45k as this was their cost price (yeah right) and the next closest dealer couldn't even match that price. Dealer number one said $45k was the best and after wasting a couple of hours at the showroom we left with them saying we won't call you as it's the best we can do and so on. Problem was they didn't have the colour I wanted in stock so they would need to order one in anyway ( better to find a dealer with one sitting in their yard that they want to move). A bit discouraged On the way home we stopped at the local shopping centre for something and I googled ford in Sydney (about 90 mins away) and called the first one that came up, offered $41k for what I wanted and after a 5 min spoil they said give me your credit card number and we will get back to you with when we have one landed (so I knew I could now get it for that price but didn't know when it would turn up), I wasn't going to hand over my credit card number unless I knew a date so while they did some research and said they would call back in 30 mins I started calling the next dealer on the list. This time I started with "have you got a ..... " and described the exact model I wanted. This time it come back with a yes I have one sitting here ready to go. I checked the build date and it. Only just came in so that was all good. Now knowing I have a deal at $41k almost done with another dealer but didn't know the date it would arrive I just told this dealer that I can get one for $41k at such and such dealer but waiting on a date, they are getting back to me any minute but if you can match it I'll take yours. The only difference was the other one was grey (about a $500 option I think) and this was white. I wanted either grey or white when I was ringing around. So to make up the difference I wanted a full tank of fuel worth about $100 almost, plus a bonnet guard and heavy duty rubber matts. I probably spent less then 5 mins on the phone and he did the math and said ok. So credit card details were handed over and job was done.

Arrived home and received a call from first dealer I walked into (the ones that wouldn't call back if I didn't take their $45k offer) told them "sorry I just bought one for $41k" and that put a pretty big smile on my face as they were pretty rude at the time we were in the dealership.

So moral to the story is know what you can get it for and jump on the phone, make sure they have one ready to go that they want to move and make your offer. Don't fold as they will always try to push you up ( it's their job) and if they don't want your money then call the next dealer. Both local dealers wouldn't get near what I could get 90mins away so I was happy to go for a drive to save a few grand. You also have to be 100% ready to give them a deposit over the phone otherwise they won't play the game.

End of month and end of quarter may help if they need the numbers but I'm not sure how true that rumour is but might help. In the end new cars are the same regardless of where you buy it so you are in control with cash in hand .

Keeping trades etc out of the deal is recommended so they can't fudge the numbers with your trade etc.

Last tip, buy a Ranger because they are awesome

 

[chartrock]

I agree with @JT76, the end of the month when a salesman or dealer needs to meet his quota is a good time to wheel and deal and play dealers off against each other.

I had to buy a Prado for my daughter and partner before they returned from Ireland. I started out with emails to six dealers within about 60 Kms of me stating what I wanted & asked for a price, 5 replies varied by over $4K, so replies to the dearest dealer saying thanks but no thanks brought an instant response. So began the game of offer and counter offer ending up with a deal of $2k under original cheapest offer and included bonnet and headlight protectors, quality mud mats inside and a larger rubber mat in the rear of the wagon plus a full tank of fuel. My daughter was stoked as the whole deal was around $7k less than they thought it would be.

 

[megcam]

Thanks for the advice @chartrock , @JT76 & @4wdphil I appreciate it. Someone previously suggested this guy and I found this informative and a little entertaining

.

Looks like I'll have to just get in and do some work and drop my expectation that they'll give me a great deal because I'm a good bloke

 

[Macca_75]

For what it's worth I have a 2014 Ranger XLT. Many upgrades but some of the major (weight) ones are canopy and drawer system, Long range fuel tank, bulbar and Winch, 40mm lift kit with medium duty spring in the back. All in all with the car fully loaded, full fuel tank and me as the driver weighs in at 2860Kg (so it's a heavier version of the car).

I tow a 2016 20.64.1 OB (extra water tank, extra battery, etc) with no WDH and it handles like a dream. Only issue is I am right up on every weight - front axle, rear axle, towball and GCM so need to watch what we carry.

 

[megcam]

To end the story we ended up with this :biggrin-26::

 

[cruza driver]

Congratulations @megcam very very nice

 

[17triton]

That looks great @megcam !!!! Enjoy.

 

[Marv_mart]

You will enjoy, best choice!:biggrin-26:

 

[Drover]

Loads of fun to come with a good vehicle.......................

 

[chartrock]

Great looking vehicle and good colour too.

 

[Disco Duck]

We finally bit the bullet and decided to retire the Discovery 2. It pulls like a student dentist and moves our 18ft Expanda Outback easily enough but because of the lack of gears in the auto it has to work very hard through the gears when in the hills as it is only a four speed box. 284,000 k's on the clock and while it hasn't been cheap to maintain, it has been very reliable and a heap of fun to drive.
We bought a 2020 BT50. It is the first non-Land Rover vehicle that we have bought in over twent years, so if you hear me quietly sobbing when I finally sell it, I hope you'll understand. Love the older Land Rovers but not all that keen on the latest models so time to try something else

Now we have to get the aluminium canopy fitted and hopefully we'll be good to go.

 

[Disco Duck]

Followed your example Chartrock.........now have a BT50 and a Mazda 2

 

[jazzeddie1234]

Not tempted by the Ineos Grenadier? I sure am... except the price

 

[Disco Duck]

Not tempted by the Ineos Grenadier? I sure am... except the price

You bet I was tempted, but I don't think I would ever be able to afford one..................bummer !!
The other problem being the availability of parts. I think they will be a long time off being a real commercial viability.