I can't see why apart from potential hassle. If you save a bucket load and potentially have to spend a few pennies more than norm, who cares its still cheaper.

 

They are treated like junk from day 1.
Also often corrosion will be a issue due to various chemicals for reclaiming yield from what once would be waste.

 

23000 genuine kilometers in 1st or second gear at 3000rpm :roll:

 

I have been told it has something to do with most of the mining areas being a salty base therefore they have a higher possibilty of rust/corrosion in places where your not likely to look until it is too late. But if it is at the right price who cares as a stepping stone it's a good start.

 

thanks everyone, will get it thoroughly checked first , see how i go, its worth a look....

 

Mate , i'd be very carefull and get it checked from top to bottom , some of the vehicles we've got at our mine are shocking , they are left out in all sorts of weather , rain , hail , storms , extreme heat , drivin hard , think of how a rental car is treated x 1000 , just my opinion
waz

 

Think of an ex-army 100 series STD then mulitply by 1000! The Army 100's look like a 300,000km car after 25,000km!
The mines cars spend most of thier time in low range going very slow in terrible conditions. That said you could definately get a good bargain, especially if you plan on having it as a bush truck that will get beaten up!

 

the one main thing i know bout them is if it's coal dust you will have a never ending war against rust. my old boy know's 1st hand his navara is only 2 year's old yet the chassis look's like the rusted under body of a 40 year old salt flats basher. it's just some thing to be weary of when looking for a rig

 

We have 2 x patrols on a mine site and I wouldnt hesitate buying one. Yes they get used and are subject to more corrosion but they are frequently washed and well serviced. Hard work wont bother a Patrol Ute ...

 

being a miner i would never buy a 4x4 from a mine they drive them into the ground not intensionly it is just the conditions are very harsh if they last more then 50K then they are a bosses car . steer clear

 

I dont think even the wreckers buy a lot of ex miners unless they're the ones used by the office workers who only really travel on access tracks. The ones used as full on minng tools arent really worth much more than their scrap value becasue of the corrosion problems and hard wear. I've seen landcruisers with brake backing plates rusted through, holes rusted through gear boxes. It's amazing they run sometimes.

 

Mate, mate. Listen to me. I work in the mines, have done for 15years. YOU do NOT want to buy an ex-mining vehicle. I dont care if it's a Nissan, Toyota or a CAT D11, please save your money. Hang on I'll PM you my bank account details and you can just throw some money at me stranger. Because that's what you'll be doing. Corrosion, Metal Fatigue, Water in fuel or fuel quality in turn means injectors and pumps, poor maintenance even if contracted out, they don't care, gear boxes, clutches, suspension, you name it. One of our utes did 5 clutches in 12 months. 99.9% of their life on hard rock or mineralised dirt. They get flogged, Operators get out of a Haul Truck or Shovel at 3am just can't wait to get back to the Crib room and to go the the brown dump, lets see how fast this thing can go weehee. Do you want me to go on?

 

being a miner i would never buy a 4x4 from a mine they drive them into the ground not intensionly it is just the conditions are very harsh if they last more then 50K then they are a bosses car . steer clear

which mine are you at Col081 ?

 

Mate, mate. Listen to me. I work in the mines, have done for 15years. YOU do NOT want to buy an ex-mining vehicle. I dont care if it's a Nissan, Toyota or a CAT D11, please save your money.

True , True , the only one's that think mine vehicles are treated well , haven't seen first hand how they are treated

 

We have 2 x patrols on a mine site and I wouldnt hesitate buying one. Yes they get used and are subject to more corrosion but they are frequently washed and well serviced. Hard work wont bother a Patrol Ute ...

I work with the 2 utes that GUTruk is talking about, true in what he says. But I did an inspection on one of those vehicles about a month back, and the engine oil was nowhere near the dipstick. They are regularly serviced, and a vehicle inspection done every shift (the tick and flick book says so), so how does an engine with no oil leaks loose that much oil in one shift?

There are some ex mine vehicles that would definitely be well looked after, and probably never been actually on site(Managers vehicle etc), so if you look carefully you might be right.

Mick.

 

All the ex-mine vehicles we see in our workshop eventually get rust in bad places (ie, chassis, suspension mounts, plus body rust etc ).... Some rust more & faster than others - but they all end up with bad premature rust eventually....

The main reason is that part of the minning process involves the use of very highy concentrated SULPHURIC ACID. ( The mine & plant are processing Bauxite to make Alumina, ( allumunium ) - but i know alot of other mines also use Sulphuric acid & many other corrosive chemicals.

Also many years ago when living in Darwin, i saw alot of ex-mine vehicles sent to a Dealership that i " knew of " in Darwin - they were Jazzed up, including new paint & underbody sealant, and then put on the used car lot...... Bad news - they were basically thrashed, rusted & rooted ! ( but looked great to the un-trained eye ).Some were only 2-3 years old with around 40,000k's.... ( HARD KLM's ). Those cars came from a mine some where in W.A. ???

I would be very carefull - make sure that you can trust the sound judgement of a VERY reputable mechanic to check out that vehicle. ( also make sure that he is aware that it is an ex mine vehicle - if any bad signs, including fresh paint or underbody sealer, than steer well clear )......
Good luck - hope you make the right decision..... Maybe you will be lucky & get one of the very RARE ones that have had no actual on site use.
Cheers, Gavin........

 

unless your gonna turn it into a race car dont bother. 1st hand experience says so

 

If you can find one that a manager has owned and has only gone on the haul roads occasionally it might be OK. I worked around central QLD mines as a contractor a few years ago and I wasn't too worried about my ute (Patrol). Overloaded on rough roads sucking in fine coal dust all day, not good. I once saw a Landcruiser ute parked outside the main office once idling for about 3 hrs to keep the AC cold.
I looked at some in the warehouse yard once that were going to auction and the seats had just about punched through the floor

The sulphur in the coal wrecks them too

 

The main reason is that part of the minning process involves the use of very highy concentrated SULPHURIC ACID. ( The mine & plant are processing Bauxite to make Alumina, ( allumunium ) - but i know alot of other mines also use Sulphuric acid & many other corrosive chemicals.

We use : Sulphuric acid , caustic soda , SPIX , lime , cynide and there's a few others so it's ****tail of chemicals our vehicles are exposed to
waz

 

its worth a look....

No, its not... Why do you think $60,000 ex mine trucks go for $10,000? Cause they are good value?

The ground is extremely corrosive. I helped a mate do a dual cab conversion on a 100 series, the chassis was ****ed from the inside out... It was solid with 'mine dust' of some form.. once I started digging it out of the rails, mate said to leave it alone... it wasnt well.

The car was only a few years old..

Just wait and be paitent, mate of mine took 9 mths to find a GU he liked, and could afford.

 

ok ok lol now i know, thats why i asked because i had no idea....i'll give them all a wide berth....thanks everyone....just like the saying goes, if its to good to be true, run a mile...
thanks again.

 

Just out of interest, can you post up the auction site / advert or where you saw them ?

 

I agree with everyone else here I work in the mines and we absolutely flog the crap out of these cars. We mainly have dual cab hilux utes and they only last about 10,000 - 20,000 before needing major repairs like injector pumps, clutches, suspension, and body repairs from people driving into places they shouldn't (usually trying to find somewhere quiet to sleep on night shift). Trust me don't buy one.

 

mate, i would spend a bit more and buy one you can be more cetain is has not been flogged to the ****house!!

extra couple of grand now may save you ALOT more in the future.

my2C
Cheers

 

3 hours idling outside is not that long. we work 12 hour shifts in the mine l work in and during a hot summers day or a cool winters night the cruisers wont be shut down for the whole shift.
They delvelop a bit of a miss aonce they have been idling for a couple of hours but nothing a little bit of a rev wont fix.
Biggest problem l find on our site is the amount of people who dont know how to use a 4wd. Its not uncomman for these vehicle to be driven in high 4 on the road to and from jobs because the driver has no idea what he is doing. (yes he will report that the steering is getting hard to turn)