[F1V10]

These would be my choices with approx $80-100k, not in order.

2014 HSV GenF GTS, Senator, Grange or R8 (sedan or wagon)(depreciation ain't much better than an SRT)
2012 BMW X5 xDrive 40 or 50i Sport
2012/13 Land Cruiser Sahara

I like the land cruiser option.
Cos it's mostly family/wife car I wouldn't mind the new kluger grande.
Too many options but confusing at times.
Don't feel like another bmw

[M308]

I like the land cruiser option.
Cos it's mostly family/wife car I wouldn't mind the new kluger grande.
Too many options but confusing at times.
Don't feel like another bmw

If the Cruiser is a maybe, go look & test drive one with the family.

Go the 4.5 TT Diesel, and you would be lucky to lose 15% over 3-5 years of ownership.....resale & reliability is incredible!

Extremely reliable & very functional for a daily & the family.....so much room, and all the options you need.

Let us know how you go

[diabloinoz]

ferrarista2 and M308 are soooooo far off the mark its just not funny!!

So, I have the 2013 SRT8 ... O M G what a machine!!!

I have never bought a car new until I got this one.  Only 250 were imported for this version.

Let's be clear ... it's not a shitbox, is cheap to service, has unbelievable performance for a 2.3tonne truck, is impeccable inside with suede, leather, and carbon fibre all over it, I've had no issues since new - and that was 18 months ago and I've now done 32k km in it.

I paid $72k plus on road costs.  Try to find one second hand under $65k now ... that's only $7k in almost 2 years ... I think depreciation like that on an exotic is a thing of dreams.

It is essentially an ML63 AMG chassis, built in Austria with a great big american engine dropped in the front.  The engine happily cruises on the freeway with 4 cylinders shut down, so can be economical, but mostly isn't depending on your driving style.

Performance is unbelievable.  Book says 4.6-4.7 for 0-100kph.  I've personally done 4.0 in mine on a cold winters night on a quiet dual carriageway with 100RON fuel inside.  Happy as a performance truck or a school run car.

I simply would not consider anything else as a viable alternative ... and the number of SRT8s is very low ... so depreciation will be minimal.

Anything before 2011 for Jeep ... forget it ... old school crap jeeps ... anything post 2011, phenomenal value for money and performance.

Good luck ... but don't waste $50k+ on something else.

[diabloinoz]

Oh, and regards to the Euro-machines.

My brother has an X5 which ran low on diff oil, didn't alert him, and guess what ... $11.5k to fix.  And that was less than 3 years old.

Sorry ... no comparison to the jeep and he paid more for his 2nd hand when I bought mine brand new.

[F1V10]

ferrarista2 and M308 are soooooo far off the mark its just not funny!!

So, I have the 2013 SRT8 ... O M G what a machine!!!

I have never bought a car new until I got this one.  Only 250 were imported for this version.

Let's be clear ... it's not a shitbox, is cheap to service, has unbelievable performance for a 2.3tonne truck, is impeccable inside with suede, leather, and carbon fibre all over it, I've had no issues since new - and that was 18 months ago and I've now done 32k km in it.

I paid $72k plus on road costs.  Try to find one second hand under $65k now ... that's only $7k in almost 2 years ... I think depreciation like that on an exotic is a thing of dreams.

It is essentially an ML63 AMG chassis, built in Austria with a great big american engine dropped in the front.  The engine happily cruises on the freeway with 4 cylinders shut down, so can be economical, but mostly isn't depending on your driving style.

Performance is unbelievable.  Book says 4.6-4.7 for 0-100kph.  I've personally done 4.0 in mine on a cold winters night on a quiet dual carriageway with 100RON fuel inside.  Happy as a performance truck or a school run car.

I simply would not consider anything else as a viable alternative ... and the number of SRT8s is very low ... so depreciation will be minimal.

Anything before 2011 for Jeep ... forget it ... old school crap jeeps ... anything post 2011, phenomenal value for money and performance.

Good luck ... but don't waste $50k+ on something else.

Thanks sulley
I m taking it for a test drive this arvo,
If the wife likes it then I ll prob order one.
Heard the 2014 one has an upgraded gear box and slight cosmetic changes.
I ll pm you for the dealer details, the new ones are advertised for way too much.
Thanks again mate. Hope you enjoying the 6.0

[diabloinoz]

No worries ...

Yes, I was very lucky getting a 2013 model.  I specifically did not want the 8-speed box.  I hate all that automatic up and down crap when you least want it or expect it.

The thing I loved most about the SRT8 5-speed was that when I "DROVE" it ... even in auto mode it reacted as a manual would ... i.e. just when I wanted to change down, it did it already ... when I wanted to "hold" a gear, it did ... and didn't try to force me into the next gear.  I've never come across an auto-car that worked like a manual before this Jeep.  I was so impressed, I bought it.

Personally, I prefer the styling of the 2013 model and the 5-speed box, I don't particularly like the "softened" 2014 model.  It also has a better stereo, BUT, it includes all the climate controls as part of the head unit ... I can see trouble down the line with that.  The 2014 model is slower too.

I would buy a good 2nd hand 2013 model with 10k km on the clock - you won't lose money.

When the 2013 model came out ... the AUS$ was VERY high against the US$ (1.1) and they priced it to take over the market.  Only 250 were brought in to Oz, the 2nd largest market after the US.  Only 4000 were made for that series.

[MikeG]

OK, maybe this is a little off topic, but I just wanted to compare another option you might consider...

I just bought a 2012 Skoda Superb Elegance 4x4 Wagon for the BE Company Car - Pretty happy with the interior quality and feature for the bargain price, but I went for the 103TDI 4x4 for economy and reliability.  Not really a performance option, but pretty happy so far with only 5000km on the clock. 

They went nuts raiding the VW/Audi parts bin with this car, and the Stereo is quite nice.  Even better than my Audi S4 Bose system.

Heated front and back seats, dual mode climate control, leadther and woodgrain interior, cruise control, bluetooth handsfree, front and rear parking sensors, refrigerated glovebox, integrated umbrella in the passenger side rear door, removable rechargable torch in the boot, etc all standard.  RRP ~$57k, but at the moment you can get them for around $40k new...

The petrol variants would most likely have better performance, but at over 2.5 tonnes these are heavy cars - they also rival the E class Merc for rear seat legroom.  Nuts really...

With my eldest son (14) already nearing 6ft tall, I think we're going to need the legroom.



M

[F1V10]

I finally went to the jeep dealership to test drive the srt.
Guess what they don't have a demo car, and the salesman told me they own like 3 dealerships and no one has one that I can take it for a spin.
They are expecting one next week maybe!
 How the hell are they trying to get business if they can't even show me the bloody damn car.
The service isn't great hopefully it's not the case with jeep all together.

We then went to toyota to test drive the land cruiser,
My wife isn't a fan of something that big and high up, so we checked out the kluger while we were at the dealership.
She's quite happy with it but I didn't see anything special in spending 75k on that car.

Hopefully I get to test drive the srt soon enough.

[anotherforumuser]

I can never picture a Skoda wagon without at least one spare racing bike on the roof. Tour de France and Tour Downunder are to blame. Great legroom in the back.

[diabloinoz]

I finally went to the jeep dealership to test drive the srt.
Guess what they don't have a demo car, and the salesman told me they own like 3 dealerships and no one has one that I can take it for a spin.
They are expecting one next week maybe!
 How the hell are they trying to get business if they can't even show me the bloody damn car.
The service isn't great hopefully it's not the case with jeep all together.

We then went to toyota to test drive the land cruiser,
My wife isn't a fan of something that big and high up, so we checked out the kluger while we were at the dealership.
She's quite happy with it but I didn't see anything special in spending 75k on that car.

Hopefully I get to test drive the srt soon enough.

The SRT is in extremely short supply.  Find one on Carsales and test drive that and talk to the owner about their experience.  Mine has been fantastic so I can only go by that.

It was only by pure luck I managed to test drive mine.  I wouldn't put a deposit down until I knew what it drove like.  I eventually popped by the dealer by pure accident on Xmas eve, he knew me from many prior discussions, said he'd had a cancellation and before he called up the next one on the list ... did I want to consider it.  Of course, I thought he was just saying that, but it was a genuine cancellation - I asked him the spec ... he told me ... was exactly the colour and spec I wanted ... so we argued over price.  He knocked $4k off to do the deal there and then!

I broke his arm off and signed.  Timing and a bit of luck brought me my SRT8 ... I wouldn't be selling it in a hurry!

Just had a quote on my 36K service this morning ... major service for $482!  RESULT