Amarok or not to Amarok, that is the question

[ben_from_watson]

Hi folks. I'm going to buy a new ute. Had Holdens, Subaru, Ford/Mazda.

New one will be a new model Ford Ranger/Mazda, a Triton GLX-R, Hilux SR5 or an .........Amarok Highline.

Am here in the forum to get advice, see what others are thinking and maybe find a dealer based on people's experiences. I like the forum.

[Transporter]

Welcome to the forums ben!
How soon are you looking to buy?

[ben_from_watson]

Prob mid July. It depends on whether I can wait for the Ranger to compare it to others but that isn't till much later.

I've never owned a vw. Took a rok for a drive. Sweet. But $$$.

[balkanac]

Welcome!
I think you chose the wrong forum everyone is going to say get a VW
I've never had a ute before, but if my business depended on it i'd go for a toyota, proven reliability. Amarok is a new thing for VW, so it might not be that good, but if i was getting one for fun, i'd def get the Amarok. I love the looks

[maca]

I'll probably wait a few years to get my Amarok, that way I'll have more body options an hopefully the price will come down thanks to the ongoing competition between Toyota and Volkswagen.

Right now, I'd go for the new BT50 with the almost 150kw diesel engine. Hopefully the Ford gets the same engine because it's way better looking.

[ben_from_watson]

Yeah the hilux is good. But it handles like a jelly donut. But you're right about the new ford/Mazda. They'll have a 3.2l 5 cyl engine. I don't need that much fat, as mine will be doing light work.

Reliability is the question I have about vw. Not having owned one all I know about them is hearsay.

I'll prob put a post in the Amarok thread shortly. Tks to all who took the time to welcome me.

[anthony]

I have 3 words for you...

AMORAK,AMORAK,AMORAK...lol.

[phaeton]

Amarok will be more proven than a new product from Ford/Mazda as its been on the market longer than the not even released Ford/Mazda twins.

IMO after seeing Ford/Mazda twins in Sydney last year they'e half a class to big for the segment - sure they'll be bigger, better and perhaps cheaper, the Amarok is the GTI of its segment in that it can do all things to well, no half this and other half that.

[ben_from_watson]

Interesting on price....the leaks (from the ranger challenge fine print) say an xlt (one spec below Wildtrak) will be ~54k. Similar to rep for highline

[flyingfridge]

Very little to add other than I'm up to 6,500km in mine and absolutely love it. I never used to be a ute guy but this thing is bloody awesome and there's nothing better than spotting a HiLux on the road and then carving it up like Chum.

[ben_from_watson]

First question in my quest for a new ute: for those who have a Rok, how well is it screwed together? I see that vw Argentina produces the following kit: Suran, Fox, Amarok. And in their Cordoba plant the MQ200, SQ200, MQ250. So people's views on the quality of the Suran and Fox (I confess, never heard of them, but then again I'd never heard of amarok until 3 weeks ago)

The biggest mitigator of risk in buying a vehicle is the dealer. I'm in Canberra so I can purchase anywhere in the area Sydney-south coast-wagga-young-orange-Sydney and still not have a bad drive if I need to go back. So probably the number one thing I'd like from forum members is their experiences with dealers. If people don't want to give them a public cheer or curse, you could message me. I want a dealer who'll go into bat with the manufacturer if things go pear-shaped.

Good dealer = half way to hilux chum carving

[ben_from_watson]

MQ200, SQ200, MQ250 = gearboxes btw

[irsa76]

Build quality would be pretty similar I'd imagine. Considering most of the "Japanese" vehicles are built in Thailand, and to be honest passenger car levels of quality aren't really a priority in the utes it seems. Certainly the MY11 Hilux I drove last week felt "cheaper" then my Rav4.
As for dealers, I'm biased having worked for Rolfe and Lennocks here, and am more then willing to deal with them as a customer. Haven't had many issues with Toyota as a private customer, but they stuffed us around with our Hiaces workvans at work, MAJOR fleet operator with a couple of hundred vans in Australia/New Zealand. Infact Toyota AU has been so indifferent to us that it's unlikely we'll buy anymore Toyotas, certainly our fleet manager has been looking at European options for a while now.

[Transporter]

First question in my quest for a new ute: for those who have a Rok, how well is it screwed together? I see that vw Argentina produces the following kit: Suran, Fox, Amarok. And in their Cordoba plant the MQ200, SQ200, MQ250. So people's views on the quality of the Suran and Fox (I confess, never heard of them, but then again I'd never heard of amarok until 3 weeks ago)

The biggest mitigator of risk in buying a vehicle is the dealer. I'm in Canberra so I can purchase anywhere in the area Sydney-south coast-wagga-young-orange-Sydney and still not have a bad drive if I need to go back. So probably the number one thing I'd like from forum members is their experiences with dealers. If people don't want to give them a public cheer or curse, you could message me. I want a dealer who'll go into bat with the manufacturer if things go pear-shaped.

Good dealer = half way to hilux chum carving

The relationship between the dealer and the car manufacturer is always the same, no matter what brand you buy. Some dealer as a person will look after you better than other, but that's personal and can always change when that bloke would leave the dealership.

When buying a new car you need a bit of luck, but sometimes it's a bad luck and you could have a lemon instead a car. All manufacturers have them.

Good luck with your choice.

Plenty of dealers in the forum, I'm sure you won't wait too long for the respond.

[ben_from_watson]

As for dealers, I'm biased having worked for Rolfe and Lennocks here, and am more then willing to deal with them as a customer

How did you find working for Lennocks? They're the Amarok people in Canberra.