THE PORTAL HUB - Pinzgauers, Haflingers, Volvo 303s and more!

Seeing as how the new company line is 'we won't sell any Pinzgauers to civvies', I guess I won't be shopping for a new X-M in 2009 when I'm hoping to be able to disappear from the office for 3 months and go on trips like the Canning Stock Route and the gulf country here in Australia, so I guess I'll be looking at a 716K on the second-hand market from somewhere.

How practical will this be from the parts point of view? I presume I'll have to order whatever I need from the USA and wait for two to six weeks for delivery. Not good if something breaks out in the middle of nowhere.

Is the Pinz too much of an orphan here in Australia for me to use as a daily bush-basher? At the moment I'm clocking up around 30,000km of genuine off-road-in-the-middle-of-nowhere travel per year. At least in a LandCruiser or Patrol I can get parts down at the local pub.

Thing is of course a Pinz will take you places that would give a Patrol an apoplectic fit.

If you're looking for a 716, browse the TD section of this forum
There are very few TD parts on the US side of the pond, everything seems to be in the UK
Good luck on the hunt

There are about 19 712s and 1 710 in Oz. If there were any "loose" TDs down there, Prof Pinz would be lurking in the bush for it.

A TD in rhd would come out of the UK, there was a 718 firetruck on UK ebay a couple months back. Parts are from either the UK (if they'll return your inquiries) or Austria.

I didn't realize they weren't selling to civilians now, probably tired of the emails from "pipe dreamers", and they are probably at full production.

From the phrasing, sounds like the same PR person sent you your email reply that I got years ago.... short and abrupt! Only difference,mine had a sense of "stuttering" and confusion in it, as she had never heard of any TDs in the States, and I received a few different replies afterward from their Spares dept.

Dave Dunn

This is beginning to sound like it might not be the way to go. I was at a service station at Beresfield (near Newcastle in NSW) a few years ago, and parked at the pump on the other side was a Pinzgauer, not sure what it was, I think it was a 710, and I remember looking at it, then back at my Land Cruiser, and thinking "Hmmm...."

However if the attitude of the factory is hostile regarding the supply of parts, then I'm probably better off chasing a Unimog. Although I do all my own stuff like build engines and spray bodywork, there's no point in my tracking down a 716 and going to all the hassle of bringing it back here if it gets turned into junk the first time it needs anything because the factory tells me to sod off.

Lets see......

I contract = 1000 trucks, at Milspec Pricing (Usually considerably higher than what civilians are capable of paying). Answer the questions, do the demo's once or twice....contract signed....focus on output.

Versus 10,000 customers questions, to if you are lucky get 1000 truck sales, with every truck having different "accessories/colors". From any business perspective it looks like a no-brainer especially, and this is key, when you are working at near capacity.

If you are located in a location that does not have access to reasonable parts supplies and you do not have the time to wait on long transit times, it doesn't make a lot of sense to go with that brand. Just my .02 cents.....

Cheers,

Scott

I say practicality schmacticality. Get in, strap up, hang on. Buy one and enjoy it, or let it pass and wonder for the rest of your life. No matter how you slice it, except for a very very limited number of folks, the pinz has no practicality at all.