Well I’m nervous about posting cause I’m embarrassingly very uneducated about mechanics and I would never be able to do the work myself. However the pure aesthetics of the build quality of the FIRST GEN 2 door Monteros make me crazy. I’m a 45 year old work full time professional . I want to give no illusions that I will be going 4x4 or doing any cool fun rock crawling . I would love this ride cause to me it is the coolest , neatest -looking small suv ever made that I’ve ever seen in my life and that I may , just may be able to daily drive one to and from work and to the grocery store . Ya know a daily driver . Now that being said . I drive 22 miles to work . So that’s roughly 50 miles a day 6 days a week . So I would be driving this thing. Matter of fact I would hope to be able to drive it forever . So that being said . I would like an automatic too , I know I know . But I’m using this as a fun daily driver, highway driver , I figure I can get 15 mph on the highway cruising at 70-75 mph.
Now that being said . If you were looking for an automatic 2 poor Montero / pajero what’s the price point you would be looking for well sorted . I take timing belts transmissions and engines may need to be fixed , rebuilt or replaced.
is there a certain year I should be looking at within the first gen guide line ?
I saw one 2 years ago and it looked wonderful not molested all tasteful mods 2 door 1990 Montero no dents no rust anywhere ran beautiful no oil leaks . I’dle well. Cold start , no problem ... suspension good everything worked As it should...... it was an 8 outta 10 cosmetically ( the paint had some areas , but did t matter as I was gonna repaint it John Deere green either way )


She also was a 9 outta 10 mechanically. I hired a mechanic locally to drive over and give it a full inspection.
They were asking $5,200
was gonna have it shipped to me for $800.
was gonna buy it... but as I almost got thru the whole deal I realized that driving this all the time with a manual would have driven me nuts... so what brings me back to you guys the expects ...


is there here anything I need to be looking at when trying to buy an auto 1st gen that will only be driven to and from highway work . No muddling or 4x4 here . I’d like to go ahead and find one and maintain it and keep it forever god willing .. any suggestion or advice from the kind, educated, and experienced friends of Montero forum would be great and would surely appreciate any of your help and support , guidance to going forward . Thanks a lot man
j

 

Hello J, welcome to the forum. No need to be afraid, we don't bite
As with any older vehicles, your chances of finding what you are looking for, especially very specific model and in great condition depends on your willingness to spend time scouring the interwebs and the depth of your pockets... If you spend enough time looking, eventually, you are likely to come across that specific make/model/option. You can try to post a "Wanted" ad on craigslist or other websites. Hopefully someone who was wavering on selling/not selling his rig will see it and contact you.
As to Manual/Automatic dilemma... No one can get into your skin, so its difficult to offer a valid advice on that topic. My Montero is automatic, but my other daily driver is manual. I love them both and I did not find manual transmission to be any sort of inconvenience. This however might be different if you are dealing with the city traffic and gridlock. Manual is a lot less fun in that situation.
One thing you may want to do is to dig up some production statistics to see how many 2-door Gen I were produced, what proportion of them were Manual/Auto and how many shipped to US. This will give you a good idea of how likely you are to come across that specific combo you are looking for.
Keep looking. One is bound to show up. Best of luck.