Thought I'd best join up and say hello as I've made use of this forum before I even bought my truck.
Bit of back ground...
I've been driving Porsche 924s and 944s for some years, love them and dont want to imagine a life without one. I was using a 2.5l Porsche 944 lux as my only car until recently I swapped it for a late model 944 Turbo. The turbo is superb at what it does, but it's so very different to a lux that I wasnt enjoying it on a daily basis. The seats are too deep to get in and out of regularly, the suspension was harder, the brakes sharper.
Due to being a turbo the compression is lower meaning less power when not on boost, and with higher gearing it just felt flat and hard work.
Also it's a damn nice car, my lux was good but was 'lived in'... I could get it dirty, I could put tools and garbage in the boot, but the new one was too nice to treat that way.
I've always liked the look of Fronteras, and I could see so many reasons to get one as a daily driver so I began hunting.
At first I didnt know any specifics, I'd just trawl through ebay and see whats out there.
I'd do some searches on google about 'frontera problems' and 'frontera known issues' and I could see that I should be looking at a 2.3TD, a 2.5TD, or a 2.8TD.
Parkers website showed that the 2.8 is best for mpg. Review websites showed that most owners were happy with their Fronty.
Too many sites said to avoid a 2.2, which seemed to be all ebay had to offer.
I was looking at some on ebay in late 2012, thinking i'd look to buy in 2013, but ya know how ebay roulette goes... if I can get this one for £xxx then I'll buy it, if it goes for more then it shows I should wait.
Bid £xxx... didnt win it..... damnit... feel a bit aggrieved really. Lets bid on something else... eventually getting a good bid on a 2.5td in Leicestershire. Seller seemed to list all of it's foibles and it all looked pretty good.
By chance, a pal had 'won' a car off ebay too, bidding while drunk but he wasnt unhappy when he sobered up and saw his bid, so we made a day of it, collecting cars.
From Herefordshire up to Preston by train. Collect his Audi A6 then drive to Leics to get my 2.5TD
Some lines from the ebay ad compared to the reality:
Some bits of corrosion, typical of a truck this age = rust on every panel
Slight weep of oil, usual on these things = evidence of oil leaks all down the path where he parks it, and on his driveway
The only advisory on MOT is some corrosion on brake pipe = FIVE advisories on MOT
Start it up and the speedo was all over the place.
The seller said it had never done that before.
Why wasnt this mentioned in the advert? ..... It's never happened before, I didnt know it did that.
Minutes later he said that it only ever does that when stationary.
Minutes later and we're moving and it is still all over the place.
He says 'a new speedo is only 20 or 30 quid on ebay' ...... "why would you search for speedos if it had never done this before?
The guy could lie his way into government, it made me wonder what else he wasnt telling us.
I told him that the advert wasnt at all accurate and I couldnt buy it, but I like to be fair so I gave him £20 to cover relisting it on ebay.
I see a 2.3 for sale 40 miles away on ebay, so I drive along to look at it, a much better truck than the Leics one. I tell the dealer that I will be putting in a last minute bid as long as the price stays sensible.
It does stay sensible and I snipe a bid in and I win a truck.... hurrah!
Then I get a message via ebay ... hi I'm really sorry I've sold this truck already and I meant to end the listing but didnt get to it in time.
I reply 'that's crap.. it didnt reach the price you wanted so you are weaselling out of the sale.. well I won the auction so I'm coming to collect my truck'
Seller responds saying he knows how it looks but he's being genuine and as he knows I drove along to look at it, he sends me some cash via paypal to cover my fuel costs. Fair play.
And the search went on.. and on.. until I find a nice 28 on Gumtree. I swap some messages and phone calls with the sellers, and they seem really genuine. It's not perfect but it's in use every day and they seem like nice people.
I decide to take a gamble, the truck is in Cornwall.. I've wasted enough time n money viewing vehicles and 2.8s arent coming up often enough.
I tell the sellers (husband and wife) that I'll buy it, and I'll paypal a deposit to them, and collect it when the snow is over n done with.
"Don't you want to view it first???" they say
Nope... it's too far to make a journey to view it, I 'm coming to buy it. Can you collect me from the station?
I travel by train in 22nd Jan, there is still snow everywhere but roads are all clear. It's an epic train ride, gorgeous scenery of snowy hills. Under the river Severn, which has no view but it's cool knowing I'm under a massive river. Through Portsmouth, see some battleships! Along the Devon coast right by the sea, was amazing.
I get to Liskeard and walk up the many ramps to get from the platform to the car park and see the Frontera.
I check the paperwork over and hand over a bunch of tea-stained bank notes (my flask had leaked)
A 200 mile drive home is a bit like a Top Gear adventure. I go over some Cornish Moors and the snow starts. I smile for the first time in a long time while driving in snow.... in the 944 I'd be terrified (but determined)
4 hours later I'm home, I'd narrowly avoided 2 massive traffic snarl ups. I chose the A30 instead of the A38... and the radio told me soon after that the A38 was closed for 2.5 hours! Bad snow also closed another road that i'd been on only minutes before. The truck gets me home without any problems beyond not being able to find radio 2
So, it needs a new starter motor, the solenoid is going... due to be fitted today but it pished down.
The xenon lights have stopped working, but thats because someone I know was messing about with them and killed them.
I found that the central locking fuse was out.. I wonder why thats out let's refit it and HONK HONK HONK HONK oh that'd be why.
A look on this very forum says to press the alarm button so that'll do for now, and hurrah the central locking all works!
The rear door handles have broken... I'm pretty sure thats down to Pete from working yanking at them, but I can open them from the inside and I can fit new handles in the summer.
Alternator belt might benefit from a slight tighten up.
Bit of rust on 1 door, as described by seller.
Bit of rust on bull bars... i'll sort it in summer.
The drivers (leather) seat boltster is crappy.... but I dont care
because thats kind of the point of the truck... It's meant to be a bit rough, its meant to be dirty and I like it just the way it is.Ive been through slightly flooded roads in it which I wouldnt risk in my car
I've been through snow in it, which I wouldnt do in my car
I drive it carefree and relaxed not worrying about which pothole is about to jar my spine next like in the car.
I like my truck!
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Welcome along to the forum....and you've got a nice solid truck there. Everyone likes their own frontera's for diferent reasons but we all pretty much agree on is that the 2.8 is all good 
to FOGland.
