parts of the chassis tend to hold water in these.  if an underground vehicle it can cause severe corrosion. 

I'd look inside all the doors, lift the seals and see if any damage or corrosion.  try and lift the carpets/floor coverings as well.  Look up into the suspension and assess for damage and corrosion.  Make sure the diff, sump, gear box haven't nailed a rock while you're under the car.  if possible remove the door trims and check inside the doors for damage.

make sure all doors close well.  not having to slam or push them to get them to seal up properly.  ensure all doors have even gaps.

check the air filters, and under the bonnet.  stand at an angle to all panels on the car and look for ripples or dull spots.  if you find one, knock on it.  if it's a dull noise it's most likely been bogged up with filler.  Also check the under sides of the side steps for any damage.

and above all, test drive the car.  in 4x4 low and high.  listen for any odd noises.  and don't forget to get a mechanic to check it out!!!

keep in mind, if an ex miner, chances are it would have had internal roll bars etc.  this means they lift the carpet/vinyl and bolt it into the floor and also the roof.  they also drill all sorts of holes in the dash.  a good vinyl repair man should be able to fix this (such as Dave from Uticolor).

good luck!

Easy advise, dont. Local ex govt if any. Will say in front of logbook

by wagon are you talking a 200 or 79 series?

Best bet for any of the Toyo V8 diesels is post late 09 when an upgrade was done and among other things new pistons etc fitted which got rid of the earlier oil burning issue.

I just picked up a 2010 200LC over east last month, pm me if you want more info?

If its been in the iron ore industry don't touch it.
All the chassis cavities fill up with iron ore dust which rusts out from the inside in no time flat.

 James have a look at these.... They are ex thrifty rentals on colllier rd basso.   

http://m.ausvehicles.com.au/cars/results/?N=1217&Nrs=collection%28%29%2frecord%5b%28AdvertiserLegacyID%20%3d%20collection%28%22dimensions%22%29%2fdval%5bname%3d%22AdvertiserLegacyID%22%5d%2fdval%5bname%3d%2212254%22%5d%2f%2fid%29%5d&msrc=bbtm

 All depends on what u want to use it for and how much u want to pay. They are tough cars although they do get a flogging. I would buy an iron ore car over an under ground car any day. Before selling these cars they clean them up really well and if u don't have a keen eye u could end up with a reel pig. All depends on how pedantic u want to be about dends scratches and inside of the car. Good luck with what ever u decide to do. I would buy an ex miner for the right price mainly for a beach hack though.

Depends what they have been doing. We have plenty of that model getting around Hedland that are driven by Supervisors. They have never seen a mine and only do a little bit of gravel work.
Big difference between one of those and an underground rig. Just need to have a good look at them to try to get a good idea of their history.

I certainly would not buy an ex mines car considering some of the mines that I have been on and seen the way they are driven including me (drive it like you stole it) would not touch one with a barge pole better off buying ex council or ex government

Does anyone know any tell tale signs to know if these cars have been to mines/underground/iron ore or not.. required electronics such as exterior lighting or isolation switches, as there are usually still the plugs remaining..

i have found some dealers will tell you where they have been, others not... and what they tell you might not be true.

Just bought an ex mine prado, knew the car and its history so was a bit more comfortable decision.

Will be generally white, isolation switches in engine bay/bull bar, roll bar inside, VHF radio, switches in interior for beacons/reverse, usually manual aswell.

Another way to tell us to look at the tread of the tyres (including spare) for cuts to the lugs and shoulder. Harsh rocks and conditions will slice a noticeable pattern in the tread. Sign it's been driven on haul roads/pits

i wouldn't get one from a dealer as they strip the entire car, repaint and fix all cosmetic damage, and flog it off for 10k+ more pretending its never seen a mine. Best way is to buy from the auctioneers (manheim, pickles etc) and you can see it in its current condition.  Not reprinted mad covered up to look good.

For a 200 series it would be likely a supervisors/executive car. Would be the safer model to get, although check for rust on the underbody incase if has come from a site like cockatoo, koolan island etc.

 Hi captain,

I believe it is a requirement by law that a dealer has to inform a potential buyer that the vehicle is an ex mines unit.

Look inside the vehicle for sighns of roll bar ( as previousl stated ) look on the roo bar or front guards for signs of an isolator switch, holes in the dash from two ways, swicthes etc. Most mine site vehicles would have an afff fire suppression system.Some have all electrical connections covered with denso tape. 

Also extra lights, flashing lights, rev lights.also look for removed stickers/flouro striping.

I have been on mine sites most of my life surf and u/g and as most guys have said get a bosses vehicle if you can.

Even better, ask around on this site as mining companies sometimes sell one or two by tender to their employees.

We had a 100 series go for 4000 last year, needed a bit of work but the bloke who bought it got a permit and drove it back to perth.

Its the luck of the draw...hope this helps.

Cheers neil.

 Not many land cruisers as they are too expensive,op vehicles usually a base comercial hi-lux or similar.

If you can lose a bit of space a prado  is the go,everywhere on mine sites and driven by admin,engineers ect.

Good vehicles too,I have one and with a lift and suspension upgrade  will go anywhere a cruiser will on less fuel.

Since the saying everyone knows about not touching a mine vehicle first came out a lot of things have changed in the industry in WA.

 I garauntee most people that say steer clear are not talking from a bad personal experience with one but just what they have heard from others-who also heard from others.

Any miner that has been flogged to death will be pretty obviously showing signs of a hard life even to non mechanicly minded people.

The vast majority of miners going to auction are from the major companys, anyone who has worked on any of the bigger sites will know how speeding or treating eqipment poorly is looked

upon-People are scared of going 2km over the speed limits as they will be on the next plane out.

The bigger companys enforce daily vehicle pre-start checks,and they never miss a service.

Dont worry about talk about the iron ore ones,thats the majority on offer and as others said before look for a Prado.

Dust suppresion is a big focus on the major sites and most wouldnt have seen to much dust.

Any pit vehicles or flogged exploration vehicles again you will notice straight away,the companys dont bother getting dust out of everything and bogging rust.

These will be priced to reflect their apearance and perception as a clapped miner.

Good buys here for a farm ute or beach fisher that will look and maybe ride rough but mechanicly has been looked after a lot better than most private vehicles.

even pit vehicles go in for services very reguarly and anything showing wear or damage is changed straight away as the bloke working on it doesnt have to pay for the part and will swap it straight out.

Overall I think the majority of ex miners these days  are very reasonably priced  and will go for years if your not worried about the odd hole in the dash where a radio has been taken out.

 Just noticed the topic was mines/hire cars.

Would be a lot more wary of the hire ones.

i cannot believe people actually think any mine vehicle is treated well, what a crock! stay away buying one will be very costly, underground muds eat through gearboxes

 Can't believe people think they are all the same. Plenty of mining company vehicles never go anywhere near a mine!

Ex miner repair kit......

 Big difference between what mines are like but I look after a team on a major iron ore mine and have a regular turnaround of vehicles.

It is disciplinary issue if someone is found not to have done a full thorough check every morning and reported any faults.

A lot of vehicles have a GPS system that alerts management if a speed limit is broached by more than 10kmph.

This results in written warnings, so to flog a vehicle would be stupid.Every other department is the same and the other 2 iron ore majors are pretty strict as well.

So dont paint all ex miners with the same brush,there are some good buys available out there.

don't get an ex miner it has probably been thrashed by me or one of my mates

I'm going to look at ex open cut or ex-rental Hiluxes next week to become my new fishing/beach rig.....can get 2011 with 40K Dual cab for $25K. Just a matter of picking through and finding the ones in better condition as like Dodgy says many have never even made it into the pit and are just driven to and from site.