Miles For Macha Blog

Many people have asked what type of 4x4 vehicle the school needs. We have been investigating all of our options and have finally come to a conclusion. The school would be best benefited by having a Toyota Landcruiser 70 series. This is a vehicle that is only sold in Africa and Australia. It is called the "work horse" of vehicles in Africa, and is built to endure the incredibly rough roads and conditions like those in Macha. It seats 13 people and has fold-up seats in the back so that it can easily be used for transporting supplies.Ideally we could find a deal on a 2-4 year old vehicle. We looked at importing a used one and found that it would cost about $30-32,000 after taxes and import fees.
We have found a Toyota dealer that sells these vehicles to Not-For-Profit organizations in Africa for about $35,000 (NEW). This is a hefty price tag, but considering the sticker price is $10-15,000 above this and it would be a new vehicle, we think this would be the best option. Reliability and Durability are the keys to getting the most out of this vehicle. The closest mechanic is 2.5 hours away (on the bumpiest dirt road you have ever traveled), and that is not even a real mechanic...you have to go 6 hours to get to the real garage! That means that the only work that we want done on this vehicle is preventive maintenance...no break downs!
Whew! I am sure you are bored to death by these details, but I just wanted to let all of you who are so generously helping the children of Macha and MICS what the exact plans are.
Below is a video that gives plenty of details on the LandCruiser 70 series (click on the image to start the video)