trying to convince my wife that a Pinz is a good purchase.

[krick3tt]

Precisely why my wife refuses to go to any of the meetings that are held...doesn't want to sit and be bored with truck talk...yet, she convinced me to get the pinz. Actually I think it was more of a get rid of the Mog.

[Jimm391730]

I forgot to mention that my wife wasn't too happy when I brought home the 712W... until she drove it. Then we had to get a 710M for her!

[kdiqq]

Ay! I just went through this with my wife! I went through the trouble of convincing her for SEVERAL months that a supercharged CTS-V was a good idea and she began to get excited. Imagine her disappointment when I found the Pinz... What sold her was the idea of making quick camping trips in the thing and the fact that I have a second work truck to lean on. So if the Pinz breaks, not only do I have the capacity to fix it on my own, but I can fix it at my leisure.

Don't buy one (or sell it to your wife) as a daily-driven, ultra reliable, comfy quiet family hauler. This ain't a Jeep, it's a toy.

That being said, the wife and I have been in love driving everywhere at 60-65mph, taking friends places, letting children play in it, and just taking in the whole experience. I have a second truck, but I have been daily driving my Pinz. Putting on kms like crazy. Aside from leaks and upgrades, I've had 0 downtime. It has no leaks now, everything works perfect, and it's an absolute kick. Know *exactly* what you're getting in to. I've had hot rods growing up and you have to be prepared to have stuff break. You won't avoid repairs, but don't get bogged down emotionally. That's the worst part. You've got great resources here and it's a very easy vehicle to work on. When something goes wrong, take it in stride. It's more than likely an easy fix

[Andre]

As another 10+ year pinzgauer owner, I have been so pleased with my trucks(2 710m's,1 712 trophy truck) that I can't imagine being without one ever again.
That being said;
I am mechanically inclined.
I am thorough with my maintenance(now)
I drive more miles in my pinz than 90% of other posters on this forum.

I abused my first truck(tipped over, rolled over into a ravine, drove in the surf in Baja Mexico. played in the mud ALLOT) for 8+ years.

repairs made(other than body)
rebuilt clutch slave cylinder
rebuilt front locker master cylinder
replaced brake shoes
replaced 1 front axle assembly.

The first 3 or 4 repairs are common for these trucks.
The last was entirely my fault. salt water contamination of the oil and didn't check its condition for 6 mos after the intrusion.

That all being said, My family loves our Pinzgauer and we depend on it more than any other vehicle we've owned.

[rmel]

To be blunt, if you haven't sold your wife you probably have a degree of ambivalence yourself

Before you go back for a second hearing in court, you may want to ask yourself a few questions.

Are you good with general maintenance on perhaps a more challenging mechanical wonder like a Pinz?
Got the tools and place to do the work? If there was a major breakdown, is there anyone in the area that
can bail you out; a Pinz mechanic, 4x4 shop, a buddy? And perhaps more to the point what's your motive
for a Pinz in the first place? Are you a off-road guy, a camper, or just want to turn heads These rigs
are definitely not for the casual 4x4 guy, they are robust but do require a lot of care and attention. The
advantage of a Jeep is just about any shop can provide care and feeding, lots of aftermarket options that
just "fit". As for the Pinz it's performance is legendary -- but you gotta be "one" with these rigs or it won't work.

P.S. I did all my homework before I talked to my wife; parts, repair, my maintenance plans, and use plans,
when I showed her the PIX and the "plan" she actually got excited and said it would be fun

cheers,

ron

[Profpinz]

This thread is way outside my area of expertise, as I don't have a wife hence my decisions are my own

[63rover]

Just to add another repair option. If you live near a good tractor dealer their mechanic is a great resource too. Case now owns the tractor division of Puch and are even selling the Austrian tractors here in North America.

All this talk about wives makes this happily divorced guy even happier. My story is simply saw Pinz for sale, read about it, tried it, bought it and love it. GF enjoys it too although she insists that the axe is a footrest!

Good luck.

Cheers, Clive

[krick3tt]

That is why I installed a foot rest. It is also lockable for a bit of storage.

[Fentonite]

As I was gearing up to get mine, my wife would roll her eyes and ask "why do you need that?".

When I got it home, I took my wife to a big empty parking lot and convinced her to drive it. After about ten minutes of her driving over (and demolishing) multiple huge piles of snow, she was beaming, giggling, and grinning like a kid at Christmas. Instead of wondering why, she said "how could anyone not want this?! She loves it.

[audiocontr]

Buy the jeep.

One does not simply choose between a jeep or a pinz, one upgrades from a jeep to a pinz, after exploring the limits of a jeep.

To be fair, a jeep is WAY more comfortable, WAY more quiet and WAY easier to repair. Get the jeep out of your system before buying a pinzgauer.

[63rover]

"That is why I installed a foot rest. It is also lockable for a bit of storage."

Look at the height of the box vs the axe. Your's obviously has longer legs!

On the plus side for me, if she can't reach the floor she also can't reach the pedals.

[EmbarkChief]

Not a fair comparison. I have both, an Unlimited Rubicon and the 710. They are nearly identical in size, but are very different machines. The Jeep will be an easier sell for all the reasons listed above, but the Pinz is a whole different ball game. My wife was not sold on the Pinz at all, at least not a first. However her attitude seemed to improve after the recent flooding my neighborhood...

[krick3tt]

63Rover...
The pic is a bit deceptive as there is a bit less than 2 inches difference in height between the box and the top of the ax handle.
The lady that uses it is 5 foot 7. the box allows her legs to be in front as they would in a regular vehicle. I got the idea from a friend when we met in Moab that had a GF that needed that bit of extra height. His was a wood shelf.

[Leglander]

Good evening y'all.

I want to thank everyone for their stories and input on my thread. Please keep the replies coming.

One of the reoccurring sentiments from many of you is that i need to know what I'm going to get in to. I can assure you that i am fully aware of all that a Pinz will bring to my life.

I was in the army from 1990-1998. I served in the Infantry and was attached to an anti-armor unit where we deployed vehicle mounted TOW missile, anti-tank weapons systems. They were mounted to the turret of our Hmmvv. i was assigned as a driver to one of our gun trucks and absolutely loved driving that hmmvv all over hell and back. up muddy hills and fording streams. over fallen trees and blazing our own trails.

We pulled PMCS (regular maintenance) all the time and even did minor field repairs. They were loud, and dirty, and hot in the summer and cold in the winter. I loved it all. We lived out of our rucks sacks and out of our vehicles while we were in the field. we had 4 gun trucks in our platoon and operated forward of our AO as scouts and we relied on our vehicles for everything. Even though we were on the job, we still had alot of fun...probably too much, but i swore that one day i would own a surplus military vehicle. I just fell in love with the one i was issued.

Sorry for the rambling but i just wanted to give everyone a little background on me.

My cousin is our family mechanic and his shop is just a couple miles down the road. He has a full garage with a lift in his Kwanzaa hut on his farm. He started out in the industry working as a diesel mechanic and has all of the tools one might ever need to work on a pinz. I insist on working and doing repairs myself because that is the best way to learn. I am a novice but i have done my own breaks, and oil changes and wouldn't shy away from any work that i may need to do.

I would probably bounce between my motorcycle and the pinz as a daily driver. I still have my dodge magnum too. I only drive about 30miles a day to and from work. I'm not settling on a pinz instead of a jeep. not at all. I just cannot justify paying a high monthly payment for a jeep. i would cringe if i were to take it off road and scratch the paint or ding a fender flare. We already have a nice, quiet, comfortable town and country minivan...much to my horror.

I'm looking for a little fun...a little adventure. a functional toy and a unique vehicle. I'd have to drop untold thousands of dollars into a wrangler unlimited to make it as functional as a pinz. I figure i'm saving a lot of money by not buying a $45,000 Rubicon, and dropping $$ into the lift kit and bigger tires and wheels. and $$ into all of the other after market upgrades too.

I honestly believe that once my wife jumps into the drivers seat and got to rip around in the thing, she'll have a smile from ear to ear. We discussed a list of pros and cons on a pinz and there seemed to be some light bulbs going on during the conversation. I think I made some progress.

Thanks again guys. Keep up the replies to the thread. Does anyone know of any pinz's in Illinois? I'd really love to get some face time with an owner and mabe get a ride too.

Eric

[krick3tt]

First of all ... thanks for your service. I am also a vet and appreciate where your experience comes from.

There is no experience better than being there, even if you did spend time with some of the more modern military vehicles. The pinz is amazing as you have heard from many of the members of this site.

As a group we want the people that own them to have all the fun that we have had, and to that end those (I think) were the reasons for the cautionary posts.

I wish you the best of luck in your search and hope you find the machine that makes you enjoy your time in a Pinzgauer. PM me if you have any questions.

Happy trails,

Morris