The big question there are you planning on towing 3T often? If so rule the Patrol out.

For my money i would be looking at a 100 series cruiser.

 But I would be steering well clear of a Patrol 3.0 ltr

Had several of the on fleet at work. Whatever could go wrong did go wrong.

and they may as well not bother offering any specifics on warranty, they never honour anything anyway.

as mentioned above I would be looking at a nice second hand 100 series cruiser.

scano

 I think you would be extremely lucky to score a cruiser of that year in that price bracket and if you did something's probably sus.forget the patrol, while a very capable 4x4 they are no good for towing anything heavy unless it's got a brunwick v8 in it.You might want to try looking at Mitsubishi Pajero/challenger,cheap,reliable and pretty well bullet proof.

youd pick up a reasonably good V8 petrol landcruiser for that money, a TD one will cost $5-$10K more.
Bummer mate, I just sold a 04 TD 100 series!

I picked up a 2000 NM 3.5L V6 Petrol Pajero Exceed a few months ago

Tows the thunderbird extremely well but when loaded up it's probably only 1.5T

Very comfortable to drive and only came in at about 9k

Having said that it's an absolute Gas guzzler but it'd be worth checking out later models you could get for $25k and then start googling any major common issues with the model & towing issues

 Misread the post, thought you was looking for an 08 cruiser.

Cheers for your replies, after looking around, another option I'm having a look at is the new d40 navara. My boat only has a dry weight of 1.8t so for its price and being a new car it might be a good alternative. I do know that they were recalled for having issues with twisting the chassis when towing but apparently this has been rectified. If any one owns or knows anything about this model it would be great to here how the go.

 I had a D40, 2011 model. Bought it brand new and while I never had probs with it, it chewed the juice while towing. A full tank from Perth to jurien and a sore arse as well. Might be a bit over your budget but I will not buy another, have a Jeep now and very happy with that.

havinga d40 navara - it is my last nissan ever and i ve allways beena  nissan man since my 1st mq

the newer patrols (after the gq s i wont touch with a  barge pole

clutches go ( 5 in 175000ks) -consumer affairs is aware of the issue , but because it only happens under heavy towing conditions /extreme offroading they didnt do anything about it

 i bought a troopy (hjz 04 model with 110 000 on clock) for 12500 on an mine auction -cut out rust and repainted, its slow but hell its got torque pulling the 27ftr out on sand etc.

from here on just cruisers for me

 I own a Lexus LX470 (speced up 100 series V8 Sahara) and can't say enough good things about it. Tows 3 tonne + with ease and is easy as pie to drive around on sand. Obviosuly if you're going to get seriosuly into 4x4ing you'd want lift/lockers but it goes 95% of places. The V8 petrol has plenty of balls. My only gripe would be the fuel economy... around town stop start you're looking at 19L/100km, with mainly freeway around town it drops to around 16L/100km. Luckily once you're on the open road you can see figures of around 12L/100km sittting on 110km/h. Again though once towing anything around 1-2 tonnes expect fuel economy around 25L/100km. 

If you can afford the 4.2 L H-DT engine, go for it as it's one of the best (reseanbly efficient and tough as guts) turbo diesel engines in the market (still). Only reason I didn't opt for it was that I enjoy the creature comforts of the Sahara/LX470 and could only afford the V8. You should be able to pick up non-sahara models for around mid to low 20's in the TD guise, or a petrol V8 sahara for a similar price.

 An option for towing big boats/vans that is always overlooked at the Jeep Grand Cherokee's. I have a 2006 model which is the 3L common rail diesel turbo V6. It is rated to 3500kg towing so is the same as the cruiser. The good thing about these cars is that they are a lot more comfortable than most in the range, they have leather seats and many of the gizmos you expect with new-ish cars. We tow our 3.1T boat fully loaded with this cas and get about 14.5 to 15L/100km on the highway on long trips but obviously goes up to 17L/100km etc. The engine is the Mercedes Benz make so its quality. It has more torque and kilowatts than the cruiser as well. PM me with any questions you have about it. Oh and the best thing is you can pick one of these up in your price range.

I have a BT50 as my work ute, with the 6 speed auto, thing pulls like a train.  3.5t towing, dual cab with plenty of room, comfy, quiet, all the mod cons, best vehicle I have owned.  plus even the dual cab is rated for over a 1000kg in the tray so you dont have to pay FBT.  Drove it home from the dealer for $43k, so they aint cheap, but they are much better value than most things with a toyota badge.  25k is only going to get you a flogged out cruiser ute.  Can proabbaly find a nice 100 series V8 wagon for those dollars, trick will be to find one that hasn't done 250 000km, or spent its life hauling horses or caravans around the country side, auto gearbox will be starting to reach the end of its life around there.  Cruisers with the 1HD-FTE are still quite highly prized and tend to go for a premium, so finding a nice example can sometimes be a bit of a trial. 

Stay well clear of 3L patrols, they are just about the shitest idea ever.