Hi all

I have joined up as I am in the process of looking for a more practical car as my wife is pregant. I currently have an Impreza P1, but the two doors are just not going to be practical.

Onviously I am into my Japaneese cars, and I know that Toyota is one of the most reliable cars on the road. I have seen one that I like, but there seems to be so many different variations. I am not sure what is best?

The car I have seen is in
[url="http://www.autoecosse.com/"]http://www.autoecosse.com/[/url]

I ideally want one that is pretty high spec, Leather is a must. Is this a good buy? Any other advice on these cars would be appreciated.

Many Thanks

I presume it's the 53 plate Xt4 with 44500 miles on it for £12k. Seems very pricey to me for it's age. The Glass's guide puts that model at £9280 (part ex value) in Excellent condition.

They consider Excellent to be :- Excellent Condition: Ready for retail sale; mechanically perfect, paintwork unblemished for a vehicle under two years old, but may have slight stone damage on a vehicle over two years old or with high mileage. Interior should be immaculate. A full service history must be provided. All equipment fitted should be fully operational. Tyres should be new or nearly new, wheels and trims clean and undamaged. If appropriate, the MOT Certificate must be for a minimum of nine months.

So add about another 1k or so on top of the part-ex price to get a retail price ... doesn't make 12k. Have a look on AutoTrader at similar models with a similar spec and mileage. Should give you a good idea on what they are going for.

Even though I have found the people fro 'The Car Shop' to be complete scum and use dirty tricks in order to get a sale, I still check their website now and again to compare prices. They have an 2005 '55' XT-R 2.0D4D, 26k miles for £12,800.

[url="http://www.carshop.co.uk/Rav4_2.0%20D-4D%20XT-R%205dr_100548_28706.html?AutoLocateID=AA8BD1F768C0B0692F7C2DC2"]http://www.carshop.co.uk/Rav4_2.0%20D-4D%2...8C0B0692F7C2DC2[/url]

That's a hell of a lot more car for only 800 quid more in my opinion.

[quote name='stuh1981' post='724308' date='Feb 20 2008, 10:03 PM']Hi all

I have joined up as I am in the process of looking for a more practical car as my wife is pregant. I currently have an Impreza P1, but the two doors are just not going to be practical.

Onviously I am into my Japaneese cars, and I know that Toyota is one of the most reliable cars on the road. I have seen one that I like, but there seems to be so many different variations. I am not sure what is best?

The car I have seen is in
[url="http://www.autoecosse.com/"]http://www.autoecosse.com/[/url]

I ideally want one that is pretty high spec, Leather is a must. Is this a good buy? Any other advice on these cars would be appreciated.

Many Thanks[/quote]

Hi Stu

The model you are looking at is as good as any of the RAVs. They are generally very reliable now as some of the older ones did have some potential for problems but it would be unfair to say they were common. Specifically these were SC Valves in the high pressure fuel pump and DM Flywheels. The latter was expensive to fix but we are hoping that this has been addressed by a mod to the fixings. You will find a link to a description pinned at the top of the subject page. There have been odd reports of DMF problems with newer models but these are not consistent enough to suggest a trend. You have to remember that many vehicles have DMFs and they have more significant problems than later RAVs. Bearing in mind that this is a ton and a half of 4X4 you will be surprised how it handles and performs (although it might be more apparent if you were coming out of a Ford Focus!)

Have a drive and if it feels OK go for it. You will be amongst friends and we tend to fathom most problems between us. I don't know if you intend trading the Subaru but if not be sure to offer well below the screen price to see if you can get something knocked off. It certainly is a nice looking motor.

Keep us informed.

The deal I have been offered is my car plus 1K for the Rav 4. I am holding out for a straight swap as the garage has had the vehicle in for a we while now.

I am meant to be test driving the car this weekend, so I will see how it goes. The car is pretty mint and offering me 11K for my Impreza is a decent offer. I know some guys who have sold theres for about 10K, whilst others have been lucky and got nearer 12K.

It's worth shopping around to get the best deal - there is a reasonable supply of second hand Rav4s and it took me a couple of weeks to find the right one for my better half. I have to say the dealer was excellent (Carroll and Kinsella in Blackrock, Dublin - not a lot of help to you, I admit!) to such an extent that I went to him for a new Rav4 for me - which I am delighted to say I am picking up today at 4.30pm. That's just over nine hours from now, and counting.....

[quote name='stuh1981' post='724434' date='Feb 21 2008, 01:57 AM']The deal I have been offered is my car plus 1K for the Rav 4. I am holding out for a straight swap as the garage has had the vehicle in for a we while now.

I am meant to be test driving the car this weekend, so I will see how it goes. The car is pretty mint and offering me 11K for my Impreza is a decent offer. I know some guys who have sold theres for about 10K, whilst others have been lucky and got nearer 12K.[/quote]
Another Fifer - thank God!! Thought ah wis here masel....!

As you'll see from the list, I have had a 1994 RAV petrol from new and after the bairns fled, put a turbo engine in - running around 260bhp but soon to get cranked up towards 300bhp. So taken by it, I bought a 2nd one as a spare to be turned into another turbo machine!
Both are 3 door and I enjoy the road holding and balance. I have never driven a 5 door, but am sure they can be modded if you want in the future - have fun on a test drive! When I was over in Kilmany just before the New Year, I took advantage of flying along the back road from Kilmany to Cupar - deep puddles, mud - the lot = great. Kilmany of course was where the great Jim Clark was born, for those ignorants aroon.

[quote name='stuh1981' post='724434' date='Feb 21 2008, 01:57 AM']The deal I have been offered is my car plus 1K for the Rav 4. I am holding out for a straight swap as the garage has had the vehicle in for a we while now.

I am meant to be test driving the car this weekend, so I will see how it goes. The car is pretty mint and offering me 11K for my Impreza is a decent offer. I know some guys who have sold theres for about 10K, whilst others have been lucky and got nearer 12K.[/quote]


If you test drive it and really like it I would say hold out for the straight swap. It's not worth what they have got it up for, knock 1k off the price and it would be fair.

One of my friends took print outs from Autotrader with him when he bought a car recently showing other cars at cheaper prices but the same spec as the one at the dealer. He used it as a bargaining tool and it seemed to work quite well.

My brother in law is a car dealer and he has a saying. The most expensive car you will ever buy is the wrong one. Just be 100% sure you are happy with it before you go ahead.

If you can it would be better to sell your motor privately. That puts you in a better position to negotiate on your new one and also keep track of the true cost of the deal.

[quote name='bothwell_buyer' post='724445' date='Feb 21 2008, 07:12 AM'][quote name='stuh1981' post='724434' date='Feb 21 2008, 01:57 AM']The deal I have been offered is my car plus 1K for the Rav 4. I am holding out for a straight swap as the garage has had the vehicle in for a we while now.

I am meant to be test driving the car this weekend, so I will see how it goes. The car is pretty mint and offering me 11K for my Impreza is a decent offer. I know some guys who have sold theres for about 10K, whilst others have been lucky and got nearer 12K.[/quote]
Another Fifer - thank God!! Thought ah wis here masel....!

As you'll see from the list, I have had a 1994 RAV petrol from new and after the bairns fled, put a turbo engine in - running around 260bhp but soon to get cranked up towards 300bhp. So taken by it, I bought a 2nd one as a spare to be turned into another turbo machine!
Both are 3 door and I enjoy the road holding and balance. I have never driven a 5 door, but am sure they can be modded if you want in the future - have fun on a test drive! When I was over in Kilmany just before the New Year, I took advantage of flying along the back road from Kilmany to Cupar - deep puddles, mud - the lot = great. Kilmany of course was where the great Jim Clark was born, for those ignorants aroon.
[/quote]

I know the road well, I used to live in Cupar so loved taking the Impreza through the twisty's, although I never liked cleaning it afterwards.

[quote name='stuh1981' post='724620' date='Feb 21 2008, 06:47 PM'][quote name='bothwell_buyer' post='724445' date='Feb 21 2008, 07:12 AM'][quote name='stuh1981' post='724434' date='Feb 21 2008, 01:57 AM']The deal I have been offered is my car plus 1K for the Rav 4. I am holding out for a straight swap as the garage has had the vehicle in for a we while now.

I am meant to be test driving the car this weekend, so I will see how it goes. The car is pretty mint and offering me 11K for my Impreza is a decent offer. I know some guys who have sold theres for about 10K, whilst others have been lucky and got nearer 12K.[/quote]
Another Fifer - thank God!! Thought ah wis here masel....!

As you'll see from the list, I have had a 1994 RAV petrol from new and after the bairns fled, put a turbo engine in - running around 260bhp but soon to get cranked up towards 300bhp. So taken by it, I bought a 2nd one as a spare to be turned into another turbo machine!
Both are 3 door and I enjoy the road holding and balance. I have never driven a 5 door, but am sure they can be modded if you want in the future - have fun on a test drive! When I was over in Kilmany just before the New Year, I took advantage of flying along the back road from Kilmany to Cupar - deep puddles, mud - the lot = great. Kilmany of course was where the great Jim Clark was born, for those ignorants aroon.
[/quote]

I know the road well, I used to live in Cupar so loved taking the Impreza through the twisty's, although I never liked cleaning it afterwards.
[/quote]
You're right. But thats why it rains so much!! T wash the mud off the cars!!