Hi,

After a frustrating weekend travelling around different showrooms and making no progress,I've decided to have a break and do a little research.We are looking for a car for the wife to replace her Megane scenic.She is looking for something with more street cred,but still a useable kid/mother in law courier.First choice was a 307cc but we were put off by tales of poor build quality and electrical issues (having had a 206 gti before she should have learned

Then we looked at a mini cooper(not ideal as she is 6ft tall),but what really put us off was how unprotected the rear seat passengers are in a rear end shunt

So,having always been a Toyota fan,today we finally settled on a rav4.The trouble is,there seems to be a confusing amount of different models (nrg,xt etc).Ideally we are looking for a top spec model.

Our budget is around 7k so i reckon on an 04 ish but prices vary wildly.We went to see a lovely 03 2.0 NRG today that was one owner 9000 miles with loads of extras bolted on,but was 6500.....Not far off the price of an 05 at a car supermarket.

So how can we get a reliable indication of price?.A work collegue has a RAV and his is kitted out with leather heated seats and sat nav,is this a fairly recent option?

I've tried to Google some info on specs and model variations but can't really find anything useful.

Any help would be appreciated.


Thanks,
Ade.

Its a very volatile market at the moment. You could try PM'ing our resident parts supplier Parts_King.

He works for Lindopps Toyota and has mentioned a few times the bargains on offer. Not sure wether

your budget would be in there used price range, a lot of dealers pass on a lot of their used stock to trade

but I'm sure if you told him specifics like budget he would keep an eye out for you

Edit, he's not that far from you either in Chester.

[quote name='dave.m' post='825297' date='Nov 24 2008, 07:07 PM']Its a very volatile market at the moment. You could try PM'ing our resident parts supplier Parts_King.

He works for Lindopps Toyota and has mentioned a few times the bargains on offer. Not sure wether

your budget would be in there used price range, a lot of dealers pass on a lot of their used stock to trade

but I'm sure if you told him specifics like budget he would keep an eye out for you

Edit, he's not that far from you either in Chester.[/quote]

Thanks Dave,

I can't believe we forgot about Lindops,we literally drove past yesterday (Whilst tyre kicking for a mini

C'est La Vie mate

If you do intend to go, speak to Kingo first, he gets us a 10% discount for being club members.

Now if he could only do that on cars

Hi Ade + welcome, your wife won't regret a change to a rav they are a great motor, do you know if you want a 3 or 5 door? petrol or diesel? for around £7000 you should find a good mk2 rav known on here as the 4.2, Rav4 Mk2, the earlier ones with square fog lights, top spec leather etc was the VX, this was facelifted, round fog lights, and top spec was the XT5. though the XT4 was quite well specced as well.. If you have no P.EX the world is your oyster and there are some great bargains out there, try ebay to get an idea of current prices + if you need help There are people on here that know more about Ravs than Toyota themselves GOOD LUCK MATE

Thanks for the advice,

She prefers the look of the 3dr.From what i've read,the diesel does about 38mpg as opposed to 30 from the petrol version.I don't think this really justifies the premium that the diesel car carries (unless someone can tell me otherwise?)

Unfortunately,we will be p/x ing the Scenic so it'll have to be a trader,i've just looked again...prices are all over the place!

So what's the most important consideration,Age,mileage or model?.They all seem to be in good condition (testimony to the build quality),this HAS to be a car she will keep for a while so i want to get it right first go

[quote name='ourkid' post='825380' date='Nov 24 2008, 09:32 PM']Thanks for the advice,

She prefers the look of the 3dr.From what i've read,the diesel does about 38mpg as opposed to 30 from the petrol version.I don't think this really justifies the premium that the diesel car carries (unless someone can tell me otherwise?)

Unfortunately,we will be p/x ing the Scenic so it'll have to be a trader,i've just looked again...prices are all over the place!

So what's the most important consideration,Age,mileage or model?.They all seem to be in good condition (testimony to the build quality),this HAS to be a car she will keep for a while so i want to get it right first go [/quote]
I`ve got a Rav 4 GX 2TD_D 51 plate 5 door brilliant car as soon as drove it I was hooked moved from a Focus to the Rav great on fuel as well and can shift great driving position you can see `for miles`

Ade, are you sure about the 3dr? Changing from a Scenic to that means you'll suddenly have no back doors for helping youngsters in, and not much space for the luggage either. Looks are one thing but you do actually have to use the thing...

If your family car is a Grand Espace, or if your kid is actually 17 and about to leave for college, ignore the above

I like the look of the 3 Door more then the 5 door as well and never really use the rear doors but, as Dippy says, you are losing a lot of space as it is a significantly shorter wheelbase, not just a modified 'side style'.

The Diesel IS significantly more economical then the petrol, BUT it is more to buy, there are more expensive things to go wrong if you are unlucky and the servicing overall is more expensive, so as usual it comes down to the amount of miles you do until you hit the Diesel payback time.

I have the 2003 Diesel, and must say that it is a really nice car. It has lots of torque, and is very quick. The downside is that it is noisy, and if you are really unlucky the flywheel might need changing. I've been there, but fortunately I got it on the warranty. Not everyone is that lucky.

The diesel looks very nice as well. I love the hood scoop. It makes the whole difference!