2003 Rav4 2.0 Gx Advice

[swh_1970]

Hey everybody,

I have just registerd to see if any one can offer me advice on a 2003 Rav4 2.0GX that I am thinking about buying.

The car has only covered 35k miles with a full Toyota service history and 1 owner from new.

What should I be looking for on a car this old? I have had a look at the MOT history of the car and since 2011 its has only covered on average 2-3000 miles per year.

The garage want 3.5k for the car and I think its a great deal.

I have driven it and it seems a good drive. Are there any obvious pitfalls to buying this car??????

I did notice as small ammount of rust on the sunroof frame but not on the actual bodywork of the car. The engine bay is immaculate and no rust around wheel arches etc

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

[gjnorthall]

Presumably this is petrol rather than diesel? The petrol is almost bombproof and with low mileage and full dealer history, it should be a decent car. This pre-facelift model has 4 Lambda sensors and one or more fail from time to time - other than that there's really no significant mechanical issues. The alloy wheels tend to bubble and corrode badly but can be refurbished - possibly this has already been done. They're not brilliant on petrol and you should get just over 30MPG. Like any car of this age - check over it carefully and if it's from a garage, you should get some kind of warranty.

[swh_1970]

Thanks for the reply, Yes, the car in question is a petrol model. The alloy wheels looked in particularly good condition when I viewed the car today.

A few questions - is it permenant 4 wheel drive and I believe the car has a timing chain as apposed to a timing belt?

[gjnorthall]

Yes - permanent 4WD and timing chain.