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No temp gauge, should the temperature raise too high ( well before it gets hot enough to cause damage ) the same blue light would illuminate bright red.

Your dismissal of Frostys advice is not helpful either! 2/3 services in 5 years is neither regularly or correctly maintained, the oil in your car is only supposed to remain in the engine for 12months/10000miles leaving it in longer will lead to the breakdown of the oil resulting in build up of combustion waste products in the oil which in turn increases friction within the engine causing premature wear and a reduction in fuel economy. You also say the correct oil was used but fail to specify what grade was used, your car is designed to run on 0w20 grade oil using anything thicker such as 5w30/10w30 will again result in increased friction within the engine lowering fuel economy. Having the correct service carried out when required also ensures other components on the car such as Air filter / Spark plugs and brakes are replaced/maintained when required, a service on your car includes an inspection Visual on small services / physical on full services of the brakes to ensure things such as the brake pads are moving freely within the calipers or that the brake discs are in good order even a small build up of dirt/corrosion can cause pads to partially stick or discs to drag increasing friction and reducing fuel economy. All Frosty was highlighting was that you car has not been fully maintained as required and that this may be the cause of your reduced fuel economy. Your curt replies are hardly likely to illicit responses from members if you are going to dismiss their advice so swiftly.

A little background research into a particular models strengths and weaknesses can often help........ like discovering that, for instance, the early 1.6 and 1.8 vvt-i engines have a potentially serious oil usage problem if they haven't been serviced with regular oil changes and the specified oil for that engine. An hour or two on google can give you a real insight into what to look out for with the particular car you're going to see. Beyond that Konrad is right, condition,history and paperwork are what counts over mileage every time I have a 1ZZ-FE and not afraid to use it :)

Glad you asked that question i now know the answer as well