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I bought mine for the same price about 3 months ago, all I did was a quick glance under the rear, and a test drive, then bought it in 10 mins they also drove it to my house. They even helped me to tax it and I insured it for under 500 on the same day with Hastings using confused.com. I got all 3 keys, the guy told me to keep checking the oil every 4 weeks but it is staying at the same level.

Check the rear under body, suspension and brake lines for rust and corrosion. Check the drive belt condition and the crank pulley for play - the crank pulley is also a vibration damper, so the rubber lamination can deteriorate and separate. During and after running the engine, sniff under the bonnet for petrol fumes. This engine has direct injection, which works at much higher pressures than standard fuel injection. Seals and joints need to be good and age could be a factor. headlights are a known weakness with this age of Avensis, but they may have been upgraded. A night drive will confirm. If the car has been regularly maintained and cared well, then some of the items I mentioned, should have been sorted. Oil and filter changes every year regardless of the low mileage is good for the VVTi engine. This engine (1AZ) is totally different to the 1ZZ 1.8 engine which is known to have a high oil consumption. The 2.0l with low mileage should be fine. Car should have two black remote keys, plus the grey valet key with owners handbook and hopefully key number (for replacement key). Hopefully this info will help you to decide.

I remember seeing that before, what a load of nonsense!

Update: So i went to test drive the car this afternoon: Checked the rear under body, suspension and brake lines for rust or corrosion - no rust or corrosion Checked boot under sponge layer and no dampness and no marks on the boot liner that may indicate previous water ingress. Headlights were in decent condition just a little yellowing on the plastic which can be expected with this age. Crank pulley had no play that i could tell by sticking my hand down the side. The belt felt in good condition too Checked for smell of petrol at start and end of drive - no smell of petrol whatsoever from the engine bay. Drive was good engine responded well, brakes didnt seem to be engaging well at the start but by the end abt 20min they were fine - emergency stop was dead straight so discs are good. No drift or bubbling or odd vibrations. Car went over bumps perfectly without knocking or creaking. So TL:DR is i am now the proud owner of a 2004 Avensis 2.0Vvti Thanks again for all the help. Can anyone recommend an independent garage near Stevenage?

Can not say as no experience with them. Here in N.Ire a saloon is a rare site (03 to 09 series ). Worth checking the boot anyway, I am nearly sure the rear lamp is the source of the problem but I have had it out several times and carefully resealed and tightened it down carefully. Another item, especially this time of year to check is the headlamps wet inside. I have one and just noticed today it is actually very wet on the inside of the glass. Maybe this was the cause of my 2 dipped bulbs blowing yesterday evening when I switched on my lights. All working now with new bulbs. When one went a surge of power may have gone to the other and blew it. Will be keeping an eye on it and should it blow again I will remove the offending lamp and get it well dried out and reseal it with clear silicone. Why go for a petrol Avensis my D4D regularly averages towards 50 mpg now has 127000 miles done. Regular servicing is key.

I had a new boot seal fitted by Mr T way back under the 3 year warranty for same reason yet the problem persisted to this day. I actually removed the rubber bung in the passenger side boot well below the rear light to let any water out. I removed the rear light cluster checked seal, all ok and refitted following an application of multi-purpose grease to all it's contact area. Still have misted windows plus a white stain running horizontally 9 to 12 inches above floor level on the inner passenger side boot lining. I even went over the welded seems down the P/S rear hatch channel with a little Hammerite of a very similar color to the car but this again made no difference. This is a widely known problem on these hatchbacks. I suppose I could be lucky in that only one side of mine is affected. BTW spare wheel well is never wet. You will have to remove the large sponge under boot mat to examine the outer rear quarter well for dampness.

I have a 2004 T Spirit D4D since 2005. Great car but in addition to above pointers do check inside the boot for dampness. Cause can be a headache to sort plus you will be tortured with all interior windows misting up, especially this time of year. Good luck

Yes, it depends on the car. I had an old Citroen Xantia 1.8i that was both faster and more economical on French super grades of petrol. (It costs a few buttons extra in France, so was worth doing.) But I haven't noticed any difference on my 64 reg 1.6 petrol Auris. Oddly, I've heard it said that cars with the capability of adjusting their valve timing etc to suit the grade of fuel are actually less likely to benefit from higher octane fuel because they just 'adjust away' the difference! I wouldn't know whether that's true, but I can tell you what improves the fuel economy on my Auris, sometimes by up to 5 mpg. 200 miles flat out on the motorway. Blows out the cobwebs a treat. And the benefit lasts for weeks, or even months.

Now that is the sort of assistance I was hoping for! Thanks for this. No need to do anything now. i took the calliper off last night and wound the piston back in. Then adjusted the Caliper out to get a better closer fit. Test drive it and measured the temperature of both rear discs to see if there was excessive heat from dragging. All was ok. Again, thanks for the good information. dario