dorsettoyota

I went into the Toyota garage and had a look at a RAV4, the sales guy was pretty useless as he said that there was a completely new model coming out in January but he didn't know anything about it at all but they had a some 2 wheel drive current models in. I asked about the current model and when he said that the service interval was only 10k miles I said "that's a bit low" his answer "the reasons that Toyotas are so reliable is that they get serviced so often so they don't go wrong. We have a very small service dept here whereas if you go to say a Peugeot garage (with 20k intervals) they have a bigger workshop" . I said that if they were in for servicing so often surely they need a bigger workshop? End of conversation. Anyway RAV4 looks OK inside but I have 7 months LandRover warranty on my Freelander before decision time . Is the new model such a secret?

Just to set the record straight ( I have owned Freelander1s and 2s for 15 years) the diesel from Austin Rover went into the early Freelander 1s, when BMW took over they changed the engine and it became the TD4, the engine was the same as in the 3 series BMW. At the same time BMW reengineered a number of aspects of the FL1 and sorted out most of the original design faults. The TD4s were very good and I had two. Then BMW sold LandRover and Jaguar to Ford. The Freelander 2 is basically a Ford underneath (it has lots of FoMoCo stickers and markings) and I believe that they underengineered the design such that although it is brilliant off road it suffers from the sorts of problems that you shouldn't get (rear diff failures, wheel bearings, transfer box etc) on a car sold as a tough vehicle. At the same time Ford virtually destroyed the Jaguar brand by producing the X-type that everyone knew was a Ford Mondeo. JaguarLandRover is in the process of rebuilding itself but is now aimed at the lucrative "Chelsea Tractor" market. ie they are ridiculously overpriced.

What experiences do people have of dealing with after sales support at Toyota dealers? My experience of LandRover is very good, they work very hard to do all the right things and will often make a contribution towards a repair even when a warranty has expired if you have service done by a dealer. (eg 30% on a new clutch on a 4 year old Freelander after the clutch started slipping at 40k miles) . My 4 year old car is currently on extended warranty and has been in for some work and I have been given a Jaguar XF as a courtesy car. Of course if they didn't go wrong so often they might not have to do all this. LandRover have unlimited mileage extended warranty can you get the same from Toyota?

Thanks for your responses, if I did buy a RAV4 it would be no more than a couple of years old and with a long warranty.. Incidentally has anyone looked at Jeeps recently, especially the Renegade?

Hello there I have had a string of Freelanders and a lot of problems so my son who works in Africa has told me to buy a Toyota. He has a Landcruiser. I am looking around for a RAV4 and will probably get one from a man dealer with a good warranty. However, what are the common issues with RAV4s, what should I be looking for ? Any advice welcome. Thanks

Hello I am new to this forum and wanted to get some advice. I am changing my job and will be required to drive around the UK on and off road a lot. When I say off road I mean proper off road, going across fields, muddy gateways, farm lanes etc then back on motorways/dual carriageways etc doing about 25k miles a year. I have had a few suggestions like a Freelander 2 (which by all accounts is very good but expensive), Landcruiser (but too big and thirsty), Subaru etc. I wonder if people have had experience of this sort of useage and what sort of things go wrong on RAV4s that I should look out for when buying. Thanks

Hello, my son works in Africa and has a 4.2 L Landcruiser. He has been quoted about £2,000 to replace the steering rack and pump. Does this sound reasonable?