IanML

Use a dilute solution of bleach with the toothbrush, and rinse off after (say) 10 minutes. That should kill the spores and delay a regrowth. The bathroom mould and mildew remover will do the same (at higher cost!)

Sounds like gearbox.. Btw, I think you meant "can of worms" 😉

You need Toyota Techstream

eBay link.

To be frank, in your price band, there can be no assurance of reliability. At least, RAVs are well made, which is more than you can say for some other contenders. A careful inspection by an experienced person is to be recommended.

How can you be sure it's not a head gasket issue, unless you have done a sniff test?

I'm not a diesel person, but I seem to remember some diesels have a vacuum pump for the brake servo, because there is no manifold vacuum. Allegedly, (probably this site) the pump can make a ticking noise.

Going back to your original question, I think it looks good. Try offering £2750.

Possibly the oil filter is partially blocked. Cheap enough to put a new one on.

Doubtful you can judge present day propulsion batteries based on early 70's experience. Remember Apollo 13? The LEM batteries sustained the craft for a lot longer than the designed life, and then powered up the Command module from a completely cold state, due to loss of the fuel cell supplies in the service module. Having said that, I agree with the main point about hybrids. They are a transient technology, and are unlikely to be offered in new cars for much more than 8-10 years. batteries are getting better in leaps and bounds - look at what the Teslas can achieve. The sun is setting on the IC engine.

A write-off is simply the insurance assessor determining that it is cheaper for the company to settle the claim with a payment, rather than repair the car. It is not a statement that the car is too badly damaged for it to be safely repaired. Many write-offs are sold to repairers, who sell them after repair at a profit. I have been told (but I cannot be sure it is true) that some assessors will write-off a car and tip-off an interested repairer, and then get a payment from the repairer when the car is re-sold. If so, the assessor has an incentive to write-off, rather than authorise repair. You could characterise such behaviour as a racket.

My understanding is that, instead of accepting the offered settlement from the insurers, you can negotiate an alternative settlement which allows you to retain the vehicle. That should theoretically be the first offer, less the value of the car as scrap. You then repair the car, using the funds you got from the insurers, and, if that's not enough, paying the rest yourself. The insurers will always reckon the repair cost by using new parts, so if you can locate parts from (say) a scrapped car, you may end up not having to lay out any cash. You can also dispute the valuation they apply to the car - the problem is that they use as a basis the value you could sell the car for, rather than what you would have to pay if you were buying it. I think this practice is iniquitous, but you may have to be prepared to fight them in court. You would probably need professional legal advice, but, of you were successful, you could get the costs paid by the losers (the insurers). Anecdotally, they do tend to improve the offer if you argue convincingly, because they don't want the hassle of litigation, but there are no guarantees. EDIT: Thinking about it, your dispute is not really with the insurers, but with the person responsible for the damage - you could say you find the offer inadequate, and hold the other driver responsible for the cost of an adequate repair, or a comparable replacement vehicle. He would then have to get his insurers to knuckle under, or find the extra himself. Best of luck.

My 2005 petrol auto does 24-26 in Jersey, which is mostly slow driving, with a fair bit of start-stop, and lots of short journeys, a bit less in Winter. If I drive very gently, I can stretch it to 27-28 in warm weather. For the journeys you described, I would expect at least 32 in a manual in warm weather.

The most likely cause is the self-parking switch in the motor. Try for a replacement motor from a breaker.

I think ICE hybrids (both types) are just a temporary stop-gap on the road to full electric, which will predominate as charging facilities multiply and battery technology and costs improve. For long distance use, I expect hydrogen fuel-cell to come into its own, and we may even see hybrid fuel-cell/battery models.