Rav4ster

My local dealer has big body shop and their parking is full of new unregisterred cars ready to be repaired. They only do cosmetic repairs like dents, painting. They guy who runs it said cars gets damaged during delivery quite often. This does not show on insuarence records. Also, main dealers ususally do not use fillers, they just replace the panel.

From my expirience (done 7 different cars), the best and cleanest way is to install the dascam using the hardwire kit. they are about £15 and can be easily removed. There are a few threads on this forum with detailed instructions and plenty of youtube videos.

In my experience, dealers usually do not prep the cars and apply paint protection correctly, it is all about do it as quick as possible. I was offered paint protection on a 4 year old car for £300 (from Toyota dealer), when I asked will they tend to all paint chips, strip old protection and do the paint correction before applying ceramic coating, the answer was no, we will just apply it on top. A friend of mine used a ceramic coating specialist and it took two days to prep and apply on a brand new Ford Kuga.

I am on the second RAV4 gen 5. First was on 18" wheels (done 20k in it) and the current is on 19". I did not notice any change in comfort or handling. I run tyres at 36psi, as I find lower tyre pressure too soft. MPG is actually slightly better on the current RAV4, but it might be down to Li-Ion battery compared to the Ni-Mh in the first one. With AA and ACP I just use my phone and Spotify or Amazon music, never felt I need CD or USB drive.

Various protection options are discussed here

Excel for leather and the memory seats

Current RAV4 prices Compared to June 2021 (I know that time machine does not exist) Sadly, Toyota prices have gone up around 25% in the last 2 years (like every other manufacturer) and a few people I know bought MG and Dacia recently, as they cannot afford Toyota any longer.

HEYNER Hybrid wiper blades are good, similar performance to Denso, but cheaper (buy them from HEYNER directly), Bosch Aerotwin are also good, but long wipers sometimes shake at the high speed, as they are not as rigid as hybrid blades. Both makes front set can be had under £20.

Adventure does not have the memory seats, only Excel does. This might be a problem, especially if two people drive the car regularly. Suzuki Across does not have a built-in satnav and has a slower charger.

Try an independent car parts shop, some of them mix and sell touch up paint. I once needed the black satin paint for the alloy wheel, and the guy came out with the paper paint samples and quickly found the perfect match. Cost me £6 for a small bottle. Or call the local body shops / chipsaway and ask if you can come over for the paint colour advice.

Comes with European cover as well

Enjoy your time in France. I would recommend visiting Eguisheim in Alsace on your way from Lyon to Riems. Pretty little village with very good local vine. If you ever drive to Germany, you can get the air certificate here: https://www.berlin.de/labo/mobilitaet/kfz-zulassung/feinstaubplakette/shop.86595.en.php

We drove to France several times. Longest trip was 4500 miles in 2 weeks. Get "crit air" here: https://www.certificat-air.gouv.fr/ They will send a temp sticker via e-mail. Make sure to take V5 with you. LED headlights do not need adapters and put UK sign on the back. Get an app 'fuelFR', it lists fuel prices around you and is updated daily. Petrol is usually cheapest at the supermarkets. Stick to the speed limit, up to 100 kmh you get 5 kmh tolerance and 5 % above 100 kmh. Lots of speed cameras and unmarked cars on the road. On our trip in August 2022, I got 46 mpg calculated in RAV4 MK5 2wd HEV, with 4 people and fully loaded boot.

you can always call the dealer and ask them what was done

Hi, I was told that it is how it should be by the dealer, they actually showed me another Auris to prove it. To be honest, I have digital speedo on and use hybrid monitor on the head unit. I raised it with Toyota to make sure there is no fault, and there was none.