Bye Bye Auris!

[Djw John]

Well as anyone who has seen any of my threads since January will realise I've not exactly been head over heels with my SR180.

Mainly due to the shocking fuel consumption which is a huge disappointment but also the general lack of quality. The numerous squeeks and rattles are as bad if not worse than my 8 year old Clio I changed from. The brakes have squeeled from 150 miles up to its current 13000 odd where they now have a nice spongy feeling to them. Also, and this isnt Toyotas fault obviously but I've decided I just don't like the way diesels drive, far too narrow a power band and just not much fun.

Its a shame as I was really looking forward to my first ever brand new car and I'm losing a fair bit of cash to give it back but it'll save me in the long term.

IMO the pros and cons are;

Pros

Big! Certainly loads of space and much more than its rivals.

Fast. But only in the narrow power band. If your not on boost the lag is horrific and it quickly runs out of power. However it does make overtaking easy.

Comfy, but only for some! My wife finds it very uncomfy (5ft 3) I find it fine at a foot taller!

Cons

Expensive to run, drinks fuel with a passion!

Poorly made, rattles and squeeks from the inside, squeels from the brakes.

Plastic that mark if you walk past them too quickly!

A myriad of little irritating things like auto recirc, having to stop and hold the VDC for 3 seconds t switch it off. The rear wiper not coming on when the fronts are on and you put it into reverse. No option to switch off the auto wipers and have manual intermintent instead.

Very weak headlights.

Oh well onwards and upwards! The only thing from it that I'll be selling on is my painted fascia adapter for the aftermarket head unit I fitted. I'll take some last pics before it goes though which shoudl be in a couple of weeks or so.

Cheers

John

[Johan007]

Fair comments John.

The quality feel and rattle are terrible considering I have just got my self a 2002 Yaris T-Sport that has a quality feel and not a single rattle even with the back breaking suspension. My wive drives the Auris most of the time unless we go on long journeys and family trips.

For the money it is very difficult to tick every box... so what will you be buying?

[Djw John]

Well as I have to pay to give it back it'll just be a wee shed for a while, £500 budget! But I'll get back on my feet again and see what I end up with. My wife really wants a megane 225 in a few years so thats defo on the cards.

[ormi]

Well as I have to pay to give it back it'll just be a wee shed for a while, £500 budget! But I'll get back on my feet again and see what I end up with. My wife really wants a megane 225 in a few years so thats defo on the cards.

megane 225 you'll have that handed back the first day you have it.fast cars i'll admit but very poorly made.i was a reno tec for 8 years!!also they do have a tendancy to roll away when parked up.you come back from a hard run park up put the hand brake on 10 15 mins later it rolls away.....why ...the rear pads get hot and expand you put the brake on all is well they cool down the pads contract ie removing the hand brake and the car slowly rolls away.

its good to thrash round a track and the back roads though mpg is bad though.

good luck with the shed hunting.

[T Sport 1978]

Well as I have to pay to give it back it'll just be a wee shed for a while, £500 budget! But I'll get back on my feet again and see what I end up with. My wife really wants a megane 225 in a few years so thats defo on the cards.

megane 225 you'll have that handed back the first day you have it.fast cars i'll admit but very poorly made.i was a reno tec for 8 years!!also they do have a tendancy to roll away when parked up.you come back from a hard run park up put the hand brake on 10 15 mins later it rolls away.....why ...the rear pads get hot and expand you put the brake on all is well they cool down the pads contract ie removing the hand brake and the car slowly rolls away.

its good to thrash round a track and the back roads though mpg is bad though.

good luck with the shed hunting.

I can vouch on the Megane comment as i had one before my Corolla before the Auris.

Megane = Unreliability

I have had to call out the AA 4 times just to start it during the 1.5 years i had it, ranging from failing ignition coils, exhaust replacement to electric gremelins. Also the clutch start mechanism broke several times.

Stay away, you have been warned.

Sorry to hear about you SR180 being a disappointment and good luck hunting. Keep us posted on what you dedcide to get!

[Johan007]

Not known a Toyota owner to go French! A top of the range Golf (Diesel Golf does not feel nose heavy, has a much wider power band, better feel interior though the odd rattle) or Civic Type-R seems to tick more boxes than the 225 in my opinion but lets see what you get.

[Dunky]

also they do have a tendency to roll away when parked up.you come back from a hard run park up put the hand brake on 10 15 mins later it rolls away.....why ...the rear pads get hot and expand you put the brake on all is well they cool down the pads contract ie removing the hand brake and the car slowly rolls away.

Not sure how that works. Are you saying they don't have rear drums for a parking brake, as well as the discs, and use the discs as a handbrake? Very strange, as hydraulic parking brakes are illegal in the UK.

[ormi]

also they do have a tendency to roll away when parked up.you come back from a hard run park up put the hand brake on 10 15 mins later it rolls away.....why ...the rear pads get hot and expand you put the brake on all is well they cool down the pads contract ie removing the hand brake and the car slowly rolls away.

Not sure how that works. Are you saying they don't have rear drums for a parking brake, as well as the discs, and use the discs as a handbrake? Very strange, as hydraulic parking brakes are illegal in the UK.

what you on about???hydraulic parking brake????to make clear

1)no theirs no drum inside the disk its a cable operated parking brake(it also is hydraulic for the foot brake)

2)their is many cars handbrakes set up like this ie the old avensis and a few of the golfs etc.

look at the brake pipe then look to the right you will see a spring when you look at the spring you will also see a small hook thats for the handbrake cable.

heres a avensis rear caliper note the cable holder and the lever that works the handbrake.

[Djw John]

I miss my french cars tbh, yeah they have a bad rep but in my own experiences the build quality is comparable but they are so much more fun and interesting. Also better equipped for the same money imo. im not saying this is fact, just my opinion!

The handbrake thing is a non issue for me, I always leave my car in gear. And anyway, a few times with the auris I've come back having left the handbrake ona nd in gear, pressed the clutch and the car moves as the same issue exists on this car too.

MPG wont matter much, she works under 5 miles from home.

Shed hunting is proving a pain in the ***** just now but I'll let you know what I end up with!

[ABZ-T2]

CONGRATULATIONS!! I actually admire your bravery! :D

If you dont mind me asking, how much did you get for it and did you sell privately or through a dealer?

I can only dream of selling my auris and finally getting rid but i know i wont get the value for it, well not what i paid for it anyway, and so wont be able to afford a better car!! So im pretty much stuck!

Does anyone have a rough idea of how much i can get for a silver steel, T2, '07 Auris, 18000 miles??

[GregP]

Does anyone have a rough idea of how much i can get for a silver steel, T2, '07 Auris, 18000 miles??

check free valuation websites (parkers, what car) or just see how much they are on autotrader. I am not sure what is the problem with selling the car as the prices for used cars went up due to shortage. If you want to sell I think is the best time now.

[fuel miser]

Does anyone have a rough idea of how much i can get for a silver steel, T2, '07 Auris, 18000 miles??

I always use this site below to search for used car values, it is one which seems to be fairly accurate. In fact, many dealers are now using these sites rather than paying for CAP (current auction price) and Glass's guides (they both charge a few hundred pounds a year to subscribe to).

http://www.wisebuyers.co.uk/

[Johan007]

The french cars to drive nice with superb feedback into the wheal. The Golf's, Mazda, Audi and Ford's are just as good these days.

[Rick D4D]

Well I have had a T180 for 9 months now and apart from the MPG issue the car is great, no rattles at all the dash marks no easier than any other new car imo and the brakes are fine. I do have a small issue with the drivers wiper but apart from that its great. I dont feel there is much turbo lag as mine picks up very quick but does seem to have a small throtle lag when you press the pedal. Good luck John with your new car at the end of the day every bodies tastes are different and to be fair I never think you liked the SR180 much since you had the bad MPG.

[boozehound]

agreed

[Djw John]

Cheers lads.

CONGRATULATIONS!! I actually admire your bravery! :D

If you dont mind me asking, how much did you get for it and did you sell privately or through a dealer?

I can only dream of selling my auris and finally getting rid but i know i wont get the value for it, well not what i paid for it anyway, and so wont be able to afford a better car!! So im pretty much stuck!

Does anyone have a rough idea of how much i can get for a silver steel, T2, '07 Auris, 18000 miles??

I cant tell you Im afraid, its leased through my job and I pay something towards it each month, as I'm coming out of the contract I need to pay them 6 months hire on it. No idea what its worth but I certainly wouldn't reccommend this particular one to anybody!

[ABZ-T2]

Thanx guys and thank you Fuel miser. That websites really good. Cars worth a lot more than i thought. Guess toyotas do hold onto their value so we're not at a total loss.

Yes Greg i agree that used car prices are going up due to the scrappage scheme, but are these on the increase or are they levelling up? As in should i sell immediately before they start going down or do you reckon they will still increase further?

[GregP]

Yes Greg i agree that used car prices are going up due to the scrappage scheme, but are these on the increase or are they levelling up? As in should i sell immediately before they start going down or do you reckon they will still increase further?

I think used car prices are going up due to the current economic climate. Most people are looking for cheaper alternatives that buying new ones. Then people that used to change their cars every 3-4 years now keep them for a longer. Scrappage scheme applies only to rather old cars (10 years and more) and you may find that buying a new one is cheaper than ie 2 years old. I think economy will get back on on its track and used car prices will go down. But this is only my opinion so I do not take any responsibility for your decision :D

[Djw John]

Well as you can see above I've been on the lookout for a cheap car and yesterday I bought one!

And as you can see it might not be in the best of nick but mechanically its great bar a rear shock, wheel bearing and slightly sticky brakes, so nothing major.

The rust however will defo need to be the priority

Inside aint bad, although theres nothing to go wrong, manual everything including non power assisted steering! Roof doesnt leak although the window is torn. Came with a hardtop too!

But overall its not too bad and a decent project to keep me busy!

C&C very welcome

John

[Speed_Chaser]

Even though it's not new I think it's a cool one. I bet it's easier to drive that compared to Auris. I mean to me it's much more stressful to drive a new car which is in top condition than having a bit older car.

You've got something to work with now for sure, but if man is able to repair cars there's no problem at all. I think cars were much more reliable at the time when that Mazda was developed. So only little fixes and then it will work and work and work, I hope :D

Good luck with your new car, it'd be nice to hear later about your progress with it, even though you'll probably move on to the Mazda forum from now... :)

Best regards, Alex

[OldSkoO1]

Bullet Proof John

Great little toy should be very chuckable on the twisties and probably the most fun for the pound you can get.

Good luck with your choices in the future

[Dunky]

Quite a bit of work there, is that the fog light held on by parcel tape?

Good luck with the project, more elbow grease than parts required, I'm sure it'll come out lovely and sparkly at the end.

[ormi]

rust wont be easy mate(cut out and re-panel)but parts are cheap(you could get overfenders(plastic trims that go over the arches)that would be cheaper than all the welding.the car will come up nice with a good mop over and be really shiney.

i love the mx5 and it will put a smile on your face evertime you give it a hard drive

pic of the overfenders.

pic of the overfender kit

some cheap mini lites and you'll have a stunning looking car.

[Djw John]

Well thats the Mazda sold! Back to renaults I go!