Why Did You Buy A Toyota?

[jedi134]

Quite glad I have it although it does prevent fitting a bike rack.

You can get rear tyres mount bike racks, some clip onto the tyre, some actually mount to the bolt fixings I belive.

It will compliment your eye brows

[Hoovie]

It dosent look to bad on the back, but I personally would want them colour coded on the sides,

Otherwise it looks like you have a huge eye brow on each side

Having them colour coded is just a waste of time. As soon as they take a couple of hits they start to look scabby............

Yup, it is virtually impossible to do after-market colour coding to that kind of part and keeping them looking decent, I think.

It is a shame that they cannot be bought pre-coloured :(

[benxt5]

That's a lot of weight to have on the hinges should you open the door with the bikes on. Not sure I would trust it, although I'm sure they would have been tested in design. Thanks for the heads up.

Ps-

I'm beginning to think you are jealous of my eyebrows as you are mentioning them so much! :)

[Hoovie]

What's that big round lump on the back of your RAV, Ben?

LOL... I wasn't aware when I bought the car that these were being phased out. I had seen ones without but thought it was an option to have or not have the rear mounted spare or that the ones without all had runflats. Quite glad I have it although it does prevent fitting a bike rack.

Thinking of the mechanics and positioning of where the bikes would go, having NO spare would make a rear door bike rack a no-no? The door would swing out and the bike could hit the side light cluster I think? If you did mount one on the spare wheel - or to clear the spare, then it would go out enough to clear the lights and rear wing.

Oh dear. Yet ANOTHER reason to have a spare!

[Hoovie]

That's a lot of weight to have on the hinges should you open the door with the bikes on. Not sure I would trust it, although I'm sure they would have been tested in design. Thanks for the heads up.

Ps-

I'm beginning to think you are jealous of my eyebrows as you are mentioning them so much! :)

LOL :D

Actually, the black surround on the front nudge bar has been likened to a Mexican moustache

[jedi134]

That's a lot of weight to have on the hinges should you open the door with the bikes on. Not sure I would trust it, although I'm sure they would have been tested in design. Thanks for the heads up.

Ps-

I'm beginning to think you are jealous of my eyebrows as you are mentioning them so much! :)

Oo I don't know? Have you felt the weight of the spare wheel? Most probably weighs more that most bikes nowerdays........

Those rear doors are solid as are the hinges, mind stopped a sprinter van from entering boot :D

As for opening the door, just be careful as you would with bikes on the back.

And yes I think you brows are growing on me

[CharlieFarlie]

I like the side strips and think if the owner has to use the usual parking bays as found in supermarkets they are a definate advantage..

[Gods_gift]

"Ma we got another bite" dude whateva! You are just rude to people who don't agree with you on here. PS I started this thread if you don't like where it's going do one! Don't start gobbing off at Benxt5 for sharing his opinion. Happy Easter lol

Benxt5 I'm considering my head unit options too. The 56 plate XT4 I bought come with a 6 disc changer and it's fine Sound system but I'm thinking of going for something with a hard disk and cool sat nav DVD functionality just cant decide which one.

[Manxrav]

Gods-gift +1

Regards Clare

[jedi134]

Gods-gift +1

Regards Clare

[jedi134]

That's a lot of weight to have on the hinges should you open the door with the bikes on. Not sure I would trust it, although I'm sure they would have been tested in design. Thanks for the heads up.

Ps-

I'm beginning to think you are jealous of my eyebrows as you are mentioning them so much! :)

LOL :D

Actually, the black surround on the front nudge bar has been likened to a Mexican moustache

Mine came with a Toyota stache pack, for those special days

Are brow packs available too?

[CharlieFarlie]

"Ma we got another bite" dude whateva! You are just rude to people who don't agree with you on here. PS I started this thread if you don't like where it's going do one! Don't start gobbing off at Benxt5 for sharing his opinion. Happy Easter lol

Benxt5 I'm considering my head unit options too. The 56 plate XT4 I bought come with a 6 disc changer and it's fine Sound system but I'm thinking of going for something with a hard disk and cool sat nav DVD functionality just cant decide which one.

Yeh wahtever Ted... I hadn't realised you owned the forum ??

Suppose the answer is in your name eh ?? Gods Gift,, Yeh right ............

[anchorman]

Keep it civil folks.

:group-cuddles:

[daler]

hi guys. i thought this topic would be a good place to introduce myself.i really enjoy reading different threads here.learned a lot about toyotas and general about cars here. i happend to own 3 avensises one after another.cant really remember why i bought my first avensis( 1998 1.6 petrol). i had micra so needed a bigger car.insurance and road tax was reasonable as well.didnt hear anything about toyota reliability just bought it because liked the looks of it those days(i think it was 2005) cant fault it in any way exept it was a bit heavy on oil although some additional additives from Halfords were helping to reduce it significally.sold it after 2 years and it was practically ripped off from my hands(guy didnt even bother to bargain the price).so when the need for another car arrived i didnt hesitate at all.it was 2001 1.6 avensis.owned it for 2 years.couldnt fault it either although it was an ex-taxi(yes i knew it but got it for nothing)sold it after two years as it started giving me troubles with lambda.still got some money for it(man this model does have a good depretiation value).after it was looking for some diesel but due to extremely high prices on them had to compromise and went back to avensis 2004 1.6 petrol(irish exclusive i think).absolutely love the way it drives, incide and outside of it.but had to spend a bit to maintain it( droplinks, clutch, brake disks, shocks, about 1000 euro) a bit too much in my opinion.probably previous owners abused the car and didnt serviced it properly, who knows?now my honest opinion about reliability of toyotas would be the same as about any other make in the world. it suffers. its just not proffitable enough for any companies to build good sturdy cars that will stand the test of time.agressive marketing style is adopted by most companies these days and they'd do anything to force people to buy new shiny car which they then in a few years time will sell back to dealer to buy a new one again.thats double proffit.in order to do this companies dont need to build cars that will last 20 years.they just need to be stylish and have more gadets incide.but despite all said above i think toyotas still can be trusted.i have heard their after sale warranty is great.as from my experience i would say toyotas are a bit more costly on juice than many other brands but a bit cheaper to upkeep/maintain.

now i have to agree with CharlieFarlie that with current fuel prices when buying a car the fuel consumption is a major factor. as example i have petrol car and due to high running cost i cant afford to do my favorite hobby(fishing) as often as i used to do and generally have to cut down on unnecessary driving.thats actually the reason i am on this site, as im trying to find the right car for me.thanks

[doujoy1944]

Hi to all,

Well I bought a Rav4 diesel five door because I spent the better part of ywelve years working on Landrovers.

Doug.

[Davrav]

That's either staying power or a thick skin

[silly sausage]

Good choice of vehicle Doug, I hope the Rav serves you well Sorry to read about your twelve years of suffering, were you offered counselling when you escaped, I mean left ?

[FROSTYBALLS]

Of the seventeen new cars we've had, five have been Toyotas - a 1996 Corolla, 1998 Corolla, 2006 Corolla, 2009 Auris and a 2012 Auris.

Mixture of new cars over the years. Liked Nissan a lot (before the Nissan/Renault Alliance) and had three Micras, a Sunny and two Primeras. Two Hondas (Concerto and Civic). Three Mazdas (323, Premacy and 2). One Hyundai (i20).

Returned to the Toyota fold mainly as I didn't like the replacement for the 323 (the 3), liked the 2006 Corolla and was impressed with the Toyota dealer I bought from (and who I've stayed with). Not my local dealer.

[Hoovie]

A fan of Far Eastern cars for sure there :)

I worked out a little time back that I've had 19 non-company vehicles (and non new I think), but only 3 Toyotas.

I was looking to stay Toyota and looked at the Auris (wanted better economy) but the dealer I went to was one of the biggest in Glasgow, but would have put Arthur Daley to shame with their antics (and I then got seduced by a sexy little French number ;) )

[babaroga]

Well the main reasons for me are - reliability and easy and cheap maintenance.

If you look at reliability car surveys all Japanese come in first 10 , while German are in 20-25 range, which I experienced my self with German cars. Germans OK till 100k miles, then you have serious issues, while Toyota runs forever if maintained correctly. I had Carina e, Yaris, Auris, now - all I ever changed was light bulbs, oil, filters, wipers, tyres, fluids.

The only downside of all Toyota's is soundproofing - really rubbish comparing with Germans, but I would think it is deliberate to keep the weight down.

[firemac]

I bought our first one by mistake - The Management thought it was a Honda.......

[Dippy]

Wanted a mid-size MPV/SUV that was economic, reliable (buying tax-free means you can't sell it for five years at least), and could still be fun going round corners. 4.2 ticked the boxes at the time, then the 4.3 beat out the X3 by being notably cheaper.

I now don't have the "fun" requirement (got a second car for that), but I do have the reliability requirement - probably have to keep it for 10 years - so let's see if it's a 4.4 or a CRV next.

[ALake]

I've owned over 40 cars and fancied a 4x4 without the worries of diesel dpf,injectors,dmf,egr valves ECG so decided on a petrol rav. So far I would say toyota is no better or worse than Vauxhall or ford cars that I've owned. In some ways better, but in other ways worse so I wouldn't say I've made a right or wrong choice!

I certainly wouldn't use the dealer I bought the car from again due to their screw you attitude but would consider another toyota in the future.

I've owned ford, vauxhall, Renault,jaguar,vw,fiat,toyota,Mazda,kia and so far the only make I wouldn't consider again is mazda due to the fact they still have rust issues!

[Hoovie]

In the old days, the Japanese cars mechanicals were brilliant, but the body's lasted only slightly longer then a Lancias, and the Vauxhalls and Fords of time, although not great themselves, were strees ahead.

Now of course, that has been sorted bodywork wise, but there is still one area that the Far East (and Japanese especially) cars are vey poor on, and that is the alloy wheels!

Economy or Premium, if is a Jap car, the wheels will be knackered within years, and for some reason, Mazda are always the worst. When I was doing the wheel Refurbs, I would not touch a Mazda wheel over 3 years old as just too much corrosion.

[anchorman]

I've never had a problem with alloy wheels but spend a lot of time cleaning them. The biggest enemy IMO is brake dust which harbours moisture and many different metal particles. I have noticed that the wheels start to bubble first at the front where most dust is generated.