Buying A Previa

[steve the southerner]

Help...

I'm currently the miserable owner of a V6 VW Sharan, going broke through repairs.

Now gonna get the big family car i wanted in the first place - previa.

I reckon if i sell some of my body parts - i can reach up to £7k, any suggestions on what to look for (please dont say things like wheels etc as i'm too stressed with my current car)

The Parkers price guide book says to look for slipping auto boxes, how on earth do i look out for that? Do they get any probs with leaking sun roofs, electric thingies? - like my bl****y VW?

This owners club is great, and i will be making good use of it.

Thanks to whoever runs it anyway.

This may have been posted twice - if so i'm sorry..

[Boro Sera]

Hi Mate,

Welcome to TOC. (we even talk about cars sometimes !)

Don't know a thing about the Previa myself but I've found that most car write ups in Parkers are pretty accurate. I'm fairly sure there will be a Previa owner along soon to address your questions.

Rich

[Tardis]

Steve, I've got a 2002 Previa which has never had anything wrong with it (electrical, sunroof, sliding doors or otherwise), so not much help really!

Servicing isn't cheap although it's much cheaper than the BMW!

[blobstrom]

Ive got a jap import Previa (Estima Lucida) which is actually smaller then a Previa but is still much better then a VW Sharan spacewise, what other people carrier can fit 8 people and a pushchair in the boot

[peterc]

Watcha steve,

The wife has had a Previa for about a year now, and she is well pleased with it. We have 4 kids so we need the space. Nice big boot area for a double buggy AND a single one. Supposed to have a good reputation for reliability etc. Only problemi have with it is the Fuel consumption, which is pretty poor. we have a uk 2.4 petrol model which only gives us about 240 miles per tank :( Alot of people go for the jap import ones coz of the higher spec and the fact that you can get diesal.

We havent had any problemswith it so far :D

All in all a good car. You should be able to get a nice one for £7K

Cheers

Pete

[steve the southerner]

:D

Thanks for the advice

i'm just waiting for one to come up round here now.

Just for anyone who may consider a galaxy/sharan/alhambra etc, i have picked up a number of design flaws,

1. Rubbish interior plastic things - don't sneeze inside one, something will break,crack fall off etc.

2. Water pours in front passenger footwell and over some the electrics if the engine bay drainage holes are blocked by a couple of leaves.(it sits in a plastic tray until it overflows and pours through the paper air filter - which supplies the air vents)

3. Same with the sunroof

4. Windscreen motor sits in water if above occurs and knackers it...

5. You need to be a olympic weight lifter with the self control of the Pope to remove/re-install the rear seats to accomodate something.

6. Comparable fuel economy (mines a V6) of a Formula 1 racing car.

It drives nice though and has a strong engine....no be strong....its rubbish, get rid of it.

okay then I will.

[vibrant]

Hi Steve,

I am about to part exchange my Ford Galaxy for an Avensis Verso (should be delivered in 2 weeks :) ) and I cant wait to get rid of it. Mine does the water cascade into the footwell as well as the door locks rusting up because they get wet.

The fuel consumption is applling, the electric windows broke, the heater packed up.... you have started me off on a rant now!

[Gareth B]

I,ve just bought a 1996 Estima Emina X-Lux for £4500 after looking around at all the different mpv's out there and i'm chuffed to bits. It's got 8 very versatile seats with a large boot space with all seats in position ,unlike any other of the ones i looked at and all the gadgets and gizmos that any of the others have got.

Hopefully it should have the Toyota reliability and it all looks quality, interior etc

Not too sure of the mpg though as i've ony done half a tank so far and done 220km. I've read they can be a bit thirsty. (2.2tdi)

Look around there are lots of different specs and you can find some very good deals.

[NeoDarkeye]

Hallo all :)

Just bought a 1996 Estima Lucida diesel, well pleased with it, used to have a 2000 Renault Espace, but the Toyota is far better, in both space and comfort.

I travel from Essex to Hants every fortnight (2 hour trip) and always suffered when getting out of the Espace, with lower back pain/ache. But no such problem with my Estima :D

Fuel consuption is on a par with the Renault, but I wouldn't swap back now :P

[postoyko]

I bought my Previa 7 years ago with 11K on the clock. its now done 80K, regular dealer servicing.

Solid as a rock with the exception of the disk pads and disks themselves. It goes through them like crazy probably 'cos its auto.

Tyres too - you can only get dunlops, 120 - 150 squids each.

Running costs are high - expect 19 mpg round town, you can squeeze 35 if you are really careful on the M-way but 22 ish is normal.

Still on orig exhaust and cat - had a new radiator and 3 sets of Wiper Blades (1 set 'cos someone superglued them to the windscreen at Watford railway station) & thats all thats gone wrong.

Minor electrical fault on sunroof, leccy windows starting to show age and are slowing down. Thats it ... oh it wouldnt start once - thought the starter had packed up - turned out to be a flat batters cos the lights were left on overnight.

Porche arn't the only cars with handling issues Previa handling can be fun - rear wheel drive in the wet & you can find the backend fishtailing... 'specially if the tyres are getting on in life. The wife 'lost it' in ours and ended leaving the road up narrowly missing hitting the trees.

Having said that, I wouldnt get rid of ours. Go for one with air con ... not the GS... I got a GS and regret it in summer 'cos the rear windows dont let much air in and the kids tend to overheat.

[blobstrom]

My 2.2 tdi Lucida averaged 27mpg with it only having 3 gears and no torque converter lock-up on the autobox, hopefully now the box is sorted it will get mid 30's, although instead of driving around at no more then 60 I have been going a tad faster

[eddierich]

Hi

I have found a national tyre company which does great pricing for quality tyres fitted .

Toyo R610 215/65 R15 H £74.60

Pirelli P6 215/65 R15 H £74.79

Firestone F700 215/65 R15 H £96.20

Pirelli P6000 215/65 R15 H £102.65

Michelin PRIMACY 215/65 R15 H £120.65

Dunlop D8 215/65 R15 H £144.42

[jaggarudus]

hiyall,

I have owned a 94 Previa GL manual LPG converted for 6 months and drive about 1000 miles a week around town so far been very reliable with no problems but being a ex mechanic like to have my vehicles in tip top running order.as far as economy goes would definateley reccomend a gas conversion for this vehicle i am getting about 220 miles on a full tank (60 litre holds upto about 68) around town and costs about £20 to fill up at 29.9pence per litre.performance on gas is same as petrol up to about 5000 revs after which it seems less pokey as petrol but to be honest never rev mine that high anyway but at lower revs pulls better and smoother on gas because of better combustion with gas .motorway mileage on gas has been excellent did 250 miles mainly motoway with 7 passengers on return filled back up for £15.50 conversion costs about £1100 but be carefull where u go as many systems available and many cowboys about ,guy called jason with reputable firm in nechells birmingham does proffessional job with latest spec system

back to the subject at hand buying previa i think the UK spec previa is a lot better vehicle all round vehicle than estima/lucida range because the previa has fully independant rear suspension and is a bit wider than estima/lucida which has a solid rear axle giving the previa a lot better roadholding also previa is more roomy with better legroom and space and if you have a UK Previa GL model it comes with ABS as standard and has excellent braking.would reccomend changing rear gas shocks if mileage is approaching 100k will definateley improve handling/ bodyroll .In all i would say the toyota previa is a very solid vehicle should be very reliable if its been properly maintained and if u buy a UK spec Previa GL in good nick and get it it lpg converted you get the benefit of twin sunroofs ,A/C,ABS which the GS model doesnt have and very economical at the pump,have driven a 96 lucida 4x4 2.2 turbo diesel with 56k mileage and would say very sluggish performance and very soggy handling/braking compared to the UK Previa

[Tricky Dicky]

Hi steve

new to the forum, but as you say it is well pukka, we have had our estima for about 2 years, and it is the dogs nuts, it has all the extras full electrics, air con, double sun roofs ...it goes on, i pull a caravan with it most weekends, and this is the only time i notice a heavy fuel consumption, for obvious reasons, but most the time it is more economical than my old petrol cavalier. It is an automatic deisel, but we are fairly carefull drivers keeping around 60 mph on most a roads etc. Unfortunately we have just had to have a new head, thought it was head gasket for a start but when the head was tested it was cracked. The cost of this using a brand new head, new cam belt at same time and a full service was £1300, which although you can do with out it aint bad considering the engine has to be dropped out underneath.

we took about 6 months to find our motor and to be honest we felt other MPV of the same age were not in its class, it was 6 years old when we got it with 34,000 on and we paid 6 grand, a galaxy of the same spec was around 10-11 G.

Any way mate good luck and keep us posted how ya get on

Kindest regards

Richard and Gill Evans

[veewhy]

hiyall,

I have owned a 94 Previa GL manual LPG converted for 6 months and drive about 1000 miles a week around town so far been very reliable with no problems but being a ex mechanic like to have my vehicles in tip top running order.as far as economy goes would definateley reccomend a gas conversion for this vehicle i am getting about 220 miles on a full tank (60 litre holds upto about 68) around town and costs about £20 to fill up at 29.9pence per litre.performance on gas is same as petrol up to about 5000 revs after which it seems less pokey as petrol but to be honest never rev mine that high anyway but at lower revs pulls better and smoother on gas because of better combustion with gas .motorway mileage on gas has been excellent did 250 miles mainly motoway with 7 passengers on return filled back up for £15.50 conversion costs about £1100 but be carefull where u go as many systems available and many cowboys about ,guy called jason with reputable firm in nechells birmingham does proffessional job with latest spec system

back to the subject at hand buying previa i think the UK spec previa is a lot better vehicle all round vehicle than estima/lucida range because the previa has fully independant rear suspension and is a bit wider than estima/lucida which has a solid rear axle giving the previa a lot better roadholding also previa is more roomy with better legroom and space and if you have a UK Previa GL model it comes with ABS as standard and has excellent braking.would reccomend changing rear gas shocks if mileage is approaching 100k will definateley improve handling/ bodyroll .In all i would say the toyota previa is a very solid vehicle should be very reliable if its been properly maintained and if u buy a UK spec Previa GL in good nick and get it it lpg converted you get the benefit of twin sunroofs ,A/C,ABS which the GS model doesnt have and very economical at the pump,have driven a 96 lucida 4x4 2.2 turbo diesel with 56k mileage and would say very sluggish performance and very soggy handling/braking compared to the UK Previa

Do you have a phone number for Nechells in Birmingham, I have tried yell to find a reference to them online, but haven't found any info about them. Does anyone else know of a good LPG installer?

[freddunn]

Tyres too - you can only get dunlops, 120 - 150 squids each.

I've just put 4 new "Kumar" tyres on for a total of £200

Time will tell how good they are

Previa GL A/C 95/96 105k

[airportone2001]

I've had a uk spec 2.4 GX previa for the last 3 years done a 140,000 miles and apart from pads oil etc ie:- servicing all thats broken is the water pump a total of 204,000 odd miles on the clock now and a first class comfortabl reliable car,ok not great on the unleaded hence we converted to LPG and at 34.9p a litre in my local it is more economical on a motorway run the our DAEWOO MATIZ.A 100% TOP VEHICLE

[jaggarudus]

the lpg installer i reccomended was PRESTIGE in nechells birmingham 0121 333 3990 is the phone number..just advanced the timing by 5 degrees to enhance the performance on gas running smoother and revs better especially between 5000 and 6000....gas burns slower ,have not experienced any pinking on petrol and seems smoother on that too,just bought a cat with the 2 oxygen sensors from my local scrappy forme next mod a decat hopin to get better performance and mpg

[Toyota previa owner]

welcome steve,

I have the 1991 H reg Previa 2.4 GL and it is got to be the best people carrier i have bought yet i have had alot including the sharran(crap car all!) and it has come out best! the only problem i have had with it is that it is high on juice! :(

Hope this helps!

[USApreviaOWNER]

Greetings from the USA. I own a 1995 Previa SC (supercharged) and I love it. It now has over 167000 miles. I recently spent $500.00 USD on EGR problems and $900.00 USD on a catalytic converter but it was well worth it since these are the only items that I have needed to repair on it in 8 years. I have bought tires and batteries, Wiper Blades and brake pads (all the usual wear and tear items). My only complaint is that the Previa eats up brake calipers every 60,000 miles.

It is roomy, powerful (with the supercharger) and never lets the family down. Too bad they stopped selling them here in 1997. Maybe I should move to England?

:D

[PAB]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but a SUPERCHARGED Previa?

USApreviaOwner is that a stock model or aftermarket / tuner conversion?

What stats for your engine? BHP? torque?

[pondus]

Sorry, but I don't understand the meaning of: "forme next mod a decat hopin to get better performance and mpg" I'll be very glad if you could explain it to me.

Thanks

Pondus

the lpg installer i reccomended was PRESTIGE in nechells birmingham 0121 333 3990 is the phone number..just advanced the timing by 5 degrees to enhance the performance on gas running smoother and revs better especially between 5000 and 6000....gas burns slower ,have not experienced any pinking on petrol and seems smoother on that too,just bought a cat with the 2 oxygen sensors from my local scrappy forme next mod a decat hopin to get better performance and mpg

←

[GentleGiant]

Hi, new member here, but my family have owned 5 Mk1 Previas, so I am an expert on them.

They are VERY reliable; we have had one roadside breakdown between the 5 cars; none of the cars have done less than 150,000 miles and the one that broke down had done 225,000 at the time the alternator failed (5am on the M25 during a bank holiday weekend and en-route to Gatwick!!).

Problems.

The brake discs are prone to seizing, we now get ours copper-greased EVERY service which has solved THAT problem.

The hand-brake is not strong enough for the weight of the car, I managed to rip it apart trying to hold on a steep hill.(Manual car).

The GS UK fitted sunroof is not as reliable as the Japanese fitted versions on the GL and GX and the company that made them went bust years ago, so there are NO spares, not even a wiring diagram.

The dash-board dimmer works its way towards "dim" over time, I have mine blue-tacked in place.

The bench seat stitching near the door is prone to ripping due to clumsy children clambering in and out and kneeling on it, after 2 professional repairs I re-stitched it using 11KG fishing line!!

Generally they are very well balanced, but if you are carrying a lot of people and luggage, a sudden swerve can cause oversteer as the back suddenly leans over (the weight overcoming the gas shocks and causing the coil spring to compress suddenly).

Having said that, they are far better than the FWD MkII which can be unstable and suffer from severe understeer if there is a lot of weight in the back; especially if you also have a loaded bike rack on there!!

Of the tyre list above, I have found the Dunlop D8's to be the best, but they have doubled in price, from £65 to £125 each at my local garage; they will give 50,000 miles of service before needing replacement tho; many of the other are only good for about 30,000 miles.

Still better than the MkII, which is FWD and eats the front tyres every 10,000 or so!!

The auto boxes are very smooth to drive, but the manual accelerates up steep hills and overtakes better; MPG is near identical between the two.

I do not know what it is with the suspension, but they are very good at lulling people to sleep, children, adults, drivers!!! In my private hire days, I rarely had a passenger stay awake for more than 45 minutes, and often less!! I once picked up 6 Indian nurses from central London, they were all asleep before I reached the M40 and none of them woke up until I hit the potholes in Malvern 2 1/2 hours later!!!

I am interested in people with LPG converted Previas, I was told many years ago that the MkI engine was not suitable; and even with the MKII, there seems to be few places to stick a tank other than in the boot or where the spare lives.

Just re-read this, not bad for a first post!!

[GentleGiant]

Sorry, but I don't understand the meaning of: "forme next mod a decat hopin to get better performance and mpg" I'll be very glad if you could explain it to me.

Thanks

Pondus

Possibly he has a 1990/91 MKI which in theory can be run without a catalytic converter (only required from 92).

If you can get the engine re-mapped and a through box fitted you would expect 20-30% more power and MPG. (Yep, that is how much a cat robs you of!!).

[Madcatstyle]

Hi gentle giant

So where can you get the re mapping done and the cat removal. That sounds like a good idea! :)