Avensis T4 Cvt Tourer - 12 Months On

[jonny123456]

Well, it's now been 12 months since after much deliberation I bought my 2011 T4 Tourer, so I thought I'd post my thoughts, and ask your opinions on something...

The car itself I love: it's comfortable for long journeys (7.5 hours without a break recently), smooth to drive, quick enough, full of gadgets, massive boot, great to look at etc.

But unfortunately I've been left with real doubts about it's reliability (which is one of the key reasons I went with the Toyota in the first place).

• In the last twelve months I've had it, it's had:
• its electronic handbrake actuator replaced (approx £1500),
• the boot struts (approx £180),
• the water pump (£????)

More worryingly I recently reported a strange sound when driving, which turned out to be the CVT gearbox which needed replacing, and later (as part of the same repair) the torque converter was also replaced (after being ordered from Japan!) - total estimated cost for parts and labour for gearbox replacement was £7,000+. This also left me without my 'reliable' car for 3 weeks!

Fortunately all this was repaired under warranty, but my deep worry is that if so much has gone so wrong so early (4 years old and < 60K miles) that it won't be long before things go wrong again when out of warranty (another 12 months), making it uneconomical to repair. If the gear box goes again in 4 years at 110K miles - I really don't want to have to pay £7,000+ to repair it, and the car will be worthless.

It seems there's just too much expensive stuff to go wrong, in comparison to the more traditional buy and keep till it dies Toyota.

Also, despite driving like a saint (smooth and at 60, though with occasional heavy traffic) I'm still only managing to get 36 MPG. I got more than that in my old 13 year old Nissan Primera!

I'm not here to slam Toyota, or even the Avensis, but wanted to note my experience.

Does part-exchanging now and taking a depreciation hit seem rational, or am I over reacting?

[alan333]

How about extending the Toyota warranty next year instead? Surely gotta be cheaper than trading it in.

Your mpg seems about right according to Honest John etc ie about 38mpg. I can get towards 50 with my saloon in summer driving really nicely, but it can also get down to about 38 in winter or if driven with a bit more enthusiasm. I don't think it can be compared to an older, less emission controlled car.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Toyota dealers have recently been offering extended warranties on a 2 years for the price of 1 basis - I'm sure one could buy an extension now to run from the expiry of the new car warranty.

[Heidfirst]

I think that you have been unlucky as the CVT generally seems to be extremely reliable. Even the epb actuator doesn't seem to statistically be a big problem (of course if you are 1 of the few it;s a pain) & you should, I imagine, have had it replaced with the supposedly improved later one. & the competitors cars are also going epb if they haven't already.

You can't really compare modern cars & old ones fairly as new ones are larger/heavier but also safer & cleaner.

I must admit that I have taken advantage of the 2 for 1 offer on extended warranty for my car as I'll probably run it to 6 1/2-7 years if not longer as long as it still fits my needs & behaves itself.

[jonny123456]

The issue with extending warranties is that it's at a cost of £500 per year, ongoing! (I suppose it's an option to consider when comparing to taking a depreciation hit when selling).

Unfortunately the 2 years for the price of 1, is limited to I think 10 or 12K (less than I currently do anyway), otherwise I'd be more tempted.

As for modern vs older - I see your point (and safer is definitely better), but it's frustrating that technology has moved on so much, without reliability keeping up. Or maybe it's the massive cost of replacement components that are putting me off - some of which cost more than a cheap banger!)

There are so many older Japanese cars on the road (plenty of 20 year old Nissan's and Toyota's) and so I guess that I feel I shouldn't have to pay for a warranty on my own car once it hits just 5 years (a baby compared to many others). I've already paid a premium buying at just three years old.

I guess it's maybe all elements to be aware of when purchasing a new/almost new modern car, that I hadn't properly anticipated.

[Heidfirst]

The issue with extending warranties is that it's at a cost of £500 per year, ongoing! (I suppose it's an option to consider when comparing to taking a depreciation hit when selling).

Unfortunately the 2 years for the price of 1, is limited to I think 10 or 12K (less than I currently do anyway), otherwise I'd be more tempted.

It certainly wasn't limited to the low-mileage (10k per year) option when I took mine out in May (although that is what I took out as it's all that I need - iirc it cost me £516 so £260 per year for me for peace of mind, I imagine that the unlimited mileage p.a. option is probably~£800). £260 certainly beats £2,500 per year depreciation to change cars. :)

It might have been different if my car was petrol though as petrol has fewer high value items that might fail (DMF, DPF, turbo etc.)

There aren't lot's of 20 year old cars of any kind up here - the average lifespan of a car in the UK is ~7-8 years. If I'm going to be in an accident I certainly don't want it to be in a 20 year old car.

You don't have to pay for a warranty, it's a personal choice.

Your values are skewed - you haven't paid a premium buying at 3 years as you have avoided the massive depreciation period on new cars so have bought at a huge discount.

[Whitewagon]

It was the cost of the CVT box alone that made me decide to extend the warranty on my Avensis at the time of purchase. Had it been a conventional auto box I probably wouldn't have bothered as there are plenty of auto specialists around who could repair them at less than half that price. With the current warranty expiring in September 2016 I have plenty of time to consider what to do, if a further extension is available and there are no other problems then I will probably take that option over changing cars. The Auris Hybrid is a tempting option though, but whatever it is will be either a conventional automatic or CVT and not a dual clutch system.