new rav4 owner maybe ?

[CelicaZoo]

I am looking for a reliable, 'cheap', runaround for less than £1500. I will only do about 4k miles a year and so the fuel is no that important as isn't the insurance/tax due to my age..

I am a carer and my current car has just bit the dust so need one urgently..

I have seen a possible contender a Toyota RAV4 (NY51KMA) 1.8 VVT-i NV 3dr with 11months mot £900

Obvious questions...

- is 140k+ miles asking for trouble..
- Should I even be looking at an older rav4 as a cheap reliable runaround ?

thanks

[CelicaZoo]

nearly 60 views but no advice ?

Am I on the right part of the forum..let me know if I am not

cheers

[IanML]

To be frank, in your price band, there can be no assurance of reliability.  At least, RAVs are well made, which is more than you can say for some other contenders.  A careful inspection by an experienced person is to be recommended.

[FROSTYBALLS]

4 hours ago, CelicaZoo said:

nearly 60 views but no advice ?

The forums have been fairly quiet for the last week or so - probably something to do with Christmas and New Year (and today is still a public holiday in Scotland)?

[CelicaZoo]

Thanks for that

I have seen another one..looks nice, 2001 SWB 1.8, 10 months MOT, 105k miles..but its in chesham, buckinghamshire...150+ miles from me

Is there any member in that area who would take a look for me for a few bottles of wine ?

cheers

 

 

[Mikeyjd]

On the subject of mileage. High mileage isn't necessarily a bad thing. My wife had a Rav4 2.2 with 160,000 miles on it. It ran very well until it was written off in an accident recently. A low mileage car could have been misused and end up being a load of trouble. As there is no real way of judging a cars history, go with the general condition of the body first and try to check out visible things like brakes and suspension etc.

Is there any reason why you are looking at a 4x4? If you are looking for a pretty cheap and hopefully reliable runabout maybe consider other cars, you will have more choice.

[CelicaZoo]

I have considered other cars but to be honest most I have seen have been rust buckets so thought a small japanese 4x4 might suit the bill

[roadster-rav]

When buying cars at this price point mileage and indeed age don't really matter. What you have to rely on is your judgement, or possibly advice from a colleague, when you examine and test drive the car. Has it been well cared for by previous owners? The interior and exterior condition will tell you that. Does it have any documentation which proves that it was genuinely in regular recent use by a private owner? You can also use the registration number to look up its MOT history on the DVLA database. Its fair to say that Japanese built cars do tend to be more reliable and durable than other makes and sometimes you can get  hold of imported cars that have only been used in Japan and are in excellent condition. ( Make sure you only get cars which are properly re-registered in the UK if considering that route).