avensis estate 2009-14 buyers advice required.

[rob42]

hi all, 

I'm interested in upgrading from my corolla to an avensis estate, the 09-14 shape suits my budget and style requirements 🤣. there are a limited selection here in Ireland, lots are uk imports which im not fussed by, but the millage is quite high across the board. so is there any general things to look out for in this generation ? i think the 2L would do me but is the 2.2 better? id like to use it for light towing (small boat 600kg or less) no distance at all on occasion.  

iv found a "t4" spec one very close to home but has very high millage 260k miles, but im coming around to the idea of heated leather seats and all, so iv already started talking to the owner and there's wiggle room.  there's plenty of crashed saloons around so gearbox and engine replacements should be doable as long as i can off sent the purchase price 

  https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/toyota-avensis-d4d-t4-estate-highest-spec/27424120?campaign=14

or should I hold out and save my pennies and go for the next gen? 

thanks 

rob 

[rob42]

i hope to view the car above Sunday, is there anything to look out for this model? i know to look at tyre brands is a sign if it was looked after and Wiper Blades. any thing that should be considered  a red flag?

[Konrad C]

I can talk about the car in general, but not the engine as much. I own the petrol (2009 '58 plate) version and it has been fine. The only thing I can say about the diesel was that it had a minor issue in the previous shape, but I have not heard or read too much on T27 diesels (pre BMW).
 

The parking brake is generally reliable, and most faults are caused by external issues. The front doors can have stress cracks at the door strap area. Everything else is where and tear.

This won't affect you being in Ireland, but you may find more diesels from the greater London area come onto the market, because of the inner London ULEZ that affects diesels more than petrol cars! Point is, you may have more choice if you are prepared to go far.

[rob42]

10 minutes ago, Konrad C said:

I can talk about the car in general, but not the engine as much. I own the petrol (2009 '58 plate) version and it has been fine. The only thing I can say about the diesel was that it had a minor issue in the previous shape, but I have not heard or read too much on T27 diesels (pre BMW).
 

The parking brake is generally reliable, and most faults are caused by external issues. The front doors can have stress cracks at the door strap area. Everything else is where and tear.

This won't affect you being in Ireland, but you may find more diesels from the greater London area come onto the market, because of the inner London ULEZ that affects diesels more than petrol cars! Point is, you may have more choice if you are prepared to go far.

thanks for your input, i haven't really considered importing one, im sure vrt etc. is more costly with Brexit now, the one in the link is mere miles from me so its just  convenient. but im not in a rush to buy either as my corolla is still kicking, 

 

thanks 

[Catlover]

Check the service history, if its got the stamps at the right time, prferably Toyota, then that would be good.  The MOT seems short, June, its not far off. I would be asking for a new one, hopefully at a garage independant of the seller.  At that age it probably does not have a DPF, which would be good because they can be a pain.  If 17" wheels, the tyres can be expensive.

[rob42]

2 hours ago, Catlover said:

Check the service history, if its got the stamps at the right time, prferably Toyota, then that would be good.  The MOT seems short, June, its not far off. I would be asking for a new one, hopefully at a garage independant of the seller.  At that age it probably does not have a DPF, which would be good because they can be a pain.  If 17" wheels, the tyres can be expensive.

here in Ireland the NCT (mot equivalent) is done in state owned centers and before covid it was hard to get a test date now most are getting extensions so couldn't easily sort that. yes i believe it doesn't have a dpf from my research. and i hadn't noticed the while size. thanks for the advice!     

[Briano]

I previously had a 2012 2.0 diesel which I imported from the UK it had about 200k on it when I sold it 4 years ago, never gave any trouble so I would not be too concerned about the mileage if it has been looked after in terms of servicing.  I recently (January this year) imported another 2016 avensis tourer from Northern Ireland.  The old VRT rules still apply if the car is on a NI plate or it’s on a uk plate and has been registered to an owner in Northern Ireland so don’t rule that out completely if that is something you were considering, but make sure to check it out to confirm prior to make a purchase if you go down that road...

[rob42]

47 minutes ago, Briano said:

I previously had a 2012 2.0 diesel which I imported from the UK it had about 200k on it when I sold it 4 years ago, never gave any trouble so I would not be too concerned about the mileage if it has been looked after in terms of servicing.  I recently (January this year) imported another 2016 avensis tourer from Northern Ireland.  The old VRT rules still apply if the car is on a NI plate or it’s on a uk plate and has been registered to an owner in Northern Ireland so don’t rule that out completely if that is something you were considering, but make sure to check it out to confirm prior to make a purchase if you go down that road...

cheers Brian, just everyone knows someone stung with a massive vrt bill so iv just hid away from it but I may look into it.

[rob42]

yeah just today i was in contact to friends of friends that have had that sort of mileage and said the same as long as the price is right. also i rang axa to see how much it would cost to chat and only 40 odd euro shocker! bare in mind im 25 going from a 1.4 to a 2L