Considering Buying A Rav-4

[halesowen_lad]

Hello there

I am considering buying a new Rav SR180 or a RXT both Diesel versions, I am also considering a Land Rover Freelander 2

Have you guys had any problems with the Rav ?

I have driven the 140 bhp model and thought it drove well and like the ride

Any help on best dealerships in the West Mids area and kind of price you can pay for one, I have been offered 2k off a new one

Please help

Many thanks

Steve

[dave.m]

Hi and welcome to the club, the SR has a type of runflat tyre which isn't run flat but do a search and you will find plenty of

opinions which may or may not put you off. I have the XT-R (140) and highly recommend it (I think thats what you drove

typo RXT ?) Great all round car, IMHO forget the tandoori Freelander

[shcm]

Hello Steve and welcome.

Looks like you are not too far from me.

West Mids dealerships eh? Ok, a quick summary of my experience. Others experience may vary.

Westlands Stourbridge: Couldn't get anything like a good deal out of them for my current RAV or my previous RAV. Previous RAV had some servicing done there. They've done things like bend the sills underneath. Can they not jack it properly?? After a coolant change there seemed to be remains of coolant sprayed all over the engine bay. Ok, the cooling system is usually under pressure, but the engine would have been nowhere near that hot to spray it everywhere when the pressure was released. I know I may be too fussy, but if you are paying dealer rates, you expect a "professional" job. They seem on the ball if you need parts.

Westlands Bromsgrove They were formally Clarks close to centre of Bromsgrove. My previous RAV was bought from Clarks. A good Deal. Had a service done there - just seem to have done the job as expected, no complaints. They got took over by Westlands and got moved to a new showroom. My current RAV came from here, again a reasonable deal. Never had a service done there. When I picked the RAV up new, noticed the tyre valve caps were missing. Again, a picky point, but things like that just make me suspicious. i.e. If they can't get a tyre pressure adjustment job right @ PDI, makes me wonder what else will they get wrong? Never used them for parts.

Toyota World Solihull Wouldn't touch 'em with a barge pole. Bought parts from them, but didn't seem to have a clue with the parts catalogue. I had to help 'em with the catalogue in the end!! Some of their claims and advice is suspect IMHO.

Never used Charles Clark in Wolverhampton.

Heard bad things about Toyota World Birmingham in the past. Never used them.

Slightly further afield I've heard reasonable things about WR Davis in Stafford.

Years ago I talked to a marketing person from one of the car manufacturers. Their advice was use a dealer in a lower population area. Their customer satisfaction usually comes out better. Possibly they are not worked quite so hard and therefore maybe take slightly more care.

If you are buying new, but want to buy from a dealer, why not look further afield? We have a resident parts man "Kingo" (parts king) who works for Lindop Queensferry/Wrexham. Quite a few on here rate Lindop.

As you can gather I'm not a great fan of dealers, but there are some good ones out there.

Forget the Freelander, unless you enjoy fixing cars. There are a few ex-Nedflander owners on here (including me) and we've all ended up down the Toyota route. Pity, I'd love to support LR, but they left me not exactly impressed.

There's even at least one ex LR employee on here who will remain anonymous. I doubt that they would ever admit to it in public.

Remember, there will probably be a face-lifted RAV sometime this year. (probably standard engine uprated to 150 bhp?).

There have been a few faults and there are always a few duff cars, but generally RAVs are OK I would say.

Any help, or too verbose???

Cheers

[Offroadster]

Hello there

I am considering buying a new Rav SR180 or a RXT both Diesel versions, I am also considering a Land Rover Freelander 2

Have you guys had any problems with the Rav ?

I have driven the 140 bhp model and thought it drove well and like the ride

Any help on best dealerships in the West Mids area and kind of price you can pay for one, I have been offered 2k off a new one

Please help

Many thanks

Steve

Hello and Welcome, No no no dont even consider the Land Rover Freelander 2 unless you want to save miles as it will never be on the road. There are many opinions here about the T180/SR180 runflats but personally it hasnt bothered me. If you dont mind the issues with the runflats then it has to be the SR180 if going new or the T180 used.

http://www.channel4.com/4car/rt/toyota/rav4/420/2

[Davrav]

Hello there

I am considering buying a new Rav SR180 or a RXT both Diesel versions, I am also considering a Land Rover Freelander 2

Have you guys had any problems with the Rav ?

I have driven the 140 bhp model and thought it drove well and like the ride

Any help on best dealerships in the West Mids area and kind of price you can pay for one, I have been offered 2k off a new one

Please help

Many thanks

Steve

[Davrav]

Just got home and opened an invitaion to a 'VIP' new car sale over the weekend at my local Toyota dealer - Fish brothers Swindon. They are promoting the SR180 with 'Up to £4000 off' PCP at 3.9% over two years or 5.9% over three years etc.

I suggest you vist a dealer near you over the weekend and make them aware that you know about the offers. Sqeeze 'em for all they have got - if they really want the business they will accomodate you.

[duncerduncs]

I think Toyota are trying to clear some SR180 stock...

A quick look on their website shows a new SR180 available for £18,995 (£3600 saving) and a SR180 with sat nav for £19,705 (£4545 saving)

You can buy a lot of run flat tyres with the savings

[halesowen_lad]

Hi guys

Thanks for the advice, I will going for a XTR. I found the Toyota dealerships not very good, I asked about the blue moon deal and none of them seemed that keen to offer that deal.

Thanks again for your help

Steve :)

[Davrav]

Have you looked into online car brokers? I did that when I bought my XTR.

I was put in touch with a Toyota main dealer in St Neots [i think] who were prepared to supply the same spec. vehicle for £2000 less than my local dealer.

Exactly the same arrangement re option choice, colour choice, warranty etc, and offered me a trade in value on my then car unseen. The car was to order and not stock being shifted.

I asked the salesman how they were able to undercut by such a margin and he explaned that they were a 'wholly owned' family business with nothing owed to the bank so reduced overheads that they were able to pass on to customers.

I had him on hold on my mobile when I returned to the local dealer who 'could not possibly match that deal and it must be a car he is trying to shift sir'

I told the local salesman that driving 80 miles to collect a car was no problem to me, but I would give them the opprotunity to keep my business local.

After consulting with the sales manager the price of the local RAV suddenly dropped by the £2000 [and they had actually offered me £50 more for my own car!]

I did not go for the 'paint protection system' or the GAP insurance that they tried to sell me at the time. These are just ways for the salesman to make extra on the side through commission. GAP is available online much cheaper and paint protection is just an emulsion based coating that wears off pretty quickly Go for agood quality wax instead.

[halesowen_lad]

Have you looked into online car brokers? I did that when I bought my XTR.

I was put in touch with a Toyota main dealer in St Neots [i think] who were prepared to supply the same spec. vehicle for £2000 less than my local dealer.

Exactly the same arrangement re option choice, colour choice, warranty etc, and offered me a trade in value on my then car unseen. The car was to order and not stock being shifted.

I asked the salesman how they were able to undercut by such a margin and he explaned that they were a 'wholly owned' family business with nothing owed to the bank so reduced overheads that they were able to pass on to customers.

I had him on hold on my mobile when I returned to the local dealer who 'could not possibly match that deal and it must be a car he is trying to shift sir'

I told the local salesman that driving 80 miles to collect a car was no problem to me, but I would give them the opprotunity to keep my business local.

After consulting with the sales manager the price of the local RAV suddenly dropped by the £2000 [and they had actually offered me £50 more for my own car!]

I did not go for the 'paint protection system' or the GAP insurance that they tried to sell me at the time. These are just ways for the salesman to make extra on the side through commission. GAP is available online much cheaper and paint protection is just an emulsion based coating that wears off pretty quickly Go for agood quality wax instead.

Yeah I found that the dealerships are hard work like most of them

[ozzy35]

Halesowen lad,on a different matter,how did you like the mini cooper and why have you decided to ditch it for the Rav?

i am also looking at the xtr,but on a totally different note,i also thought about the mini for different reasons,but have thoughts of wanting a bigger car after the honeymoon period of owning the mini wore off....i like the look and also how you can thro them around,and the fun of driving it.

[halesowen_lad]

Halesowen lad,on a different matter,how did you like the mini cooper and why have you decided to ditch it for the Rav?

i am also looking at the xtr,but on a totally different note,i also thought about the mini for different reasons,but have thoughts of wanting a bigger car after the honeymoon period of owning the mini wore off....i like the look and also how you can thro them around,and the fun of driving it.

Hi mate

The mini is a nice car BUT small boot and crap in bad weather and in the rain it aqua plains a hell of a lot, great for a second car but having to lower the back seats everytime we go away on holiday, or not being able to collect stuff.

On another matter anyone heard of Dealdrivers ? broker on the net

Steve