And yet my dads Avensis 1.8 is a 2003 model and uses no oil between services. I think it's a bit hit and miss whether you end up with a duffer in the earlier years.

This car is brilliant. He's had it around six years and it's needed a handbrake cable and the fuel filler cap release motor failed, (which he left because a new one was £120). The rest is just servicing. I can't think of many cars of this size that would be so cheap to run. 95k and the suspension is tight,engine is smooth and it goes like a train. The underneath is clean and even the exhaust is still shiny.

It has scratches and dings all over it but has been serviced well. It's a bog standard T2 which means it has steel wheels and no climate control. I have got my eye on it if he decides to trade it in because it is a seriously good car for banger money. There are years of life left in it.

Edited by corax on 26/08/2013 at 20:34

Wait a minute.....last month I was reading about how Japanese cars are so reliable that Warranty Direct hardly have to pay anything out, now I'm reading on an almost daily basis about Toyotas, Hondas etc giving all sorts of grief?

All manufacturers get it wrong occasionally - it's how they deal with the situation - and Toyota are the best in that department.

Wait a minute.....last month I was reading about how Japanese cars are so reliable that Warranty Direct hardly have to pay anything out, now I'm reading on an almost daily basis about Toyotas, Hondas etc giving all sorts of grief?

You mean about a problem which occurred nearly a decade ago and was fixed under warranty?

\Please do keep up :-)

Edited by madf on 27/08/2013 at 07:53

A common theme is ...d "they have extended/not extended their warranty" ...

The big difference with Honda and Toyota is that when an inherent defect is found in their product, they typically extend the warranty in regard of that component. I don't recall Mercedes, BMW, Ford, Mazda etc doing anything similar.

Of course they don't always get it right, and it must be galling if you fall through the gaps, but I haven't felt the need to my any aftermarket warranty for the Japanese cars in our household.