my main focus now is on reliability / value for money ........

So is mine. Still going strong after 20 years and 155,000 miles. Depreciation around £350 per annum. Lots to choose from. Avoid DCT gearbox and 1.0 ecoboost engine.

The article is slightly misleading about the Toyota warranty (5yr warranty being scrapped). It's actually the case that Toyota has a new scheme. Without upping their servicing costs (I checked, I'm now on my fourth Toyota)... when you get your car serviced with them, providing it's less than 10 years or 100,000 miles old, they will give you a one year warranty - until the car is 10 years or 100,000 miles old. I actually have paid (before it got scrapped for this new scheme) £400 for a two year warranty... Toyota sold me two years cover A DAY before the 12th anniversary of my 2009 Avensis 2.0 diesel T4 estate being registered on 2 Jan, 2009. For that £400 my 95,000 mile warranty ran until 1 Jan 2023 (not a typo!, yes, 2023). They also guaranteed an MOT pass (provided not a failure due to rust or wear and tear) and had breakdown cover. The only weakness of my 2009 Avensis was the EPB (Electronic Parking Brake) - a known issue the previous owner covered for £1300 in August 2018 (I bought the car in March 2019). The EPB went again in February and under the policy I didn't even need to pay an excess (the replacement actuator alone is £1000). Sadly that car was written off earlier this month, but still drove incredibly well at 97k miles - no rattles or squeaks (unlike many of the 9 BMWs I've owned; some new!). It had zero vibration through the 6 speed manual gearbox, which itself felt like it was honed from granite. I felt I should clarify this important point - Toyota is the only manufacturer with the confidence to offer a 10yr, 100,000 mile warranty. Considering a used hybrid?? Go Toyota; they offer a FIFTEEN YEAR from manufacture warranty of the hybrid battery. I'm guessing it's in the minority of manufacturers offering that level of cover too. Strangly, my brother in law's Mercedes E class hybrid disappeared after he was quoted £9.000 for a replacement hybrid batt!!!!

And still waiting.

Has the dealership/garage given you any idea as to when the part is now due to arrive? It could be just as much the logistics of trucking the part to the UK from the continent and even (if it is made in Japan) similar issues with shipping/flights, etc....

Thanks

I'm becoming inclined to hang on to the cars we already have for as long as possible now, even if if it means a bit of ( even fairly major if required ) fixing up in due course. I think I want to keep an eye on the progress and development of non ICE cars and the infrastructure to support them over the next few years.

I couldn't yet anyway, easily live with the range and loadspace limitations of any of the current models, or the charging times they still require, but it seems that those factors are steadily being overcome, and it may well be that in time, I will be able to find a car that fits my needs, without it using fossil fuel.

The current mix of vehicles in our household suits our needs very well for now and indeed for the foreseeable future, so I'm just in no rush to spend big bucks on something new or newer that might become a bit of a dinosaur more quickly than than any of us could imagine.