Toyota Avensis 2.0 vvti T Spirit - My first shed

Toyota Avensis 2.0 vvti T Spirit - My first shed

Author
Discussion

LasseV

1,754 posts

134 months

Thursday 22nd February 2018
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l354uge said:
Don't fall into that trap, i have and now I'm £400 down in a month..

At this end you can get something that's either fun, economical, comfortable or reliable, but never all four.
Yeah, and these cars are that kind of cars that you will get bored anyway. I realised that when i did own a premium sporty saloon: with good roads i wished that i was driving a sports car and when i did daily errands i wished that i have cheap, economical and spacious commuter.

I did get rid of that premium car and never looked back, i replaced it with two different cars. Avensis is a great car for the money. Keep it and when you have cash buy some cheap and cheerful, like mx5/MR2/BMW or what ever you like. Keep daily driving Avensis but when you want to enjoy driving take your fun car. Best solution in a long run.

designforlife

3,734 posts

164 months

Thursday 22nd February 2018
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tripleB said:
designforlife said:
quick one mate, looking at one of these as a mile munching mway daily - what sort of real world MPG are you getting?
How many miles are you doing? If you can bring yourself to drive an oil burner, the facelift (06-08) variant with 2.0 d4d diesel engines are a good shout -
They're largely considered to be the bullet proof engine of the range
Chain driven so no cambelt to worry about
don't suffer the same head gasket issues that plagued the 2.2 diesel engine
No DPF (unlike the 2.2) so you can make short journeys without knackering anything!

They also respond really well to a remap wink
I get a solid 42-45 mixed mpg from mine, and it'll comfortably do 52+ on the motorway at cruising speed.
useful info! potentially around 20k a year, so good diesel territory

Integroo

11,574 posts

86 months

Thursday 22nd February 2018
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Benjijames28 said:
Currently planning to keep the avensis for a while. I was going to go look at a Jag X type yesterday. 1500, diesel,55 plate. 90k mileage. Full service history. Described as immaculate.

Then I looked at the MOT history and saw a car that has never seemingly passed a MOT first time.

Didn't bother going to go look.
If you do look at X Types, keep an eye on the sills. Apparently they rot terribly.

tripleB

30 posts

89 months

Thursday 22nd February 2018
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designforlife said:
useful info! potentially around 20k a year, so good diesel territory
Same as me then mileage wise give or take. I bought mine 5 years ago with 17k on the clock - it's now got 109k on it, and apart from consumables and servicing it owes me absolutely nothing. Will run it now until it irreparably dies

Utterly forgettable car though, nobody will ever give you a 2nd glance, and noones likely to pinch it - it's an ugly vehicle (and not in an it's so ugly it cool sense either), but get one with a solid service history and the right engine and it won't let you down. Keep unreliable but fun for the second car wink

tripleB

30 posts

89 months

Thursday 22nd February 2018
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Benjijames28 said:
That's the beauty of it for me. It's invisible, forgettable, you don't have to worry where you park it, I could probably leave it unlocked and nobody would ever touch it.

Especially with my winter steel wheels and no wheel trims, it looks a right pile of crap. It's not had a wash since before I bought it.
Absolutely, tbh you've inspired me to pick up a set of steel's for winter work on mine! Slightly jealous that you've got (imo) the nicest of the Toyota alloys (Juno's?) for your summer wheels though, the slender multi-spoke ones suit the car best - never seen a 3rd party set that don't look awful!


Edited by tripleB on Thursday 22 February 19:37

tripleB

30 posts

89 months

Thursday 22nd February 2018
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Ah that's a shame, couldn't tell from the OP photos - they're still my favourite style wheels for the car though!

Personally I'd be wary of the tyres, but horses for courses - I'd still stick decent rubber on a budget car if I think it'll be me wearing them out wink
Currently have a full set of Uniroyal Rainsport 3's on my T25, which are absolutely brilliant - grip is fantastic, even when traveling much faster than an Avensis has any right to be...
Would also 100% recommend vredestein sportrac's IF you can find them in the right size/in stock - only went RS's this time as I couldn't find any vredestein's at a sensible price

LasseV

1,754 posts

134 months

Thursday 22nd February 2018
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How much you paid for those uniroyals? I have heard a lot of good things about them.

l354uge

2,895 posts

122 months

Thursday 22nd February 2018
quotequote all
LasseV said:
l354uge said:
Don't fall into that trap, i have and now I'm £400 down in a month..

At this end you can get something that's either fun, economical, comfortable or reliable, but never all four.
Yeah, and these cars are that kind of cars that you will get bored anyway. I realised that when i did own a premium sporty saloon: with good roads i wished that i was driving a sports car and when i did daily errands i wished that i have cheap, economical and spacious commuter.

I did get rid of that premium car and never looked back, i replaced it with two different cars. Avensis is a great car for the money. Keep it and when you have cash buy some cheap and cheerful, like mx5/MR2/BMW or what ever you like. Keep daily driving Avensis but when you want to enjoy driving take your fun car. Best solution in a long run.
I still have a Honda accord tourer and an MG TF, looking back it was the perfect shedding duo. Buying the saab was a silly idea.

tripleB

30 posts

89 months

Thursday 22nd February 2018
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LasseV said:
How much you paid for those uniroyals? I have heard a lot of good things about them.
They were £100 a corner Inc fitting, that's in 215/50 17inch profile. They're a bit louder than my previous sportrac's, but I liked them enough I'm on my 2nd set now!

Barchettaman

6,314 posts

133 months

Thursday 22nd February 2018
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Keep looking, decent part-worns will pop up.

I got a set of lightly-used (7mm) Goodyear EfficientGrip 205/55 R16 for my BMW 320, for the princely sum of €80, and they're bloody excellent, great on the 'Bahn at silly speeds and economical when I'm not in a rush.

Lollypops

104 posts

76 months

Thursday 22nd February 2018
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I had Uniroyal Rainsports 3's on mine all round and they were great. I think they are about 60 quid each at Camskill from what I remember.

Don't have them on now though, I have a mix. I'll need tyres later on in the year and I wonder what to do myself. Stick with something good or go cheaper due to the lack of value in the car. I think I am swaying more towards the going cheap option but avoiding the really cheap and obscure Chinese brands.

tripleB

30 posts

89 months

Friday 23rd February 2018
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Lollypops said:
I had Uniroyal Rainsports 3's on mine all round and they were great. I think they are about 60 quid each at Camskill from what I remember.
£60?! Bit of a bargain at that price! Best I can normally find is circa £80 without fitting, but then obviously you've gotta get them fitted and get rid of the old ones!

Benjijames28 - if you're looking to save a few quid, Kumho
Ecsta LE Sport are absolutely worth a shout as well. Not as good as RS or sportrac's, but considerably cheaper. When I bought mine it was on 16's, and they were roughly £65-70 fitted iirc
What size are the steelies?

Barchettaman

6,314 posts

133 months

Friday 23rd February 2018
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£75 for a set of decent winter tyres on steel rims?? That's bloody good going, well done!

Integroo

11,574 posts

86 months

Saturday 24th February 2018
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Benjijames28 said:
Looking for some ideas as to what one of my cars little squirks could be...

I put the car in third gear, clutch completely up, only accelerator engaged, revs are about 1800 to 2200 ish, the car judders slightly, like it is pulling then for a split second feels like it stops pulling, causing this juddering type feeling.

It only does it in third gear, and when the revs are higher it doesn't seem to do it.

To be honest I've not paid much attention to it, it still pulls and drives. If it's not a cheap thing to sort then I will leave it as it is, or worse comes to worse just jump from 2nd to 4th lol.
Sounds like a slipping clutch. Try setting off in third : does the car stall ?

Integroo

11,574 posts

86 months

Saturday 24th February 2018
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Benjijames28 said:
The clutch isn't engaged, maybe my mechanical knowledge is letting me down here.

Setting off in third it starts to move and will eventually stall as the clutch gets higher and higher.

The car is weird, it will move with just the clutch, I can get the car moving without any revs, unusual for a petrol.

If I get to work early enough tomorrow I will record a little video of me trying to set off in third gear. Revs or no revs?
Your car should stall setting off in third. Try this also: drove along in third, shift into fifth/sixth. Accelerate: do the revs increase linearly with speed or do the revs go up without speeding increasing at a similar rate? If the car moves setting off in third, or if revs increase faster than speed, signs of a slipping clutch.

tripleB

30 posts

89 months

Sunday 25th February 2018
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Sounds like it's the clutch, likely the springs on the friction plate. Could be the flywheel, but you'll never know without taking the box out and having a look at it.

If the clutch isn't slipping in gear, I'd probably leave it, as you're looking at circa £600 for a replacement from memory

l354uge

2,895 posts

122 months

Tuesday 27th February 2018
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Most lambda sensors are in an easy to access place, it loosening the bugger off that is the issue!
You can buy a special socket off ebay for a fiver, which will allow you to get a big bar for more torque. Be careful, I tired one before and all it achieved was destroying the faces on the sensor.


Barchettaman

6,314 posts

133 months

Wednesday 28th February 2018
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FWD and decent winters makes for a very capable vehicle in snow, as you've found out.

Lollypops

104 posts

76 months

Wednesday 28th February 2018
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Benjijames28 said:
As for oil consumption, I've just checked it today and it has used a bit of oil.

Edited by Benjijames28 on Wednesday 28th February 09:22
Do keep an eye on it. I chucked in half a litre in mine at the weekend.

dandam

227 posts

153 months

Wednesday 28th February 2018
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Only if you plan on keeping it for a while, otherwise don’t be too precious about it

Edited by dandam on Wednesday 28th February 21:39