Toyota Avensis, introducing...

[crofty1984]

The road whale!

1.8 non vvt of power! So named because its all floaty and blubbery. Bought as a temporary workhorse for 300 quid. It's pretty nice for what it is.
Needs wheels balancing I think, wobbles a bit at 70.

[Fattyfat]

That'll last forever, good shedding!

[SWH]

Interestingly nobody ever cuts you up in one... be sure not to wash it of course. Never really managed to break mine, despite thrashing it from cold 4 miles to the station, then having acquired the used of a parking space, throwing it round the M25 everyday and popping about 850 miles a week on it.

Howling wheel bearings being louder than the stereo was the final nail in its coffin really. Far more things fell off/broke on my E39 doing the same journey.

Marginal motoring at its finest.

[davamer23]

Guy who runs a clothes shop 4 doors up from where I work had one in Silver up until a couple of months back, had 250,000 miles and plenty of scars but refused to break. He sold it after being nagged by his sons to "upgrade" and bought an Audi A6 Diesel Auto, he says he hates the Audi and wants his Toyota back.

[SteBrown91]

Awesomely dull but reliable motors. Many minicabbers firms in Derby use these. Got in one once (was a non commonrail diesel) and it was comfy, the interior was in good nick, their was barely a creak from the trim and then engine was smooth, and I think it was well on its way to 300k

[Olivera]

Will certainly do a job, but if it were me I'd refrain from wasting even a few seconds of anyone's life discussing it.

[crofty1984]

Olivera said:

Will certainly do a job, but if it were me I'd refrain from wasting even a few seconds of anyone's life discussing it.

The car's in the title, no need to click it. Shall I also not waste your time discussing my lotus restoration, time racing a fireblade engined Fisher Fury, bikes, boat, my old 911? Let me know what topics are acceptable and I'll try to stick to them in the future.

[matt_knowles]

crofty1984 said:

The car's in the title, no need to click it. Shall I also not waste your time discussing my lotus restoration, time racing a fireblade engined Fisher Fury, bikes, boat, my old 911? Let me know what topics are acceptable and I'll try to stick to them in the future.

Well said!

Awesome shedding......serves its purpose perfectly!

[BuzzBravado]

davamer23 said:

Guy who runs a clothes shop 4 doors up from where I work had one in Silver up until a couple of months back, had 250,000 miles and plenty of scars but refused to break. He sold it after being nagged by his sons to "upgrade" and bought an Audi A6 Diesel Auto, he says he hates the Audi and wants his Toyota back.

I know someone who done the exact same. Had an Avensis but fell for the Audi imagine and got a new A6 TDI. It had constant problems to the point he sold it on, taken the hit on the residual and bought another old but reliable Avensis.

[crofty1984]

matt_knowles said:

Well said!

Awesome shedding......serves its purpose perfectly!

Rather surprised at the level of my own fury there - Clearly nobody disses The Road Whale!

But yeah, it is what it is. Just bought a house so selling the 147 to pay off the fees and wotnot. Want to be out of debt as quickly as humanly possible. So this will serve me until I can save up for either a Celica 190 or Jag XK8.

I'm already quite fond of it. Fixed the temp gauge this morning by bashing on the dash!

On Sunday I spent over 5% of the purchase price on it - bought some £6.85 mats from eBay.

I may EVEN consider giving it a proper cambelt service later in the year, parts are 50 odd quid including water pump. I really love the engine bay, everything's accessible and obvious. No stupid covers or ridiculous packaging constraints.

[Countdown]

crofty1984 said:

Olivera said:

Will certainly do a job, but if it were me I'd refrain from wasting even a few seconds of anyone's life discussing it.

The car's in the title, no need to click it. Shall I also not waste your time discussing my lotus restoration, time racing a fireblade engined Fisher Fury, bikes, boat, my old 911? Let me know what topics are acceptable and I'll try to stick to them in the future.

IIRC that has the same 108bnp 7A-FE engine as the Carina? Carina was a better car IMHO, certainly seemed more spacious anyway. A common fault on that engine is the O2 sensor - they cost £315 from Mr T or circa £100 from a local breakers yard. The VVTi model pumps out 128bhp and feels a lot nicer but likes to sip a bit more oil as well as having gearbox issues.

The main reliability issue is the electric window lock switch. It sticks

[technodup]

Countdown said:

Carina was a better car IMHO,

Without wanting to hijack the thread I just bought a Carina on Sunday for the same reason (not exactly the same but basically a runabout for a couple of months), although I was relieved of £50 more.

1996, a bit tatty on the outside but stops, starts and goes well. Genuine 107K and everything works. I'm quite liking it so far.

[J4CKO]

The fact it is so dull makes it more interesting than a lot of supposed interesting cars.

[SWH]

There's something refreshingly liberating about owning and driving a proper stter... trip to the tip with leaky rubbish, take the dog for a wash in the sea, oncoming van... ditch it in the hedge, door ding at the supermarket, etc.

[Jonny_]

During my teenage years a mate's dad got one of these when they first came out. I think that's why I still view them as a "new" car, even though they've been around since 1997. As I recall he got fed up of a car that always worked and after a couple of years replaced it with a lovely new 3 Series, which didn't.

An ideal Shed: dirt cheap, reliable, tough, and totally unattractive to thieves!

[Barchettaman]

Car is pretty dull, the thread will no doubt be interesting, quality shedding there & keep it updated!

[Pieman68]

Good work

2.0 VVTI on an 02 here. 135k on the clock

Paid £900 for it 2 1/2 years ago. Exhaust had a hole so engine management light came on and has been on ever since. Exhaust snapped so put a sleeve on and welded in place as a temporary fix and still there 2 years later. Other than that all it has cost me is a refurb caliper on the back and consumables. Uses a bit of oil. MOTs have cost me £120 and £80 respectively over the years. Some of the laquer has gone so paint starting to go a bit milky in places

Cheap, reliable, a bit bland, but the 2 litre has 150hp and goes ok. I tend to just let it cruise and conserve its' energy though. Has certainly helped to right the finances after the divorce by keeping me mobile for ok money. Get about 30mpg out of it average