I traded a bottle of Gin for a car!
Discussion
Yep, you read that right!
Introducing the mighty Avensis!
A mighty steed I'm sure you'll agree, with 109 raging (yet bulletproof) Horses under that glorious 90's bonnet!
So, I'm sure you're asking how on earth I swapped this car for a bottle of Gin? Well I got a phone call from my partners friend, asking if I was interested in the Avensis. When I enquired as to why, she told me the car had a leak from the radiator and that she thought it was the start of problems. I did suggest she simply replace the radiator, but she told me she had already bought a replacement and she was planning on scrapping it anyway! I thought I'd at least take it off her hands and worst case scenario, sell it for parts etc.
Imagine my surprise, when I find out it's a one owner car with a FSH and wad of receipts, including 4 new tyres, new shocks all round, new battery, new cat....the list was endless, with the car having a serious amount of new parts in the past 6 months. I told her I'd give cash, but she flat out refused it despite multiple near forceful efforts
My partner warned me of this already, and suggested her only weakness was Gin, hence the title! Alas, I'll sort her out with a nice gift for Christmas too.
Plans for the car are:
1. New radiator
2. Oil change
3. Rear ARB bushes
4. New windscreen
These are the main issues with the car that need fixing first. After that there's a few niggles like the rear passenger window and sunroof not opening correctly, front indicator cracked etc. Other than that it's a really tidy little motor and drives fantastic other than the rear ARB knocking. After that I'll do a couple of very subtle things like LED lights, Celica TRD wheels etc.
Of course, being a bit of a saddo, the first thing I done was give the car a good wash, 3 stage polish and ceramic coating!
Scrubs up well eh? The timing was also perfect, as I've been looking for a daily as the Mini is getting a bit tiresome to live with day to day, and the missus wanted something to build up her own NCB, so this Avensis shall do nicely!
Thanks for reading! I'll update the thread as I go along!
Introducing the mighty Avensis!
A mighty steed I'm sure you'll agree, with 109 raging (yet bulletproof) Horses under that glorious 90's bonnet!
So, I'm sure you're asking how on earth I swapped this car for a bottle of Gin? Well I got a phone call from my partners friend, asking if I was interested in the Avensis. When I enquired as to why, she told me the car had a leak from the radiator and that she thought it was the start of problems. I did suggest she simply replace the radiator, but she told me she had already bought a replacement and she was planning on scrapping it anyway! I thought I'd at least take it off her hands and worst case scenario, sell it for parts etc.
Imagine my surprise, when I find out it's a one owner car with a FSH and wad of receipts, including 4 new tyres, new shocks all round, new battery, new cat....the list was endless, with the car having a serious amount of new parts in the past 6 months. I told her I'd give cash, but she flat out refused it despite multiple near forceful efforts
My partner warned me of this already, and suggested her only weakness was Gin, hence the title! Alas, I'll sort her out with a nice gift for Christmas too.Plans for the car are:
1. New radiator
2. Oil change
3. Rear ARB bushes
4. New windscreen
These are the main issues with the car that need fixing first. After that there's a few niggles like the rear passenger window and sunroof not opening correctly, front indicator cracked etc. Other than that it's a really tidy little motor and drives fantastic other than the rear ARB knocking. After that I'll do a couple of very subtle things like LED lights, Celica TRD wheels etc.
Of course, being a bit of a saddo, the first thing I done was give the car a good wash, 3 stage polish and ceramic coating!
Scrubs up well eh? The timing was also perfect, as I've been looking for a daily as the Mini is getting a bit tiresome to live with day to day, and the missus wanted something to build up her own NCB, so this Avensis shall do nicely!
Thanks for reading! I'll update the thread as I go along!
Edited by NateWM on Monday 30th November 21:09
neilski said:
Which Gin?
Bombay sapphire! Nothing particularly expensive, but I was informed it's her favourite.Tommie38 said:
Brilliant, but just to be clear... did you just say TRD wheels?!
Correct, or at least that's what I've been told they are? Here's a pic 
I could be wrong, I'm not too clued up on Toyotas. I've seen another Avensis my shape with those wheels fitted and loved the look, so I'm on the hunt for a set!
loskie said:
Are used cars not quite expensive in Ireland?
I was going to say it looks like a bargain, but that would be a stupid thing to say!
The market is mostly the same as the UK, but certain cars have a cult following in Ireland, and funnily enough the Avensis (or mighty avennys as they call them here) is on that list. In such condition and low mileage like this, you'd easily get around the 2k mark. It's tempting to sell, but we are both smitten and feels like the car deserves a pampered life rather than end up with someone who might abuse it.I was going to say it looks like a bargain, but that would be a stupid thing to say!
DannyScene said:
Brilliant!
Theyre not TRD wheels they're fondmetal 6's if I remember correctly, an optional upgrade possibly via TTE along with a different design spoiler, I rather embarrassingly painted mine candy purple in my youth on my old celica!
Great to know, that will help in my search for some. Thanks! I must admit I'm more of a Honda man so my knowledge in Toyotas is lacking. One thing I do know is the 4A-FE in this one is bulletproof and like most Japs of its era, just requires fuel and maintenance to keep going!Theyre not TRD wheels they're fondmetal 6's if I remember correctly, an optional upgrade possibly via TTE along with a different design spoiler, I rather embarrassingly painted mine candy purple in my youth on my old celica!
This is bloody excellent, I love stories of people getting ridiculously cheap/free cars because one person thinks it's only good for scrap yet another person with a bit of time & effort ends up with a cracker of a car. You look to have done very well !!
The joys of Toyotas of that era is not all of them are exciting but they are obscenely reliable, granted some of the parts maybe a little more expensive than those on some European cars but they dam well last longer.
The joys of Toyotas of that era is not all of them are exciting but they are obscenely reliable, granted some of the parts maybe a little more expensive than those on some European cars but they dam well last longer.
NateWM said:
Great to know, that will help in my search for some. Thanks! I must admit I'm more of a Honda man so my knowledge in Toyotas is lacking. One thing I do know is the 4A-FE in this one is bulletproof and like most Japs of its era, just requires fuel and maintenance to keep going!
The 4A-FE is somewhat forgotten about compared to it's 16v 4A-GE relative that gets all the glory. Talking of GEs I've seen some cheap Levins in Ireland that could donate the engine + a lsd gearbox & wiring loom, given you're only in for a bottle of gin so far............
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