Post by gadget on Jun 18, 2023 16:18:57 GMT
Hi,
over here in Norway I have a 2007 RAV4 D4D, 150,000+ kilometers, I do most of the work on it and services.
Yesterday my wife called from a petrol station about 8 km away saying that as she came up the off ramp from the highway she heard a thump/noise, then the engine lost power and then stoped, she had just enough motion to roll down and stop in the petrol station. I asked her if she can start the car, she tried and it turned over but not start.
I started the car and drove it around the petrol station with no problem, then there was a clunking/rattling noise (scary because it sounded like the gearbox) and the enging stopped.
The roadside help guy turned up, looked at a few things, drove the car around, the sound started, he stopped the car, opened the bonnet, reached in and pulled out a very ragged serpentine belt!
Up until then the A/C was working, the alternator was fine and everything worked well. The (closed) Toyota dealer was 100 yards down the road so we loaded up the RAV4 on the bed of his truck and left it in their service car park. with my key in their key box and came home.
So that´s the story up until now.
Now to the market value vs the repair cost issue, tomorrow (Monday) I will call Toyota and ask for a quote. Here in Norway the same repair will easily cost double what it would in England so I have to weigh up if it´s worth repairing, it also needs a new front McPherson strut that I was going to do myself.
Just to show the cost of spares here a complete non Toyota McPherson strut for a 2007 RAV4 is about 185 pounds.
Here´s the second part of the story,
the car is now pretty rough with quite a bit of rust underneath. I retire in August and have been thinking of getting something smaller, must be Toyota, 4WD, diesel, and have a tow bar......... so I´ve looked at lots of URBAN CRUISERS for sale.
While I sat waiting for roadside assist (thinking it was a gearbox problem) I checked local car sales, there´s a 2010 D4D Urban Cruiser 81,000km with tow bar, new clutch and in clean, nice condition for a pretty good price.
If the price of repairing the belt and the cost of the front strut are too high should I just change cars?
I have not done much research on Urban Cruisers, but have not heard anything bad about them, is there anything really wrong with then?
Looking forward to some interesting advice and input.
cheers and thanks, John (aussie in Norway)
over here in Norway I have a 2007 RAV4 D4D, 150,000+ kilometers, I do most of the work on it and services.
Yesterday my wife called from a petrol station about 8 km away saying that as she came up the off ramp from the highway she heard a thump/noise, then the engine lost power and then stoped, she had just enough motion to roll down and stop in the petrol station. I asked her if she can start the car, she tried and it turned over but not start.
I started the car and drove it around the petrol station with no problem, then there was a clunking/rattling noise (scary because it sounded like the gearbox) and the enging stopped.
The roadside help guy turned up, looked at a few things, drove the car around, the sound started, he stopped the car, opened the bonnet, reached in and pulled out a very ragged serpentine belt!
Up until then the A/C was working, the alternator was fine and everything worked well. The (closed) Toyota dealer was 100 yards down the road so we loaded up the RAV4 on the bed of his truck and left it in their service car park. with my key in their key box and came home.
So that´s the story up until now.
Now to the market value vs the repair cost issue, tomorrow (Monday) I will call Toyota and ask for a quote. Here in Norway the same repair will easily cost double what it would in England so I have to weigh up if it´s worth repairing, it also needs a new front McPherson strut that I was going to do myself.
Just to show the cost of spares here a complete non Toyota McPherson strut for a 2007 RAV4 is about 185 pounds.
Here´s the second part of the story,
the car is now pretty rough with quite a bit of rust underneath. I retire in August and have been thinking of getting something smaller, must be Toyota, 4WD, diesel, and have a tow bar......... so I´ve looked at lots of URBAN CRUISERS for sale.
While I sat waiting for roadside assist (thinking it was a gearbox problem) I checked local car sales, there´s a 2010 D4D Urban Cruiser 81,000km with tow bar, new clutch and in clean, nice condition for a pretty good price.
If the price of repairing the belt and the cost of the front strut are too high should I just change cars?
I have not done much research on Urban Cruisers, but have not heard anything bad about them, is there anything really wrong with then?
Looking forward to some interesting advice and input.
cheers and thanks, John (aussie in Norway)
