yup, the older ones have the overheating issues, and are a bugger to get to the engine.The only plus being that the older ones are RWD.Apparently they also are not good to crash (older ones).
trdbzr,
Mar 2, 1:58am
Im suprised no one has mentioned a Odyssey. But basically if you want something similar to a Estima (old ones are rubbish) ie big legroom then another good option is the Elgrand. But if you can do with a 7 seater that and can compromise a bit on the legroom for the last 2 seats then Ipsum 240S is also a good option. Alphard is also a good option, it has the same engines as the new Estima but its the more 'luxury' version.
grangies,
Mar 2, 2:00am
Not correct. He may go into Germanand Italian car love frenzy's .
But he does seem convinced in his views.
sheepey,
Mar 2, 2:27am
Poorduck!So unkind!
sheepey,
Mar 2, 2:30am
Cant believe all this BS hypeabout crashes, who on earth buys a car with that in mind. Surely people would stay home or drive hummers if they took that as any more than the "marketing tool" it so clearly is.No matter how much they make a car safer it will be a risk until they can take all scenarios into account.Vehicles no matter what they are were simply never designed to be aimed at each other.
sheepey,
Mar 2, 2:34am
They older ones have the engine on it's side.If basic maintenance is done and the radiator is cleaned properly every couple of years they give no trouble.If you "do the math" and work out the saving on 200,000k's between a diesel and a petrol version you will easily rebuild the engine on the diesel from the savings. They seem to cover that distance or close to before the go bang, and at that time have less than 20% of the radiator still doing its job!
extrayda,
Mar 2, 2:42am
sheepey - I half agree - I don't buy a car purely on safety, but if it is demonstrably safer, then why not.I've never had a crash where I needed to be wearing a seatbelt, yet I always wear one. I haven't owned one of the earlier diesel estimas, but they did seem prone to having probelms, and I have known two people with them, both of which died in a nasty way.They newer ones just seem to be a better option, although you do pay more for them.I also figure that if you start off with an older vehicle, with more k's on it, then logically it will need more maintenance as things do wear out (shocks/disks/suspension in general etc etc).I didn't want to pay the premium for the next shape up though, so the 2000-2002 was a good compromise.
sheepey,
Mar 2, 2:50am
I have had a few of them and imported some too,Buy a dead one off here for a few hundred, buy a genuine head and get motor done up, not much to it, Get radiator stripped and cleaned and have system flushed and a bleeder fitted to the top heater hose, remove egr from engine while out . Now for arpund 2k you have a vehicle that will give you around 200,000k of good service for a couple to 3 grand. That's bloody cheap motoring , they are quite nice to drive, perform good and are quite economical. You could go out and spend 10k on the newer model but they are thirsty and still devaluing quite badly. I guess it's up to the individual but i hate having money tied up in stuff that's losing it!
extrayda,
Mar 2, 2:58am
again I half agree :-)More to fixing an older car than just the motor (as in my post above).The newer model isn't devaluing much yet, they still cost the same or more than I paid for mine a year ago.Eventually they will devalue - thats just how it goes.I am prepared to pay for the devaluation at this price bracket, but not the next (which is the other reason for the cheaper option).Can you really get a new head, do up the motor, and all the stuff you list above for 2K to 3k!Probably if you do it yourself, but I can't see it being that cheap at a garage!On top of that you would probably want to do the trans fluid and filters etc (assuming they have filters, I've never looked at a Toyota trans).Not knocking the idea, just asking if you did most of that work yourself for that price!
sheepey,
Mar 2, 3:13am
I bought mine off here for $700, it's a 96 5 speed (i wasn't happy with the auto).The motor had overheated and had been removed and was in the back. I went to local agent and got a head for $700, i paid a engine recondtioner $50 to assemble the new head. The motor had one bent conrod (due to hydraulicing) and it got reassembled. It was ABOUT 6 tyears ago now and i cant recall all details.From memory it owed me about 3.5k on the road.I believe this si still very possible and even easier if anything. The vehicles are now that bit older, done more k's so should be plentiful. The only other failures i have come across are front shocks $112.50 each at BNT and a couple of hours to replace and SADS units $69 each and not too hard to do either.I believe these vans get a bad rep and it's due to owner error rather than a bad vehicle. If your car blew up because you didnt change it's oil would that make it a bad car!Why should these things get such a hard time when people fail to maintain the cooling system! I did some work myself but not much of any value!
gadgit3,
Mar 2, 1:23pm
I did a trip in a 02 previa (same engine as 00 estima 2AZ-FE) on wednesday paeroa to auckland with a large chunk of the auckland part heading down great south road at 8 in the morning. Return trip 282kms and used $35 fuel. Not too sure were you are getting the thirsty part from.
kazbanz,
Mar 2, 2:02pm
carchic- ForSPECIFIC reply to your question re 2000 and newer estimas Ignoring the engine for a moment. They are a roomy and comfortable vehicle for up to 8 adults.Passenger comfort and ease of access has improved by having two rear sliding doors. 2 passenger layouts 7 and 8 seater 7 seater has 2 single seats in the middle row. The improved comfort has a drawback in that the rearmoist seats used to split and hinge up-createing a tonne of room . This version the seat slides forwards so for luggage its not so good. Engine wise they have improved a LOT. --the engine is now just like a car to get to(in the front) and I feel the 2.4l is a real gem and is a big improvement in fuel economy/servicing costs over the older model. The 3.0l engine I'm not convinced about. It is definitely more powwerfull and smoother to drive. I have though heard of a gearbox or two getting broken in the 2000/2001 model. Aparently there was a modification in 2002 that fixed the problem. They feel less buslike to drive than the earlier version. I guess the million dollar question-would I own one! Yes and no.I did concider a 2.4 as a personal vehicle but in the end opted for using 2 other vehicles. Toyota Sienta as a round town vehicle and Nissan Pressage for carrying all the troops(I have a big famillly)
motorway,
Mar 2, 2:10pm
A steamer.
motorway,
Mar 2, 2:12pm
rearmoist seats!.snail trails!
sheepey,
Mar 2, 2:18pm
Drive one around town daily, will become painfully obvious!
kazbanz,
Mar 2, 2:23pm
whoops.
kazbanz,
Mar 2, 2:24pm
mate I dunno--the new 2.4 Im being told by customers is not bad at all on fuel
sheepey,
Mar 2, 2:48pm
OKi have seen a good number of threads here where people have advised to buy the 3 litre version as the performance is much better with little change to the economy. Common sense would tell me nothing that size with a 3 litre petrol in it will ever be economical!
kazbanz,
Mar 2, 2:55pm
Sorry sheepy butits a case of Horses for courses. If its being used as a remuera tractor doing the school run I agree wholeheartedly.But if its for taking the familly and gear on the open highway then the difference in fuel economy is very small but the 3.0l is easier to drive.-think of the "hill" heading into Tauranga or from CHCH to dunners. The 3.0l loaded down isn't working as hard so the fuel economy is better. --Back in suburbia and again the 2.4 is heaps cheaper to run
pauloc,
Mar 2, 3:09pm
I own a 2.4 Estima and have probably had 8-10 of these at home over the years for my family. 2000 model ACR30 shape onwards and think they are a great car. Ours is very well specced, rear heating and cooling, reverse camera, alloys. I actually have a newer 2004 facelift model coming in two weeks and will give that to management.
skiff1,
Mar 2, 3:09pm
biggest problem with owning a enema, is you will instantly lose 25 iq points, become impotent if a man or grow a huge fat ass if a woman.
sheepey,
Mar 2, 3:25pm
So you've obviously owned more of them than any other poster on here.
bigfatmat1,
Mar 2, 3:45pm
yet the mechatronic in earlier vw's has known problems requiring replacement trans. Are you ignoring this fact. I believe coca colas entire fleet had of vw'shad transmissions replaced. Because that lease company is a big customer of the AA we even had emails about attending these vehicles for that specific problem.
bigfatmat1,
Mar 2, 3:47pm
for those in denial
In August 2009, Volkswagen of America issued two recalls of DSG-equipped vehicles. The first involved 13,500 vehicles,[23] and was to address unplanned shifts to the neutral gear,[23] while the second involved similar problems (by then attributed to faulty temperature sensors) and applied to 53,300 vehicles.[23][24][25] These recalls arose as a result of investigations carried out by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),[26] where owners reported to the NHTSA a loss of power whilst driving.[23] This investigation preliminary found only 2008 and 2009 model year vehicles as being affected.[23][26] Other markets, such as Volkswagen group Australia, are yet to admit this being a wide spread issue and refuse to offer similar recall programs as their US counter parts, even though multiple reports of similar incidents and failures have occurred.
nightsky1,
Mar 2, 4:00pm
WRONG. While we don't agree on much He doesn't lie. Nothing wrong in having strong opinions.
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