Thinking about buying one. Have looked at a v6 model. Anything good/bad about them! It's done 97000Km
kingfisher21,
Apr 29, 1:17am
Timing chain issues and they love petrol.
bobwyn,
Apr 29, 1:46am
we had an 01 facelift model got it at 35,000 ks sold it at 130 000 ks nothing went wrong just serviceing . we bought a 07 new after it still got it.
bowla3,
Apr 29, 2:04am
Get a 1600 petrol and it will go forever. Fairly frugal on gas as well. Do not touch a diesel before 2006. Had a 1997 for around 40 000ks. The bloke I sold it to phoned me, asking , "Where did you get your parts!". No problems, I only ever bought the usual, plugs, filters etc. and one set of front brake pads that were'nt really required. From memoryfuel usage was about 8.5 litres per 100 ks.
kjmb,
Apr 29, 2:18am
Thanks for that. What are the timing chain issues! Is it any different from having to get a timing belt changed! I would prefer a 4cly, just haven't seen many around.
intrade,
Apr 29, 2:22am
97000 means cambelt due in 2 weeks and v6 all crack heads. is this supercheap or something because its not worth anything.
mm12345,
Apr 29, 2:23am
Don't know about the timing chain issues, but I had a 2.5 5 speed Vitara, and it really sucked gas.50:50 around town/open road, according to fleet management reports I'd get, it was doing about 14l/100km.
intrade,
Apr 29, 2:24am
if its timing chain means if its not serviced right then it will cost loads more in damage repairs from worn out tensioner streched chains and guides. neglecting oil changes does that damage. and people in this country are famous for not changing oil on time.
intrade,
Apr 29, 2:26am
what money are we talking on spending here! you get what you pay for basically
kingfisher21,
Apr 29, 2:30am
2.5 or 2.7! They have timing chain tensioner problems, they basically fall apart and cause the chain to rattle, they have 3 timing chains from memory and it is a $2k plus job to repair them.
kjmb,
Apr 29, 2:42am
Their asking $13K. Thinking I might walk away and try for a non V6. I still like the look of them and their much cheaper than a Rav
skull,
Apr 29, 3:36am
We had a 4cyl 1600cc petrol Vitara about 6 years ago, it was reliable and surprisingly economical for a 4wd and very comfortable. Didn't have a lot of get up and go but had good torque considering engine size and the weight it was carrying. It was the 4 door LWB model with the plush interior. Similar to auction 471054505, probably getting a bit long in the tooth now but we rememeber it with affection.
franc123,
Apr 29, 4:14am
No it is much harder, messier and more expensive. Timing chains are only worth having if they last the life of the engine, or at least 300km, many of them do not due to cheapskate engineering by the manufacturers, and made worse by bad servicing and they can cost several times more to replace than belts, this especially is the case with these vitaras and escudos. The 2.0 V6 especially simply isn't worthhaving, its a thirsty and rattling underperformer, the 2.5 and 2.7 ones are better if you need more grunt than what the 1.6 can deliver. The 1.6L four is fine for what most people use these cars for, like everything these days you need to be sure that the cooling system has been adequately maintained, they hate being overheated. Some of the later ones are available with 2.0L fours which are also ok.
bren16,
Apr 29, 3:53pm
Just printed this out as we have narrowed down our choice to a later model Vitara or a later model Rav, still looking for advice on here for the Ravs.input please!.Cheers.- .Bren
pico42,
Apr 30, 12:31am
What is the attraction to the RAVs!
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