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5 year review
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Author:  sasha [ Wed Jul 08, 2020 6:28 pm ]
Post subject:  5 year review
My Toyota Auris Touring Hybrid has now reached its fifth birthday (+ a couple of months) and a total of 210,000 miles - two drivers !

Thought I'd let everyone know how it's holding up and what it's been like.
Still looks like new, interior and bodywork unmarked, no scratches dents or tears in the carpets.
So what problems have there been ? NOTHING!! - Well apart from wear and tear items the water pump failed and was replaced under warranty at 90k and it needed a new 12v battery last year.

Other than that, apart from regular servicing and maintenance nothing major has had to be done, still all the original suspension and steering parts, not even a bush or track rod end has needed doing.

The full list of replaced items is very short;
Front tyres once a year roughly,
Back tyres 18 months to two years,
Front brake pads at 80k,
Front pads and disks at 150k,
Rear pads at 150k (still original disks),
Three headlamp bulbs,
Three sets of front wipers,
One rear wiper,
12v battery,
Water pump under warranty.
Service every 10k @ £150

THAT'S IT !!!
Never had so much as an advisory on pit tests.

It's been returning an average of 57mpg so comparing it to my old diesel Mondeo TDCi at 28mpg for the miles I've done in it I've saved (if my calculations are correct) a whopping £9,897 in fuel, assuming an average of £1.10/litre. Or if you were to say for the full mileage of both drivers nearly the cost of the car !!!
Author:  StuartW [ Thu Jul 09, 2020 3:27 am ]
Post subject:  Re: 5 year review
Quote:
Still looks like new, interior and bodywork unmarked, no scratches dents or tears in the carpets.


Car sounds amazeballs :-o

Surely some minor scratches and dents, though?

About a year ago in a matter of months I picked up two small dents/creases above the back wheel area either side of the car, both from drunks banging into the side of the car :evil:

Just a week ago noticed a couple of small chips side-by-side on the back door, and there's a very minor dent on the door crease, which you need to look very closely to see, and the light has to be right. Not sure what happened, since car at front door vast majority of the time, and still not working. Neighbour thinks could be passing vehicle throwing up a stone (very quiet road, but relatively high number of stones and tractors). But that very small dent on the crease makes me think something has hit it, but I'm saying nothing :-#

But in view of the cars's age and mileage, and the current financial situation, it's just these kind of things I leave (unless of course the council gets picky). Kind of things you notice all the time, though (especially if sunlight is shining on them in a particular direction. Or the glow from the lights from the Tesco Extra store in the middle of the night, which makes the car look very shiny :D , but shows up every tiny dent and crease :sad: )

Passat's interior is generally pretty solid, though. Leather on driver's-side door coming away a bit, so you can see a bit of foam, but nothing too drastic.

Air vents on back of centre console are knackered, though, but they get kicked to hell accidentally, so I don't blame the car for that.

Kind of thing that's probably not that expensive to replace with a bit of effort, but would probably just end up the same after a couple of months, so because it's a rank taxi I just leave it.

And car still looks good when it's just been cleaned, as long as you don't look to closely at things like the ill-fitting front plastic bits after hitting the badger last year :cry: )

(This isn't mine in the photo, but you get the idea. In fact I think this is the B6 Passat, while my current one is the B7 version. The brand new Passat is currently the B8.)

Image
Author:  sasha [ Fri Jul 10, 2020 1:04 am ]
Post subject:  Re: 5 year review
I didn't say there hadn't ever been any scratches ! :wink:
Because I got the car new I've kept on top of any marks to the bodywork, there's only ever been minor scratches which I've dealt with straight away with a bit of t-cut (well the bodyshop equivalent 'farecla'). Anything a bit deeper I've used touch up paint and again blended it in with farecla - takes five minutes and is as good as new. But no, no dents or dings - lucky I guess.

The interiors worn surprisingly well, cosmetic scratches round door handles/window buttons, but again these have mostly buffed out. Seats are 'new' but that's because they had covers on from day one. Same with the carpets, mats in the front and one of those rubber mats that goes all the way across the back footwell (no exhaust tunnel).
Author:  StuartW [ Tue Jul 14, 2020 9:01 am ]
Post subject:  Re: 5 year review
sasha wrote:
I didn't say there hadn't ever been any scratches ! :wink:

Think you've missed your vocation as a politician, lawyer or 'comms' specialist :)

Quote:
Because I got the car new I've kept on top of any marks to the bodywork, there's only ever been minor scratches which I've dealt with straight away with a bit of t-cut (well the bodyshop equivalent 'farecla'). Anything a bit deeper I've used touch up paint and again blended it in with farecla - takes five minutes and is as good as new. But no, no dents or dings - lucky I guess.

I should really deal with stuff like that, but think I'm always a bit worried that I'll end up making it look worse, so I tend to leave minor scratches and chips etc, unless they're going to fail the test, or whatever.

Some minor scuffs and the like will disappear just by washing the car a few times. But I really should maybe try a bit harder to do something about the more serious scratches/scuffs from suitcases and drunks and the like.

Car looks a bit better presented than the average overall, but my cleaning and detailing stuff is pretty basic. I use cheap wash/wax stuff from Tesco, and wash car minimum once a week, maximum twice a week, although I sometimes do the tailgate a bit more often in winter because obviously an estate gets a bit dirtier at the back.

Normally just use a damp sponge or damp cloth to do stuff like the door sills and dashboard, and can't be bothered with all that 'shiny dash formula' and similar malarkey.

I use a spray-on leather clean/feed on the seats, which is a bit easier to apply than the cream. Used 'Wonder Wheels leather feed and clean' for a few years, but it disappeared from the shelves, so I started using the Stardrops household equivalent, which is available from the bargain basement stores like Poundstretcher and B&M.

Don't know which product is the best, but the Stardrops stuff is just 99p or so, compared to £6.49 or so that Halfords charged for the Wonder Wheels stuff :shock:

But that's generally it, and I just use houshold window cleaner as well.

Have used WD40 to get tar spots and the like off. Again don't know if that's the best, but apparently it's much the same product as specialist tar remover stuff, and just a fraction of the price. But I always give it a good rinse with water to make sure there's as little residue as possible left on the paintwork.

Quote:
The interiors worn surprisingly well, cosmetic scratches round door handles/window buttons, but again these have mostly buffed out. Seats are 'new' but that's because they had covers on from day one. Same with the carpets, mats in the front and one of those rubber mats that goes all the way across the back footwell (no exhaust tunnel).

My interior also seems quite hard wearing, and I don't think scratches on the handles etc show up as badly as on my previous Passat, although they are a slightly better design in that regard.

Seats seem pretty much as new, though, and because they're leather they're pretty easy to clean. And in St Andrews you can generally get away without seat covers, although I wouldn't have tried that in Dundee, particularly with fabric seats.

Carpets wearing pretty well too, but I've got plenty of mats down, and a bit of plastic over the transmission tunnel.

I've got these fitted 'carpet mats' which came with the car, which are also in good condition, but only because there's a couple of my own plastic mats on top of them. They'd soon be in some state if they were used alone in a taxi, in fact doubt they'd look that good in any car after a few months of use.
Author:  wannabeeahack [ Sat Jul 18, 2020 9:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: 5 year review
Quote:
comparing it to my old diesel Mondeo TDCi at 28mpg


did it only have 1st and 3rd gears?
Author:  sasha [ Sun Jul 19, 2020 12:10 am ]
Post subject:  Re: 5 year review
wannabeeahack wrote:
Quote:
comparing it to my old diesel Mondeo TDCi at 28mpg


did it only have 1st and 3rd gears?
We're not all blessed with long open stretches of road like you :wink: Some of us have to fight our way round town, doing short £3 fares all night !
According to trip computer my average speed each night is around 12mph :shock: That's where a hybrid excells :)
Author:  wannabeeahack [ Thu Jul 23, 2020 4:41 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: 5 year review
sasha wrote:
wannabeeahack wrote:
Quote:
comparing it to my old diesel Mondeo TDCi at 28mpg


did it only have 1st and 3rd gears?
We're not all blessed with long open stretches of road like you :wink: Some of us have to fight our way round town, doing short £3 fares all night !
According to trip computer my average speed each night is around 12mph :shock: That's where a hybrid excells :)


even my 2tonne chevy epica did 38mpg round town tho
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