Alternative to a Toyota

RyanAsh

Hi folks, opinions from you on other car makes please? I have a toyota celica which needs replacing in the next year or so, its 2000 model. Im looking at getting a 2006/2007 model to replace it. Would love a toyota again, i've had not a days bother with this one until now (failing NCT for emmissions) but I want a car which is mid size (would consider verso and auris too small and avensis too big) and toyota seems to have only the one car that fits that requirement, the corolla but my bf has that one so dont really want the same car (silly reason maybe!) so i want to look at alternatives! Most of my experience is with toyotas so i dont know much about the relaibility of other makes and so am considering the following but wondering if people can tell me their experience with them:
- Honda Civic Saloon 1.4/1.6
- Audi A4
- BMW 3 Series
- any other suggestions welcome!
Note: I do mind a car (regular oil changes, fluids - all the basics) but i dont want to be heading to the garage regularly with problems....a housemate of mine had that problem with a Citroen so i wouldn't go near them with a barge pole!

Thanks!

MetzgerMeister

What's your budget? Would you consider maybe getting a '06/'07 celica? To go from a celica to any of the cars you mention would be, in my humble opinion, a move from exciting to boring. But if you find those cars to your satisfaction then go for it

Tea 1000

RyanAsh wrote: »

Hi folks, opinions from you on other car makes please? I have a toyota celica which needs replacing in the next year or so, its 2000 model. Im looking at getting a 2006/2007 model to replace it. Would love a toyota again, i've had not a days bother with this one until now (failing NCT for emmissions) but I want a car which is mid size (would consider verso and auris too small and avensis too big) and toyota seems to have only the one car that fits that requirement, the corolla but my bf has that one so dont really want the same car (silly reason maybe!) so i want to look at alternatives! Most of my experience is with toyotas so i dont know much about the relaibility of other makes and so am considering the following but wondering if people can tell me their experience with them:
- Honda Civic Saloon 1.4/1.6
- Audi A4
- BMW 3 Series
- any other suggestions welcome!
Note: I do mind a car (regular oil changes, fluids - all the basics) but i dont want to be heading to the garage regularly with problems....a housemate of mine had that problem with a Citroen so i wouldn't go near them with a barge pole!

Thanks!

The Civic saloon would be the closest rival, comes in 1.4 hybrid and 1.8 petrol. I'd recommend the 1.8 petrol, good engine, the car is a long way ahead of the Corolla saloon.
On the 3-series vs A4 one, they're different class of cars really, and will be much more expensive. I'd go for the 3-series. A clean 320d might suit you, or a 320i is a 2.2 6 cylinder, not a bad engine either. Nice handling car, but basic inside unless the previous owner has spec'd it up.

Cars&cars

if you have the cash - a Volvo C30 - no problem to get a nice one but depends on your budget

JHMEG

Tea 1000 wrote: »

The Civic saloon would be the closest rival, comes in 1.4 hybrid and 1.8 petrol. I'd recommend the 1.8 petrol,

Test drive the hybrid also. Won't set the world on fire but is cost effective due to VRT reductions when new, and returns excellent fuel economy. Comes with a CVT gearbox which is technically excellent but some people (eg Clarkson) can't get their head around how it works.

BronsonTB

Shame to move from the toyota......Love my celica....

keithclancy

The Car in Front ... is a Toyota ...

RyanAsh

Thanks everyone else for the input. Still wondering tho if honda owners would recommend it to their friend!

As for budget if it gets throu the re-test of the NCT then ill have a bit of time to save and should have around the 9/10K mark to spend. I know if i got the beamer or the audi ill have to get an older car to get them for that price.

Im ok with moving from a celica to a more 'boring' car....i need something a bit more practical with 5 doors, i've had the celica 4-5 years now so while id be upset saying goodbye to it it wouldn't be enough to make me buy a newer one.

Also i think id want a smaller engine, the celica is a 1.8 so would want to move to 1.6 i think but sounds like the honda civic is 1.4 or 1.8 so dunno if id want as small as 1.4, im used to the power....

Does anyone know if a garage would take a trade in of a car with expired NCT? the celica is worth about 5K if i sold it privately but id never be able do that with an expired cert....its in such good nick, im sickened!

Hopefully that additive will work in the petrol as the mechanics in toyota can't find anything wrong!! anyone have experience using it to pass the NCT?

JHMEG

RyanAsh wrote: »

Still wondering tho if honda owners would recommend it to their friend!

Why wouldn't they?

RyanAsh wrote: »

Does anyone know if a garage would take a trade in of a car with expired NCT?

You're running the risk of getting 5 penalty points if you're driving without an NCT. The garage will take it but they'll probably knock money off for no NCT.

NCT it yourself and sell it privately.

Tea 1000

RyanAsh wrote: »

Thanks everyone else for the input. Still wondering tho if honda owners would recommend it to their friend!

Why wouldn't they? Honda are consistantly more relaible than Toyota.

RyanAsh

JHMEG wrote: »

NCT it yourself and sell it privately.

Ya the problem is getting the NCT since its failing emissions and the garage can't fix it so im only thinking of that option if i can't get it thro the NCT

Also: "Honda are consistantly more relaible than Toyota."
....thats the kind of information im looking for. I hadn't heard that before so hence my question. I dont know anyone with a Honda so no-one with 1st hand experience that I can ask.

Tea 1000

Yep, just search reliability surveys. Results are fairly consistantly in Honda's favour. I'd choose a Civic over a Corolla or Auris in a heartbeat, but if you're looking for a 1.6, you could consider an Avensis. Not sure why you're shying away from a 1.8 though, there's no real difference in running costs between a 1.6 and 1.8, in some cases the 1.8 is better. In the case of the Civic, the 1.8 is very fuel efficient and would probably beat many 1.6's out there, yet has 140bhp like your Celica, not many other 1.8's in saloons have.

Atomic Pineapple

I dont understand why the garage cant fix the emissions, what have they tried and how high are the emissions reading?

RyanAsh

It failed at 0.73 CO on the high idle compared to the pass rate of 0.30. Everything else passed on the emissions. Brought it to a toyota garage and they spent the day on it. changed the air filter and the spark plugs coz they were overdue a change, they checked the catalytic converter and oxygen sensors and nothing wrong with them. their emissions tester is broken so after that they brought it to another garage at my request and retested it and the level of emissions hadn't changed - now they didn't get any print out of the emissions to show me which im a bit suspicious about even tho i had asked for it....Im wondering if they just didn't bother testing it but also didn't want to lie and say they did and that it would pass coz they'd be accountable if it didn't pass again. You see I had insisted they get the test done elsewhere since their emissions tester was broken coz i said unless they could stand over the emissions results as fixed i wouldn't be giving them the business...so might be easier for them to say it isn't fixed and recommend the additive for my petrol........

maybe thats just a conspiracy theory of mine tho!!

Usually wouldn't be going to a toyota garage as they're well overpriced but thought since this could be a big problem that i would this once....

RyanAsh

Forgot to add Mazda 3 to my list....

Tea 1000

RyanAsh wrote: »

It failed at 0.73 CO on the high idle compared to the pass rate of 0.30. Everything else passed on the emissions. Brought it to a toyota garage and they spent the day on it. changed the air filter and the spark plugs coz they were overdue a change, they checked the catalytic converter and oxygen sensors and nothing wrong with them. their emissions tester is broken so after that they brought it to another garage at my request and retested it and the level of emissions hadn't changed - now they didn't get any print out of the emissions to show me which im a bit suspicious about even tho i had asked for it....Im wondering if they just didn't bother testing it but also didn't want to lie and say they did and that it would pass coz they'd be accountable if it didn't pass again. You see I had insisted they get the test done elsewhere since their emissions tester was broken coz i said unless they could stand over the emissions results as fixed i wouldn't be giving them the business...so might be easier for them to say it isn't fixed and recommend the additive for my petrol........

maybe thats just a conspiracy theory of mine tho!!

Usually wouldn't be going to a toyota garage as they're well overpriced but thought since this could be a big problem that i would this once....

Toyota to be fair are around the cheapest of the big brands for servicing and maintenance. Plugs and air filters well overdue all sound like your car suffers a bit from neglect. You could just put it through the NCT again and see.

RyanAsh

Just to update ye...i dropped the car into another garage this morning, a guy in limerick whos supposed to be a guru in all this emissions stuff. Turns out he didn't even need to be a guru! it didn't take him long to find that the lead to the lambda sensor was rusted and when he replaced it the emissions were fixed! cost me 73quid, parts and labour, 2hrs work.

So toyota charged me 80quid for labour in the diagnostics lab....do ye think im within my rights to go back and ask for a refund...im raging....makes me wonder if they looked at it at all...how could a mechanic miss rust on a sensor which they claimed then was 'working fine' in their report.....