Zandri

One parameter I'd like to adjust is the turn-on delay, as on my usual route to and from work I pass under a couple of underpasses. By the time I'm half way under the lights turn on, only to have them turn off a second later. Increasing the delay from the "It's dark enough" threshold to turn-on (assuming some averaging/hysteresis in the logic) has been met ever so slightly would correct this annoyance.

Well, I've finally done it.. I'm now a proud owner of a 2008 Silver Ash, 2008, SX6! Not my preffered colour of choice, but the Mrs was really getting on my back about replacing my crashed car so she could have hers back, and I was starting to tire myself out in the search for the perfect car :) Thanks sthilzy for your detailed post on spotting potential crash damage and other aspects to inspect. I used a lot of those techniques you descried to go over the car with a fine-toothed comb and very grateful for your advice. The car has a couple of minor cosmetic issues and I got the price reduced to compensate (pretty much got the going rate for 2007 models with similar km's here in SA); - rear bumper has a few scratches as someone has been a little careless getting stuff into & out of the boot - small scrape on the left-hand front corner of the front bumper at the very bottom (going up or down a steep driveway by the looks of it and scraped slightly) But it drives real nice, I love it! I'm real happy with the purchase. No dash noise at all, metal VVTi oil-pipe in place instead of the problematic part rubber one, serviced at minimum service intervals (every 7,500km). Car was a Company executive (ex-novated lease) for a country outlet, so all the km's have been country driving around Strathalbyn, Goolwa, etc. in SA. so has had an fairly easy life. It needs a good wax & polish, so I'm off to read the detailing sub-forum! :)

It looks like Toyota may have started addressing this issue prior to the 2009 model. I recently purchased a used SX6, first delivered to the original owner in mid-August 2008. Popped the bonnet to inspect the oil-line and its the all metal part (no clamps can be seen and the metal pipe begins the bend into the plastic cover). It's extremely unikely it would have been replaced by the previous owner given it was a Company/Lease car. I had resigned to the fact that I'd just buy the spare parts and get them replaced at my first service. Out of interest I questioned a mechanical engineer at work (aero-mech so doesn't have a lot to do with combustion engines :) , but still has far more experience than I do in such things as fluid dynamics, why they would split the pipe and use a rubber joiner. His thoughts were, they usually do this for a couple of reasons; 1. If there is the possibility of the two end points moving in isolation, but in this case he agreed thats extremely unlikely given the whle block/engine would move in unison. 2. Ease of installation/production. So they can install the first half, then the later half in two steps. 3. (Which is the most likely I feel) This arrangement is commonly used to stop high frequency pulsing of fluids by effectively implementing a low-pass filter. As pulses surge up the pipe the rubber expands (ever so slightly), reducing the pulsing effect or raming effect, resulting in a more even flow. So if the oil within the pipe is pumped or driven by some periodic motion (i.e. crank rotation) you are going to get pulses of oil being pushed into the pipe at a pretty quick rate. The rubber pipe will even out these pulses. I'll reiterate, his speciality is not engine design and these were his thoughts only.. but I found them interesting so thought I'd share a few more possible reasons it could be used.

Again, thank you all for your input. It has certainly opened up my eyes and improved my opinion of ex-rentals as potential candidates for purchase. I'm going to pass on the particular car discussed in this thread as the dealer is not willing to budge on price. They were willing to go to ~$27.5k, but I feel it's still too expensive, I'll keep hunting for a 2007 model.. Cheers, Scott.

Thanks everyone for your opinions so far, it is adding some valuable points to keep in mind and very good advice. I may just push the dealer as far as I can on price then make a final decision, no obligation.

Yeah, I'm in SA. But I don't really have a preferred mechanic, I don't think my previous local Honda service centre would be too interested in an Aurion :) The car is only 5 months old, so your right, not much should be wrong.. it just comes down to how hard has it been driven (engine, gearbox punishment that may not show immedietely) And I guess you face this same problems buying any used car, how did the previous driver(s) treat it? who knows? .. it the gamble you take. I'm looking at an '07 model at around $25-26k price range, there arent too many to choose from in SA at the moment. But that's ok, if I decide against this one, I'll keep waiting for one to pop-up.

excellent tip! I'll surely keep this in mind if I end up taking the offer. I have mentioned my angst to the dealer regarding ex-AVIS, he has offered a full RAA check can be arranged. not sur ehow much would be picked up with this though. ARRGH, too many "what if's" :(

yeah, cheers guys.. I'm very much swaying towards letting this one pass... I buy cars for the long term, if its been thrashed previously this could protentially reduce the life down the track.

Ok, so I found a nice looking 2008 SX6 on carsales which has done ~40k kms, specified as "1 Owner, Full Service History".. in talking with the dealer and asking my usual barrage of questions about the car it turns out its an ex-AVIS rental! My first reaction was FORGET IT! But then I've got to thinking, there is a lot of stigma surrounding ex-rentals, but is it really justified? we hire many at work and never drive them any harder than our own personal cars.. yes, there would be the odd person that thrashes them, but is it really as many as its made out to be? If so it would probably show in other areas too (interior damage, scratches, etc). It is being sold through a Toyota Dealer, and they have assured me it has had all logbook services at a genuine service centre. It looks to be in pristine condition inside & out, but I just can't seem to put my mind at ease. I'm going to take it for a test drive on the weekend, and push EXTRA hard on price (I'm not prepared to pay the same amount as if it was not an ex-rental). I'd appreciate your thoughts, would you consider it?

:) I very much hate used car shopping, I especially hate the fact it was thrust upon me after the accident - I had no idea of what car I wanted as a replacement. Wasn't prepared at all.

Couldn't agree more, many years ago I was happy to tinker and fix things, but these days I just want something that works. Don't really have time for things to be out of action awaiting fixing. Besides I'm an engineer by profession, I get to tinker all day at work :) Never had anything fail on the Honda apart from general wear and tear (clutch master cylinder & high pressure hydrolic hose), rest was routine maintenance as expected (timing belts, etc). I did have it serviced every 5000km (honda's old recommendations) so it was well looked after. So overall exceptionally happy with it and Honda Accord was one of the possible cars on my list. I did come across a report of this issue on this forum whilsr reading through the 40'odd pages here, but from memory it was fairly well dismissed as being rectified (fix applied during next service type arrangement?) - I could very well be wrong and I'll do some more research on this. Thanks for the video, it's an aweful sight though seeing an engine effectively lose its life-blood like that. I suspect any warranty I have on the car will expire by the time it reaches that period, I don't rack up a hell of a lot of km's in a year. I may well investigate getting it fixed prior to warranty expiration or funding it myself. Better to be safe then sorry. Not sure how much extended warranty would cover either.

Cheers, thanks. I'm not in any huge urgency to seal a deal, we've got a second car, so I do have time to hunt out a car in good condition and hopefully at a good price. Though there doesn't seem to be a huge amount of SX6's in SA for sale, particularly in my preferred colour. The govt. auctions are definitely an option, this was how I was looking at purchasing the Falcon, so I'll be keeping my eye out. So far I've just been looking at ticket prices, haven't tried talking any of the dealers down to see how far they'll go. Thought I'd get a feel for what to expect for you guys first before butting heads with the dealers. Cheers,

Hi, I've been cruising the forums for the last few days researching the Aurion. I'm in the market for a used car after my old one was written-off in a nasty accident (no thanks to the pure inattention of another driver ). I used to drive an old '89 Honda Prelude, which I owned for 8 years, old yes, but absolutely bulletproof in terms of reliability! These days I'm after something a little more convenient (larger, 4 door sedan, more of a family car). I started my search reading up on the new BA/BF series falcons, I've always liked the look of them. But after much reading the general build quality and problems with these cars has left a very sour taste in my mouth. I'm fully aware reading owners points of view on online forums can lead to a skewed or bias view of the car. But there are just far too many people reporting the same faults over and over again, never fixed in subsequent models either. If they were reporting random faults in different areas of the car I wouldn't feel so bad, as the ford user base is pretty large, but they all tend to report the same 5-10 issues [brake shudder - poor quality rotors, real main seal leaks, no dedicated auto trans intercooler risk of radiator fluid leaking into automatic transmission, handbrake that just fails to work after adjustment, dodgy seat rail that creak and come loose, door actuators failing on a couple of year old car, poor paint quality on some colours/batches, etc, etc] So not wanting to spend a bunch of money on a newish used car and have to correct design deficencies & problems due to under-engeineering/cost-cutting the Falcon was scratched off my list of possibilities. So here I am, I really like the look of the Toyota Aurion, nice size, nice features, a little pricey, but Toyota always have a good name for reliability. I intend on keeping the car for many years until it dies, I'm not one that upgrades for the sake of upgrading or just for something new. Reading through the forums the issues you guys have had with the Aurion have been relatively few & minor compared to the Falcon (dash rattles, etc). But onto the real reason for my post, I have a couple of questions: I'm looking at an '07 Sportivo SX6, generally what is the general going price for one thats done 40-50k km's from a dealer, around $24-25k? Are there any things in particular I should be looking at / inspecting on the Aurion when looking over a particular car? Cheers,