A year in... 9th January 2024, bought. 17th January 2024 collected it and parted with the Avensis. Mostly over concerns with its BMW diesel engine and reading one too many stories of owners with those having them 'go bang' between 150-200k miles which is respectable in the BMW world, but rookie numbers in the Toyota world. Still, if nothing else Toyota should be about reliability - in the absence of fun, performance, sport and especially 'character' in the way a Fiat would be. So to own the Avensis and benefit from none of the reliability, and also none of the other measures of a 'good car' could sum up the main reason for jumping ship.
Buying it
The CT I have was really just in the right place at the right time, at around a grand less than it had been six months prior and was sitting around for a long, long time at the dealership. To look at it close up as well, it was clear to see why, Long, big scratches (sometimes deep) along the side, the bonnet. Chunks missing from the tyres (one original by the looks of it too) and as of last January... sprouting light surface mould in the back seat. It was rough. I didn't think that the main franchise Toyota dealer would have a car on display in such poor shape. Though as my Avensis was technically 'fine', I had a good battery, new Michelins put on etc, I was certainly in no position to be forced to give it up. This afforded me the ability to take my time, try and get a deal and use the fact that they can't get rid of the CT, and its condition, as bargaining chips. This, combined with some trouble I had with that Toyota dealer got me a pretty decent price on the CT as they truly did want rid of it. They cleaned up 95% of the scratches / roughness through a decent polish with two notable 'very bad' ones left on it, one is a line up the drivers door near the top but very minimal compared to what it was. One is a deep scratch right on the bonnet that is in your face on a bright summers day, but fairly hard to spot the rest of the time. It is certainly the least 'good condition' "newer" car I've had and arguably, each car I've had since that pristine 2 year old 2017 Panda have gotten slightly worse. I've concluded that it's not worth sinking money into and is simply worth living with, but I knew that I'd need this mindset from the first look at the car - and thankfully, have had no regrets since.
Positive aspects
Things I love about this car - it's a tad unusual looking at the back, which is something I thought of the Panda and quite learned to like about that despite (with both cars) always thinking the back ends were 'ugly', I've come around to liking these designs that stand out and/or are unique! The electrical side of the hybrid system is so, so incredibly smooth and quiet and kicks in a lot more than I'd have imagined. The system works as good as new, truly. I thought the long periods of being for sale in this cars history might have particularly ruined the battery but it's still holding up brilliantly. It wasn't until my experience with the Grandland that I realised just how quiet / smooth and comfortable this setup of moving a car truly is as I put some of it down to it simply being an auto but quickly learnt they are not all created equal. You feel nothing, hear nothing other than a grind of the metal parts moving off for a few seconds. You don't even feel or hear the engine kicking in at all, just a little green light letting you know it's off which does its own thing.
Parts and Servicing
I love the working on this car too, every service item I've done so far is so easy to access, every bolt and cover comes off with minimal fuss (can't do much about the dirt falling into your mouth though when under it...) and nothing is any more complicated than it needs to be. Buying genuine parts (and even fluids) is also fairly affordable, everything is often stocked and unlike with DS or our old local Fiat dealership when it was here, the parts / service people don't look at me like I'm stupid for buying genuine parts. I will admit, Lexus leave a little to be desired compared to what I had hoped but then as a third party customer who bought an older car used from someone else.. perhaps that's their issue with me. They wouldn't quote me for parts - directed me to the franchise separate parts line (until Lexus stepped in and reminded them that as a dealer, they need to operate a parts service for customers of that brand....). They over charged me last year versus the website / app pricing for the hybrid check, but this year, again, Lexus keeping them right... They wouldn't quote for just an oil and filter change, said it's just the two package levels of service they do. This is in contrary to, a time I called up a BMW dealer here to check the price of genuine brake parts for my cousins 4 series... Not only did they take time on the phone, attempt small talk as they waited for their system, offered a range of parts - knew inside out the various options / specs, told me how to check which kind was fitted, AND, offered to have them delivered to his house the next day by the van route of parts they send around this part of the country... That really did blow me away. To those with more money than sense, if they enjoy a BMW and can afford to throw money at it and have that level of service, I somewhat 'get it'. But with Lexus, they suffer a bit from what most businesses in Northern Ireland do - a severe lack of competition and 'only one' syndrome, being the only dealer here without needing a ferry ticket. It needs this annual hybrid health check done, which I had done last February and is now due this week (early by mileage) and I'm having it done for £60. Given the savings on brakes (I've heard tale of 200,000 mile Prius with original brake parts online!) I think that, and the extra few litres of coolant for the hybrid cooling system aren't really an issue as you work out still in the positive after netting them.
Bad aspects
Other than the fact it's not a Panda, or an Abarth with the sheer love of the ownership experience, the extra participation on this forum which that would bring, and all that jazz, there's really little to fault. It's not a fast or powerful car... but it's the fastest and most powerful car I've owned. The gearbox can be noisy when floored, but then, as I said, it's so incredibly smooth and in fairness, the level of pushing your foot into the metal floor needed to make it make any kind of 'bad' noise is the sort of driving that will make any car or engine rev up to excess before moving gear I would say. The boot is quite small, and the shape of the back of the car is reminiscent of the Fiat 500 in how, they've shaped it for style, and totally wiped out quite a lot of practicality that the footprint and size / weight of the car could provide. But then this was, in the designers eyes, the car for that to be appropriate for as the Auris and Prius existed where practicality or further efficiency was preferred. The original touch screen interface is more intuitive and responsive than the blue one in the Toyota (the 2015-2018 system for Toyota) and initially, this was nice. Though the Toyota had this online subscription option that could show petrol prices, traffic and weather etc on the map which was way more convenient than I'd thought (the sum of the parts was greater than the gimmick I perceived it as in the brochure). I missed that in fairness. But unlike that system, this one had an affordable Chinese aftermarket solution to add CarPlay and Android Auto, since then, I've been enjoying a top notch in-car-map / communication experience. There are no rear cupholders which can be a practical issue. There is barely any room for tall people in the back also though I don't have many people in the back these days.
Will I keep it?
The longest car I've owned was my 2005 Panda - October 2015 until July 2019. Three and a half years. I'd have kept that longer had it not had the stalling issues. That's the record. 2017 Panda - 1 year. DS3 - 1.5 years. Avensis 2 years. Statistically... 2.5 years?! I think this one will be the forever car... well, nothing lasts forever. But until it's either written off, or has a major failure, or most likely, has a moderate failure or impending service item that can't be justified by market value or age of the car.... Or if something like the bodywork gets particularly bad... or engine starts overheating or something like that occurs as an outlier, making redundant the great shape of the other parts. I think this car is here now for that reason.
Why though? What makes this different? Honestly... finance. I'm bloody stupid for that. Lost a bit on the 2017 Panda... rolled into the DS3. In fairness, I got back more than I owed in 2021 on the DS3 that sort of reset it. That was also an attractive 6.6% rate because of Covid. The Avensis.. some stupid rate despite me at the time having 20 off a full credit score... Still not too bad all things considered. But the loss on it, rolled into this car at a still stupid rate which was standard in most places in NI last year (probably still is) meant the total sum of what I've got to pay for this is multiple thousands above the value of the sale price. I'm quite good with money but this is certainly poor form and costly. I've decided I never want to do car finance again. This year (2025) already I've just decided to pay off upfront the next few years of the CT saving some £3,000 overall in interest. And a couple of overpayments this year and that'll be it, no more finance. On this... or anything. The money I would have paid per month will go into a savings account and grow. And when I need a new car, it's quite likely there will be enough there to just buy one used and forever be rid of the drain on the wallet that is car finance. At this stage I've experienced enough of cars that I think I understand the value proposition and the personal sacrifice financially needed, as well as the mental turmoil when something goes wrong... or some place repaired it poorly... or insurance are being the ****s they are globally known to be during stressful times. I've just decided that... none of it is worth it. Toyotas outlast the owners quite often but none of them have been able to take them to the afterlife...
What's next
The future. Many years with this car I hope. And when the time comes, it's a two way junction..... A used Panda (new model) or a used Lexus LBX or Corolla. That's it isn't it? Either I get fed up with Toyota and go back to a Panda with a new model that overcomes much of the nuances with the outgoing one. Or I build on what will hopefully be a steady, dependable time with this comfortable, hassle-free and cheap to run car with another one. Time will tell. I will be sure to write the next book-size instalment of my car journey on here for anybody still reading!
