still cant work out after reading all these posts whether its worth buying a townace or not. have you got to spend every weekend under the bonnet ? does anyone get trouble free motoring with their van

- (#5994) rob, 3 Nov 02

Under the bonnet? What's one of them then? Oh you mean the front passenger seat.

Of course we don't spend every weekend working on them. There must be hundreds of subscribers to this site but you don't see hundreds of posts every day do you? People only post a question when they have a problem. Not much point in people posting messages to say "Hey, didn't spend any time on the bus this weekend".

I've had my Townace for almost three years now. I probably get one big problem a year and a number of niggly/routine things. Bear in mind it is a 12 year old vehicle and it favourably compares to 12 year old Rovers or Fords for reliability. Also remember that these beauties are loaded with extras and toys which means there is a lot more that stands to go wrong than your common Brit spec vehicles.

Toyota make good quality cars which in my opinion are far superior to anything European. If you want something that stands out from the crowd, gives exceptional load space and comfort then get yourself a Townace.

- (#5995) Ian Dunse, 4 Nov 02

Rob, no you don't spend every weekend under the bonnet (engine cover). But checking fluid levels is recommended daily in most makers hand books, along with tyre pressures. During October the engine cover was up twice for about 5 minutes to check levels - all was well - not been up this weekend. You only hear about the problems on this board. I have only had mine 8 months, changed oil (3 times)and transmission fluid, altered the fog lamps (did not need to be done), and waxoyled it. No open heart surgery required so far.
So the answer is in my opinion, checking levels is all you need to do, any changes get it investigated, read the Ace Answers for ideas what to look for, and you can have trouble free motoring.
Clive

- (#5996) clive, 4 Nov 02

Rob,
Compare what you would get, for similar money, if you went for an Espace/Galaxy/Sharan etc. The Townace DOES have it's problems but, a look through some of the other "motoring" websites, soon shows the horror stories which owners of inferior vehicles have to put up with. In my opinion, many of "faults" in a Townace, are brought about by owner neglect and disinterest. Also, as you would pay up to three times the cost of a Townace to get a similar specification on some of the above vehicles, it's worth spending a bit on the maintenance of a good vehicle to start with, ie, a Townace.
In my opinion they are excellent vehicles, extremely well designed (of course, it's a Toyota), are very durable,are satisfying to own and, way out in front for individuality and style.

- (#6028) John Davis, 4 Nov 02

... just keep the liquids topped up, get it maintained regularly, and there you are.

And it is very good at what it does - comfortable, even elegant, transport for a large family, at budget prices.

- (#6029) Tony McGough, 4 Nov 02

Buy a good one, then you'll have no problems, don't buy the first you see, shop around, there are lots around now, we have done many thousands of miles in our one with no troubles at all, probably best to buy one that has had any teething troubles upon arriving in UK sorted out, I just spent a little while after getting ours fresh from Japan sorting it out & now she's great, would never beleive she's an 11 year old car. Of course follow the advice on this forum & that will help you greatly. The only achilles heal on this vehicle is the cooling, but follow the tips here & you should be OK. HTH Rob.

- (#6030) Rob Drinkwater, 4 Nov 02

If you view the threads on this site as an guide whether to buy or not, I would agree that it may put many off purchasing a Townie. But ( in my humble opinion ) the purpose of this site is predominantly to answer questions ( like yours ) about Townie performance, reliability, fault finding, general capability of the vehicle and indeed succes stories or benifits.
But we see no threads like - my Townie is going brilliant, is something wrong with it?
I would agree with Ian :-
"Toyota make good quality cars which in my opinion are far superior to anything European. If you want something that stands out from the crowd, gives exceptional load space and comfort then get yourself a Townace".
I've had 14 vehicles in 24 years of driving, from a Mini ( nothing wrong with them ! ) to a Rover 820Si ( nothing wrong with them too, except the bloody electrics, fuel comsumption and Exhaust problems )
I've been relatively, trouble free ( Oops! "Her Indoors" did put Petrol in the Diesel tank ) but I've changed the oil and air filters at the prescribed frequencies and monitored the water level ( like you are recommended to do with any vehicle )

I've driven Alhambras and Galaxys and I still think my Liteace gives an all round better drive.
As suggested don't buy the first one, but buy one and enjoy it!
- (#6053) stephen judge, 7 Nov 02

thanks for all advice. i'm still quite tempted. what about getting parts and finding someone to do repairs

- (#6061) rob walkham, 9 Nov 02

As you say, most service parts are shown on the aceanswers site, they are readily available from local factors, if you e-mail me with which town you're in I can probably tell you where stocks the ADL Blueprint range. As regards genuine Toyota parts, TOYOTA GB actively support 'grey' imports, all the dealers are obliged to look up parts & supply them to order for you, some parts will be on the shelf if they are the same as UK vehicles, otherwise available from outside UK. If your local Toyota dealer is less than helpful, then threaten to call Toyota GB about them. This is in stark contrast to NISSAN dealers who now charge £15.00 just to look up parts for imported Nissans. Good Luck Regards Rob.

- (#6062) Rob Drinkwater, 10 Nov 02