Can you get an Alphard / Vellfire Serviced?

[Garry Alden]

Hi everyone,

Whilst having bought my Vellfire a few months ago, I am starting to get a little worried that I am not going to be able to get it serviced.

I know there will be a lot of people with these vehicles but it would be good to know how easy others find it to get them serviced. I am based in Ipswich in Suffolk so if there are any Alphard or Vellfire owners in the area, does anyone have any recommendations? I would really appreciate any comments on this as I hope I haven’t just bought a vehicle that will eventually just sit on my drive and be eventually sold for parts ☹️

[Rojie]

51 minutes ago, Garry Alden said:

Hi everyone,

Whilst having bought my Vellfire a few months ago, I am starting to get a little worried that I am not going to be able to get it serviced.

I know there will be a lot of people with these vehicles but it would be good to know how easy others find it to get them serviced. I am based in Ipswich in Suffolk so if there are any Alphard or Vellfire owners in the area, does anyone have any recommendations? I would really appreciate any comments on this as I hope I haven’t just bought a vehicle that will eventually just sit on my drive and be eventually sold for parts ☹️

 

Most official Toyota Dealers will not support grey imports.

 

However, some do; so contact your local dealer and ask.

 

Other Forum members will tell you, for the most part, any competent mechanic should be able to perform a routine service, and some of the more major part replacements.

[Garry Alden]

Thanks Rojie 

[TCB]

Hi Garry, were you able to find somewhere suitable to service your Hellfire?

[TCB]

*Vellfire lol

[Garry Alden]

Hi TCB, I have not had it serviced yet. The company I bought my Vellfire camper conversion from has said that they can service it, if I fail to find someone local to do it. Which to be honest is a pain in the rear as they are a 2 1/2 hour drive away. I have to MOT it in a few months so my plan is to take it to Toyota to do & whilst it is there, ask them if they would service it. If the answer is no, which is likely, then I am just going to have to phone around local garages to see if they will service it. 
 

My main concern with this, is if an actual part requires replacing due to it being worn out or has a fault, can I even get the required part? Standard stuff like break discs / pads I don’t think I need to worry about. I am more worried about something fundamental with the engine for example.
 

Whilst I do love my van, I am starting to regret purchasing it due to my fears that something cannot be replaced. People are sure to tell me that I am worrying about nothing, but just cannot help it. I know TCB it does not help you in any way 😂.

 

There must be 1000s of imported cars / vans in the UK so I don’t know why I seem to be part of the minority who has serious doubts about being an owner of one.

[TCB]

Thankyou so much for the detailed response Garry. 

I'm looking into buying and then converting an Alphard, trying to pre empt questions i'm going to have down the road. How are you getting on with your Vellfire? Did you go for the rear or the side conversion? I hear the side conversions are more popular but i like the fact with rear conversions you keep the comfortable middle row of seats and you can have 4 people facing each other. Not sure if this may help for servicing but i went to Andys imports near Norwich who are conversion specialists for Alphards/Vellfire's. Maybe they can help?

[Garry Alden]

TCB that is very good to know. Norwich, whilst the drive from Ipswich is a pain, isn’t that far, so will contact those guys and see what they say. I went for a side conversion, here a few photos 😁

 

I love the Vellfire, such a nice and comfortable drive. I’ve only stayed overnight in it once so far due to weather, but going on my first proper trip for Easter weekend and really looking forward to it.

[TCB]

She's a beaut! Enjoy your trip bud!

[pipsyp]

Mechanically these are heavily based on the Camry, which was available in the UK and Europe so from a parts perspective many are common and can be supplied by a Toyota main dealer or in many cases there are equivalent pattern parts.

 

I had a garage (admittedly run by my best mate) service mine, and they sourced all genuine Toyota parts from a local main dealer for it so it's absolutely not an issue.

 

Mines a 2008 and is literally to the day 16 years old, so I wouldn't take it for routine maintenance at a Toyota dealership anyway (just not worth the extortionate labour rates), but I can understand wanting to take a newer one to one given they become increasingly more complex the newer they are.

[pipsyp]

......do note however that most Toyota parts are pretty expensive.  I had to have a new radiator in mine and from memory the part alone was getting on for 500 quid ex VAT 🤢

 

General consumables for servicing aren't too bad though!

[Garry Alden]

Thanks pipsyp, very good to know.

[alvind]

Just to add I just get my newly delivered 2012 Vellfire Hybrid serviced at the main toyota dealer - they said they don't touch the hybrid part but did a full service for around £400 which I do think worth the money for the added peace of mind for me. 

 

Phone your local toyota dealer up and you might get superised! I thought they normally don't want to touch imports too. But they happily did it without any trouble. I guess I got lucky as otherwise I have to drive down to southampton which is about 1.5 hours.

 

 

[alvind]

Nice camper by the way! I was hoping to get a camper conversion but in the end decided to have the people carrier for now and maybe convert it later. 

[Garry Alden]

Thanks for all the input guys, makes me a lot happier 😁 glad you like the van, always nice to get other people’s opinions 👍

[big_boz]

You can change the air filter, oil and filter in about 10 mins. For a modern car it's exceptionally easy to get to everything, even the sump plug is freely available with no stupid cover. Any garage can service them.

[Geralt]

My local Toyota dealer said they would service my 03 Alphard it but not repair it.

[Rojie]

I think as the Alphard and Vellfire become more popular dealers are beginning to realise how much potential business they could be failing to secure.

 

As awareness of the commonality between Lexus, Camry and other Toyota part bins is increasing the perceived difficulty is diminishing.

 

I am interested in how your dealer would distinguish between repair and maintenance.

I assume unwilling to repair means, in this case, an unwillingness to replace suspension parts, etc.

 

Servicing being restricted to fluids and filters ?

[TCB]

Agreed, I made a few enquiries with some fairly local garages and they all came back saying servicing isn’t a problem, some went further to say that they’ve sourced parts too but this can be a bit more challenging. However with the support I’ve seen on this forum like part list codes etc I feel confident in going ahead with a purchase of an alphard. I would like the double din headset replaced with a uk one however and that’s what I’m researching now. The alphard I’m likely getting is a series 10 2007 2.4l with the pictured head set. Is there a commonly used uk replacement which is favoured by owners? 
excellent forum by the way guys, nice helpful bunch of enthusiasts on here 🙂