Confused in what to buy 🤷‍♂️

[Johnno]

Hi all, I recently started looking at buying an alphard or vellfire, and now I’m serious about it. I started looking at series 30 but decided the prices were too high. So a decent 2012+ series 20 will be just fine. 
 

This will be a daily around town driver for me, about 25 miles per day. Hence I was looking at the hybrid models, but I’ve been told the 2.4 hybrid is not reliable, but I cannot find real life evidence of this. I also read about excessive engine oil consumption on the 2.4, but again not sure if this was sorted out on later year models?
 

can anyone with similar models share their experience with this engine? 
 

The car I’ve seen is actually a 2013 with 64,000 miles. Is this mileage ok or is it considered high and therefore a risk/more maintenance required?

 

any info to help me decide would be much appreciated. 

[Michael Brown]

Any vehicle that is older than 10 years old will need to have worn out parts replaced or end of their life parts replaced. For instance in August 2022 I bought a 2007 2.4 Hybrid expecting may years of happy motoring. Then 2 breakdowns in quick succession bought me down to earth. My car mechanic Colin Campbell reccommended a car and boat electrical expert Peter Holland of BrightSpark Autos from nr Emsworth, West Sussex Hampshire border to look at Alfie.  As it was dead having been transported back home from the 2nd breakdown, it was transported over to Peter's workshop and he reports that the Inverter is Kapput and he could not source spare parts for it. But as luck would have it the Inverter was still available in Japan and could be ordered if paid for first at a whopping £5,200. inc VAT and delivery, but not including fitting and setting up. I said leave it with me and I rang my bank and asked if I could borrow the money. Within 2hrs the money was in my A/C, so I rang Peter back, paid for the new Inverter, being told about 10 days to come, actually 2.5 weeks. I saw this as an investment for at least ( touch wood ) 10 years trouble free motoring. 15 months so far and apart from a couple of punctures Alfie is a dream to drive. I get 35 - 40 MPG and I am pleased with that. It cost £352. to get the Inverter fitted and setup. Happy motoring now.

 

So good luck in your quest

[pipsyp]

For simplicities sake probably avoid the Hybrid.  Great cars, but considerably more complicated and costly when things do (inevitably) go wrong.  The series 20's do also have a CVT gearbox which isn't without its potential issues so just worth bearing in mind.

 

I personally would not discount a later Series 10 facelift.  They are extremely hard wearing and well made, and being that bit more straightforward than a series 20 will prove easier to maintain.

 

The oil usage issue only really affected the 2AZ-FE motors made in North America, the Japanese made variants never really suffered.  They are chain driven and with regular oil changes will pretty much last forever.  It's enough motor for these vans as well (they actually go very well if you rev them out).

 

The V6's are wonderful and I gather not much thirstier as they have to work less hard to pull the van around, also whilst belt driven they are non interference engine so if you were unlucky enough to have a cambelt failure, it won't destroy the top end (just be an inconvenience).  Certainly more effortless than a 2.4

 

Bonus is you can get an excellent shape AH10 freshly imported for less than £10k, which does make them a bit of a bargain.

 

If I were in the market for an Alphard again, I'd be looking for a min grade 4 V6 MS (sport pack) facelift with the 5 speed gearbox, just really as this is peak Alphard AH10 IMHO.  I had a 2.4 converted camper previously and it was wonderful.

[ALSALPHARD]

Hi, I was adamant about having a 3.5 v6 then reality dawned! Even though i do few miles in the Alphard i was after reliability, after many many hours of research it seems the 2.4 with the cvt has a better reputation longer term-  on forums i visited than a torque converter set up. Early hybrids were trouble later ones much better.

We have an Auris hybrid and its great, battery is guaranteed for 15 years  if you get a service or £35 check up every year (10 years on drive train. We are finding our dealer staff less accomodating than previous years)

Youtube "car care nut" knows them all inside out and there shouldn't be many issues with a toyota hybrid if serviced properly but  its finding a good centre  that can actually fix them if you do have a problem.

There was a problem mainly in America with early 2.4 buring oil but there was a dealer fix.(new rings) i put the recommened 0w20 oil in my Alphard and it did seem to loose  a splash every tank full petrol, now put in 5w30  and will see how that goes. ( the permissible loss is quite high on Toyota vehicles)

 

[ALSALPHARD]

Hi again,  if you are after a specific vehicle  it might be better to self import - I went through Algys OK  but not without a few issues.Even the garage this end had good things to say about:-

 

[Rojie]

On 7/2/2024 at 9:45 AM, ALSALPHARD said:

Hi again,  if you are after a specific vehicle  it might be better to self import - I went through Algys OK  but not without a few issues.Even the garage this end had good things to say about:-

 

 

I believe Jap Auto Agent claims he is well known to Alphard Club Members and that many recommend him.

 

A thread was started recently to check the validity of that claim.

Of course, his customers may not be members of the Alphard Club, in which case why try to add credence by using the Club as an implied reference?

 

To my knowledge, Not one member did come forward, as yet, to recommend him.

Despite his website he does not keep stock in the UK.

 

So do your research thoroughly.

 

 

[PaulS_]

On 7/1/2024 at 1:52 PM, Johnno said:

Hi all, I recently started looking at buying an alphard or vellfire, and now I’m serious about it. I started looking at series 30 but decided the prices were too high. So a decent 2012+ series 20 will be just fine. 
 

This will be a daily around town driver for me, about 25 miles per day. Hence I was looking at the hybrid models, but I’ve been told the 2.4 hybrid is not reliable, but I cannot find real life evidence of this. I also read about excessive engine oil consumption on the 2.4, but again not sure if this was sorted out on later year models?
 

can anyone with similar models share their experience with this engine? 
 

The car I’ve seen is actually a 2013 with 64,000 miles. Is this mileage ok or is it considered high and therefore a risk/more maintenance required?

 

any info to help me decide would be much appreciated. 

 

I reckon you'll be fine Johnno. Don't be afraid to ask the dealer for a test drive and ask a friend (ideally with mechanical knowledge) to join you when visiting the dealer.

 

If it's a new import then check CarVX, the car history checker for JDM https://carvx.jp/?gad_source=1

 

I have a very similar vehicle to the one that you're interested in, bought a few months ago. Shout if you need anything.