Liam

My car does a lot of short hops on the school run so mpg is always lower then most. On a run it's 24-30. But winter and school run can see 15-18. Mines used everyday so mpg can be all over the place. I think a lot on here have campers so there mpg will always look better because it's not used for short trips

Insurance isn't cheap most I've ever paid for a car and my mpg over 20 months ownership is 18.53 average. Low of 13.44 and high of 30.33. The only bad point of this car so far is the running cost but I wouldn't sell it lol

I've used this oil in most cars I've owned the last 7 or 8yrs no engines have gone bang. It's more then likely cheap because they don't sponsor any motoring events like the big brands, your paying more for the nice tub there in. My Alphard has it in now

Check the oil level first, low oil will do similar things in an automatic box

You have to take inside panel off to get to the bulbs, two screws are hid behind plastic covers. I think from memory the rest just pulls off

Shouldn't be using any but I've noticed if I fill mine when cold it always seems to lose some till it finds its level just above the min mark. It never goes below min so I think it's pushing the extra out the over flow when hot. I've left mine months now and it's still at the same level.

Have you been topping up to the max when the cars cold?

Towing a caravan with a CVT gearbox will be a short life for the box. And this 2.4 Vs 3lt thing always comes up but really makes very little difference on the road. Parts seem easier to get then I thought it would be eBay has almost everything you will need. The 2.4 will be cheaper to service and maintain being a 4 cylinder. Have a good look under the car, almost all the Alphards I've seen are really clean, I wouldn't worry about the age thing

What's the spec of the cars? but for me I would go option 2 just because it's 2k cheaper and both are low mileage for the age

"the 2AZ-FXE is an Atkinson cycle variant designed for use in hybrid models."This was off a website talking about the 2az engines, so it won't be changeable with the normal fe

The fse won't work it's a direct injection engine they didn't fit to the Alphard, I think you will need fxe only the hybrid had lower compression pistons and lots of other changes

Rear sub frame bushes

check battery cables and cables to starter motor