David Jones

Recent mot advisory for rear axle bushes. I found the cost and quality variable. My mechanic showed me his supplier and the cost was over £200 , but there was no available parts. So I remembered using a Japanese supplier megazip.com. Within 10 minutes I’d ordered part and even with fast tracking it came to less than £115. They were brilliant checking that the genuine Toyota parts were suitable for my Alphard. My mechanic told me that some parts were not always too quality from some online sites.

After being insured with Churchill for 4 years they refused to renew the policy as they no longer insured imports. Luckily Admiral were able to insure. Also some Alphie owners near me have had trouble getting camper conversion’s covered.

My hand brake wouldn’t work on slopes , my garage changed the break shoes and it did the job. Hill starts are are an art form in an alphie. Engage accelerator and then release footbrake button. Hope this helps.

Target garage waunarlwydd Swansea, has been great for service and repair to my car. There is also a selection of Japanese imports on the same site.

There seems to be a reluctance of some insurance companies and garages refusing to work on or cover Japanese imports. Also as they are usually nearing 20 or more years old. I’m perplexed because spares and service items are easily available. Ordering through Toyota garage parts department saved me money as some items were common to other vehicles. Even when presenting the garages with the spares they are still reluctant to service the vehicle. Luckily my garage has an adjoining Toyota import dealer. I’ve spent more money on servicing our Citroen Picasso than the Alphard. And most of those spares are available locally off the shelves. Our car was hit by another vehicle while we were shopping and this was another reason we were refused insurance because they wanted to write off the vehicle as they had undervalued it luckily the bodywork shop manager was able to correct their mistake. We had spent thousands updating door mechanism and brakes as well as replacing body parts. Depending on whether we can cover the insurance next year, we may sadly say goodbye to the Alphard. Our kids love the space and comfort it affords giving them their own comfort and security on a journey. I’ve yet to find another vehicle that has this type of comfort and finish. I’ve also geared of people having difficulty with the camper conversions. My advice try getting quotes 2 or 3 months prior to renewal.

Japancover unable to help. Luckily Admiral insurance was on the ball. Car back on the road.

Contacted Japancover.co.uk waiting for them to search for a replacement insurance.

Just found out Churchill won’t renew our insurance. No letters or communication we found out through DVLA letter as our insurance automatically renews. 🤯😤

Just checked Amazon no luck. Enquire through Toyota parts department. I’ve found them great for ordering spares. They may be able to source Toyota bearing pulling kit. Good luck.

Is there a magyver fix for this. Try YouTube. Wheeler dealers hack.

New disc brakes all round and new tyres. Check wheel alignment insignificant. No veering or drift noted by new garage. Possibly last garage just trying to get more £ who knows? Service and MOT went well just one rusty front break pin to replace.

Having a mare. Rear and front tyre wear uneven. Trying to get a mechanic who can solve problem is hard. Front wheel alignment can’t be done before rear wheels are correct. Went back to Alphard dealer I bought the car from. He couldn’t give a 💩 realed off local garages list. But these garages don’t know how to solve problem or refuse to do it. Local Toyota dealer helpful in getting spares. But not helpful with mechanical problems as it’s an import. They make it sound as if the car was smuggled into the UK. I’ll give the wheel swop a go.

It’s been examined by accident adjuster and the tabs on the bumper front and rear of bumper are broken. The white plastic fixing tabs are broken. They are waiting to see if someone can repair plastic. But they are not too confident. Also we have found that the car does not have a vin number.

It wasn’t a big hit. It didn’t seem broken at first just a bigger gap where the bumper connects. The clip on the bumper are broken and the plastic box fix it to the main body sheared off. Just frustrating that no repair shops will touch Japanese import. Insurance company are talking about writing it off. To order a bumper replacement is over £1500. I’m hoping to find someone who can repair the plastics on the bumper.