Looking at diving in for a petrol Avensis. Noticed that the 2nd service interval was missed by 6 months, as the owner decided to wait until it hit 20k instead.

From a warranty point of view, will Toyota still cover it, as technically it has missed the 2nd interval??

I'm no expert on Toyota, but from a legal standpoint, I would have thought any items that break that could be associated with the missed service will not be covered.

i.e. engine problems due to missed oil change e.g. cam chain, etc no longer covered.

But other unrelated items, e.g. window motor etc would still be covered.

Things like failed ignition coils might be a grey area.

When I was buying, some of the toyotas in showrooms were late with their first service. I wasn't able to get a straight answer - all the dealer would commit to was that they would look after me.

I would assume that the warranty was void unless you had something in writing, preferable from toyota UK.

Toyota servicing is either 12 months or 10,000 miles, whichever occurs first.

Leeway is either 1 month or 1,000 miles, whichever occurs first.

The vehicle in question hasn't technically missed the second service - it has missed it and by a substantial margin.

The fact it may have been dealer serviced since is a red herring.

The new car warranty is void as the car hasn't been serviced according to the terms and conditions of the new car warranty, and Toyota can refuse to cover any warranty work on the car. Presumably the price reflects the void warranty.

As the car is four years old, and presumably should have been serviced using the time based regime, has it had the four year service? Or is that overdue?

I would continue looking around ........

Is it for sale at a Toyota dealer? If so, this could be worth a try: ask if the dealer will put in writing to you that it will honour the remainder of the warranty, even though the 2nd service was outside the specified interval.

If the dealer won't, just carry on looking elsewhere.