Brilliant car which has grown so large in later incarnations to make it less attractive.

Your 55 plate with the spare wheel on the back is my favourite but finding one in reasonable condition poses a massive problem

I'm not sure the increase in size is responsible for the RAV4 becoming less attractive.

But the current one?, my goodness that has looks only a mother could love!

Yes, fair point. It's going to be a though decision to retain or keep it next year.

Using Clickmechanic as a guide, you're talking near on £700 for a clutch & £500 for a timing belt/water pump replacement. Add in a set of tyres a service/mot, your talking about £1700; plus anything else that may crop up.

l also had the cat stolen a couple of months ago. Although the local mechanic said he could install some sort of cat cage, l do feel it will remain vulnerable.

Not sure about that SLO. Ride height & positioning of the cat on differing models makes it an easy or difficult job for thieves.

Hello, I was thinking of fitting step plates . Mainly for my wife to have easier access . Sound like this may not be a good idea ? Mine is a 2007 model. Thanks is advance for any advice.

Why?, I can't see any mention in the posts so far that suggest the fitting of side steps is a bad idea.

Hello,

after last years mot the advisories included corrosion to the sills where the rear suspension mounts are. It looked as though the step bar fitting brackets, which go from the bars up past the sills to bolt on, were holding onto a certain amount of mud & debris; the brackets were certainly rusty. Removing the bars made access to the sills easier to wire brush them & get a good result. However, another advisory was for front chassis corrosion, so maybe it had nothing to do with the step bars.

l've found (& so has my wife) that in reality we don't really use the step bars when getting in the car, as they're too narrow & located too far under the vehicle.