Buyers Guide

Having agonised over something small and economic to complement my 120 I'm now looking hard at getting a 100. Yeah, I know.

Apologies, because I'm sure this detail must be here, I'm just not using the correct search words.

I've got up to about £20K to play with. Less would be nice, of course. I'm just not clear what that should buy me. Nor can I work out if anything significant happened to the models in the age ranges I can afford. Trawling Autotrader, and there isn't really that much to trawl, it looks like 2005 models and older. What confuses me is that 2002-05 seem up around 20K, and then 2001 and older are much closer to 10K. Anything particularly nice to have on later models that makes them worth much more, or is it just the vagueries of not many cars with very different mileage and possibly condition?

Anything obvious to look out for on these? I'd be starting to worry about rust on stuff this old. I know about tail gates. But what about underneath. Anywhere a trap?

I assume check transmission fluid because they've all probably been towing big stuff. Is there a dip stick on these to check?

I know nothing about the fancy suspension, by which I mean something more than springs and shocks. AHC I think? What would I look / feel for to know that is working, at least for now?

TIA for your comments.

I'm not a 100 expert but have been looking at upgrading the current VZJ95 for a 100 for a while....so have been doing some research.

Looks like your budget will get you one of the later facelift (post 2002/3) cars with the 5 speed auto box, which seem to be preferred to the 4 speed autos - these can have torque converter issues which can be fixed but might prove costly. AHC is seen as a potential issue waiting to happen but I believe the spheres can be reconditioned for not too much money - or just replace the whole lot with conventional suspension.

Buy on condition rather than mileage etc. If I was you and had your budget, I'd look at say £15k to buy a good facelift 5 spd and leave the rest in the bank for a thorough service, baseline and "mods".

Add: There are probably loads of finer points about 100 models and variations but IMHO the gearbox (4spd Vs 5spd) and AHC are the main considerations - assuming you are looking at UK models.

Like wise buy on condition not so much miles, all the obvoius secondhand car rules apply, make sure everything works especially the electricals as there is alot of gadgets that can be costly, tyres are not cheap either.
Also a good service history is a sign of a cared for car, evidence of a belt change etc.
Lastly check its HPi clear and all numbers match, log book is present amazing how many people never bother.
Follow the basics and you wont go far wrong they are very robust and will last for ever if regularly serviced.
Lastly I have not had any probs with my AHC

AHC or not - If it needs new shocks and springs, the cost will be the same for conventional suspension parts in any case. Removing the actuators and pulling the ahc fuse, is the only extra work if it had ahc previously. Only if you want to keep the ahc, it can be more expensive, if you don't wrench yourself, but then you pay for a premium "ride".

So, don't look at ahc as a drawback - if the suspension is malfunctioning, it needs fixing. If it has ahc, you have a choice of replacing the parts with conventional suspension or keeping the ahc. If it has conventional, you can only continue with conventional (of one type or another).

Dip stick on autos: The 4-sp has a stick. The 5-sp had a dip stick on the first year of manufacture (and the Toyota-IV fluid), after that (2003 ?) it has no dip stick (WS fluid), but an overflow plug and a fill plug (and a drain plug).