9th Nov 2017, 08:34
I'm amazed you have kept the car for so long. I am in New Zealand - our country buys your used cars young, because of the Shaken test, where it is often more economical for the Japanese to buy a new car instead of fixing the old one. Rust is a problem, hopefully somehow you are still able to keep your CRV. A BMW X3 will not be anywhere near as reliable as a well-cared for Japanese vehicle long-term. Mazda still uses conventional automatic gearboxes, not CVT. On the other hand, Toyota, Nissan, Subaru and Honda now use CVT. BMW, Mercedes and Volvo, all available in Japan, use torque converter not CVT, and VW/Audi use a dual-clutch DSG gearbox.
22nd Dec 2018, 04:30
The shaken (similar to the British MoT) used to be every two years until a car reached ten years of age, and was then every year. This certainly induced many owners to change their cars for a new one, and a large number of hardly-used ten year old cars have ended up in NZ and Australia. However, around 15 years ago the government changed that rule, and the shaken is now every two years regardless of the car's age. Nevertheless, secondhand cars in Japan get significantly cheaper around the 9-10 year of age mark.
My ageing Honda CRV, despite the rust underneath, will pass its next shaken through Honda, but it needs many rubber parts changing, and after 23 years I have decided to go for something a little newer. Indeed, it is quite easy to find 8-10 year old Subaru Foresters with very low km for around a third the price of a new one, and if it is sold by Subaru they give a one year, unlimited km guarantee, or three years for an extra 89000 yen. They seem to stand by their car quality!
8th Dec 2019, 05:08
Same reviewer, 8th December 2019.
After almost 24 years and 145,000km of reliable motoring, I have finally said goodbye. The suspension started to get quite noisy, and the rust underneath noticeably worse. To be replaced by an "as-new" 2012 Subaru Forester with only 11,600km on the clock for around $9,000 and a three-year guarantee from Subaru. It is the last of the 4AT models, and therefore does not have a horrible CVT or "eyesight". Indeed it is the simplest of the type, with no cruise control or heated seats, and a steering wheel blessed with no buttons, switches or "paddles". The seats though are amazingly comfortable and there is a huge amount of space for our stuff when travelling to the mountains. Had been looking for an MT, but they are very rare and go for a premium.
8th Nov 2017, 13:43
Same reviewer, 8th Nov 2017.
The car is now in its 22nd year at 120,000+ km. Still goes very smoothly on the motorway. Starts first time, and so on. The only disappointment has been the discovery of rust underneath by me during a service when the car was on a hoist. The major disappointment being that the Honda car mechanics never reported the onset of rust before then. Although not structural rust and passing its biennial test OK, they should have told me! The car is ageing, yet just goes along so well that I hesitate to part with it. Recent fuel economy has declined and I am lucky to get 10km per litre on a highway run, and much less in the city. They have finally decided to bring in a new model CRV (it has not been on the market in Japan for several years), but I am afraid that it will have a CVT gearbox, which I despise greatly. I might thus be in line for a secondhand BMW X3!