Who still drives a RAV on this forum!

Welcome back Bob, and congrats on all those 10,000 posts!

Congrats on the 10k post Bob :TU:

Not got a RAV4 at the moment. Had 3 altogether, but got my fingers burnt a touch with the 3rd one - the 3-door Green shiny rust-bucket which cost me a fair bit of cash in just 6 months of ownership.

Might have to look at a new set of Mugs or something I think

I had but I had this car whilst the other forum was still active and I think the thread may not have come over?
Basically, the car looked really nice and the bodywork and panels were perfect, and so I never bothered to look underneath it.
RAV4s (and Toyotas generally) don't seem to have extensive rust proofing and whilst there was no structural rust, the whole underneath was rusty and anything that was thin plate was knackered and the engine bay and componentry has suffered. used to get snatterings of rust underneath whenever I slammed the door.
When I got the car, I had it serviced and found the sump was porous. After I had that fixed, the A/C Magentic Clutch seized - new A/C clutch and compressor. After I had that fixed I picked the car up and drove it home. Next time I drove it the exhaust hanger failed (rusted away) coming back from town and the exhaust was dragging on the ground. I fixed that with a DIY hanger and after that it went up for sale as I just had enough!

I think mine was an unfortunate example and I am wondering if the problems were due to it being owned for most of its life by a local fisherman who maybe used to leave it parked up on long wet grass which is bound to promote chassis problems.
But if I were looking to get another one, I would check underneath very closely!

David if you see a Rav you like do as much checking as you can and firstly check the MOT history HERE by entering the reg number. If there are any major rust issues the tester usually makes a note in the advisories or if is really bad will fail.
Our current Rav had badly rusted fuel lines but all that had been replaced by the previous owner.
I also asked at WCVC what the underside was like and to take photos of it for me which they did and all looked good, so when it was delivered i did my own checks and all was as they said.
Try and avoid any that have lived on the coast or come from up North unless they have been undersealed or protected somehow.
And of course give it a good long test drive, we went out in ours for about an hour trying different roads, hills etc and checking everything we could such as aircon heating, windows, all the gears were ok, lights, brakes, no oil leaks, check the engine bay and that the oil is clean, listen to the engine running and as no unusual noises etc etc.
Obviously not been a mechy like Don and co there are things i/you can't check but i think you also get a feel if the car feels right or not :TU:

So did they deliver, wait, and then you pay when satisfied an hour later? Do they come in a pair with another car? I am feeling a bit out of my depth here! The only experience I have is when brother in law handed back his Jaguar that had caused him hassle and the driver made his way to my house on public transport - which was impressive because the links are poor.
Thanks for lots of good advice. I will keep looking and if a decent one comes along I will try and buy it before someone else snaps it up.