[willsken]

I bought a Vitz Sport and it is useless in NZ. It has low skirts on it and because of the dips most access points to shops etc have the front bumper scrapes. If you drive at a certain angle it's fine but I am fed up with having to consider this every time I go into places. :wah

Now I have already been told "told you so" by OH as he noticed how low it was and the dips in and out of places before I bought it. I want to keep the car and I have been to the Toyota garage locally. They told me the suspension can't be raised on this model and the only way round it was to put on a normal Vitz front bumper. I really don't want to, as it won't go with the rest of the car. He also admitted that he hadn't seen a model like mine before. Maybe I'm being suspicious but I still think there must be something I can do. :roll

Now the front skirt is only made of fibreglass and is bolted on. If it was removed does anyone know if a couple of inches could be taken off and the edge be curled under? There is a natural line and it wouldn't spoil the look. I just wouldn’t know what sort of person would be able to carry out the work? Would I need to speak with body repair shops or are there people out there who specialise in working with fibreglass? Any ideas or suggestions would be welcome. :yes

[Kim39]

Wanna buy my Prado Nicola. You won't have any prob's bottoming out with this one. You can have it for 22k

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v721/Brierley1964/various035.jpg


Seriously i can't suggest anything except take it very easy and try and find an easier route into the places you frequent, thats if you want to keep it. Elaine bottomed her MPV the other night at Woolworths and scraped the tow bar on the front. Told her to take it easy otherwise more damage may be done.

Kim

[willsken]

It's just not me taking it easy. Don't know how and it seems to me even when I take it easy (in my own way!!) it still scrapes. :no

Here is a photo so you can see how low it is. :uhoh

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q33/willsken/S6000618.jpg

[Cardiff Irons]

I think I've got a compromise that you'll like. Why don't you buy Kim's wheels and stick them on your car? No more bumper scrapes for you girl! :nice1







That hasn't helped, has it? Coat, taxi.... :exit

[willsken]

I'm trying very hard to picture it ...... no it really hasn't helped :no

:D

[Caroline and Dave]

Hi Nicola, sorry to hear about the car. I don't know about your rights etc in NZ,I can only tell you about the experience I had in UK some 18 years ago.
At the time I worked for a funeral Directors and we purchased a limousine. Now the roads to our garages were full of sleeping policemen and before we bought the car we said to the dealer about this and they said that there would not be a problem. When we got the car it was bought to us on a transporter. As soon as we saw it we were dubious of the front bumper as it was very low. We tried it out and it would not go over the sleeping policeman without removing the bumper. So we got onto the dealer and they refused to do anything about it denying that they would have said it was ok on sleeping policeman and the salesman who had said it would be ok had conveniently left the firm. So we got onto our solicitor and he was able to get us a replacement limo while the other limo was looked into. In the end the dealers had to put a different front onto the car and we never had to pay a penny and we even got £200 compensation.
If you have no joy with whoever you bought it from,then maybe its worth having a word with a solicitor. I am sure where you got it from must have been aware of the type of land in your part of NZ?

Hope this helps

Dave and Caroline

[StevieD]

Nic that's a girl racers car!! :laugh

Don't know what you going to do there...

Kim, you selling the beast???

[zardell]

Wanna do a swop for my Robin Reliant ??

:exit

Julie

xx


PS.

Yes - you damn well DO know me !!!
:D

[jonSE]

Nicola

It's possible judging from your photo that maybe an inch could be removed from the bottom of the front the front spoiler. Best bet is to go out and talk to your local hoons and find out where they go for bodywork and spoilers etc.

But BIG but , at the end of the day that car is never going to be desperately clever at getting up/over big Access points. Try driving at them at an angle then straightening up.

Alternatively buy a Range Rover.

[Kim39]

Kim, you selling the beast???

yep the beast is on its way for 22k o.n.o but hopefully not before your arrival

Kim

[willsken]

Nic that's a girl racers car!! :laugh



Steve the car is me. Can't help myself always have had a thing for cars.... :roll

[willsken]

Wanna do a swop for my Robin Reliant ??

:exit

Julie

xx


PS.

Yes - you damn well DO know me !!!
:D

OMG you didn't really spend all that money to ship it out here.... I thought we'd discussed this. :laugh

[willsken]

On a serious note Dave and Jon, I am going to write to the garage I bought it from but TBH OH and the bloke I bought it from did comment on the low skirt so I'm not sure how far I will get. I am driving the car at an angle and that works to a certain extent but it is irritating having to put so much thought into every place I want to go and even at an angle it crunches some places. The hoon thing was what OH suggested. I will be teaching them from next week so I will see what pans out. Glad to know it might be possible though. I like the car and don't want to change it, though seeing some people doing off roading by the river the other day may well change my mind... :p

[Big Puku]

Don't think you'll get anywhere with the garage, as it hasn't breached any terms of sale - guess it's the price you pay for a pimped car!

I wouldn't worry, you'll get better at taking any dips/kerbs at an angle before long (tried reversing?!), and most cars on the road always seem to have a few scrapes at the front!

[*Paul]

After owning a Golf in the US having a similar clearance problem with the engine pan, I was well-aware of this issue when considering what sort of car to buy in NZ.

Aside from the more severe road conditions, other things considered were the dismally-short parking spaces, the unfortunately-higher incidents of vandalism and theft, and the fact that you can drive on the beach in many places.
And I wanted a diesel since you can't get these in California anymore. I also wanted a car that the boy racers *don't* want so it would not draw attention.

So I bought a small SUV, the Suzuki Grand Vitara diesel version, which has turned out to be just about perfect.

Any boy-racer type body shop should be able to come up with a kiwi-style solution, otherwsie accept it as part of the learning curve and sell it.

[*Paul]

I should add that my parents bought a BMW 3-series whose wheels (rims) extend beyond the edges of the tires. They scrape these expensive wheels against the curb frequently.

Also the low profile tyres (45 I think) are very expensive and it's hard to know if they go flat. So far they have destroyed 2 tyres in 30,000 km at $300 a pop.

[stu70]

Boy thats a lot of dough. How is public transport in the city :laugh

[Super_BQ]

I would get rid of the low profile tires and rims. When you do, you'll notice a major improvement in the ride comfort of the car.

Quite often a lot of these domestic Japanese imports have all sorts of tricks done by previous owners that are well beyond the factory specifications. Kinda the price you pay for putting aftermarket stuff on the car.

BQ

[willsken]

Well I've had the problem sorted. I took it to a panel beaters recommended by the local Toyota garage who didn’t seem to think they could anything. A man called Pete came and looked over the car and went and made a few calls. He said even if I put a normal bumper on it the car would look odd as it wouldn’t go with the rest of the body kit. (All factory fitted onto this model apparently) He said he could have a go at cutting it down and making it higher. He explained that all sorts would have to be done to enable the grill on it to stay and to move and re fit the bottom. He explained you couldn’t just cut it off as I thought as it would waggle in the wind (my word, not his!!)

I was quite nervous leaving the car as his word TRY kept coming to mind! I kept thinking what if it goes wrong?!! It didn’t go wrong at all. He made a beautiful job of it. I was so please when I saw it. I love my car much more now. It has kept the overall look but it doesn’t look quite so boy racerish!! I will put some pictures of it on here tomorrow so you can see what a fantastic job he’s done…. And at about half the cost of a new bumper to!! :raebanana :raebanana :raebanana

[StevieD]

Nic, Zardell has just sent me a pic of the car. It is a company car, and one I could expect when I get there. Hope you like it!! It is reliant, good runner, and economical as you only have to have 3 tyres. Often seen zipping around Whakatane. If you don't hurry up it's going on Trade Me!!

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e397/bluekiwi100/brianandvicky_TrottersRobinRelia-1.png

[StevieD]

And you'd think I had nothing better to do with only 21 days to go!!! :laugh:laugh:laugh

[Babette & Andy]

Nic, Zardell has just sent me a pic of the car. It is a company car, and one I could expect when I get there. Hope you like it!! It is reliant, good runner, and economical as you only have to have 3 tyres. Often seen zipping around Whakatane. If you don't hurry up it's going on Trade Me!!

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e397/bluekiwi100/brianandvicky_TrottersRobinRelia-1.png

:laugh :laugh You just can't help yourself can you!!

Good news Nicola! Glad you got sorted. We've noticed though with our car too (Zafira) that we seem to 'scrape' a lot of curbs / parking edgings. Can't ever remember that with our cars in the UK. Maybe they are simply of different heights over here, maybe heights are everything ;)

Babette

[willsken]

Nic, Zardell has just sent me a pic of the car. It is a company car, and one I could expect when I get there. Hope you like it!! It is reliant, good runner, and economical as you only have to have 3 tyres. Often seen zipping around Whakatane. If you don't hurry up it's going on Trade Me!!

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e397/bluekiwi100/brianandvicky_TrottersRobinRelia-1.png

Steve I've tried to save her.... I even refuse to admit I know her and she's still driving that damn car. Can't believe she paid to bring it over from the UK :exit :roll

[willsken]

:We've noticed though with our car too (Zafira) that we seem to 'scrape' a lot of curbs / parking edgings. Can't ever remember that with our cars in the UK. Maybe they are simply of different heights over here, maybe heights are everything ;)

Babette

They have very silly drainage over here. Any car worth it's salt (looks wise!!!!!!!!! :laugh ) scrapes. Saying that we had a very very heavy downpour the other day and I was very glad of the drainage!

[zardell]

Steve I've tried to save her.... I even refuse to admit I know her and she's still driving that damn car. Can't believe she paid to bring it over from the UK :exit :roll




Blooming Heck !!!!

I've only just seen this !!!

BRILLIANT !!!

Will have to have a word with my Steve though.........I haven't paid for him to go on the insurance, so whats he doing driving my car ?!

StevieD - with only 21 days to go, I thought you'd have better things to do..........:D

Julie

xx

[StevieD]

StevieD - with only 21 days to go, I thought you'd have better things to do..........:D

Julie

xx

exactly right Julie - these playboys :roll no work done cos all they do is play with their toys. But hey it put a smile on his face (which i havent really seen for a bit) so YAY to that!!

[zardell]

Steve I've tried to save her.... I even refuse to admit I know her and she's still driving that damn car. Can't believe she paid to bring it over from the UK :exit :roll



You even pretended not to know me when I gave you a lift in it didn't you ??!!!

Hang your head in shame...........:laugh


:exit

Julie

xx

[StevieD]

I am doing something, I am up to my eyes in toys and videos in Louisa's bedroom, only Jan called me down to see your response.

Not the best of times of late so needed a bit of cheering up. Now this is what I call stressful. Can't wait to get the hell out of here now. Ah well, onwards and upwards as they say, back to it.

Steve