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Hi we are looking at buying a caldina 2003 which has done 142,000 kms and are wondering about the reliability of the auto transmission. The owner is the first owner since the vehicle was imported in 2009 having done c.124,000 kms on import. At what mileage would we expect the transmission to need an overhaul and what does this involve including cost? We plan to get an aa pre-purchase inspection as a matter of course.

The Caldina has one of the better reliability records when it comes to their automatic transmissions.

You can never take anything for granted however so the AA pre purchase is a good move.

It’s impossible to say just when any automatic transmission may need an overhaul to be honest however, based on industry knowledge and feedback, I would think at 140K’s there is still a reasonable amount of life left.

Get that inspection done though!

As we live at Piha we anticipate doing alot of mileage. Our dying manual Camry has done 289,000. Are you able to say (approximately) what constitutes " a reasonable amount of life left? - 50,000, 100,000, 150,000 kms? There are 1998 and 2000 Caldina's on the market with 20 - 60,000 kms less mileage for the same price. Hmmmm?

I don't believe another 50K is an unreasonable expectation for this vehicle provided it is driven within its limitations and you maintain a regular service regime (at least once per year or 10K whichever comes first).

Don’t forget also, a vehicles past service history can often dictate what the future holds in terms of reliability.