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We are thinking of buying aToyota Regius hightop van we have seen for a camper. It is a 2001 and has low kms of 120000 approx. The one problem with it is that it has a 3000cc diesel engine and we dont know anything about diesel. Or engines of that size. Our main concern is: is that engine size too big and too costly to run for our holiday trips and occasional errands in the city? Should we limit ourselves to 2000cc? Thanks a lot
I don't think this would be too big. The 3.0 litre Toyota diesel has plenty of power and isn't overly expensive to run, so in the case of a camper, you will be carrying a reasonable amount of weight, so this could be a good choice if it is in good mechanical and structural condition.
Thank you. That's very helpful. Does it have a cam belt that needs changing at 1000000k? Can you estimate, as a percentage,how much more expensive it would be to run than a 2000cc version? Also we dont plan to carry much stuff, just a couple of beds, some containers and our bikes.
Yes it does have a cambelt, but sorry, it doesn't last 1,000,000km. We'd recommend changing it at 100,000km.
On a vehicle such as this and at this age, it's hard to estimate running costs, however the 3.0 litre may be slightly more expensive to run than a 2.0 litre, but not so much that it should be a deal-breaker.
The AA Running cost schedule which is calculated on 3 - 5 year old vehicles has the average cost for 2.0 litre being 70c per km and 3.0 at 83c per km. However, the biggest cost is depreciation and the average purchase price for 2.0 litre is $46k and 3.0 litre is $60k, so being a $14k difference in price, the depreciation is the biggest factor.
For a vehicle of the age and value you are considering, I'd be surprised if the running cost difference was any more than 5c per km (so around $10 per week if you did around 10,000km per year).