GR86 Broken

GregKNorfolk said:
Pretty much.

Once the car was away, I still received another piece that was slow through customs. I loved it.

But I can't spend my time driving and listening to noises and worrying, like in the drive home tonight. I work in automotive Noise & Vibrations, so I do it pretty much anyway.
I don't want to worry of what'll happen when I exit a dual-carriageway roundabout and rev in 3rd to 6800 rpm. Or if I find a deserted B-road.

I know the feeling is gone, it's becoming a back-of-the-mind worry. If I'm not going to enjoy it on the occasions I'm not commuting, what's the point?
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And this is the right reason to get rid of it. I'd be exactly the same. Sorry for you they've been so shit. I'd have only accepted a full engine too.
 
Sorry to see this @GregKNorfolk because I know you really liked the car, but can see your faith in the brand and dealer network has been severely bruised.

Once it's gone, enjoy your new purchase.

Lots of trouble... ;)
 
GR-Admin said:
Sorry to see this @GregKNorfolk because I know you really liked the car, but can see your faith in the brand and dealer network has been severely bruised.

Once it's gone, enjoy your new purchase.

Lots of trouble... ;)
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The car model is absolutely brilliant, looking good, way enough poke, narrow enough to be enjoyable on uk roads, amazing handling. I may have described it as "What a modern Lotus should be" at work, which raised a few eyebrows

It's just that this particular car is now more of a worry than it's worth for my stress levels...

At least there'll be still a few people at work who remembered building or working on it so they can help when the Lots Of Problems happen... 🤣
 
KobayashiMaru86 said:
And this is the right reason to get rid of it. I'd be exactly the same. Sorry for you they've been so shit. I'd have only accepted a full engine too.
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I might have got a more satisfactory result if I'd been more argumentative and insisted more. However:
  • I can barely argue in French, let alone English
  • This is a warrantied new car, so it should be painless
Well, life's too short to have regrets.
 
GregKNorfolk said:
It is a shame because the car is rather brilliant. But the dealership and Toyota GB attitude have been poor, so it's well tainted the experience. And the constant apprehension on actually using the car as it's designed well always be there, I know it...

When it went two weeks of silence and I had to ask for info, that was it to be honest.

Elise s1 or 2 have been on my wishlist for a while, so it's time now.
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Shame you have had to do this but I wouldn’t have been happy with that repair either. Pretty poor for Toyota.

If you can stretch to an S3 Elise I would seriously recommend it. The build quality is far better on them.
I had a 220 Cup for 5 years from a year old. . Was brilliant and didn’t have one squeak or rattle.
IMG_9721.webp
 
GregKNorfolk said:
What I told the guy from the dealership when I picked up the courtesy car three weeks ago tomorrow was:
- a brand new car designed and sold as a sportscar shouldn't fail at 9 months and 4500 mi and I'd like to understand why
- anything else than a new crated engine that went though the end-of-line testing at the engine plant is not what I'd want to be done on such a young car.

What happened and was decided by Toyota stinks, rightly for them, as repairing with the smallest spend. Replacing the block and only one head is what you'd do on a 15yo car you'd like to patch up, not a car like that....

BUT, Toyota's paying and I can only take what they deem sufficient. Hence why it'll be somebody else's problem (with full disclosure) very soon
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exactly spot on dont blame you taking this stance!
 
GRMatt74 said:
Shame you have had to do this but I wouldn’t have been happy with that repair either. Pretty poor for Toyota.

If you can stretch to an S3 Elise I would seriously recommend it. The build quality is far better on them.
I had a 220 Cup for 5 years from a year old. . Was brilliant and didn’t have one squeak or rattle.
View attachment 29299
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Wow, that's a lovely S3. 🤗
I can't stretch to that, so I went for a S2 with a K-Series in Cobalt Blue.
1000017202.webp


Car has been sold on carwow on Saturday, now just the paperwork and logistics.

Shame as the GR86 as a concept was grand, but I just can't trust the particular car I got...
 
GregKNorfolk said:
Wow, that's a lovely S3. 🤗
I can't stretch to that, so I went for a S2 with a K-Series in Cobalt Blue.
View attachment 29356

Car has been sold on carwow on Saturday, now just the paperwork and logistics.

Shame as the GR86 as a concept was grand, but I just can't trust the particular car I got...
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Nice one. Looks great. Enjoy. 👍

Depending what you plan to do in it. I highly recommend doing the Ypres Lotus Day in Belgium. It’s a brilliant day. Combine it with a short trip around all the old WW1 relics whilst you are there. Great beer too.
IMG_9726.jpeg
 
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GregKNorfolk said:
Wow, that's a lovely S3. 🤗
I can't stretch to that, so I went for a S2 with a K-Series in Cobalt Blue.
View attachment 29356

Car has been sold on carwow on Saturday, now just the paperwork and logistics.

Shame as the GR86 as a concept was grand, but I just can't trust the particular car I got...
Click to expand...

What did you get for the 86? If you don't mind me asking
 
GregKNorfolk said:
Wow, that's a lovely S3. 🤗
I can't stretch to that, so I went for a S2 with a K-Series in Cobalt Blue.
View attachment 29356

Car has been sold on carwow on Saturday, now just the paperwork and logistics.

Shame as the GR86 as a concept was grand, but I just can't trust the particular car I got...
Click to expand...
Lovely car, the Lotus club days at Goodwood are also a great day with a good bunch of people.
 
GRMatt74 said:
Nice one. Looks great. Enjoy. 👍

Depending what you plan to do in it. I highly recommend doing the Ypres Lotus Day in Belgium. It’s a brilliant day. Combine it with a short trip around all the old WW1 relics whilst you are there. Great beer too.
View attachment 29357
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I visited the Ypres landmarks and the area at school, being from the North East of France.

Great pictures, I'll keep it in mind. Thanks ☺️
 
GregKNorfolk said:
Wow, that's a lovely S3. 🤗
I can't stretch to that, so I went for a S2 with a K-Series in Cobalt Blue.
View attachment 29356

Car has been sold on carwow on Saturday, now just the paperwork and logistics.

Shame as the GR86 as a concept was grand, but I just can't trust the particular car I got...
Click to expand...
Enjoy , look greats. Best of luck and enjoy the drive !
 
Isn’t a new short engine + one cylinder head just one head away from a complete new engine?? You’d have thought it’d be a lot less hassle to replace the lot 🤷‍♂️
(Elise looks great btw - if only I could figure out how to fold myself in and out of one🤣)
 
GregKNorfolk said:
Wow, that's a lovely S3. 🤗
I can't stretch to that, so I went for a S2 with a K-Series in Cobalt Blue.
View attachment 29356

Car has been sold on carwow on Saturday, now just the paperwork and logistics.

Shame as the GR86 as a concept was grand, but I just can't trust the particular car I got...
Click to expand...

Very nice, i think the direction i'd go if i ever replace my 86. Would be great to hear how you get on with it.
 
Congratulations on the S2 purchase. Looks a lovely car in a nice colour. From what I’ve seen of Hilton & Moss’ cars, it should be nicely presented, too.

I’ve had three Elise’s, two S1’s and now an S3, and while they do need a few factory weaknesses sorting (such as the terrible radiators), they’re truly wonderful little things when set up right. I adore driving mine - the GR86 is a great handling car, but the Elise is on another level.
 
jb1750 said:
Isn’t a new short engine + one cylinder head just one head away from a complete new engine?? You’d have thought it’d be a lot less hassle to replace the lot 🤷‍♂️
(Elise looks great btw - if only I could figure out how to fold myself in and out of one🤣)
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You'd think so too, but maybe the engine plant didn't produce extra crated engines, just the subassemblies.

Unless it's about keeping the engine number as it's still currently the same number as on the V5. Which feels weird, if not a bit dodgy.
 
Netcon said:
Very nice, i think the direction i'd go if i ever replace my 86. Would be great to hear how you get on with it.
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Before the issue, my long term plan was to let the Evoras deep to some £30k while the good GRs would be around there.
But Elises are great too even rawer and enjoyable. I'd like to think I'm still young enough for them to be a daily 🤔
 
GregKNorfolk said:
Before the issue, my long term plan was to let the Evoras deep to some £30k while the good GRs would be around there.
But Elises are great too even rawer and enjoyable. I'd like to think I'm still young enough for them to be a daily 🤔
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You can daily an Elise but rather you than me.
Just make sure you keep an eye on the wishbones, they don’t last long in the salt.
 
@GregKNorfolk hope you enjoy the Elise. One question I do have now all is well, was you using 0w20 when you did track work?
 
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