Toyota Sera question

Open t'door, like a Countach ;)

(They do open a decent amount, but not so much that I'd be comfortable doing that. They're quite far away. OTOH, I used to fling the door open and look at the wheelarch). You're sat very low to the ground, so you can open the door and watch it rolling past. Not when drivin though, as that would be bad and dangerous...

Windows are okay for that. Again, opening the door is possible, but watch out for the shelf on the serving hatch ;)

Richard

Great, thanks a lot! I found one for sale for £2300 which I might go and look at soon.

:) Yout stick your head out when reversing?

Must have missed that bit on the driving test lol, or are you driving a lorry? :)

Most Seras appear to have it removed, but mine had a black 'mesh' tint on the rear window rendering visibility practically nil. They're a bugger to see out of. I can see why someone would want to look out.

I usually reverse using my mirrors, but I also usually utterly screw up parking small cars.

Richard

I've always stuck my head out the window in any vehicle I'm trying to reverse. I guess I don't trust the mirrors. And yes I can do it in the Sera so it looks like I will be buying this one. I went to see it today and it's just come over from Japan. The seller will fit a fog light, fix the sagging door struts, tax and mot it, register it with DVLA and also the aircon wasn't very cold so will need a recharge, he said. Only snag was it's in London and took me all day to find his house.

Good tip: Current Celica foglights are a perfect fit in the double-curvature of the bumper and look much, much better than a caravan light hanging off the bumper mounting. If you're worrying about reversing do not let the seller convert the RHS reversing light into a foglight - it's stealthy, but I've always found having 2 reversing lights very useful...

And get the oil, filters and timing belt changed right away. Lack of servicing results in dead engines, as I found to my cost (and it wasn't me that neglected it, it was the UK owner).

Richard

Well, thanks for the tip but I asked the seller and he's already converted one of the reverse lights. Never mind! I might fit a beep-beep reverse alarm which I've found effective in the past. The car's done 100km and there's a sticker on the cambelt cover saying 96000 or thereabouts, so I'd guess the timing belt has been done recently. The other belts also looked new from what little we could see of them. That is a packed engine compartment....

Argos are currently selling beep-beep reversing alarms for about £30.

I think the Sera is a great car - shame I can't fit the missus & 3 kids in one!

Adam H

£30!!! I was thinking more like a few quid for a piezo beeper from Maplin. That's what I used before to great effect. Anyway I am due to pick the Sera up tomorrow, hopefully with the air con now working properly after the seller has been to have it regassed. This had better go according to plan!

I think Richard was referring to the amount or light emitted from 2 lights making reversing easier in the dark, rather than your visibility to other road users..... the reversing alarm in Argos is one of the ultrasonic sensors to help you judge distance when reversing, which is a pretty good and cheap solution if your car has poor rear visibility.

I reckon I might have a pair of those for the Alfas - the kicked-up boot on both of 'em makes 'em hard to parallel park unless you hang out the window. Our works Transits are a doddle to parallel park with their 'beep-beep' reversing sensors, though.

Oh ultrasonic reversing aids! I have to figure out the wiring diagram from the Japanese first...