Forum:
Hi everyone, I am going to look at a 2001 Y reg Daihatsu Cuore this evening and was wondering if you can help give me an idea of any problems to be aware of.
I know about the excessive tyre wear being related to the suspension however what is wrong with the suspension to cause the excessive wear?
Are there any common areas of leaks I should look out for or any knocks/bangs that would suggest an impending problem?
Thank you for reading and hopefully pointing me in the right direction.
Excessive tyre wear is not
Excessive tyre wear is not really a issue on them . It's just when people run with too low a pressure. Factory is 29psi and I think they are the sort of car car that often does not get regular tyre pressure checks and maintainance.
The bottom suspension arms can wear quite a bit after 50,000 miles or so, deppending on the quality of the roads where the car has been driven. But any excessive wear of the bottom arms would be spotted on a MOT test.
At idle speed you will notice it is not very refined, with some vibration coming into the cabin and causing the gearstick / steering wheel to shake a little. That's normal.
General rattles from the interior are to be expected as well.
Once on the move it should feel pretty smooth and eager and nippy in 1st/2nd/3rd gears. On flat road it should cope easy in 4th gear at about 30mph.
Road noise is quite high, Even once you hit 20-30mph you can hear the tyre noise more than most cars.
The gearbox whine is normal in 1st gear.
Check the carpet for any damp patches, indicating and floorpan corrosion/holes, But of course anything like this should have been spotted if the car has had a recent MOT.
Avoid any that are high mileage (over 80k) and with oil that appears very black. The oil control rings on the pistons can seize up if not maintained with clean oil and it causes smoke and oil consumption.
There is a surprising number of 1999-2003 Cuores on the road (they sodl quite well compared to other Daihatsu's)
And with many being sold to elderly owners there are still many to be found that are in near mint condition and very low mileage.
So be prepared to walk away if the car does not seem right, there are plenty to choose from.
I think they are great little cars, Yes i can understand they are not everyones cup of tea and it is not very refined.
But they are surprisingly good fun and nippy, so cheap to run, simple and reliable.
That's very helpful thank
That's very helpful thank you. I am excited about going to see it and hope i'll be bringing it home with me tomorrow. Again thank you for taking the time to reply.
Well, I saw it, I fell in
Well, I saw it, I fell in love with it and I bought it. Body work will need some tlc and a few advisories on the MOT but nothing expensive.
One thing I noticed when driving back is that there is a very light whine that stops when I put my foot on the accelerator. Any ideas what this could be? Is it normal?
I only paid £550 for it in the end so can afford to throw a few quid at it if needed.
My daughter's just come home
My daughter's just come home in our '99 Cuore from Uni for a few days so I took it to work today. Couldn't help but enjoy the drive - no grip in the wet, but it's predictable and progressive when it lets go, decent tyres may help. Just make sure you change the oil regularly and put aside £150-200 for an exhaust as they rot around the rear silencer fairly regularly. I think they all have a gearbox whine, nothing to worry about. Bought mine with 28,000 miles on it and it's just about to do 100,000 miles and nothing's gone wrong with the engine or gearbox at all (touch wood)! I always put 31 lbs of pressure in the tyres and they wear evenly and it makes the steering a bit lighter (no power steering on mine), I've never touched anything on the suspension.
Have fun!
Weary
yeah I've noticed the exhaust
yeah I've noticed the exhaust system takes ages to get properly hot and burn away all the condensation from cold start.
Can go out for 20 minutes drive on a damp night and I still see whisps of steam in the door mirror from the tailpipe when i'm reversing back up the driveway.
Tailpipe hardly feels warm after a drive.
I guess it is due to the 1.0 not putting out that much heat, plus 2 decent sized silencer boxes.
Was paranoid at first about my head gasket!
But the coolant level has remained perfect and does not over pressurise.
I currently have the front
I currently have the front tyres set to 33psi, rears to 30psi.
Mainly just a fuel economy aid more than anything, Has helped the steering weight a bit. Although the ride is bit harsher on poor surfaces.
I am going to try the fronts at 35psi next time I get the air compressor out. I think anymore and the ride quality will just become too bad.
Great! Glad you like it. I
Great! Glad you like it.
I also paid £550 for mine, 1999 T reg. Seller wanted £700 but I knocked him down due to the amount of cleaning needed with the interior, plus the rear tyres pretty worn and perished.
I also have a slight whine/high pitched air sound at idle and very light throttle.
I have checked numnerous times for vacuum leaks around inlet manifold and throttle body, but the noise actually seems to be coming from inside the throttle body/plenum. I guess it could be related to the air bypass holes and/or idle speed stepper motor.
Idle speed is correct and it runs fine so I just turn the stereo up!