Greetings, I'm looking for a place in Sydney to get my Copen fixed. I need both some mechanical work done (slipping clutch, 100K service) and some minor exterior work as well (fix a few scratches and loose plastic bits). I appreciate any suggestions. Thanks, dmk
Hi DMK, being in Brissie I can't give you Sydney recommendations - but, in general, Toyota dealers are your high-priced fallback for Daihatsu service and repairs. I only go to them for spares like oil filters though (not a bad price on them and they are the correct size to fit right for easy removal). The NSW Toyota dealers listed for Daihatsu service are at - http://www.toyota.com.au/daihatsu/parts-and-service/new-south-wales-australian-capital-territory I just googled "diahatsu service Sydney" and mostly saw a lot of generic results by service centres that seem to service everything or general diectories (this one for example https://www.servautogroup.com.au/ns...vices-sydney.php?car=Daihatsu&location=Sydney " - this one had a few possibles but one that appears to be trucks only - http://www.autorepairers.com.au/specialists/sydney/daihatsu.htm and these guys http://www.autotechautomotive.com.au/daihatsu-repairs.html I have a COPEN clutch set in my EBAY watch list in case I ever need one (I'll fit it) - about $275 http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/281311323890?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649 I do my own "inbetween" oil and filter change (just to try to reduce/avoid sludge issues) and then go to Midas up here (just did so) so I get my book stamped for resale some day - intend to use them for every official second service. I haven't had any major issues - but I'd just go to my local auto electrician/mechanic if there were things I couldn't fix. I've had a few non-standard cars along the way - a lot of places were reticent to help at first when asked over the phone as they don't know much about a COPEN/Datsun2000/TransAm/V6Capri/boostedAudi etc... - but turning up with the car to let them look has usually let them see they aren't too mysterious and often share parts with a lot of "normal" models. Provided they can locate spares (or I did in some cases) they've worked fine. If no Sydneysiders respond - you might need to email/ring/visit a few local places to see what they say - alternatively the folks over at http://www.daiforum.net/ might help out - mostly an Australian Charade/Cuore/Mira crowd but worth asking cheers grunt
One of my clients is a specialist automotive mechanic. He does some really odd cars including old Daimlers, Peugeots etc. I've started taking my Copen to him; he's only done a couple of services but he seems to know what he's talking about and the car runs well. Not expensive thys far either. This is him, Nick Shumach...it's in the Hillsdale area. https://plus.google.com/110793707435985611072/about?gl=au&hl=en
Hi guys, Thanks for your suggestions. I've asked around and it seems there is no problem with doing mechanical work and the necessary spares are available. I've been quoted about $1300 to replace the clutch and a few hundred for the major service (incl. new "iridium"? spark plugs) which to me sounds a bit steep, although honestly I have no idea how much it should be. I'm more concerned about the overall look. No matter how much I love it, the car is getting old. There are scratches and rust spots and the paint is getting dull and there is a hole in the trim under my feet etc, a lot of small things all around. I'd like to fix as much as I can myself, I wouldn't mind spending time on it, I just don't have the right skills. As for Toyota - they are overpriced and unresponsive. I had a problem once with ABS warning light coming on, they asked for something like $200 just to have a look and said there will most likely be another $300 to replace the sensors. And they didn't have available slots for the next two weeks. So I decided to look at it myself, connected an LED to the diagnostic port and its blinking told me it was a fault in the rear left wheel sensor. Which turned out to be due to a dirty connector. Cleaned the connector, shorted the right pins on the diagnostic port to reset the fault flag in the ABS computer and that's it, job done. Regards, dmk
The Copen takes iridium spark plugs - they are REALLY expensive. From memory, they were EUR15 per plug! The upside is they last for, like, 5 years. The oil and air filters are also somewhat pricey - Blueprint (their oil filter doesn't fit in via the oil filter hole underneath the car) filters are about EUR5 for the oil and EUR30 for the air. Admittedly the currency is different, but it should give you an idea of how expensive some of the parts can be.
