Hello - from not Straya! charade l251

ALL NEW PEOPLE
1

hi
greetings from Ireland!!

just bought my first car ever, at the grand old age of 41, L251 Daihatsu Charade 2006. i knew the name daihatsu, but little more.
for some reason, only the gods above will know, all the stars aligned and led me to this car. i had been searching for months for a fiat doblo high roof in decent nick. when i found one the insurance quote had increased from 700 euro to 2400 euro. so i started checking for 1 litre cars. i was looking at a smart roadster for a while because the insurance was very cheap. while the car is nice, i figured they are a bit of trouble maintenance wise.
i found the charade on donedeal - an irish gumtree, by using a search for cars under one litre and newer than 12 years - all important for irish car insurance companies.
for some reason, the insurance on the dai was 616 euro, while a yaris was 1200. i guess the crash stats are higher on a yaris, and earlier models dont have abs , as i found out myself once!

so after waiting for months on ends for a particular car, i went and bought another one i knew nothing about in the space of 2 days, purely based on insurance and reading a few reviews on parkers. they all seem to like it too!!

going off parkers.co.uk its the completely standard model.
So it doesnt have aircon or side airbags or alloys.
why anyone needs aircon around these parts im not entirely sure.

have to say - tis a great little yoke. much happier on the motorway than my mothers toyota yaris, much faster on the bends than my girlfriends Citreon c4!! i can fit a road bike in it without taking the wheel off, unlike the yaris, the boot lever is one of the smartest things i;ve seen in a car. there are lights everywhere inside it. its great fun to drive, and motorway noise is grand with the radio up. on country roads it comes into its own and take bumpy roads no bother.

they arent worth very much here in ireland or in the UK. i got my one for 1700 euro with road tax and NCT (rego perhaps?) until the end of the month. in the uk i see them on gumtree for 300-400 sterling with a bit of mileage on them.

my one has only done 20000 km !! belonged to an old lady who passed away. hence not going all richard rawlings on the sale price as it was a gift to her grandchildren.

now - a question - i wont bother asking for a manual cause i know the answer. i want to change the oil. anyone know how much oil the engine takes?

will upload pictures when i get a chance over the next week.

5 Likes
2

Welcome mate.
It takes less than 5L.
I think around 4.2L
There should be a dipstick isn’t there?

3

Welcome to the forum mate

4

there is a dipstick - but the owner is a bit of a dipstick himself!

so just figured i would ask the experts in the field before i went at it.

does everyone think it is necessary to replace the bolt and washer on the sump screw when i tackle the oil?

i’m only getting up to speed on engine types and differences between the models.

thanks for the replies and hello!!

ps - have my mightycarmods sticker already :slight_smile:

1 Like
5

Mate I’m a mechanic and really I only change the sump plug washer if I notice it is seeping out oil slowly.
Probably 1 in 10 cars on average.
My dad was nsw service manager for avis Australia and serviced 100s of cars a week and they never even stocked washers… well very few anyway.
Only really incase they loose one.
Even on the brass/copper banjo washers, you can heat them until there glowing then drop them into water quick. It softens them up again. Little trick.

1 Like
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thats the words i like to hear!!

you’ve just saved me 5 pound sterling from an ebay shark :slight_smile:

so, being a dipstick, i forgot to check the owners manual. it says 2.3 litres with oil filter, and 2.1 without.

castrol recommends 5w40, manufacturers standard oil recommendation is 5w30 - found on sticker on the bonnet of the car which is there from factory.

*just updating this info for the next poor dipstick whose not so sure.

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Yeah that sounds right due to it being VVT and you being in a colder climate so thin for start up in sometimes below 0°c. 2.5l sounds minimal though.
I’m not saying I’m right but that doesn’t hold a lot! Lol.
Come to think of it, a hd-e that I had only held 4 or under and that sump else’s a lot bigger than these newer motors so your probably on the money.

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Welcome Paddy. Great little car you’ve bought, they are a fantastic bit of gear. Amazing one can get so much car for so little money.