Help On Buying A Yaris

[oldcodger]

Hi,

Have been looking though this forum for some help on buying a second hand Yaris - would welcome any helpfull comments of what little problems to look out for when on a test drive.

Have seen a 2007 1.3 Zinc in really nice condition, clearly a carefull owner and with 12 months Toyota warranty.

Did find a drive quite good although a bit drummy on some road surfaces, and the gear change, while good, was so easy to slip into first instead of third - much to everyones surprise.

Also noticed that the rear tyres were brand new, seems a bit low at 21k, my previous cars rears easily double or trebled that, but saw a recent post by Craig69 saying he has had 12 set of front and six set of rear tyres in 100k, as if that was good ?! ..ok everyone drives differently - but is that useage typical of the Yaris's 15" tyres ?

Thanks for any help.

[Raeman]

Hi,

Have been looking though this forum for some help on buying a second hand Yaris - would welcome any helpfull comments of what little problems to look out for when on a test drive.

Have seen a 2007 1.3 Zinc in really nice condition, clearly a carefull owner and with 12 months Toyota warranty.

Did find a drive quite good although a bit drummy on some road surfaces, and the gear change, while good, was so easy to slip into first instead of third - much to everyones surprise.

Also noticed that the rear tyres were brand new, seems a bit low at 21k, my previous cars rears easily double or trebled that, but saw a recent post by Craig69 saying he has had 12 set of front and six set of rear tyres in 100k, as if that was good ?! ..ok everyone drives differently - but is that useage typical of the Yaris's 15" tyres ?

Thanks for any help.

Welcome to the Yaris club!

Sounds like a nice Yaris you have seen and the 1.3 is a great engine with enough oomph for m/way cruising and still economicle when you want.

Problems are few and far between really, just do checks like you would on any other car, don't worry about the drummy noise, mine is the same with the 15" wheels and low profile tyres it can get a bit loud on some road surfaces but i forgive it for that.

I have had no major mechanical issues, the gearbox can be a little notchy when cold but fine after a few miles.

Servicing is a doddle to do yourself and the basic maintenance of the car is simple to keep on top of.

All in all i would reccomend a Yaris to anyone, i really love mine and can honestly say it's one of the most reliable cars i've ever owned.

A 2007 Yaris with only 21k on it's clock and 12 months Toyota warranty does seem a good buy to me.

Oh and it's NOT typical for a Yaris to go through so many tyres under normal driving!

Good luck. ;)

[Madasafish]

First set of tyres on mine: 26k miles

Second set: 20k plus 4mm remaining tread..

If I drove slowly, I could do more..

[alfiejts]

The original Dunlops fitted to ours grip well but are soft rubber and wear quickly.

20000 miles is about right for front tyres and proper best-practise would be to then put the replacements on the back, (and move the old back tyres to the front) because you should always fit your newest tyres on the back regardless of whether your car is front or rear wheel drive.

The theory is that its easier for "Mr Average driver" to control understeer than it is to control a rear wheel skid, so the best tyres should always be on the back (whether front or rear wheel drive) to mimimise the chances of a rear wheel skid.....

Different makes of tyre will wear at different rates, but the Yaris isn't any heavier on its tyres than any other similar car....

I'm getting similar mileage out of my 225/40-18 tyres on my Audi and they're £500 to replace as a full set of four, every couple of years....

That works out at 2.5p per mile just for tyres which is a quarter of the cost of the fuel I put in, even at today's high fuel prices....