Yaris As A First Car?

[gazza1286]

Hi - I'm considering a small engined Yaris as a first car for my son.

I'm planning to spend around £2500 for a low mileage example.

What are the common problems with cars around 10 years old? What should I look out for or avoid?

Any pointers/recommendations would be appreciated.

Thanks

[MEP's Yaris GS]

Hi - I'm considering a small engined Yaris as a first car for my son.

I'm planning to spend around £2500 for a low mileage example.

What are the common problems with cars around 10 years old? What should I look out for or avoid?

Any pointers/recommendations would be appreciated.

Thanks

Personally I wouldn't worry so much about mileage, the petrol Yaris is a mile muncher, and you'll see many high mileage examples still running fine without issue (our mk1 which a friend has isn't far off 200k miles!). If its a choice of high spec with high mileage vs low spec with low mileage, always go for the higher. Some low mileage examples can be worse for faults and problems than higher mileage examples.

[Cyker]

If you stick with the facelift ones (2003-onwards IIRC?) there is pretty much nothing to go wrong with them. They are probably the most reliable car Toyota have ever made

As MEP says, all the engines are good for high miles if looked after; We had a competition thread to see who had the highest mileage a whiile ago

Any issues that do crop up would be caused by serious neglect, so give the car a good look, check for excessive rust in the engine bay and exhaust, service history is a MUST - All the Mk1 Yarisusesasuesus engines have chain-driven cams so it is really REALLY important they get regular oil changes, esp. the diesel one!

If it hasn't had regular oil changes, the chain will be at risk (More so the diesel than the petrol to be fair).

The thing with the Mk1 Yaris is you can treat it like crap and it will still be reliable as heck, but there are enough of them out there that you don't want to buy one of those :)

Some more minor things worth checking - In models with AC, there is a filter behind the glovebox - Often it is neglected during servicing, esp. non-dealer servicing, and may be full of dirt/leaves/insects/small mammals etc., which can be a good haggling point.

Also, the alloys that came with the Mk1 Yaris were !Removed! terrible - They didn't seal the back of them so corrosion gets under the paint really easily. I've yet to seen one on the original rims where the paint wasn't bubbled or with big chunks missing! It's purely cosmetic, but another good haggling point.

Mk1 1.0's are plentiful so you should be able to get a good deal on a solid one - Don't feel you have to take the first one that comes along!

The 1.3's are a bit rarer but still quite plentiful, and after that the 1.5 T-Sports are a bit rare, but you'll probably not want one of those because of the higher insurance

The diesel one also makes a great first car - It is incredibly easy to drive and far more forgiving to new drivers (The engine has twice the torque of the 1.0 so it's much harder to accidentally stall!). However, they are much *much* rarer than the petrol ones and a good one can still cost £4500 (For a 10 year old car!!). That said, if you see a cheap one in good nick, it's worth considering (And if you don't want it, list it on here!! :D)

The Mk2's are also pretty good; Not sure if they are old enough for you to be able to get a decent one for £2500, and the early ones had minor issues with things like the gearbox selector IIRC, but most should have had that sort of thing sorted in recalls.

[gazza1286]

Thanks for the information guys. Very helpful.

[DAN@ADRIAN FLUX]

Hi,

If you need any help with insurance at all when you have a vehicle in mind then please feel free to drop me a line.

Regards,

Dan.

[Cookiepowa]

Hi

I'm also thinking about buying a automatic yaris for first car, but as its my first time buying I'm not sure what to look for.

What should I look for in service history?

What should I look for/feel for on a test drive?

Should I consider 1999 models or 2003+?

Thanks in advance

[Cyker]

Unless you can find one of the very early 4-speed autos that used a torque converter, I'd avoid the Yaris for an autobox - The later ones used the terrible Freetronic and MMT automatic gearboxes which seem to have endless issues and are expensive to sort out.

[Madasafish]

Hi

I'm also thinking about buying a automatic yaris for first car, but as its my first time buying I'm not sure what to look for.

What should I look for in service history?

What should I look for/feel for on a test drive?

Should I consider 1999 models or 2003+?

Thanks in advance

You need to read HJ's advice.

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/toyota/yaris-1999/ for up to 2005 ###

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/toyota/yaris-2006/ after 2005

### includes input from me so utterly invaluable..:-)

Our 2003 Jazz diesel is still going strong..and looks about 5 years old (if you miss the dent and scrapes)

[Cyker]

Eyyyy! Where you been Fishie? I've missed you and your extensive Yaris-knowledge brain! :D

[Madasafish]

Eyyyy! Where you been Fishie? I've missed you and your extensive Yaris-knowledge brain! :D

Busy with beekeeping, Cyker.

Took it up as a hobby in 2010 and now have 8 full hives...(and lots of problems this year with disease - now sorted).

[Cyker]

Bee Keeping? That's pretty... *puts on sunglasses* Sweet

Say, do you sell the honey??

[Madasafish]

Bee Keeping? That's pretty... *puts on sunglasses* Sweet

Say, do you sell the honey??

I have about 8 jars left for sale..

[savo.]

Sorry for jumping in on this thread and hello everyone

I ruptured my Achilles tendon last Sunday night pushing my wife's multitronic A4 to the side of the road . I HATE IT LOL.

Anyway she needs a replacement car to get to work and can only drive an automatic. She has spotted a 2002 1.3 Yaris automatic and we are going to look at it on Saturday. Can anyone tell from the advertisement if this car has one of the better boxes in it?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201512029173668?onesearchad=used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew&sort=default&search-target=usedcars&radius=60&page=2&transmission=automatic&postcode=bt191rq&logcode=p

My car (98 Lexus GS300) has been incredibly reliable over the 8 years in my ownership and from what I've been reading a Yaris should be as good.

Thanks for any advice

Andrew

[FROSTYBALLS]

According to the Honest John review, the multi mode transmission (MMT) was introduced in May 2003 - see. http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/toyota/yaris-1999/?section=history

If this is correct, the Yaris in question will have the Freetronic transmission, which, I believe is more troublesome than the later MMT (not a paragon of virtue itself).

On visiting the dealer's website using the advert link, the Yaris isn't listed as current stock .....

[savo.]

Thanks for that, I had noticed it wasn't on their main site but had thought that it was maybe being sold trade type thing. I could give them a ring in the morning but TBH I think you've put me off it LOL. I have had my head stuck in the laptop for the last few days and have ruled out just about every cheap small car available with an automatic gearbox! I took a chance with the Audi not to be repeated

Thanks

Andrew

[savo.]

A quick google image search shows that Freetronic gear levers look like a normal gear stick while the lever in the car I was looking at looks as if it can only move forwards and backwards?

[Cyker]

TBH both the Freetronic and MMT are pretty terrible gearboxes in terms of longevity and reliability, esp. compared to the rest of the car, and when they go wrong or wear out the only people who usually can fix it properly is Toyota and it ain't cheap.

The Freetronic and MMT are actually just manual gearboxes but with computer-controlled gear selection and clutch, but they never got it to work well (Good manual drivers know the subtleties of clutch control; The computer's never mastered it in these boxes!)

If you really want an auto Mk1 Yaris, the only decent one is the original 4-speed 'proper' autobox, which uses a torque-converter, but they are even rarer than the 5-door diesels. (And the mpg isn't great either which was why they tried the Freetronic/MMT)

It's a shame as the rest of the car is incredibly reliable!

Another car that might be worth looking for is a Mk2 Micra - They made them for ages so they should be pretty cheap to buy and for parts, and I *believe* they also used torque-converter autoboxes so should be reliable too...

[FROSTYBALLS]

The K11 Micra automatic used a CVT rather than torque convertor gearbox.

The Hyundai Getz (2002-2008) and, its sister car, the second generation Kia Rio (2005-2011), both used conventional torque convertor gearboxes. Both are pretty bullet proof.

[savo.]

TBH both the Freetronic and MMT are pretty terrible gearboxes in terms of longevity

If you really want an auto Mk1 Yaris, the only decent one is the original 4-speed 'proper' autobox, which uses a torque-converter, but they are even rarer than the 5-door diesels. (And the mpg isn't great either which was why they tried the Freetronic/MMT)

Is there any way of telling from the image of the car for sale if it is the 'proper' 4-speed auto? I'm going to give them a ring now.

Thanks Andrew

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201512029173668?onesearchad=used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew&sort=default&search-target=usedcars&radius=60&page=2&transmission=automatic&postcode=bt191rq&logcode=p?polaAffiliate=isis&utm_medium=isis&utm_source=affiliates&utm_campaign=pola

[savo.]

OK you were right

On visiting the dealer's website using the advert link, the Yaris isn't listed as current stock .....

it's sold :-(

So the looking continues, going to look at a Hyundai Getz now, thanks for the advice. Must admit I really did fancy a Yaris.

On a side note, my Lexus has been written off, we have been loaned a brand new Hyundai I40 & my wife has just informed me that there is a bad scuff has just appeared on the side of it after being to the shop. Our 2003 Audi A4 is sitting at the side of the house with a dodgy multitronic gearbox and I'm in plaster until after Christmas from pushing it to the side of the road. You couldn't make it up!!! At least it's Friday so there's a Chinese and red wine to look forward to later :-)

Thanks for all the advice

Andrew

[Cyker]

Aww mate, talk about when it rains it pours! :(

Hope you get better soon and everything sorts itself out. At least you can go car hunting on a laptop or something while you're laid-up :D

Get your missus to learn how to drive a manual then you can get her a proper Yaris! ;)