Recent Purchase And First Impressions

January 22, 2016

Link to the car: http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/motors-vehicle-details/39920024/

The Purchasing Process

Just wanted to leave my first impressions on the Yaris I picked up today. My previous car had been a 2004 Avensis 1.8 T2 which has not let me down in the 5.5 years I have owned it but age related issues had started creeping in. The car had 92600 miles when we said our goodbyes :(

Would have loved another Avensis but financially it just didn't add up when I knew I could get what I wanted from a small car so I started looking at prices and decided I could afford £6k on HP. I knew I would be sticking with Toyota due to the reliabillity and safety you get at a low price point when you compare to other manufacturers.

After hours of searching I decided that I would take a look at a low mileage three door 2012 black Yaris at RRG Toyota in Altrincham, Manchester. Went to view the car and took a look around, it didn't look at that well looked after and possibly needed a few repairs of its own with having a dent in the door and a tyre that had worn faster than others (one tyre newer than the others which happened to be a budget tyre). I took the car for a test drive and the brakes where grinding. On top of these issues I was second guessing the three doors with having to strap my 6 year old son in the back.

So..Not a great start but it certainly gave me more of an idea as to what I was after, we started looking into PCP and I found that I could afford a newer car than I had initially thought so the dealer takes me to a 5 door 2013 Yaris 1.33 with the sports trim, looked ok from the outside but maybe a little over the top. It was the black and white interior that was the nail in the coffin though. Behind the sporty yaris there was a similar looking car only this was a 2014 Icon+ with 12k miles (actually 13600, more on this later) it had some optional extras like reverse parking sensors and sat nav only it was £138 a month and I had budgeted myself to £125 a month at the most. The condition of the 2014 Icon+ had been like new.

At this point I had become pretty set on the Icon+ but we needed to do something about bringing the cost down a little, the dealer gave a little extra on the part ex giving £800 up from the initial £680 put a £600 credit memo in and remove the requirement for a deposit. Even managed to talk them into throwing a space saver in (hate the idea of ruining a tyre with foam). At this point the payments where down to the sweet spot of £125 so I went ahead with the refundable deposit of £200 and agreed to pick the car up in 3 days on the Friday.

Whilst eagerly awaiting Friday they went on the hard sell on the gap insurance, I managed to get talked into it but will be cancelling it within the 14 days and getting it elsewhere at 1/3 of the dealership price. On checking photos of the car online I noticed that a photo of the speedometer showed 13600 miles rather than the 12k, rather concerning seeing as the car was being financed on PCP and any extra miles are chargable, I rang the dealer and they informed me that they would change the documentation. I go to pick the car up on the Friday, it's fairly quick, we sign the usual documentation, pay for the car tax etc... I'm informed that the finance company have been notified in regards to the mileage and that they will be sending a letter detailing the actual mileage at the time of sale (I have a screenshot of the original listing with the discrepancy as evidence should it ever be needed). Another negative was that they had no space savers in stock so I will be picking this up on Monday and the log book does not have the servcie provided by RRG stamped within the service book (Yet to speak to them about this).

So not a completely smooth experience but the staff where friendly and are working on rectifying any mistakes. Now to the car, I'm not going to be able to help but compare it to my 11 year old Avensis as I drove it for so long. The Yaris seems to sit higher than the Avensis did which will take some getting used to and the suspension is a little firmer, it took a while to get a comfortable seating position but then theres no shortage of functionallity in regards to changing the seat position (I haven't gotten to the steering wheel yet). The interior is near on par with my 2004 Avensis in regards to the quality and finish which I believe is not quite as good as rivals but that then brings me to the fact that the Yaris 1.33 is good on fuel, cheap to insure and lower tax than an Avensis (One had reliabillity and budget at the forefront of ones mind). Did I mention that the car also has a nice design?

What's it like to drive?

It's a small car which once inside feels like a larger car, the front having plentiful space assists with this. Room in the back is a little more limited but it's enough for the occasional passenger. The 1.33 engine is ample enough and gives a bit extra if being liberal on the accelerator, it's much happier going slowly through the gears though. The steering is quick and effortless which makes for some fun and easy driving. Breaking is sharp when needed and instills confidence with the dunlop tyres fitted also offering good grip in wet and dry weather.

What would I change?

I would make the seating more comfortable especially if driving for a long duration (I feel some padding on the arch of the back would help with this). Higher quality plastic on the interior would be a nice touch. A little more power from the engine, although the engine is adequate I'm certainly glad that I didnt go with the 1.0L as I feel the 1.0L would not have been enough BHP under the bonnet, going from a 1.8 to a 1.33 is certianly noticable but at the same time the Yaris can provide a bit of acceleration if needed.

Conclusion

In this price range I would struggle to find better without spending more, if reliabillity affordabillity and safety are your primary concerns from a car then the Yaris ticks all of those boxes. The added bonus is that it's actually quite nice to drive conterary to many of the professional reviews.