I have fallen perversely in love, or close - Yaris Verso

[CapybaraInDisguise]

Hello

I've just scrapped my 3rd Honda Civic (MOT-failure corrosion, coupled with high mileage and a gearbox/drive shaft bearing problem common in the model/year).

I like my cheap motoring - buying, insurance and running costs. I'm not a "driver", it gets me from A to B. Last 3 years I've done about 6,000 miles per year.

I've loved the Hondas and their reliability, so Japanese cars are front runners.

I've been wondering about a small estate with a low, flat entry to the boot because I do a lot of tip runs and also it's an effort to get my mother's folding wheelchair up and over into the boot of her VW Golf - I'm an average female in height and strength. But not sure if I really needed an estate, and nothing I'd seen, estate or otherwise, was inspiring me.

Looking for something as a stop gap, Honest John told me that the cheapest small car to run is the 2000-2005 Yaris, off I went to eBay, Autotrader and Gumtree to see what was out there.

I have discovered the Yaris Verso.  Weird beast, bit of character and 2160L of space in the flat rear. Found one at a local dealer, not put off by the test drive (smaller wheels than I'm used to, high centre of gravity, light.)

I'm off to the Yaris board.

 

[tooSavvy]

I wanted one = so I borted it!!

WTG Ma! Top dollari...

You will love it 

2sav

[Cyker]

Although, as an owner of a normal Mk1 Yaris, I think the Yaris Verso looks like the unholy offspring of things I can't even mention on this forum , there are a few people on here who think they are the best thing ever made so you've got friends here 

And since Capybaras, even disguised ones, are obviously the best animal ever, I shall still extend a cordial greeting to the forum  
 

[CapybaraInDisguise]

Thanks for the welcome!

By the way, I didn't mean to imply I'd bought the one I'd seen locally - To be honest I just went to test drive it out of curiosity.

They're not pretty, but they're a lot less 'orrible than the Berlingo/Doblo/Kangoo IMHO ;-)

Just reading and learning at the moment, and seeing what they go for in various conditions - and what goes wrong with them.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Hello - welcome to Toyota Owners Club

[Cyker]

Hmm, I'll give you that... I often how much they paid the people who came up with designs like those! Like, every time I see a Fiat Multipla, I wonder if it was designed or grown 

Since it's basically a Mk1 Yaris with a big butt, it should inherit the same near-indestructibleness of them; I wouldn't expect any problems assuming it's been looked after, but not sure price-wise. They're pretty rare which tends to push the price up, but not that high in demand which would push it down...

Keep us posted!
 

[Taliessa]

I really like the Yaris Verso as well. Very quirky and different but practical. I did not write to Honest John personally but have been reading his site plus the questions for the last month and also discovered that in his opinion the most reliable, small, used car on a budget is the Mark 1 Yaris. Been also looking on auto trader/ebay/gumtree and I found a lovely one today which I bought. I did consider the Yaris Verso but went for the normal Mark 1 car in the end with the teardrop lights facelift. I love it 

[CapybaraInDisguise]

I bought a Yaris Verso yesterday - just when I had given up on a price/mileage/location that was feasible, one popped up locally to me. (I needed a car urgently, been driving my aged mother's aged Golf for a month, poor mum).

Viewed in daylight and took it round the block at 30mph, cosmetics pretty good in and out and it sounded and felt in good nick to my untutored ear/feet.

I was lucky enough to be able to drag both my brother (always done most of his own car maintenance, very good at picking up faults) and boyfriend (more motorbikes) out with torches and a mini inspection light into the freezing night, looked underneath and under the bonnet and drove it on the local 70mph bypass. It was agreed that it was in good condition, and as the price was in line with my research in the last few weeks I went for it.

Not my dream car, but a good solution at the moment for cheapness + the back-end volume/access I need. I love all the little pockets around the vehicle (it's like handbags, guys, I will fill the pockets...)

My goodness it feels like a van with its hard and high ride. Something to get used to!

I will post a bit more in the Yaris forum later this week, I would like some advice. I will add a link in here when I do.

@Taliessa, I hadn't literally asked Honest John myself, just found the same October 2017 post you did about cheap and reliable ;-)

[CapybaraInDisguise]

On 11/25/2017 at 6:24 PM, Cyker said:

They're pretty rare which tends to push the price up, but not that high in demand which would push it down...

 

I'm surprised how much they fetch for their age; I had been monitoring eBay, Autotrader, Gumtree, Parker's sales bit for a few weeks.

This one is one of the older ones I've seen (2000) and one of the lowest mileage (a few short of 40K). Not saying what I paid but from my reading of the ad sites above I'm confident it was a fair price, not an utter bargain though.

 

[Cyker]

@Taliessa - The Mk 1 Yaris is the best car I ever owned :) It's got soooo many storage cubbies, handling is good and it's probably the most reliable car Toyota have ever made! I love my one so much; The diesel engine in it has so much torque for such a small car that it just hauls everywhere, no matter how much crap I've filled it with or how steep the incline is. So much fun! You will have many happy miles with it I'm sure!

@TheDisguisedMostAwesomeAnimalEver - Yeah, I had the same problem with my D4D; I was finding they were selling for more than the newer Mk2 Yaris despite being several years older, esp. the 5-door version with a sunroof!, just because they were so rare compared to the normal ones!

The mileage on yours is excellent tho' - kudos for that! Finding one with less than 60k for a reasonable sum is already pretty tricky!

I'm currently looking at Yaris Mk2 petrols to replace my beloved Mk1 D4D *sniffsniffsodyouSadiq!* and most of them are 60+ but still surprisingly expensive! ;_; I always wonder if dealers just boost prices because they expect to be haggled down??