Aygo 'auto box'

[Hal Mercier]

Hi! I've made an offer on a late 2011 Aygo here in France, LHD of course, but it has the MultiMode box.

It's a petrol version. A one owner, low mileage, full Toyota service history, the only negative is the right side doors are dinged....I think the rear one needs replacing, possible both.

Both front and rear 'bumper' panels need repainting, and the bonnet has a little ding so that too.  If a garage does it, it'll be 1500€ with secondhand doors, I don't know what new doors would cost.

I can actually sort it out for a lot less though if I buy decent doors from a car which is the same base red though....

My question is, what is the reputation of the multimode gearbox system on the petrol engined car?

Your thoughts gratefully received!

[zuh]

Hi,

How much is the 'low mileage'?

As you know, the weak point of the Aygo I was its clutch disc which failed very early. The Aygos with the MMT automatic gearbox were concerned as well, if not even more affected than manual gearboxes.

My advice is that if the clutch has already been replaced (+ recently), it is fine. If it is still the original clutch, you might have to change it soon, so expect a few € of repairs.

[Catlover]

I thought the clutch problem was sorted well before 2011. Wife had a Citroen C1 (same car as Aygo). Clutch failed about 32k miles. Problem identified as clutch diameter too small, so clutch was not beefy enough. They fitted clutch that was from the Yaris - slightly bigger.

The big concern was the MMT gearbox, or should I say the mechanism doing the work. Basically, MMT is a manual gearbox with a normal clutch but mechanisms operating the gear changes.  The setup has been a bit of a nightmare in the UK.  Use the search box at the top of this page and search  "mmt gearbox" or similar.  Get a coffee and try to relax as you read the comments.

[Hal Mercier]

Thanks guys.

I haven't actually bought the car yet!

It has done 67,000 km since 2011, when the sole owner bought it . It seems he became too ancient to aim it into his garage properly hence the mullered right side doors and scraped bumper plastic.

I reckon he dropped some small but heavy object on the bonnet.

The car was taken by a local 'Depot vente' as part of his house clearance when he went into a nursing home in 2017.

They left it outside with a ticket price of 3900euros. I only looked at it properly last week, the Battery, new in summer '17, was of course totally dead, so I started it with another, and it started first go, I let it warm up a bit, then tried it round the large carpark. I couldn't get it above 2nd gear but only due to lack of space.

I know the owners of the place and the guy says the gearbox (MMT) seemed fine when he drove it in, two years ago.

All fluids good, oil obviously very recent. Amazingly, it has no water ingress though sat outside here for 2 years.

I didn't see anything about the MMT box having needed anything doing in the full service history and the owner is, I understand, non compos mentis and has a legalist controlling his affairs.

I offered 2000€ on the basis that it'd take that to just get the body fixed.

Car values are substantially higher here than on the UK market. Also, annual average km are rather higher.

I AM wary of robotised boxes, on any other marque including Porsche they should be avoided, but the trade contacts I've asked here reckon Toyota generally don't have a problem with them.

 

This is why I joined up today, for a closer look into this!

[Mike169]

Hi, have you actually bought this car yet? Mike.

[Catlover]

Well, the reputation of the MMT gearbox in the UK is different to that in France. Seems odd, seeing that the car built in Czech Republic, along with Citroen C1 and Peugeot 107. 

if the ticket price is 3900euros and you offered 2000euros, if they accept your offer I would withdraw the offer pretty quick - they more then glad to get shut obviously. 

[Hal Mercier]

Well....I am now less keen to go through with the deal.  I reckon replacing a known, simple mechanical system with something controlled by electronics is an unnecessary risk in general. It was the very positive responses of the local garagistes that made me think it might be worth a punt....but maybe not.

The people who would be accepting or rejecting the offer know zero about the car though, and don't really have an axe to grind, so I will be rather surprised if they reject my offer.

What's most irritating is I just missed a 2015 X Pure which had been Cat D bumped and had a new wing and door but is now spot on....and has only 12,300 miles on the clock. It was sold for a bit under £4000.

 

They told me yesterday that it had "just gone to the first to see it" but strangely....it's still listed on UK eBay!

Check here....  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Toyota-Aygo-1-0-VVT-i-x-pure-5dr-White-12300miles/184029815116?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

 

I don't worry about Cat D, so many cars now are written off for such trivial damage they can be a very good buy. I've had several cat D Lotus Elise S1s, as long as you do a proper check on suspension mounting points etc they are fine; the insurers write them off if one of the GRP 'clams' which are the removable front and rear body sections get broken in a low speed bump.

 

[Hal Mercier]

I'm glad I logged in here! You guys seem to have a good grasp on this stuff. I knew nothing about Aygos, but was interested in the design aspects, economy, and smallness.

On the BMW K series bikes, the 3 cylinder 750 was a nicer engine than the 998 cc 4 cylinder, as the 3 pot has better dynamic balance. I thought this might be true of the Aygo too.

I have several oddities in the Batcave here including this...a recent project, a 1959 Berkeley T60 but with full motorsport chassis and highly tuned Metro front end. Should be great fun when I am fit enough to finish it, I need to build new wheel arch extensions and a bonnet so the Metro motor is covered,but it should be great fun to drive, if less economical than the Aygo.

The roof comes off of course.

 

[Hal Mercier]

Latest on this is I have been compelled to see the light and am absolutely not going to risk the robotic box car.

I've gone into what's on the market here and there aren't any visible on my usual site, anywhere in France. They are ALL manual.

That must indicate 'not a lot of interest'!

Anyway I've now found a nice white 2010 3 door, not too far away, manual, with 130K km on the clock and obviously cosseted, as the seller has put some decent looking black alloy wheels on it.

Looks cuter than a cute thing. Not a ding to be seen.

Asking 2900€

 

Oh dear. Looking at the interior shot I do believe it hasn't got aircon, which is handy here and I'm used to having it!

 

On the positive side, it'll be EVEN MORE economical without it! ;~)

[zuh]

It is not a problem to buy an Aygo that is not equipped with the air conditioning.

Much like other equipments on such a tiny car (the stereo, etc), the AC is very basic. Of course, it works and it helps. But I found it a little unpleasant because it was hard to adjust. What's more, using it has a tremendous impact on the performance! It is like driving with the handbrake pulled.

[Hal Mercier]

That's pretty much what I expected! So this little 3 door will be rather like driving a FWD 60s Fiat 500 only better, and I love those little things to drive. Basic, go-kart-like and easy to park.

Aygo doubtless better in an impact, quicker, and more economical.

Who cares about lack of onboard GPS? I have 2 Tomtoms and a Garmin!