what to look for when buying an auris

[Snowstorm]

Hi all, hoping you can help.

I am looking to buy an Auris, made an appointment locally to view one but unfortunately had to walk away as it wasn't as great as on the pictures (leaking into where the spare tyre goes)

I was wondering if there are any other Auris/general Toyota common faults I should be looking for? Looking at the later series 1, early series 2 1.6 petrol

 

Thanks

[furtula]

Engine is pretty good, and low maintenance, with good gas consumption.

Nothing specific to check, the oil consumption thing, caused by faulty piston rings,  is not present on 1.6 engine. The engine usually does use a bit of oil, around 1L per 6k miles, but i find this absolutely normal.

The gray/dark green colors are very good at hiding rust spots, check the bottom of the doors for one, maybe easier to run a finger, or check from the side if it's sunny weather outside.

The leaking into boot thing is sadly an Auris defect, on 1st gen anyway. Caused mostly by rear lights seal going bad, so do always check under the carp, and i suggest to also take the spare wheel out a bit, and check around the spare tire rim, for signs of rust.

 

[TonyHSD]

All typical things that usually check when buying used car, the boot leak it’s easily fixed with new seals or some silicone, however the seals itself are not the issue but the design of the drainage that goes through the rear light and accumulate dirt that stops the water flow, so pretty much all Auris gen 1 will have a water leak at some point of their life. , if anything else is good on the car and the boot hasn’t all rushed buy the car u like and first thing to dismantle both rear lights and properly clean them , the place they fit and use silicone or replace the seals. Other typical problems are water pump failure and some valvematic control valve, you can read other Auris posts and there is plenty of information.

Good luck 

[furtula]

If you buy the 97 kw model, then yeah, the valvematic is a potential failure, plenty of topics on the forum about it, and it's an expensive fix. 

I would only look at the 1.6 91kw models, which is from 2007 to mid 2009 iirc.

The 97kw one does have a 6 speed gearbox fitted, which lowers the cruising speed rpm's by some 250 rpm, as opposed to the 91kw model.

As for the boot, as TonyHSD said, it's going to happen sooner or later. I tried to fix it it, but over time, the water inevitably found a way inside again. 

I do check it from time to time, but could be 2 months between checks, and some rust might develop.

You have 2 rubber plugs in the boot, lowest point, i just put tiny holes, and inserted 2 pieces of plastic in them, so the water eventually leaks out, just in case i dont notice it in time. 

It's not really a big issue, it's just something to pay attention to.