Advice on potential used high mileage Auris purchase please

[scooby123]

Hi,

This is my first post so please be gentle. 🙂

I'm thinking of buying a used 2013 Auris 1.4 D4D diesel with about 190k miles on the clock. What do you guys think of this? Is the high mileage on this model/engine of Auris an issue or does it potentially have a lot of life left? Or is this a money pit to be left alone?

[Rosgoe]

Depends really what sort of service history has it got and what the price is. If there are service gaps and the price is average or above current prices then I would say leave it alone.if it’s got full service history then probably a good buy should be good for 250,000 if it’s been looked after don’t forget every thing has done 190,000 not just the engine also mileage is above average only you can decide.

[scooby123]

8 minutes ago, Rosgoe said:

Depends really what sort of service history has it got and what the price is. If there are service gaps and the price is average or above current prices then I would say leave it alone.if it’s got full service history then probably a good buy should be good for 250,000 if it’s been looked after don’t forget every thing has done 190,000 not just the engine also mileage is above average only you can decide.

Thanks. It's from a dealer and they say they don't have any service history though he says that it was a company car so would have been serviced on time and done mostly motorway miles but who knows if that's really the case! He says that it has only had one owner. The price is £3k which I don't know if it's good or not...

[FROSTYBALLS]

Well if the car has no service history, the dealer doesn't know how well or otherwise the car has been serviced. Could also check the MOT history if you know the reg.no - https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history - but I'd be inclined to look elsewhere.

[scooby123]

5 minutes ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

Well if the car has no service history, the dealer doesn't know how well or otherwise the car has been serviced. Could also check the MOT history if you know the reg.no - https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history - but I'd be inclined to look elsewhere.

Yeah I know, he says it's been serviced on time but then says there's no history lol.

I had already checked the MOT history and it's excellent. No advisories for last 5 years. That, and the fact there's only been one previous owner are positive signs I think. But no history... 

What do you think of the price? Say it had a reasonable but not full history, would £3k be a good price or not?

[Rosgoe]

7 minutes ago, scooby123 said:

Yeah I know, he says it's been serviced on time but then says there's no history lol.

I had already checked the MOT history and it's excellent. No advisories for last 5 years. That, and the fact there's only been one previous owner are positive signs I think. But no history... 

What do you think of the price? Say it had a reasonable but not full history, would £3k be a good price or not?

Put the reg into we buy any car or honest John and see what it comes up with

[TonyHSD]

9 minutes ago, scooby123 said:

Yeah I know, he says it's been serviced on time but then says there's no history lol.

I had already checked the MOT history and it's excellent. No advisories for last 5 years. That, and the fact there's only been one previous owner are positive signs I think. But no history... 

What do you think of the price? Say it had a reasonable but not full history, would £3k be a good price or not?

Best to check car prices and valuation online and you can make your thoughts. Buying a used car at high mileage always has a little bit of risk a major components need change like clutch, turbo, fuel pump, something that can set you back extra cash but if the car is in good shape and also if you seriously interested you may ask the seller to take the car to a garage for paid check and see what mechanic will tell you. 👍

[Cyker]

The 1.4 D4D is a very reliable engine - Its only weaknesses are caused by lack of oil changes and lack of use. In this case, the mileage is okay, means it's been used , so hopefully less chance of e.g. DPF problems.

When I was hunting for my second Yaris Mk1 D4D, I found the ones that had the most problems were the low mileage ones as they were not driven enough so tended to be more rusty and suffer from the uneven idle that is a sign of the EGR/throttlebody sooting up.

The lack of service history is a big minus, but you can tap the reg into the DVLA site here:

https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/

and at least see what sort of issues that might have come up during its MOTs, and also check the mileage to see if there's any weirdness or if it's quite consistent.

If it checks out, you can use the lack of history as a bargaining chip as that reduces the value of the car considerably.

Ask to see the V5C to verify if it was only one owner.

The lack of history might not be so bad as, if the previous owner was a car person, they would have done the oil changes and such themselves and those sorts of people tend to use quality oil and filters, but then again it might have been given to a mate who half-arsed it with cheapo parts so it is a bit of a gamble there, but is also why you can use that as leverage to haggle the cost down or get some freebies like the next service and MOT thrown in for free if it's a franchise dealer (Don't let them get away with saying things like "We'll give it a free service before handover", always insist on the next service being free!), or if it's a third-party dealer an extended warranty (third party dealers normally offer nothing to 3 months so maybe 6 months to a year would be a good target).

Definitely give the car a good look over for rust, and the general state of the inside, outside and engine bay. Could also get one of those AA/RAC checks where one of their mechanics gives it a look-over, but don't know what they charge for those these days.

 

[Catlover]

2005, company car, one owner does not sound logic, are you sure it’s one owner.

[scooby123]

2 hours ago, Rosgoe said:

Put the reg into we buy any car or honest John and see what it comes up with

 

2 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

Best to check car prices and valuation online and you can make your thoughts.

We buy any car says 1500. I never know what to think of there offers as their prices are always ridiculously low. 

1 hour ago, Cyker said:

The lack of service history is a big minus, but you can tap the reg into the DVLA site here:

https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/

and at least see what sort of issues that might have come up during its MOTs, and also check the mileage to see if there's any weirdness or if it's quite consistent.

If it checks out, you can use the lack of history as a bargaining chip as that reduces the value of the car considerably.

Ask to see the V5C to verify if it was only one owner.

Thanks, I checked the MOT history before as posted above and it appears excellent with no advisories in the last 5 years

15 minutes ago, Catlover said:

2005, company car, one owner does not sound logic, are you sure it’s one owner.

I don't know if it's just one owner as I haven't seen the V5 yet but that's what they say. (And it's 2013, not 2005 🙂) Will defo check it if I decide to go further

So is there anything else to be concerned about purely with the high mileage on this engine/car? I'm only considering this type of mileage because it's a Toyota and it's reputation for reliability! 

[Catlover]

46 minutes ago, scooby123 said:

 

We buy any car says 1500. I never know what to think of there offers as their prices are always ridiculously low. 

Thanks, I checked the MOT history before as posted above and it appears excellent with no advisories in the last 5 years

I don't know if it's just one owner as I haven't seen the V5 yet but that's what they say. (And it's 2013, not 2005 🙂) Will defo check it if I decide to go further

So is there anything else to be concerned about purely with the high mileage on this engine/car? I'm only considering this type of mileage because it's a Toyota and it's reputation for reliability! 

Actually prices are very high at the moment as most manufacturers struggling to supply new cars without extended waiting times due to covid and chip shortages. Try another… Motorway.

I took 2005 from you details below your name. Company car from 2013 I suppose is viable. 
 

The seller is not going to have a rush to buy a 250k miles car…… offer him a silly cash offer…. Start at £1500 (keep your face straight when you offer), maybe you can get it for £2200-£2400

Toyota reliability is linked to servicing, particularly engine oil and filter.

[Rosgoe]

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[Cyker]

Is that WBAC £1500 for selling or buying tho'? If selling, they always low-ball you; Buying price will always be higher.

For me it all comes down to the servicing, which is the sticking point since it has no service history!

If it's had regular good quality oil changes, I'd expect the car to be fine as the 1.4 D4D is one of the most robust engines Toyota have ever made. There've been loads of people on the forum with D4Ds over 100k, some even over 200k  

The high mileage also gives me some hope that the DPF won't be full of soot as the engine will have gotten nice and hot on the motorway to passively regen the DPF regularly.

Now, the rest of the car, don't know - May need to think about bearings and things with that kind of mileage. But the engine is good for it, but it's all down to how well it's maintained!

 

[Roy124]

Take a look at the MOT mileage.  Were the tests all close to the 12 month date?  Was the mileage between each test close to the 25k annual average?

If a date was significantly 'off' or the mileage was particularly low then the car may have been off the road for some reason why? 

Obviously the 2020 will probably be much lower and the MOT delayed. 

[scooby123]

55 minutes ago, Catlover said:

Actually prices are very high at the moment as most manufacturers struggling to supply new cars without extended waiting times due to covid and chip shortages. Try another… Motorway.

I took 2005 from you details below your name. Company car from 2013 I suppose is viable. 
 

The seller is not going to have a rush to buy a 250k miles car…… offer him a silly cash offer…. Start at £1500 (keep your face straight when you offer), maybe you can get it for £2200-£2400

Toyota reliability is linked to servicing, particularly engine oil and filter.

Motorway says £2,500 so fairly close..

34 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Is that WBAC £1500 for selling or buying tho'? If selling, they always low-ball you; Buying price will always be higher.

For me it all comes down to the servicing, which is the sticking point since it has no service history!

If it's had regular good quality oil changes, I'd expect the car to be fine as the 1.4 D4D is one of the most robust engines Toyota have ever made. There've been loads of people on the forum with D4Ds over 100k, some even over 200k  

The high mileage also gives me some hope that the DPF won't be full of soot as the engine will have gotten nice and hot on the motorway to passively regen the DPF regularly.

Now, the rest of the car, don't know - May need to think about bearings and things with that kind of mileage. But the engine is good for it, but it's all down to how well it's maintained!

 

The £1500 was me selling it to them. They always do low prices so can never tell what a real valuation is!

It's tempting to take the risk...

Off topic slightly, but the other car I'm looking at is a Prius 2nd gen. What do you of think between these two options? 😂 

 

[TonyHSD]

6 minutes ago, scooby123 said:

Motorway says £2,500 so fairly close..

The £1500 was me selling it to them. They always do low prices so can never tell what a real valuation is!

It's tempting to take the risk...

Off topic slightly, but the other car I'm looking at is a Prius 2nd gen. What do you of think between these two options? 😂 

 

What year and mileage is the Prius and how much? 

[scooby123]

13 minutes ago, Roy124 said:

Take a look at the MOT mileage.  Were the tests all close to the 12 month date?  Was the mileage between each test close to the 25k annual average?

If a date was significantly 'off' or the mileage was particularly low then the car may have been off the road for some reason why? 

Obviously the 2020 will probably be much lower and the MOT delayed. 

Yeah, the mileage and years add up though there was one 18 month gap (not the covid one) so don't know what happened there. Maybe something happened or maybe they just forgot or they sorn'ed it... 

[scooby123]

3 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

What year and mileage is the Prius and how much? 

2008 and 110k and £3,500

[Red_Corolla]

2 hours ago, Catlover said:

 

Toyota reliability is linked to servicing, particularly engine oil and filter.

Please heed the above - Toyota reliability is only as good as the maintenance. They can be very long-lived with a good and thorough maintenance regime, but they don't respond at all well to neglect. You get out what you put in and nothing more.

So, a 9 year old one with high miles and absolutely no maintenance history? A bit risky for me.

[TonyHSD]

1 hour ago, scooby123 said:

2008 and 110k and £3,500

Maybe test drive both and see which one you like more to drive. Auris although it’s newer model like two generations it might not be as well equipped as the Prius. But Prius this particular model is a high risk target for catalytic converter thefts. Auris might have only one company owner but how many drivers? That’s perhaps can define how good the car condition is, because not only maintaining is important but also how easy been driven, sometimes company cars get properly abused similar to rentals cars and vans.  

[scooby123]

1 hour ago, Red_Corolla said:

Please heed the above - Toyota reliability is only as good as the maintenance. They can be very long-lived with a good and thorough maintenance regime, but they don't respond at all well to neglect. You get out what you put in and nothing more.

So, a 9 year old one with high miles and absolutely no maintenance history? A bit risky for me.

True. But I think everything in my price range is going to be risky. I'm trying to minimise risk with Toyota reliability. A non maintained Toyota should be better than a non maintained other brand lol 

7 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

Maybe test drive both and see which one you like more to drive. Auris although it’s newer model like two generations it might not be as well equipped as the Prius. But Prius this particular model is a high risk target for catalytic converter thefts.

I think I will, though it's not so much how they drive but rather the reliability I want. 

Yes the cat theft thing is a big concern and worked it out to be about £250 (aftermarket) to be replaced every time... will probably install cheap cat shield.

All things being equal with the previous maintenance of both cars, which one would be generally the better choice?

 

[TonyHSD]

3 hours ago, scooby123 said:

True. But I think everything in my price range is going to be risky. I'm trying to minimise risk with Toyota reliability. A non maintained Toyota should be better than a non maintained other brand lol 

I think I will, though it's not so much how they drive but rather the reliability I want. 

Yes the cat theft thing is a big concern and worked it out to be about £250 (aftermarket) to be replaced every time... will probably install cheap cat shield.

All things being equal with the previous maintenance of both cars, which one would be generally the better choice?

 

I don’t know, if it was more equal gen3 Prius to auris 2013 then the Prius wins by all means as simply the hybrid are the better actually currently the best Toyotas, gen 2 also good but slightly older tech, but many says they are bulletproof. My worst personal experience with Toyota was auris 2013 1.4 diesel low miles example but horrible car. 

[Catlover]

8 hours ago, scooby123 said:

2008 and 110k and £3,500

The potentially good thing about the Prius hybrid is that the engine hasn’t done 110k miles due to running on Battery some of the time. Maybe done 75k, that’s a lot less then 250k of the Auris.  All depends on overall mechanical condition of both.

[scooby123]

6 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

I don’t know, if it was more equal gen3 Prius to auris 2013 then the Prius wins by all means as simply the hybrid are the better actually currently the best Toyotas, gen 2 also good but slightly older tech, but many says they are bulletproof. My worst personal experience with Toyota was auris 2013 1.4 diesel low miles example but horrible car. 

Yes, I would prefer the gen 3 but from the stories of less reliability and with a lot of heavy duty items that go wrong puts me off and can't afford the newer gen 3s so would only be 2010-2011... 

What was wrong with the Auris?

4 hours ago, Catlover said:

The potentially good thing about the Prius hybrid is that the engine hasn’t done 110k miles due to running on battery some of the time. Maybe done 75k, that’s a lot less then 250k of the Auris.  All depends on overall mechanical condition of both.

That's true but as you know the issue with hybrids are the batteries, so I don't think it matters too much the mileage but how old they are? So a Battery that's 15 years old with 100k miles is not that much better than a Battery that's 15 years old with 170k miles? I would be happy to be told differently!

[Catlover]

I had a gen3 Prius, bought with 105k on the clock, last 50k was in use as a taxi, well looked after (it had to be on the road for the guy to make a living) sold it with 110k as a trade in for my current Gen4 Prius (I love Prius). Toyota now will warranty up to a 15 yrar old hybrid Battery, theprice of hybrid Battery is falling, and you can replace individual cells (can get recon ones as well).                      

When considering a hybrid think of this too. They dont have a starter motor, alternator or clutch (as you know them) to go faulty. Get all those 3 going in a normal petrol/diesel car in one year and your wallet will be a lot lighter.

Any Battery deterioates with age-use, so a hybrid battery wit 170k miles use is very likely to be worse for wear then the same battery with 100k miles use.

Get on YouTube, or USA forums and see what problems they ahhave with Toyota hybrid cars/batteries. Even in the UK there is more then a few Pruis cars, inc gen2, that are running around with 200k+ milles on the clock.