About To Get A T Sport....

[Electrify_dizz]

Hi all!

Well, after months of searching, and changing my mind on car (from a yaris t-sport, to a 1.6, and now, finally the 1.8 t-sport) I have finally settled on the car. I've done the neotiating over the phone, as it is about an hour and a half away, but is from a recognised dealer - and if I dont like it when I see it, the deposit is 100% refundable, which is good news.

So, it's the 1.8 T Sport, 03 plate, with just under 16 k on the clock. With it, I will get 6 months tax, a tank of petrol, 1 year MOT (it hasnt expired yet, they will MOT it free when it's up), 1 year RAC membership, and 1 year warranty. The only mod it has is a dual exhaust.

I don't want to reveal what price I've negotiated - I will do, but first, I'm interested in seeing how much you would pay for it.

The second question is - I will be getting the insurance sorted out this week - how much would you expect the dual exhaust to impact it?

[Spuffington]

Shouldn't make too much of a difference, but it might cut down from the field of insurers which would normally be open to you. Alot of insurers won't go near anything that has been modified but others will be happy with just an exhaust and nothing else.

Try confused.com and go from there.

Although - you could also try Adrian Flux who do modified car insurance.

[bert.tsport]

i have an 03 plate t sport, it had 12k on the clock when i got it.

iv had it a year in 2 weeks... it cost me £12,000. with 3yr extended warranty and 3yr GAP insurance. (new for old) .

i would say about £8,500 to £9,000 for the t sport your looking at... ???

check the condition of the brake discs, as it seems with low millage its been stood around alot, and the discs tend to corrode badly...

[PaulT]

Parkers says for a 20000 miles 3-door:

Cost New ('03) £ 15495

Franchised Dealer £ 9250

Independent Dealer £ 8585

Private Good £ 7990

Private Poor £ 6735

Part Exchange £ 7475

Obviously make sure you drive the car before buying. Check for the trademark clunk from the VSC servos when you pull away gently. Once the engine is warm (temperature needle about in the middle) rev the engine right up to the red line and make sure you get the extra surge of power at 6200rpm.

Some owners have reported dodgy clutch operation, so give the gears a good work out, listening for any scraping or binding noises. There should be none.

I wouldn't worry too much if there is corrosion on the discs, but it should clear after a bit of mild braking and feel normal again. It's worth trying at least one really hard stop from about 60mph if you find a quiet road. The brakes are excellent on this model and if you don't find yourself slammed towards the steering wheel there could be something wrong. If you hear or feel a slight grumble from the front brakes it may be that the pads are very worn and the caliper is grinding on the disc. That means new pads and discs.

Paul.

[bert.tsport]

yeah... make sure you drive it hard.. changing up and down the gears.. i had a new clutch and gearbox bearings due to noise and could not change down at highish revs, at 16k miles!!!

also, it needs the ECU updating as your lights will dim all the time.. common fault.. check its been done

my rear washer was blocked too, had to have spoiler removed and replaced to sort that fault..!!

dont let me put you off, i really love my t sport, all of these faults were covered under warranty... just the time and hassel of it really.. they are great cars to own and drive.

bert

[Electrify_dizz]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Looks like I'm doing well then - I have managed to talk them down from 8,799 to 8,150. Thats a stretch for me, but I can just about manage it.

So, the proof will be in the pudding when I test drive it. Thanks for the tips - I'll be sure to give it a thorough work over whilst out and about in it!

[Electrify_dizz]

Well, the car is now mine. I had a thorough look around the car, and really gave it some on the test drive, and had no problems at all. I bought it yesterday, and drove 200 miles in it (just bringing it home!) but for the price it was well, well worth it.

I do have a couple of questions for you fine people though:

1) It came with a fat, twin pipe, pikey style exhaust, which makes the sort of racket which I'm not a fan of. As such, I will be looking to get rid of it in the coming months (and probably flog it!) - how much would you expect it to cost to get a standard exhaust put on for me?

2) The stereo. I had grand plans of putting in a new one in, which I could hook an IPOD up to in the boot - but obviously, with all the tip computer and so on running through the head unit in place, this may prove to be quite tricky! Has anyone had any experience with changing the head unit, and is it really worth doing?

[pb5]

Hi Electrify

Man-bing on here has post things about changing the original head unit. He might be able to help.

By the way I changed the head unit in mine & I don't miss the trip computer as it was rubbish anyway. But you would lose the use of the standard remote controls. Unless you replaced them with ones that match your new unit.

Try this link:

http://toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=48192

Pb

[bigfiiish]

Congrats on your new TSport Dizz

Im in a similar position myself now, just got a brand spanky new Tsport before xmas. I know its the worst time of the year to buy a car before xmas but i couldnt wait!

Nothing puts a silly big cheesy grin on your face like coming off a round about, up a slip road and putting the foot down... Lighting the fuse, and wait for the needle to touch the 6200 mark... Que silly big cheesy grin as all your passengers and loose change from your pockets hits the back window :D

PRICELESS!

Happy Driving!