Tried To Buy An Aygo Today ... But Failed

[PaulT]

I thought that as I now own two needlessly fast cars, whereas I only require one needlessly fast car, I would try to trade my 3.5-year old 34k-miles Corolla T Sport for a more environmentally-friendly and cheaper to run Aygo.

I'd like this to save me money in the long run, too. Whatever, I'm not prepared to lose any money on the deal.

So, went to the dealer and took out a five-door Aygo+ for about an hour or so. Did a few A-roads, a dual carriageway and also some twisty country B-roads. In general I was pretty impressed with the drive. Ok, there's not much power but the Aygo is still pretty nippy as it weighs so little. Plus, the handling is way better than my old 1l Yaris. Seems to turn in well in most cases except maybe under very heavy breaking, and holds the line pretty well. I suspect some rear axle trickery but nonetheless it works.

I quite liked the interior, seats were comfy just a shame they couldn't be lowered as I was sitting a bit high. Plugged my mp3 player into the aux port on the centre console and got tunes---that's a nice feature. No more messing around with CDs.

Overall I liked the car a lot, would make a great compliment to my Soarer. I would add to the basic car the lowered suspension kit to make it a bit more stable under high-speed braking and a dock for my Tomtom, but otherwise the basic model would suit me fine.

I know a used Yaris is really a better buy, but I thought if it didn't cost me anything I would trade the CTS for the better-handling Aygo. Unfortunately the dealer didn't value the Corolla as highly as I hoped he would, so not much room to manouvre on price for either of us. But the real deal killer was what Toyota wanted for the springs and sat nav dock.

The shorter springs cannot be fitted at the factory! The dealer has to fit them at a cost of £330 or so, but you do get the original springs back :ffs:

And you cannot just have the dock for the Tomtom, you have to have a Tomtom as well which will set you back £500 in total :ffs: :ffs:

Not impressed. Lots of things to like, but I want my accessories at a reasonable price or no deal!

It's only the fact that I am no way going into a Citroen or Peugeot garage that stops me checking out the Aygo's siblings ...

Paul.

[BadBoyVTEC]

Thats a shame. I see what you mean about the accecories. I'm sure if it were for someone in their family they could put the dock in without the tomtom. But you sould be able to get them down a few hundred pound and free metallic paint aas i did when i bought mine.

[tommygun]

yeah, and put some "not original" options to it :D

[SMW]

Well we have the full fitting instructions with step by step diagrams for the docking Paul so you could either do it yourself or pay a competent person.

The springs are TTE which is why they are pricey, again they can be purchased separately and fitted elsewhere - it's also Mr T's fitting costs that are making them expensive. As with the docking we can also let you have the step by step guide for the TTE lowering springs.

[PaulT]

Well we have the full fitting instructions with step by step diagrams for the docking Paul so you could either do it yourself or pay a competent person.

Good point, I didn't see those at first. Can you get the dock on its own from a dealer?

The springs are TTE which is why they are pricey, again they can be purchased separately and fitted elsewhere - it's also Mr T's fitting costs that are making them expensive. As with the docking we can also let you have the step by step guide for the TTE lowering springs.

If it's the same as the Corolla, fitting the springs could be tricky. You have to compress them first, and the car has to go back to the dealer anyway to get the alignment re-done.

What annoys me is that TTE is a wholly-owned Toyota subsidiary as far as I know. It is Toyota ... I don't think it is beyond the wit of man to have a stash of TTE springs on the production line. We know how efficient the Toyota build system is.

Paul.

[anup_cfc]

you can get the tom tom dock thing from any tom tom retailer or on the tom tom website and its the full kit to hard wire your tom tom to the car and mount it propery on the dash. not sure how much it is, but its damn sight cheaper then buying it all from the dealer.

[AygoUgo]

You could get PI springs for around £90 and fitted/aligned at a decent garage would be about £200 all in. Also if the PI springs are black then chances are the dealer spanner monkeys won't realise they have been changed so your warranty will be okay. You could always check with the dealer about PI springs and they probably would only say that it would invalidate claims on the dampers - when was the last time a damper on such a small light car went? If you can also get the Tom Tom dock direct from Tom Tom then you are probably looking at £300 to £350 all in.

There's always the second hand Yaris options but I think it's a bit girly looking unlike the sporty look of all Aygos.

You pays yer money and akes yer choice though ;)