Buying A Yaris

[Kettle]

Hello,

I plan on changing my car in the next month or so. My Peugeot 306 turbo diesel has served me quite well but is getting a bit long in the tooth as it's over 10 years old.

I should have £7000 or so to spend and the keywords are economy and reliability. The current favourite for a replacement is a second-hand Yaris which is why I'm here.

I want something that manages 60mpg so I've been focusing on the diesels - especially as reviews I have read suggest that they also out-perform their petrol counterparts in terms of drive quality.

I'd gratefully appreciate any advice, considerations and recomendations. I have the luxury of a bit of time to make my choice, or to hold out for a particular spec becoming available on the secondhand market. I know that there are versions - spirit, SR etc but I haven't yet worked out what the key differences are. I do want to get something with air conditioning and I will want to fit my existing DAB radio (already seen the how-to section on this).

I look forward to your replies.

Thanks,

[Demonic Angel]

You can't get one of the Mk1 Yaris SR's in a diesel, they are 1.3 petrol only.

Best bet is a 1.4 D-4D T-Spirit - you get air con as standard plus remote radio controls, electric mirrors, sunroof, body coloured bumpers, alloys etc on top of everything else

[Chris81]

I take it you're after a mk2 Yaris rather than the mk1? Anyway, if economy and reliability are your only considerations what about an Aygo? Have a look in the Aygo forum - some owners of the petrol models are reporting mpg in the high 50's and the diesel drivers even more. Both versions are just £35 a year to tax as well.

But if you need boot space and carry passengers a lot then the Aygo is probably a bit small. My advice is go and have a look round the dealer showrooms at the cars you're interested in and take some test drives. £7000 will buy you a lot of car so you're right to take your time.

[Kettle]

I take it you're after a mk2 Yaris rather than the mk1? Anyway, if economy and reliability are your only considerations what about an Aygo? Have a look in the Aygo forum - some owners of the petrol models are reporting mpg in the high 50's and the diesel drivers even more. Both versions are just £35 a year to tax as well.

But if you need boot space and carry passengers a lot then the Aygo is probably a bit small. My advice is go and have a look round the dealer showrooms at the cars you're interested in and take some test drives. £7000 will buy you a lot of car so you're right to take your time.

Yeah, Aygo was my first thought and I had one for a test drive overnight. It was okay, ride quality was good enough for me, but it was a bit too small and in some key areas too basic.

Thanks for your advice

[Chris81]

If I was going for a diesel for £7000 I'd go for a second hand Skoda Fabia vRS. Probably don't get anywhere near your 60mpg criteria, but the Fabia is a consistently rated top 10 car in the reliability/customer satisfaction surveys and the vRS is well specced and pretty quick. They do other diesel models though so would be worth a look.

[Kettle]

If I was going for a diesel for £7000 I'd go for a second hand Skoda Fabia vRS. Probably don't get anywhere near your 60mpg criteria, but the Fabia is a consistently rated top 10 car in the reliability/customer satisfaction surveys and the vRS is well specced and pretty quick. They do other diesel models though so would be worth a look.

Haha Yeah, Fabia is my second option - as you say the mpg is the main trade-off. I think I need to do some test driving.

Cheers.

[Kettle]

I've test driven both a Fabia vRS and a Yaris D4-D spirit today. As expected the Fabia was fantastically perky but let down by a ghastly interior - It would be significantly more expensive to run (£500pa) but change the nice engine for a more megre one and it'd lose its appeal. I reckon that the Yaris is more for me - it handled nicely, had plenty enough pull for me, and the interior felt very roomy and well considered. The actual car was just under two years old with 20000miles for £8000 - pushing my budget, it was also a 3 door model and in a bit of a feminine colour, so I'm going to hold out for something with a few more miles and a few more doors on it to come up on th'internet.

I'm currently checking eBay, autotrader and motors.co.uk - can anyone suggest anywhere else?

Thanks

[Red Yaris 54]

I'm currently checking ebay, autotrader and motors.co.uk - can anyone suggest anywhere else?

Thanks

The Toyota GB website has a facility for you to check availability of used cars within the dealer network.

You can specify exactly what you are looking for and you should get the benefit of a very good Toyota approved used car warranty ..............Google........... Toyota GB and see where it takes you :)

http://www.toyota.co.uk/cgi-bin/toyota/bv/...d=used_vehicles