Moving from Echo to Yaris...questions

[melson]

Hi,

I've owned my 2005 Toyota Echo (NCP10R) manual 3dr hatch for 10 years. That is until it was written off last week in an accident (not at fault). So now I am looking to buy a car to replace, I loved my Echo, it was a great little car, so now I am looking at replacing it with a Yaris.

So I was hoping you guys could help me out with a couple of questions. My budget is $8,000, what year/model Yaris would you recommend in regards to features (like is there someone more significant in a specific year than the one beforehand) etc. This is also my first time buying a secondhand car as I bought my Echo new. Is there anything specific to Yaris' that I should be aware/conscious of when inspecting/test driving a Yaris?

Any info would be much appreciated! Thanks!

[trentmeyer23]

One topic on the same subject is enough, thanks.

[thommo]

Got our daughter a 2012 Yaris YRS auto with 102,000kms on it for $8,700 from Pickles Auctions (got it fixed price, not at auction). Also saw an identical Yaris but with 116,000kms on it go for $8,750 at auction from Pickles. Insurance company say the value of the car is $14,000!

I see many Yaris's for sale at the various Pickles auctions. You can get them thousands of $'s cheaper than at a dealer (because the dealers buy from the auctions at what is essentially a wholesale price, then add $ thousands to that price and sell to you retail).

If you buy a fixed price car from Pickles, you get the statutory 3mth/5,000 kms dealer warranty. If you buy at auction, you get no warranty. The only problem re buying from Pickles is you can't test-drive the car. You can inspect and start it though.

So what I looked for is:

Ex-fleet govt lease car with a full service history (the website listing of the car will tell you its service history);

Each car has an inspection report that details any damage and some mechanical issues (e.g. it might say engine warning light is on);

I physically inspected it, started it and looked for smoke coming out at rear, checked coolant and oil colours/levels, got underneath and looked for damage and leaks;

Checked all lights etc worked;

Check interior bits working (a/c, CD player etc)

Checked spares tyre, jacks etc;

Spare keys etc;

If fixed price, it should have a current road-worthy certificate with it and will probably still have some rego;

First time I bought from Pickles I was nervous as the price was so good, and I was not able to test-drive, but their ex-govt cars with a full service history are hard to go past.

I have a lease car for work, and if I'm overdue a service, the company text me to tell me to get it done!