Close to grabbing a Yaris. Help appreciated

[JustFrozen]

My wife's daily driver recently died.

Now I'm looking to fix a lot of issues we've had with her car, mainly how much money we've been pouring into it to keep it running. I'd rather put that money into something worth value. She basically needs a family friendly (we have 2 kids, one who will be in a car seat for a long time), economical ride for less than 10k.

Her and I both like the look of the Yaris and have heard good things about it. To cut a longer story short, we've got one in our sights, and I haven't seen it in person yet and I don't have all the details, but I thought it would be worth a try getting some opinions of the regulars here, in case I end up buying the car the first time I go see it.

Here's what I do know:

- Color matches her top choice (and since she's a female, that is important)
- It's an automatic sedan (again matches our critera, we're not doing the hatchback thing again, although personally I find them convenient. At least we have my hatchback for easy moving)
- It's a 2007 with about 40k miles on it
- I'm not sure which model it has but it did list the following and mentioned there were more options not listed:
(AM/FM/CD, AC, power windows, CC, keyless entry, rear spoiler, alarm system)
- It costs $9k, a grand below our budget
- It has a clean title

This is a pretty good deal right? Should I not let this slip through? Everything else has missed some of our criteria, especially price. I'm a bit clueless when it comes to the different models and options. I'm not sure what to research before going in to see the dealer. Any advice would be appreciated

[JustFrozen]

.

really? that bad?

[thebarber]

pk just posts to get his count up sometimes

sounds like a decent deal....if your kid is forward facing, he/she should fit fine

[1NZYaris1]

Check to see if the options are factory installed or after market,
that would determin the price. :thumbsup:

[Rain]

It sounds like an "S" sedan but yeah, check if the options are factory installed...

I have a sedan and I love it (although I'd prefer a hatch, long story)
I think the trunk space + the fold-able rear seats make a good combination with transporting stuff..
As for being family friendly, before my parents got a Sienna, this was the main car that we were using when we travel together. Idk how it be with children though...
One quirk that I found with mine is the front doors would open from the inside even though the lock is on...

[supmet]

If its a certified used toyota or whatever(you said you're going to a dealer for it right?), then I'd jump on it.

I've had no problems with my 07 sedan with 70k miles.

[tomato]

I'd get it. I bought my Yaris LB used, a 2007 LB, for about 9K back in February of this year. Mine is a manual transmission and already had 55K miles, so I think you are getting a good price.

Ask them if the car it Toyota certified (should be, still low mileage and still relatively recent). That'll give you extra peace of mind b/c they go through a thorough inspection and put it in writing, and additionally, they offer a "Certified" warranty for a given period of time (mine was 3 months but there is nothing wrong with the car so I never had to use it).

Or you might take advantage of 0% financing. They didn't have that when I bought my Yaris. I can't talk about the Sedan specifically because I drive the LB hatchback and they are completely different cars.

This is definitely the right place to ask questions if you are considering a Yaris :smile:

Good luck with your decision!

[JustFrozen]

thanks guys for the advice. it's not a toyota dealer, just a used car dealer, so no go on precertification, which i agree would be great. thats how i got my celica. also although the title is clean its not a perfect history - it was either a fleet, rental, or leased car before it was sold to the dealer, which i suppose could mean it had extra wear and tear from having multiple users; however, any one of those means that it had to have been regularly maintained, and from the pictures and the way its described, it does look to be in really good condition.

looks can be deceiving though. im going to try to get it checked out by a mechanic before i fork over the dough, but it will be nice to be armed with more info first, and so it's great to hear opinions of people who really know the yaris inside and out

is it the spoiler that means it's probably an S type, like a corolla? do yaris's not have the S on the back next to the model name?

[Forrest]

Did you do a car history report? That may help.

[33OH]

is it the spoiler that means it's probably an S type, like a corolla? do yaris's not have the S on the back next to the model name?

It would have the S on the back.

http://images.automotive.com/cob/factory_automotive/images/Features/auto_shows/2006_LAAS/2007_Toyota_Yaris_S%20sedan_rear.jpg

[YarisOwnersDad]

Actually, I think ALL Yarii have an S on the back.

Y-A-R-I-S :bellyroll:

:laughabove:

Tomster

[tomato]

Actually, I think ALL Yarii have an S on the back.

Y-A-R-I-S :bellyroll:

:laughabove:

Tomster

:clap:

[tomato]

thanks guys for the advice. it's not a toyota dealer, just a used car dealer, so no go on precertification, which i agree would be great. thats how i got my celica. also although the title is clean its not a perfect history - it was either a fleet, rental, or leased car before it was sold to the dealer, which i suppose could mean it had extra wear and tear from having multiple users; however, any one of those means that it had to have been regularly maintained, and from the pictures and the way its described, it does look to be in really good condition.

looks can be deceiving though. im going to try to get it checked out by a mechanic before i fork over the dough, but it will be nice to be armed with more info first, and so it's great to hear opinions of people who really know the yaris inside and out

is it the spoiler that means it's probably an S type, like a corolla? do yaris's not have the S on the back next to the model name?


You might want to do a search here, there was a thread called "would you get a former rental" or something kind of like that a couple of months ago.

[JustFrozen]

Did you do a car history report? That may help.

Yeah, I even did two of them from different sources. The history is totally clean with the only records being that the original owner bought it and it was sold at an auction as a fleet/lease/rental car to the dealer who has it now

It would have the S on the back.
http://images.automotive.com/cob/factory_automotive/images/Features/auto_shows/2006_LAAS/2007_Toyota_Yaris_S%20sedan_rear.jpg

No S on the back. I'm confused as to what it really is as it seems to have plenty of options

You might want to do a search here, there was a thread called "would you get a former rental" or something kind of like that a couple of months ago.

Thanks, that was an informative thread. It seems that on one hand, the company that owns the car must get regular maintenance on it, although they may try to stretch it out as much as they can, where a regular owner may get perfect maintenance or possible no maintenance. On the other hand there's a higher chance that the car was outright abused, but once again I still think you have this chance with regular owners (could be some kid's first car for example, and they may not care what happens to it). Still, good to think about, and I know now I'll have to be more careful about it

I'll definitely want to at least have some mechanics look at it before go through with the deal.

Thanks all

[33OH]

Good luck!

[JustFrozen]

i asked this in another thread, but that amounted to hijacking and went unanswered so i will ask here in my own thread:

how does the yaris handle in the rain, especially moderate-to-heavy rain?

reading how the wind affects this light little car has me worried. although it rarely rains here, my wife's last car would feel like it was hydroplaning when she would get above 50mph. of course some good tires can go a long way with that, but some cars just have a better grip than others, and its worth asking your guys' opinions

[supmet]

how does the yaris handle in the rain, especially moderate-to-heavy rain?

reading how the wind affects this light little car has me worried. although it rarely rains here, my wife's last car would feel like it was hydroplaning when she would get above 50mph. of course some good tires can go a long way with that, but some cars just have a better grip than others, and its worth asking your guys' opinions

No car should be "prone to hydroplane" with proper tire pressure and tread depth/width. You hit the nail on the head saying good tires can go a long way. I've never hydroplaned, just skipped a tiny bit on some DEEP puddles.

As for the wind, I have a TRD sway bar and crappy tires(arizonian) and it feels fine in the wind now.

[JustFrozen]

Good luck!

so much for luck, they jacked the price up. which means i probably won't get it.

1) it's no longer within our budget

2) i feel slighted by the actions of the dealers and have lost my trust in them

what kind of person raises the price of a car that's been sitting on the lot for months when they know people are finally interested in it?

:thumbdown:

[tomato]

Jacked the price up?!! That's weird. Well, don't give up on the dealers. I had to try a couple before I found someone I could feel comfortable doing business with. The 2007 3-year leases should be in pretty soon so you should have more to choose from. I'd go to a Toyota dealership if I were you and see if they have any leases coming back at a decent price.

Or you could also get a car from Hertz or Enterprise if you want :iono:

[JustFrozen]

i looked into enterprise. didnt notice anything there.

and i didnt mean dealers in general, just this dealer in particular.

i have a new #1 on my list. it's basically the same car (similar options, similar history report) but a different color. oh and a different price. it's only 8.5k

maybe things just have a way of working out for the better

i would actually prefer a toyota dealer. i got my car certified from a toyota dealer, but it cost a lot and i havent seen a certified yaris within our budget, so i may have to stick to private sellers and used car dealers

i'm going tomorrow to visit a few potentials. i'll let you guys know how it goes

EDIT: i'm starting to consider a new '09, if i can take advantage of 0.0% apr

[JustFrozen]

turns out the car was sold for 9k, the original price, but after much more research, some of it due to you help from you guys, i decided i didn't want it anyways.

safety is a big priority, and some have been saying to me that if i have that in mind, i'm picking the wrong car.

now it seems to me that the car might not fare well in an accident,but it will absorb most of the impact's energy and hopefully leave the driver with less. such is usually trade off with new vs old cars.

i've learned the yaris has high safety ratings but there was that report that those are based on impacts with immobile objects or other subcompacts and it really does not fare well at all against larger vehicles.

i've also learned that with side airbags, the safety rating goes up rather significantly. it is my understanding that the side air bags are an option on '07 and '08 models but standard on '09, correct?

based on everything i've learned, it looks like i will indeed be shooting for an '09. hopefully i can get as good of a deal as some of you have.

if it happens i will post pics i promise

[TheRealEnth]

well, we've had a couple of crashes here on yarisworld... and the people in the car came out fine, not all with small cars.... the yaris was totaled tho.

[33OH]

I slammed into a deer doing about 60 and the Yaris held up very well. I even drove it home.

Also, of course it's going to have more damage done when you get hit by a larger vehicle. Imagine a Hummer or even a motor home in a head-on collision with a Yaris, I don't think any ~2,000 pound car is going to win that battle.

[JustFrozen]

pulled the trigger on a brand new '09. to sum up, the wife is very happy

pics coming soon :smile:

[hachi-roku_fan]

You mind giving us some info on your deal? Hatch? Sedan? 5 spd? auto? What dealership? how much did you pay? Thanks in advance

[JustFrozen]

auto sedan w/steel wheel power package (msrp of 16.3k). paid 15k at 0.0% and could have done better, but still a reasonable deal and i just wanted it at this point

[yaris-me]

If the wife is happy then you're happy!:thumbsup:
I think the Yaris is an excellent value. It is an economy car, but compared to other economy cars the Yaris shines.:smile: