Buying a yaris with 106k miles. need some insight

[Drummer829]

So we found a yaris with 106k miles, its a little more than what i wanted on a car, but we worked out a good price. were are buying it used from a toyota dealership, and they have claimed that they changed the alternator, fixed idle issues, replaced all 4 tires, replaced the front brakes, and some other small details. Also clean carfax, and seems the car received its routine maintenance.

i guess i am just looking for reassurance and asking for your guys personal opinion. Is purchasing a yaris with 106k miles a good investment? the car will be taken on a 1200 mile trip as well from IL to FL in a couple weeks because we are moving

[BEEF]

there is one guy here who has a yaris with 450,000 miles on it. I will say he has probably done quite a bit of maintenance to it (I don't know for a fact) but it is out there that these cars will last. (can't think of his user name)

my goal is to get as much out of it as I can. really anymore, 100k miles is nothing on a car and especially a toyota or honda.

if you do feel you need a second opinion, most mechanics will give it a once over for a small fee just to tell you everything is either good or not. I usually get someone to look at a car that I am thinking about purchasing unless it has very few miles on it. I bought my yaris used and it had 18,000 miles on it and was still under warranty.

I think some of the veteran yaris owners may chime in on this one as these things do last quite a while and I don't know of any mass problem with these cars. generally, they are good little cars.

[bronsin]

I would be asking question about the "idle issues". Was the CEL on? What did they do to "fix" the issues. You dont want that CEL coming on again!

Are they warrantying the car and if so for how long? Is the CEL covered?

How much are they getting for this car? If its more than $8000 its too much for my blood.

But overall the car should be reliable enough.

[WeeYari]

Milage wise, 106K with these things is nothing really. What is your end goal? Buy it and hope for 10 more years, or 5?

What year is it? Since the alternator has been replaced, I'm guessing it is an '07 since they had issues with the voltage regulator.

Sedan or Hatch?

And, what is a 'good deal'?

[goliath1812]

I have an '07 sedan with just under 110,000 miles. I replaced the water pump around 40,000 miles, and that's pretty much it. Still runs great, and I'm planning on keeping it for quite a while longer. I don't think you should be that worried about the miles.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by goliath1812

I have an '07 sedan with just under 110,000 miles. I replaced the water pump around 40,000 miles, and that's pretty much it. Still runs great, and I'm planning on keeping it for quite a while longer. I don't think you should be that worried about the miles.

One thing I did over the summer helps illustrate, IMO, that you are right. I checked (online) the Blue Book value of my Yaris. Just for kicks I upped the mileage to 300k to see how much the value would go down. It didn't go down at all -- not even one dollar.

[Hershey]

Remove the oil cap and look into the oil fill hole to see if any varnish / baked on oil . Will need a flashlight to get a good look . Have them give it a spark plug change . Plan to get the sedan plugs done at 90,000 miles or so . Due at 110,000 miles if I remember correctly . Also look for oil leaking from valve cover or other areas . Would also take it to a MIDAS / MONROE or other shop to have it put on a lift to look under car for oil leaks ,etc... $4,500 would be fair price . Best of luck .

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by BEEF

there is one guy here who has a yaris with 450,000 miles on it. I will say he has probably done quite a bit of maintenance to it (I don't know for a fact) but it is out there that these cars will last. (can't think of his user name)

my goal is to get as much out of it as I can. really anymore, 100k miles is nothing on a car and especially a toyota or honda.

if you do feel you need a second opinion, most mechanics will give it a once over for a small fee just to tell you everything is either good or not. I usually get someone to look at a car that I am thinking about purchasing unless it has very few miles on it. I bought my yaris used and it had 18,000 miles on it and was still under warranty.

I think some of the veteran yaris owners may chime in on this one as these things do last quite a while and I don't know of any mass problem with these cars. generally, they are good little cars.

472,000 miles as of a month ago per his comment on his YouTube channel. I think he keeps his repair records updated on Yarisworld. His Yarisworld screen name is trini_per4mance and his YouTube name is triniper4mance .I'm now at 226,000 + -- other than the normal Battery/Tires/Serpentine Belt/Spark Plugs/Oil/Filters the only things I've had to do are the front wheel bearings at 110k and the alternator at 159k.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by bronsin

I would be asking question about the "idle issues". Was the CEL on? What did they do to "fix" the issues. You dont want that CEL coming on again!

Are they warrantying the car and if so for how long? Is the CEL covered?

How much are they getting for this car? If its more than $8000 its too much for my blood.

But overall the car should be reliable enough.

Good points. Also, make sure the air filter is properly in place with the housing closed properly (and at least one of the clamps on to make certain it stays that way). A service writer at a Toyota dealership told me that this not being the case (allowing the housing to be or become 'open') can trip the check engine light.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Drummer829

So we found a yaris with 106k miles, its a little more than what i wanted on a car, but we worked out a good price. were are buying it used from a toyota dealership, and they have claimed that they changed the alternator, fixed idle issues, replaced all 4 tires, replaced the front brakes, and some other small details. Also clean carfax, and seems the car received its routine maintenance.

i guess i am just looking for reassurance and asking for your guys personal opinion. Is purchasing a yaris with 106k miles a good investment? the car will be taken on a 1200 mile trip as well from IL to FL in a couple weeks because we are moving

Within the last 2 weeks I've replaced the battery (after 3 years and nearly 87k on a 1 year rated battery) and the tires (after 85k on the previous tires) and added some seat covers. Other than the clutch and a bit of play re the shift throws it feels almost like a new car and I'm at 226k +. I'm planning on driving my Yaris over 12k miles in the next 7 weeks (outside of Texas) and I have complete confidence in my car.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Drummer829

So we found a yaris with 106k miles, its a little more than what i wanted on a car, but we worked out a good price. were are buying it used from a toyota dealership, and they have claimed that they changed the alternator, fixed idle issues, replaced all 4 tires, replaced the front brakes, and some other small details. Also clean carfax, and seems the car received its routine maintenance.

i guess i am just looking for reassurance and asking for your guys personal opinion. Is purchasing a yaris with 106k miles a good investment? the car will be taken on a 1200 mile trip as well from IL to FL in a couple weeks because we are moving

One member...Mazilla....bought a courier company with a fleet of 20 Yaris models. All 20 had at least 350,000 miles on the odometer and some had as many as 500,000 miles on them. Some might consider this commonplace, but I am still a bit awed by the durability that represents.

[Flipper_1938]

I previously had an Echo (same platform) that had 318,000 when it was crashed. I took it on a cross-country trip with over 300,000 miles on it. It did fine.

I'm hoping the current Yaris treats me the same.

106,000 miles is barely broken in.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Flipper_1938

I previously had an Echo (same platform) that had 318,000 when it was crashed. I took it on a cross-country trip with over 300,000 miles on it. It did fine.

I'm hoping the current Yaris treats me the same.

106,000 miles is barely broken in.

[Tomatogrower]

There is a whole forum post on what maintenance YarisWorld members had to do at certain mileage intervals. For the most part, it is pretty impressive:

http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11162

[NEexpat]

Alternator has been addressed, other issues, waterpump, and control arm bolts make the rounds here.

106k miles really is not a lot of miles anymore. Check brake pads and rotors for wear and any uneven wear. E-brake etc. Belts, etc. Again if you know a mech, take it to he/she and have them look it over. The usual advice.

Whenener I've taken a used car out for a test drive, I like to hard brake at speed on a back road somewhere, both in drive and reverse. See how it handles etc. Also fun if a sales guy is aboard.

This is a pretty reliable little car

Give the tires a kick, cause, well you know.

Best of luck!

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

472,000 miles as of a month ago per his comment on his YouTube channel. I think he keeps his repair records updated on Yarisworld. His Yarisworld screen name is trini_per4mance and his YouTube name is triniper4mance .I'm now at 226,000 + -- other than the normal Battery/Tires/Serpentine Belt/Spark Plugs/Oil/Filters the only things I've had to do are the front wheel bearings at 110k and the alternator at 159k.

I just checked trini's YouTube channel. His last post was 1 month ago and he was at 490,000 miles. One of the videos off to the side was entitled 'The 500,000 mile man'. This featured Jim White (a retired guy from Shreveport, Louisiana). His video was uploaded on 9-15-11 and at that point he had 524,000 miles on a 2007 Corolla (if trini hadn't changed jobs, he'd have had more than that after the same time of ownership). The Jim White video is a 'commercial' for Kendall Oil. When he had 460,000 miles on the car he was paranoid about the timing chain and wanted to replace it. He took it in. The mechanic told him the timing chain did not need replacing and mentioned something about the engine looking more like it had 30,000 miles on it rather than 500,000 miles plus. The mechanic wants to see Jim White hit 1 million miles. IIRC from one of his posts (either here or on YouTube), trini's goal for his Yaris is 1 million miles.