Another new owner

[bigcityken]

It's my first Toyota. I previously owned a 2000 Chrysler Neon LE automatic for 10 years. I will never buy a Chrysler again. One thing I will say about the Neon is there's plenty of leg room, but aside from that, it loses in every single way vs. the Yaris.

It's a 2008 LE manual. I actually bought it back in march. I love it. I learned how to drive on a manual but I hadn't driven a stick in 15 years and it showed, but it got better.

It's good-looking (blue exterior - dark grey interior), it's got the options I wanted, it's very economical and the engine sounds really good for such a tiny car, imo. I'll just need to do something about the sound system though. Sure I could have gotten a Hyundai or a Kia for less but I'm glad I went for the best. It's pretty fun to drive too.

The only thing I've had to do so far is replace the gaskets, front and rear, for the exhaust. I still haven't gone for the recall though, about the driver-side window.

I've done 20k so far on it and I have absolutely zero regrets. It's now at 129,000 km

[tooter]

Hey Ken,

Welcome to your forum. It's your forum because from the moment you first post here, it also belongs to you.

I kind of liked the styling on the Neon because it had that similar "jellybean" look as the Yaris. But Toyota quality beats the hell out of Chrysler any day.

Greg

[bigcityken]

Hey to you and thanks :)

That is true, the Neon was a good-looking car. I'll give it that. Do you remember this car had a 3-speed automatic transmission ? I could do 360km on a full tank. That's 12-13L/100km !! (19 mpg)

I bought it at 54k and gave it to charity at 160k if I remember correctly. Brake fluid was leaking badly, had a front-end accident, rust everywhere, it needed brake discs/pads, needed a new rear-suspension, new tires (both summer and winter), needed some exhaust work, the 4-disc changer failed half-way through its life, needed a new driver-side mirror and a oil change for good measure. Needless to say, it was the perfect time to get rid of it.

My father bought a 2010 Ford Taurus Limited. The options are very nice and you feel like you're in a cockpit in the driver position. It is so tacky that they would put a paddle-shift gearbox in that car though lol It is so jerky, at pretty much any speed.

But I'll be perfectly honnest, if I had to choose between the Yaris and the Taurus (with no posisbility of reselling the car), I'd pick the Yaris in a heartbeat.

[yougojay]

WELCOME Ken!

You must be REALLY lovin' the Yaris after driving that Neon! Sounds like it was headed for greener pastures -

I have had mine for 7 months and am still completely enthralled driving this car. Just had my free 5,000 mile service by Toyota last week, in & out in 55 minutes. I did change out the factory fill oil after 1,500 miles, tho.

Car has been flawless, It's my 1st Toyota, too, should have done it years ago. You will read many instances where people state it drives like it's new, even after 70, 80, 90,000 miles or more. Says a lot...
Read the posts here, you will learn a ton of useful information! Enjoy the car...!

[bigcityken]

Indeed I was surprised with how new it felt when I tried it for the first time. I tried it on a really bumpy road and the ride was top notch, very impressive. I even surprised a few people when I told them it was a 2008, they all initially thought I had bought a new car.

I heard some of the same comments too about Toyota, that they start going well at the 60k miles mark, meaning the car is still very young at that point, as opposed to a Neon for instance. I used to own an 89 Dynasty LE (not for long), and my father owned/rented a couple 300Ms as well, and none of them were in good shape after 10 years, not even close. We're talking 60,000 miles here...

Very happy with the car so far. I couldn't have made a better choice!

[IllusionX]

Originally Posted by bigcityken

It's my first Toyota. I previously owned a 2000 Chrysler Neon LE automatic for 10 years. I will never buy a Chrysler again. One thing I will say about the Neon is there's plenty of leg room, but aside from that, it loses in every single way vs. the Yaris.

It's a 2008 LE manual. I actually bought it back in march. I love it. I learned how to drive on a manual but I hadn't driven a stick in 15 years and it showed, but it got better.

It's good-looking (blue exterior - dark grey interior), it's got the options I wanted, it's very economical and the engine sounds really good for such a tiny car, imo. I'll just need to do something about the sound system though. Sure I could have gotten a Hyundai or a Kia for less but I'm glad I went for the best. It's pretty fun to drive too.

The only thing I've had to do so far is replace the gaskets, front and rear, for the exhaust. I still haven't gone for the recall though, about the driver-side window.

I've done 20k so far on it and I have absolutely zero regrets. It's now at 129,000 km

not sure why you stick with a Neon for 10years when you absolutely hated it :P

[bigcityken]

Essentially, I paid way too much for it so instead of selling it I just decided to drive it until it was dead.

But, touché indeed...:P