Yaris liftback vs. Hyundai Accent hatchback

[adamschneider]

I realize I'm probably going to get some seriously biased responses on this forum, but I figure it's worth asking anyway. (Maybe I'll post something similar on a Hyundai forum!)

My wife and I have had just one car for the past 3 years; suddenly she's got a new job that will require her to drive (instead of taking the bus), so I need to get a 2nd car, and I'd like to buy new rather than used. I see cars only as necessary evils, so I don't need a lot of options (or even automatic transmission), and I've narrowed it down to the two cheapest choices: Hyundai Accent or Toyota Yaris.

The cost difference between the two is negligible. I honestly think the Accent looks better, but that's not going to sway me. (The better Hyundai warranty, on the other hand, does sway me somewhat.) Anyway, I'm wondering if anyone else went through this same quandary, and what might have pushed them in one direction or the other.

Thanks for any insights...

[brickhardmeat]

I think somebody already did this. Try using the search feature to find that thread. There is no comparison between a crappy korean hyundai and a reliable japanese made car.

I will vouch for hyundai making incredible LCD TV's but I wouldn't drive one of their cars if they paid me to.

by the way, the Accent does -not- look better

[adamschneider]

I did do a search but didn't find anything, surprisingly. (If I missed something, though, by all means post a link to the thread, please!)

But there's that bias I expected.

[kaboom]

true - Koreans do not make serious cars------------- only Japanese do ; and even not all Japanese cars are reliable ( vide Subaru)

just my $ .02

[TOOL]

Dude how could you even think about a Hyundai over a Toyota? Maybe you just dont know much about cars but Hyundai's are cheap pieces of crap for thr most part, especially if your looking into there lowest end model. Get the Yaris for sure man, quality is very important when buying a car and the Yaris is a affordable quality ride.

[churp]

Had a 97 Sonata afew years back and a pretty decent car, and I think it was good looking also. Hyundai has even improved since then but just little things bothered me....like the interior looked great and the seats felt good, but only for about 30 minutes, then a real pain, first car I ever had like that. Gas milage didn't compare with the big 3 Japan. Didn't have major problems with the car, but warrenty has nothing to do with reliability.....thats where Toyota and Honda shine.

May be biased but I pick Toyota.

[RogueYaris]

adam, dont' worry too much about mr. meat. he kind of gets on people for not using the search function throughly. i think it's a pet peeve of his. i myself did look at the hyundai, as comparison of course but the dealership here is a total waste of time. they throw $3,000 on all of their cars for no reason at all. that's just one of the reasons we didn't go with them, that and just about everyone there was an assclown. red noses and all.

we went with the yaris because it just made more sense. i find that hyundais depreciate faster than toyotas and we'd like to get something back on the car when we're done with it.

[stuffy]

i was no fan of the old accent hatchback but i think the new one is a 300x improvement on the old one,
it probably has the biggest trunk in the class as well.

yaris has better fuel economy, toyota reliability.

accent has 5 yr bumper to bumper.

tuff decision.

[adamschneider]

Okay, if I do go with the Yaris, this is the price I was quoted: $11,950 -- which includes destination but not licensing (no tax in OR). Here's the specs:

2007 Yaris 3-door Liftback with 5-speed manual transmission
FE - 50 State Emissions
CK - All-Weather Guard Package: Rear Defroster, Larger Washer Tank with Level Warning, Heavy Duty Heater, Rear Heater Duct, Heavy Duty Starter, Daytime Running Lights
CF - Carpeted Floor Mats/Cargo Mat

Is this a decent price?

[brickhardmeat]

Originally Posted by adamschneider

Okay, if I do go with the Yaris, this is the price I was quoted: $11,950 -- which includes destination but not licensing (no tax in OR). Here's the specs:

2007 Yaris 3-door Liftback with 5-speed manual transmission
FE - 50 State Emissions
CK - All-Weather Guard Package: Rear Defroster, Larger Washer Tank with Level Warning, Heavy Duty Heater, Rear Heater Duct, Heavy Duty Starter, Daytime Running Lights
CF - Carpeted Floor Mats/Cargo Mat

Is this a decent price?

yep, there is no mark up on these things really, no haggling at the dealship I went to, they quoted me a price and I took it

These cars are really made in Japan.

Koreans make a mean Summer Roll and I own a Hyundai LCD like I said earlier. Great bang for the buck but I would never buy one of there crap cars.

Get the Yaris or else!

[kurokoma-kun]

adamschneider, may I suggest you check out edmunds.com.

They have a butt-ton of pricing and comparison info! Detailed specs on every car you might be considering. You can create a pricing breakdown that shows (approximate) dealer invoice on car with options you select. And do side-by-side comparison. You can even see what others in your area paid.

Also: Tips on how to negotiate price, trade-in value calculator (that was actually correct for mine), consumer opinions (100s of these about Yaris already).

[kaboom]

well, if you go to toyota site www.toyota.com and get MSRP for your options in your zip code it will come up to $ 11,990-------so apparently they are giving you $ 40 discount from MSRP...........but- wait a moment - thta price includes " $ 620 shipping". I paid $ 620 shipping but I live in Ohio. Isn't the city you live at close to the port where Toyotas are shipped to by vessel ? Si if we subtract "$ 620 shipping" from MSRP we get $ 11,370......
oh, well

[adamschneider]

Originally Posted by kaboom

well, if you go to toyota site www.toyota.com and get MSRP for your options in your zip code it will come up to $ 11,990-------so apparently they are giving you $ 40 discount from MSRP...........but- wait a moment - thta price includes " $ 620 shipping". I paid $ 620 shipping but I live in Ohio. Isn't the city you live at close to the port where Toyotas are shipped to by vessel ? Si if we subtract "$ 620 shipping" from MSRP we get $ 11,370......
oh, well

How did you get $11,990? I got $12,225 when I ran my configuration through Toyota's Web site: $11,150 base + $455 options + $620 destination. So they're offering it to me at $275 below MSRP. I'm not sure exactly how that compares to the invoice cost; several hundred above, assumably. Think I've got any wiggle room?

By the way, about "shipping" and such: everyone pays the same destination charge no matter where they are. A lot of the Toyotas that come from Japan first land in the U.S. at a dock about two miles from the dealership I'm talking to -- but it doesn't help me. I asked the salesman if it at least makes it any easier to get certain configurations, and he said no; once they leave Japan they may as well already be in Kansas City or wherever they're headed.

[kaboom]

oh, actually you must pay " the freight charge"......is it because of using Ebay that I thought "shipping" pertained to domestic delivery.....but still--------

[BailOut]

I know I'm a bit late chiming in here but the better fuel efficiency in the Yaris would easily be the deciding factor for me. Even with the newer, tighter EPA formulas the Yaris still has a 10% higher MPG rating than the Accent.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/calcu...umn=1&id=22761

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/calcu...umn=1&id=22750

[palsan]

My decision also came down to Yaris vs Accent - yaris won out because:
- Better fuel economy will save $$$ over the 10 years I hope to own the car - I estimated a net present value of about $2500.
- I found the Accent's engine to be louder than the yaris (i.e. it felt to me that it struggled a bit more when accelerating).
- Longer wheel base on the Accent - this is personal, you may find you need a bit more room offered by the Accent - for me the shorter car leaves more room in the garage for other junk.
- The longer warranty period can be a catch 22 - a shorter period is not necessarily better. A manufacturer will often be forced to offer longer warranties when they are faced with customers who perceive their products as being inferior. Historically, Hyundai has had crappy cars, people still have this perception, hence Hyundai offers longer warranties to signal that the cars are now better built. Toyota (and others) may not need longer warranties because they don't need them.

For me the positives in Accent's favour (for similarly equipped and priced models):
- stock 15" alloy wheels
- 60/40 rear folding seats (only the RS yaris has this)
- side air bags
- variable rear intermittant wipers (yaris has only one speed - annoying)
- heated seats
- more colour options
- Hyundai dealer allowed me to test-drive the car by myself for an hour. The Toyota dealer was a harda$$ and "too busy on a Saturday" to let me have the car for that long. I guess when they have so much demand they can afford to lower their customer service standards. In the end I rented a yaris for a weekend and ended up buying one despite the lack of customer service from the dealer!

Hope that helps

[ChinoCharles]

I know its taboo to seem indifferent when it comes to money in this day and age, but my opinion is there is no use giving yourself a headache over the $200 you may or may not be able to haggle on this car. You're talking a microscopic change in your payment. Just buy it and start enjoying that gas mileage ASAP.

As far as which I'd buy, I looked at the Accent and a couple other cars, but only one was a Toyota. It feels good to be number one. After having it a year I can say its versatile, it is every bit as efficient as they claim it to be and then some, and it still turns heads. All for just over $10k? Can't beat it.

[adamschneider]

Originally Posted by ChinoCharles

I know its taboo to seem indifferent when it comes to money in this day and age, but my opinion is there is no use giving yourself a headache over the $200 you may or may not be able to haggle on this car. You're talking a microscopic change in your payment.

I'm not stressing about it too much, but $200 is $200 -- and I'm probably going to pay cash, so it wouldn't be spread out over a lot of payments, it'd come right out of my pocket.

I do think I'm leaning toward the Yaris, mostly because of the MPG issue. But now I'm torn between manual and automatic transmission; from what I've read here, it looks like the difference in mileage between MT and AT on the Yaris is negligible. And on the one hand, I live in the city -- which suggests I should get auto -- but on the other hand, I'm probably not even going to be driving all that much -- which means I should just save my money and get a stick!