Replacement for sold Yaris

[06YarisRS]

We recently replaced our van with a 30000 km 2013 VW Golf Sportwagen. As we had recently sold our 2008 Yaris LS, we needed a newer replacement. Since I love car shopping, test driving etc, I took out 2 different Nissan Versa Notes, 2 Honda Fits, 3 Kia Rios, a Chev Sonic (didn't make the list after a 5 minute drive) and a Maxda CX5 (a bit bigger than we were looking for but it would have been a steal). I could not find a decent Yaris 2015+ with low kms that wasn't either a bit too dinged up or wasn't insanely priced. As much as I rank the Yaris very highly, the Honda Fit was mighty appealing. The best deal I could find - and there are VERY FEW Honda Fits available - was a 2015 EX with 108K kms and an asking price of $13995.00. I had them at $12600.00 but the car, though being in exceptional shape, didn't seem to have the value in it that the car we bought does.

I've owned several Kia cars and cannot think of one issue that I've had with them. I found a recent trade in on a 2016 Rio EX sedan (which we had decided on over another hatch). The car has 27000 kms on it and is mint inside and out except for a few minor scratches on the rear bumper. These scratches are within a small area that will be covered with my 3M anti-slip tape anyway as protection for the rear bumper top and edges. According to autotrader, the car was already listed at $2800.00 below market value and after a few back and forths, I got them down from $12500.00 - $11000.00. Interestingly, I think they may have had the car listed and priced as if it was an LX trim and not an EX. I 'reminded' them that the EX trim comes with 16" alloy wheels. About two days later, I received a couple pics of the alloys (in great shape with about 80% tread remaining on the factory Hankook Optimo tires) that they had gone and picked up at the customer's house. The customer had just bought new winter tires and mounted them on steel wheels, I'd say, just before trade-in. By then we'd already agreed on a price, so they didn't bother to try getting more money out of me, which was a pleasant surprise.

The car has bumper-to-bumper warranty until Aug 2021, so if there are any issues, they should become apparent before then. Kia Canada also provides roadside assistance until that date. I have to say that the purchase process was great, the salesman helpful and no typical trickery or attempts to extract more cash from me. I had asked if I could see car underneath and when we arrived for our second test drive, the car was already up on the hoist. As an added bonus, that I was unaware of, the car has command start. The car drives like new and is quite peppy with a 138 Hp GDI 1.6L and a curb weight of under 2500 lbs. The electronics are impressive and this car will not need any stereo upgrades as the stereo sounds, actually, remarkably good. My wife loves the backup camera!

Here are the pics of the car from their listing. I take it into our school shop on Monday for thorough rustproofing (including drilling), application of 3M anti-skid and paint film on all door sill areas, 8" or so of the hood's leading edge, as well as, as mentioned, the area around the trunk. I got a great deal on a set of Maxpider Kagu floor liners (love these!) and I discovered a new company that makes really high quality and affordably priced seatback protectors. Now we have two white cars!

On to the pics: