New Purchase - 2013 5 door LE

[KingForADay]

Hi everyone.

I purchased a 2013 Yaris LE yesterday from Hertz and think I got a smokin' deal at $9,970 with only 43K miles and a clear record (aside from it being a rental of course). Part of it was due to it being a mistake with the mileage listed on the website and on the sticker. They had it listed at 59,9xx but when I test drove it I noticed it was barely over 43K, and the sales lady said they would honor the price

Anyway, I'm very happy with it so far as I'm coming from a '98 Nissan Sentra and I just love the way this thing drives. I especially love the crazy tight turning radius and overall steering feel. Yesterday was the first time I'd ever driven a Yaris and I think it drove better than the Mazda2 I test drove and comparably with the Honda Fit. I actually think the Yaris is a little more comfortable than the Fit was, with better sightlines even if the Fit had a little more power. But, in my view, the Fit is also a tad overpriced compared to the Yaris, despite it also being a great car.

Anyway, I'm trying to absorb all that I can but it's pretty overwhelming so far. I'm thinking of eventually replacing the stereo with a touchscreen unit, as described by a few owners in the other section. I actually love the stock one so far. The bluetooth has been flawless and completely intuitive. But I can see myself wanting a full screen later on.

So..in general, I wanted to know if there's anything specific I should know or to look out for for this particular year. I know these engines are pretty much bulletproof, but any insight at all would help.


Thanks!

Edit: Oh! By the way, if anyone reading this is thinking of buying from Hertz Car Sales, be sure to tell them you're a AAA member and take your hard AAA card with you when you buy. They don't advertise it but I got $325 off, which is what pushed mine under $10K. It's a confusing thing because I called the 800 number and the lady said it was for Rent2Buy models only (the models currently being rented out), but when I went to the Certified lot they said that the discount was good there for Certified models too. It was actually the 2nd lot I went to (in Norwalk, CA). The first lot in Costa Mesa the guy said it was only good for Rent2Buy, but he didn't seem too sure about it. So it all depends on who you talk to I guess.

[nookandcrannycar]

Welcome!

About 13 months ago I had a 5-door LE as a rental. That positive experience pretty much solidified my buying another Yaris. If the 3rd Gen 5-door had been offered with a manual transmission in the U.S. (it was in Canada ...a Yarisworld member has one), I would have purchased the 5-door.

[KingForADay]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

Welcome!

About 13 months ago I had a 5-door LE as a rental. That positive experience pretty much solidified my buying another Yaris. If the 3rd Gen 5-door had been offered with a manual transmission in the U.S. (it was in Canada ...a Yarisworld member has one), I would have purchased the 5-door.

Thanks!

Yeah I was pleasantly surprised when I test drove it because I did weeks and weeks of research and almost every review downplayed the Yaris while talking up the Fit and the Ford Fiesta (). I think it's a case of reviewers driving dozens of cars and getting used to certain gadgets or niceities in some cars while not taking into account reliability enough. Seems they focus on the here and now rather than the long haul, which is what most compact car buyers probably look at most.

Truthfully, I wanted the Fit really bad just based on all that I'd read, but I didn't want a bigger loan than I needed hanging over me. I'm really glad I went with the Yaris because it drives way better than I was expecting, and I have complete peace of mind since it's a freakin' Toyota, haha. Also the seats are way comfortable. I'm used to the older school of Toyotas and Japanese cars in general where your lower back was hating you after just a few minutes.

[WeeYari]

Welcome to the family.

There are lots of haters for ex-rentals. I'm here to tell you that I'm also an ex-rental owner. Car originally hit the roads in November 2005. I purchased in February 2007 with 38,000kms on the clock. 8 years and 202,000kms later and I'm still going strong without a lick of trouble with this car.

[IllusionX]

I'm still not a fan of ex-rentals. Actually, I'm not a fan of used cars at all. At least not as a long term keeper.

Anyways, in response to OP. The mazda2 automatic transmission is not what is best out there. The response is really slow and when you step on it more to make it downshift, the. It revs really high.

[bronsin]

Only issue (aside from recalls which H should have done...) is the water pumps leak. You need to add a maintenance item which is every time you open the engine compartment look at the bottom passenger side of the hood for pink or red coolant stains.

Any little thing that ever comes up, post it here and invoke the wisdom of the forum...which is CT Scott...but we all try to help!

Good luck with your "new" and keep us informed even if nothing goes wrong so others can decide whether or not to buy used rental!

Personally, that's a "go" from me.

[WeeYari]

Originally Posted by bronsin

Only issue (aside from recalls which H should have done...) is the water pumps leak.

As far as I know, water pump issues, which I've not had, are only reported by owners of older vintage Gen2 models.

[bronsin]

Originally Posted by WeeYari

As far as I know, water pump issues, which I've not had, are only reported by owners of older vintage Gen2 models.

My 09 leaked. Is that Gen2?

If T has fixed the issue that's great!

[WeeYari]

Originally Posted by bronsin

My 09 leaked. Is that Gen2?

Yes it is, but 4 model years older than OP's 2013. It just seems that WP issues don't seem to pop up with 201X model years.


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[ern-diz]

Congrats and welcome!

[bronsin]

Originally Posted by WeeYari

Yes it is, but 4 model years older than OP's 2013. It just seems that WP issues don't seen to pop up with 201X model years.


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Wish I knew what they found was the problem and what they did to fix it. (if they fixed it) Im worried about another wp failure in a few years when Im retired and living on a fixed income and paying Obama thousands a year because I don't have healthcare....first wp failure was on Toyota but the next one(s) are on me!

[KingForADay]

Originally Posted by WeeYari

Welcome to the family.

There are lots of haters for ex-rentals. I'm here to tell you that I'm also an ex-rental owner. Car originally hit the roads in November 2005. I purchased in February 2007 with 38,000kms on the clock. 8 years and 202,000kms later and I'm still going strong without a lick of trouble with this car.

Yeah I did a lot of research on ex-rentals and I couldn't find a single actual owner of an ex-rental who had any real issues. The few negative messages I saw didn't mention them actually owning one and was going by conventional wisdom (people beating the hell out of rentals), which I also subscribed to before doing the research. The general consensus was that most rentals, especially small car rentals, are taken out by people just trying to get from point A to point B. Typically business people who have no interest in abusing a vehicle.

Additionally, you never really know how any previous owner took care (or didn't take care) of their car unless you personally knew them and their habits or they kept immaculate records. At least with rentals you know they're getting looked at somewhat frequently for liability's sake.

Additionally, the powertrain is still under the original 5 year/60K Toyota factory warranty, with a 12 month/12K Hertz warranty thrown in even though the Toyota one would be my first choice if anything came up obviously. I don't put a ton of miles on a year, but it's nice to have either way.

I appreciate the nice welcome everyone, I'm looking forward to learning more about Yaris in general. I'm really loving the car.

[kimona]

Great deal! I would have no problem buying a clean rental Toyota from Hertz. I'm guessing it's either white or silver. Post a pic, please.

[nookandcrannycar]

A few days ago the repair to my friend's car was completed and we took her rental Elantra GT back to Enterprise. Enterprise had a black 3rd gen 5-door Yaris on the lot. The exterior was pristine. The interior had some gross stains on the light insert portion of each front seat . I'm glad that I have covers on mine, even though they are of the type that CTScott so hilariously described as 'fitting like a loose diaper'. I'm also glad they rectified this with the 2015 model in the U.S.....one choice is 'all' black seats (only the stitching is white).

I hope your recent purchase had no such issue

[KingForADay]

Originally Posted by kimona

Great deal! I would have no problem buying a clean rental Toyota from Hertz. I'm guessing it's either white or silver. Post a pic, please.

Good guess! Of the Yarises I saw at the two dealerships, most were Silver and there were surprisingly two reds and one metallic light blue. Silver is actually the color I was aiming for if the deal was right, which it was!

I've attached a few pics.

A few days ago the repair to my friend's car was completed and we took her rental Elantra GT back to Enterprise. Enterprise had a black 3rd gen 5-door Yaris on the lot. The exterior was pristine. The interior had some gross stains on the light insert portion of each front seat . I'm glad that I have covers on mine, even though they are of the type that CTScott so hilariously described as 'fitting like a loose diaper'. I'm also glad they rectified this with the 2015 model in the U.S.....one choice is 'all' black seats (only the stitching is white).

I hope your recent purchase had no such issue

Luckily there's just a couple spots where there's a tiny little bit of discoloration, but I know they'll come out really easily. It really is a pretty spotless car aside from a few scratches here and there on the bumper. And a lot of scratch marks near the ignition, haha.

I'm looking into getting seat covers but, as you alluded to, I'm worried about them being ill-fitting, or cheap looking. Guess it's a case of trial and error mostly!

Speaking of the seat though, this is the most comfortable car seat I've ever sat in. It actually might be the first seat, office chairs included, that perfectly forms to my back so I actually want to maintain better posture..which is a miracle because my posture is horrible, haha.

[kimona]

Nice clean car! Looks great in silver.

[Flammable]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

Welcome!

About 13 months ago I had a 5-door LE as a rental. That positive experience pretty much solidified my buying another Yaris. If the 3rd Gen 5-door had been offered with a manual transmission in the U.S. (it was in Canada ...a Yarisworld member has one), I would have purchased the 5-door.

That is how me and my wife bought our 2012 Yaris SE which was our very first Yaris ever. We rented a base model to take a trip and really liked the car and how good gas mileage we got. Went with the SE because of all the extra stuff it came with

[Flammable]

Originally Posted by WeeYari

Welcome to the family.

There are lots of haters for ex-rentals. I'm here to tell you that I'm also an ex-rental owner. Car originally hit the roads in November 2005. I purchased in February 2007 with 38,000kms on the clock. 8 years and 202,000kms later and I'm still going strong without a lick of trouble with this car.

So true, my 2010 Mustang V6 Vert began life as a rental. I think of her as a rescue horse lol! My wife found her on Cars.com when a 2007 vert I was going to look at was sold or so the salesman told me. She had 20,572 miles on her when I got her and she currently has 45,200. The only problem so far was a blend door actuator went bad and started making an annoying clicking sound every time I started her up. It's a common problem with the S-197 Mustang. Anyway its no big deal to replace and the actuator is like 25 bucks from dealership. She has a beautiful factory grabber blue paint and I plan on keeping her until the wheels fall off. Years ago rental cars were a real gamble if you bought one but today's modern cars don't seem to suffer from fleet use.