2014 yaris bought at hertz

[jstert]

i was in need of a snowbird car in the southwest, and quickly settled on yaris as a simple, reliable, tossable vehicle. i had a good experience buying a 22k mile 2004 corolla le in 2006 from hertz in portland oregon, so figured that i could do no worse and try hertz again.

i found hertz car sales here had three yarii, all with 42-45k miles, all french made l models listed as hertz certified. hertz also sells non certified cars on a three day rental, but no yarii and i wanted the comfort of certification. there were non certified chevy sonics, that i didnt try because i wanted a certified car, and certified versa notes that i did try but passed over for the reliability of a yaris.

the yariii test drives were good and i picked the cleanest one, magnetic gray with new tires. it was listed at $9900 plus tax, etc. the autocheck was clean and it had been recently serviced. it drove quite well. unfortunately it and all hertzs according to the salesman, came with but one key. so after signing all the papers and buying it, i took it to the toyota dealership for more keys. good news: key is unchipped so only $15 for another master there (plus two more copies from wallyworld at $2 each later). bad news: on check-in at toyota the service advisor pointed out that the bumper and headlights are non-oem. apparently they were replaced at one point. at least on further inspection he found no structural damage otherwise.

i was really upset, i had duly noted hertz's multiple oral and written assurances of certified, with a clean autocheck, during the sales pitch. i returned to hertz immediately, and spoke with the manager who looked at the car and a slight bumper gap that i had missed before purchase, and disclaimed all knowledge of a non-oem bumber, even when i showed him a written $600 repair estimate from toyota to replace with oem parts. i then looked up at the wall and tacked there was a notice that said hertz's certification doesnt extend to cosmetic issues (got that, my yaris has scratches that i noted before buying it) but in fine print, this exclusion extends to bumpers.

ok, my bad, the joke is on me, let the buyer beware, etc. im writing this post just to let folks know that hertz does have yarii for under $10k at 40k miles, they drive well and i love mine, but they can have hidden issues too, and the certification/autocheck is inconclusive. i simply expected better from hertz, but instead i felt as if i had bought my yaris from joe's (apologies to all the josephs out there) used car lot. i had given mine a long, varied test drive, and have driven it since at freeway speeds for 1-2 hours, all great, so i can only assume that whatever reason caused my bumper and headlights to be replaced was solely cosmetic. since i intend to hold onto my yaris for a long time, i have gotten over thinking about the hit at resale that a non-oem bumper and headlights will eventually cost me. hertz? frown. yaris? smile.

[VaultTec]

This is why I only purchase brand new cars. To avoid issues like this. You should've just bought a used / certified Yaris from Toyota. Those 3rd party dealers either don't know what they're doing or don't care. They'll sale you a flooded car and call it new with no issues.

[bronsin]

Hmm sounds like Trivival Pursuits to me as far as Yari go.

My 09 has been in two accidents all of my doing and it doesnt concern me a bit.

Oh and the MAF sensor is a genric rebuilt unit I paid $90 for at NAPA. I used my OEM one to troubleshoot a code in my sons ECHO and forgot to swap back when we sold it. .

[justanotherdrunk]

i joined the yaris family after my 11 day 9200 mile 35 state circumnavigation in a hertz 2015 yaris rental L last year

[joeodin]

I purchased a 2014 from Enterprise. I just replaced the crap a/m front bumper with an OE. Apparently rental car companies are self-insured and they are not required to report accidents. This is why you would see a clean Carfax.

[Kalispel]

I would never buy a used car without an expert/professional inspecting the car in-depth from bumper-to-bumper first (after inspecting/testing it myself in-depth). One of the benefits of being marginally OCD.

[bronsin]

"Any Yaris is a good car."

Well....nearly any.

[jstert]

Originally Posted by joeodin

I purchased a 2014 from Enterprise. I just replaced the crap a/m front bumper with an OE. Apparently rental car companies are self-insured and they are not required to report accidents. This is why you would see a clean Carfax.

makes sense. live and learn. as i said mine drives great, im just unhappy with hertz. they have tons of rental yarii and they can easily auction off any with an issue. there were no toyota cpo yarii in my area. carmax had older very high mileage ones only. all proof that recent, used yarii are good cars in high demand.

[ern-diz]

Originally Posted by jstert

makes sense. live and learn. as i said mine drives great, im just unhappy with hertz. they have tons of rental yarii and they can easily auction off any with an issue. there were no toyota cpo yarii in my area. carmax had older very high mileage ones only. all proof that recent, used yarii are good cars in high demand.

I don't see it as a big deal. A friend of mine backed into my Yaris in the first year I owned it. I think my insurance only covered aftermarket parts, so for all I know my front bumper and headlights might not be OEM. Neither myself, nor any of the many folks that have complimented my car over the years have ever noticed. It's been nearly 9 years now.

I recently cracked a tail light and was thinking about throwing a new set of shiny aftermarkets in. Due to the cheap paint on these cars, I've had to re-squirt both bumpers and side mirrors. IMO, it's not that expensive to keep these cars looking crispy, especially when you compare it to the cost of a new car. As long as the sub frame, engine, trans, etc. are in good shape, I am not tripping on paint and body parts.

Just my 2 cents.

[kimona]

My 2014 LE is a former rental car. I arranged a no-cost 24 hour "borrowed car agreement" and drove the car almost 150 miles the first day, then had it thoroughly inspected at the local Toyota dealership the next morning. The inspection report found no issues. In fact, even a new cabin air filter had been installed! I bought the car that afternoon.

My car was exceptionally clean with only one very small ding on a rear wheel lip and two tiny touch-ups on the rear bumper; otherwise, no paint defects or scratches. It had 4 new Bridgestone Ecopias. Plus, the interior looked like new.

I've driven the car about 4K miles since I bought it in December with no problems. I had the oil changed last week at a different Toyota dealership and requested another inspection. That report came back clean as well. I'm very happy with my purchase!