Toyota Yaris???

whatanidiot

I'm looking at having to get a new car as mine is after giving up and the only car in my price range in the garage I go to is a 03 Yaris. I've never even sat in a Yaris to be honest but for some reason I've always hated them. Unfortunately I don't have the option to be picky so any advice towards (or against) a Yaris would be greatly appreciated :D

si_guru

What is your price range?... There are other garages and 1000's of cars for sale. Don't be bullied into a car you don't want.

Nissan doctor

As above, there is tons of choice out there. However you will have very little in the way of issues with with a properly serviced older model yaris.

si_guru

Nissan doctor wrote: »

...you will have very little in the way of issues with with a properly serviced older model yaris.

That is true too.

taintabird

whatanidiot wrote: »

I'm looking at having to get a new car as mine is after giving up and the only car in my price range in the garage I go to is a 03 Yaris. I've never even sat in a Yaris to be honest but for some reason I've always hated them. Unfortunately I don't have the option to be picky so any advice towards (or against) a Yaris would be greatly appreciated :D

They are a reliable enough shopping trolley , the only things to look out for is yellowing of the head lamp lens they are plastic and tend to yellow with age also listen for any rattles from the engine this could indicate a possible timing chain problem which is an expensive enough fix usually caused by a lack of proper servicing

colm_mcm

Can you give some info on the yaris they have, price, mileage etc

andyseadog

pretty sure 'yarii' as they like to be known in plural (lol) are decent little cars. command a little bit of a premium to buy, but running costs wise you wont get much better.

front drop links were a soft spot apparently, along with water pumps, so listen for noisy suspension, and engine rattles.

top glove box doors also break as soon as you look at them, so make sure it works (not the end of the world if it doesn't, i know) and most interior trim seems to be made from chocolate, so scratches very very easily so you can tell an uncared for car quite easily.

the cloudy headlights problem can be solved by yourself with a wet sand and polish, even if you have minimal knowledge/ practice with that kind of thing.

none of those problems are that major though, have you a link to the car?

colm_mcm

You can get replacement lenses for the headlights without replacing the whole unit. surprisingly cheap and won't require constant buffing to stay clear.

Can't remember the top glovebox being a warranty issue or even trading one in broken, they can be stiff alright....

andyseadog

jaysus i didnt know you could get new lenses seperate! i polished mine up because i didnt want to have to shell out for two new whole units :rolleyes:

having said that, i scrubbed mine with 2000 grit paper, then machine compounded them and they've stayed clear for 8 months now, so i see it as a long term fix

seen a few lids broken, and its mentioned a lot on the yaris forums, a problem with the french built cars, not sure how you identify them though.

colm_mcm

French chassis numbers begin with vn, jap with jt. Far as I remember the Japanese ones had hydraulic power steering and french was electric.

The Japanese ones use shorter keys with shinyer fobs.

There are other things too, just can't remember back!

andyseadog

*note to self to remember that*

my japanese built just has a metal key, like a house key, not even plastic on it, never mind an immobiliser transponder, they must have no car crime over there.

Paraone

Nissan doctor wrote: »

you will have very little in the way of issues with with a properly serviced older model yaris.

+2

I put 110miles on a yaris, serviced it regularly and it never skipped a beat. The car is still running around at ten years old.
There are some fiddly trim issues such as the top glove box with some models but mechanicaly if it was serviced regularly it should give no problems.

greenermetals

as ive said in other posts, great car, cousin bought one at 50k miles, smashed into a cow at 110k, apart from servicing only 2 anti roll bar bushings. As a runaround, esp in town cant recommend it enough, though its not a drivers car. Functional in the extreme and great value for money though.

Zubeneschamali

whatanidiot wrote: »

I've never even sat in a Yaris to be honest

Be prepared for a shock: it's like being a mouse inside a dirty 500 ml coke bottle.

andyseadog

Zubeneschamali wrote: »

Be prepared for a shock: it's like being a mouse inside a dirty 500 ml coke bottle.

power windows, power mirrors, power steering, cd stereo, trip computer, lots of different adjustments on the driver seat and wheel so its easy to get a good driving position, sliding rear bench for more bootspace/ rear legroom when needed, a/c common on a lot of models.

admittedly the trim colours and choices are a little bit drab, but nobody considering a yaris is considering one for driving thrills or luxury, just a car that does what it says on the tin, which the yaris does better dare i say than any other car of that era in its class.

Zubeneschamali

andyseadog wrote: »

admittedly the trim colours and choices are a little bit drab

and Egypt is perhaps not right at the very top of the list of places to go on holiday just now.

andyseadog

Zubeneschamali wrote: »

and Egypt is perhaps not right at the very top of the list of places to go on holiday just now.

unless you're of an arguementative disposition

the facelifted mk1's had a bit more effort put into the interior (03 on i think they are)

i still maintain, for a reliable, cheap runaround, you wont do much better unless you buy a bicycle

mowhawk

[QUOTE=i still maintain, for a reliable, cheap runaround, you wont do much better unless you buy a bicycle [/QUOTE]

Oh yes you will! Namely the incredible, unbreakable and miserly nifty fifty. Otherwise known as the Honda Supercub which the c***s won't sell here anymore. Another victim of the Celtic Tiger and affluent Ireland. Maybe in these recessionary times Honda should consider reintroducing it. After all it is still on sale in Japan and lots of other countries.

David09

To be honest, in my opinion I think that a toyota yaris is a horrible car, in almost every respect. There are far, far nicer small cars out there.

12 element

David09 wrote: »

To be honest, in my opinion I think that a toyota yaris is a horrible car, in almost every respect. There are far, far nicer small cars out there.

Like?

padma

I'd swap my car any day for a good old yaris. The amount of them out there is incredible, but the prices some of them are fetching are so high, it is a great investment for when you sell on/upgrade.

Zubeneschamali

12 element wrote: »

Like?

Me no like.

Kangoo Man

Just scrapped a Yaris we had for 11 years from new, didn't put anything into it except oil and petrol, 1 battery and 2 sets of tyres. Not even brake pads or shocks, just drove it into every nct and passed on the spot. Bought a new one today, hear they're made in France now, hopefully it will be as reliable as the old one...

shedweller

Kangoo Man wrote: »

Just scrapped a Yaris we had for 11 years from new, didn't put anything into it except oil and petrol, 1 battery and 2 sets of tyres. Not even brake pads or shocks, just drove it into every nct and passed on the spot. Bought a new one today, hear they're made in France now, hopefully it will be as reliable as the old one...

Apparently thats a boring car......
Me? i love fixing stuff but when it comes to my daily driver i just want it to keep on truckin. I'm fcuked if im going to faff around with some nonsense yoke thats broken but never breaks on any other car, just to keep me on the road. If i want to faff around i'll go to the shed and turbo my lawnmower or something.
So in the meantime i'll drive the most "boring" car on earth: the 1.4d4d yaris. Even more boring than the normal yaris because NOTHING breaks on it. It just goes. I like that because i spend my life fixing things and would like to spend my spare time not fixing things.

rant over ...................ffs.
Oh and if you want reliability, get an octavia, preferably diesel.

VolvoMan

Kangoo Man wrote: »

Just scrapped a Yaris we had for 11 years from new, didn't put anything into it except oil and petrol, 1 battery and 2 sets of tyres. Not even brake pads or shocks, just drove it into every nct and passed on the spot. Bought a new one today, hear they're made in France now, hopefully it will be as reliable as the old one...

Did it go through the scrappage scheme, yeah?

I could do with some parts.

Kangoo Man

Yeah, scrappage scheme, got €4k off a new one with 3 years free servicing and 1 yr tax. Would have kept the old one for another 11 years only my wife is commuting to work every day. Shame to scrap such good cars, guy in the garage said he had just scrapped another mint '00 yaris with 1 owner and 60k...

slimjimmc

Kangoo Man wrote: »

Yeah, scrappage scheme, got €4k off a new one with 3 years free servicing and 1 yr tax. Would have kept the old one for another 11 years only my wife is commuting to work every day. Shame to scrap such good cars, guy in the garage said he had just scrapped another mint '00 yaris with 1 owner and 60k...

If you hit a wall in the old one you might be wishing you did change, newer cars are generally much safer. Reliability isn't everything.
The 2003 Micra got 4 stars, previous models only got 2. in the NCAP ratings.

David09

David09 wrote: »

To be honest, in my opinion I think that a toyota yaris is a horrible car, in almost every respect.

We are all entitled to our opinion i suppose.

David09 wrote: »

There are far, far nicer small cars out there.

like?

lomb

Very poor handling car in the wet. Instead of understeer the back end breaks loose and you get terrifying oversteer. Even its big brother corolla doesnt suffer this. Not sure if it is unique to my families one which is owned from new but there you go.

VolvoMan

slimjimmc wrote: »

If you hit a wall in the old one you might be wishing you did change, newer cars are generally much safer. Reliability isn't everything.
The 2003 Micra got 4 stars, previous models only got 2. in the NCAP ratings.

The original 1999 Yaris was 4 stars as well, so it's quite a safe car for its time.

lomb wrote: »

Very poor handling car in the wet. Instead of understeer the back end breaks loose and you get terrifying oversteer. Even its big brother corolla doesnt suffer this. Not sure if it is unique to my families one which is owned from new but there you go.

I actually think it's quite a neat handling little car. It's certainly better than the Mk2 Punto I drove for a while anyway.

padma

Kangoo Man wrote: »

Yeah, scrappage scheme, got €4k off a new one with 3 years free servicing and 1 yr tax. Would have kept the old one for another 11 years only my wife is commuting to work every day. Shame to scrap such good cars, guy in the garage said he had just scrapped another mint '00 yaris with 1 owner and 60k...

t'is a shame alright, there should be a donate your car scheme, to keep good old cars on the road.

bazz26

Kangoo Man wrote: »

Just scrapped a Yaris we had for 11 years from new, didn't put anything into it except oil and petrol, 1 battery and 2 sets of tyres. Not even brake pads or shocks, just drove it into every nct and passed on the spot. Bought a new one today, hear they're made in France now, hopefully it will be as reliable as the old one...

The mk1 you just scrapped was also made in France afaik. The only Japanese built one was the Yaris Verso and of course the import Vitz.

slimjimmc

VolvoMan wrote: »

The original 1999 Yaris was 4 stars as well, so it's quite a safe car for its time.

Ooops, you're right of course. Dunno how I confused it with a Micra

VolvoMan

bazz26 wrote: »

The mk1 you just scrapped was also made in France afaik. The only Japanese built one was the Yaris Verso and of course the import Vitz.

Early models up until about '01 were made in Japan. The factory in Valenciennes wasn't up and running by then.

colm_mcm

VolvoMan wrote: »

Early models up until about '01 were made in Japan. The factory in Valenciennes wasn't up and running by then.

Yep, dead right.
in the mk1 there isn't any downside to being made in France. The first lot of mk4
2 Yariss were japanese too.

Did you go 1.0 or 1.33?

Kangoo Man

Tried to get D4D but none available in the new 'sport' model, 1.33 has start/stop technology which I'd be a bit iffy about, so went for the old reliable 1.0...

bazz26

Any news on when the new Yaris hits the road, cannot be too long now?

Handytech

The Time has come to sell My beloved 2000 Toyota Yaris,
I has served me tremendously well over the past 4 years that i have owned it,

My partner is expecting our first baby on a couple of weeks and we have upgraded to more up to date car,
this is why we have decided to part company with it.
it is none the less, a very reliable that i am sure will
hopefully to a very good home.

I would like to enquire if I need to have a full service before I sell it
as I am not sure if it has had a full service in the past,

the car underwent an intermediate service at a Toyota garage 1 year ago,
and everything has been going well since then,.

I was asked by a potential buyer if the timing chain has been replaced
and i was not too sure.

Is there any way i can check this as the previous owner is deceased and
there is no mention in the log book ???

The car has 97000 miles on the clock.
the belt tends to squeak on very rare occasions when it is very cold outside
and the engine is cold, but unusually stops when the fan
is switched off.
Could this be the fan or the water pump that needs attention perhaps ??

Any help would be greatly be appreciated!!

Alas my Technical skills relate mostly to pc's and electronics.:cool: