First car Yaris Hybrid?

kokiyou

Hi there,

I was looking into getting on the road with my first car. I have been getting quotes on a Yaris Hybrid as I just want an economical, reliable car for the first few years until NCB kicks in and I improve on the road. I'd be driving about 17 - 19k km per year.

I have been getting quotes around 2.2k for fully comp (300 excess), which seems normal enough and I wouldn't mind paying. Hopefully I will knock another 100/200 off through shopping around.

After looking at a local Toyota garage they have a Yaris Hybrid coming in with one local owner (old lady), verry low milage (5/6k miles) and a 141 Reg for about 13.8k euro. This seems like a good deal and I will look at it this weekend. Of course I am clueless about the process, what to look for, and how to bargain.

Should I be asking any specific questions or use things as bargaining chips? I would be happy enough at 13.5k but any advice is appreciated on the car choice, and value.

The Black Oil

I imported a 2012 one from the UK last July. Would you consider doing that? http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057592030

colm_mcm

The hybrids came down in price over the years and are now being sold to traditional automatic customers. The regular auto box on the Yaris is quite poor so the hybrid is selling on the basis that's it's better. I wouldn't be suspicious of a low mileage one.

13800 is a fair chunk of money though. You'd get a 141 Auris hybrid from the uk for around 15k. It mightn't suit you as well as the Yaris and it's 1.8 but just for some perspective on price.

kokiyou

The Black Oil wrote: »

I imported a 2012 one from the UK last July. Would you consider doing that? http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057592030

I would but as I am currently not insured and have no experience buying here nevermind abroad it might take me a while to decide how best to do it. While (possibly wrongly) I feel that I have a decent deal in front of me that I would like to lock down, or get convinced otherwise!

Thanks for the thread I will read the second half of it now.


EDIT 2: I finally read it through and checked prices on autotrader UK + VRT calculator. I guess this method is a lot cheaper maybe 9-10k total instead of 12 - 13.5k. The disadvantage would be no dealer warranty but the local car has almost no milage (5-6k) so it is doubtful that a year warranty will be any use to me. That is a chin scratcher thank you.

EDIT 3: I wonder would importing a car affect insurance cost/availability as I have 0 NCB.

kokiyou

colm_mcm wrote: »

The hybrids came down in price over the years and are now being sold to traditional automatic customers. The regular auto box on the Yaris is quite poor so the hybrid is selling on the basis that's it's better. I wouldn't be suspicious of a low mileage one.

13800 is a fair chunk of money though. You'd get a 141 Auris hybrid from the uk for around 15k. It mightn't suit you as well as the Yaris and it's 1.8 but just for some perspective on price.

Yeah I believe it is legitimate and the old lady lives a street away from the Toyota dealer. Well that is the initial price estimate so it might be possible to reduce it by a bit or a lot depending on how these dealers work.

I thought it was a good deal when comparing against the current 2nd hand Yaris Hybrid Irish market on carsireland and carzone.

I would be 90% of the time driving on national roads. 25km each way commute to work. Probably hit 18,000km per year

EDIT: My original goal was to get the most economical car (can't do EV as I live in an apartment), therefore Honda Jazz, Yaris/Auris Hybrid, Fiesta looked good. The Yaris seemed to have the lowest depreciation (guessing this due to their price point), best reliability (Toyota + Prius like parts) and best efficiency on fuel (apparently higher than Prius!) so I just focused on that for now.

Duke O Smiley

If you aren't in a rush to buy a car then importing might be a good idea, but personally I wouldn't. Given your lack of experience, as you've mentioned, you might find it a bit daunting. I'd guess that you'd have to either pay a family member/friend/tow truck to collect and bring the car home, so that doubles the travel expenses. For the sake of saving €1-2k, I'd buy locally and have the peace of mind of a local main dealer warranty...you never know when you might need it.

A friend of mine was given a Yaris hybrid last year from a family member, and like yourself he had no NCB or car of his own before this. I can't remember off the top of my head but he is paying very very reasonably for someone in his circumstances (>€2k). Its a fantastic car btw, really nice drive and well speced. Nice interior in em.