Question Yaris worth it???

rodrigogudino · #1 (**permalink**) 05-26-2008, 07:31 PM

Hi, I own a Tacoma but still I'm a TS Member. I'm interested in a Yaris for my sister and wanted some opinions from actual Yaris owners and not only trashy salesmen. Anyways, we're undecided on which Yaris (hatchback, sedan, S, non-S). Does this car have any recalls, tsb or any problem you had, still have , fixed even under warranty or not.. Please, everything will be very appreciated.. EVERYONE please give opinion I will read every single one of them.. Promise! Thanks!

ctrj · #2 (**permalink**) 05-26-2008, 08:10 PM

We have 43,000 miles on our Yaris Sedan. It's the base model, non-S. It has power windows, door locks, cruise control, carpet floor mats and trunk mat and the cd/mp3 player as options. We paid $14,500 for it in April 2007 when they were first out and we're discounting them.

At the 1,500 mile mark we hit a deer at 40 mph and smashed the front end all up. We were able to drive the car 300 miles back home and then got it fixed back up good as new.

All we've done for maintenance is Mobil 1 synthetic oil and Toyota oil filters and I've changed the air filter once (I need to do it again soon). We're still on the original tires and probably have 10-15,000 miles of tread left on them.

I drive the car 110 miles a day to and from work. It's pretty darn smooth and quiet for an econo car. I have the 5 speed and recommend it even if you live in a high traffic area. The automatic felt very sluggish. The seats are comfortable on long drives and the handling is very good. I get about 38 mpg if I'm going 75 mph and have gotten 45 mpg doing 55 mph.

You can certainly buy a nicer car, but you'll be hard pressed to find one with all the options the Yaris has (power option wise) and be as affordable as a Yaris. 40 mpg and a car payment of about $300 a month with $0 down is pretty darn nice!

blackbeauty · #3 (**permalink**) 05-26-2008, 10:13 PM

I just purchased a 2008 Yaris Hatchback a week ago and I think it's great. Got 39 mpg on the first tank. Mine has the auto transmission and I personally don't see anything sluggish about it. At the time I purchased it, I was planning to take both an auto and the 5 speed for test drives but after driving the auto I said forget the 5-speed this thing has plenty of zip. The car zips around great. And my other vehicle is an 07 Tundra 4x4 with the 5.7 V-8 so that should tell you something.

rodrigogudino · #4 (**permalink**) 05-27-2008, 01:40 AM

Thanks for all the replies, you're really helping us make up our minds... anything else (anyone else) would be appreciated also.. thanks again

Herbicidal · #5 (**permalink**) 06-09-2008, 10:12 PM

I'm 6' 1", will I fit comfortably? My local dealer and the other dealer a little farther away are all sold out, nothing to even sit in. Looks like the daily driving days with my Tundra are just about over...

Herbicidal · #6 (**permalink**) 06-10-2008, 10:49 PM

This evening I was able to answer my own question.

My saleman called me today and said he just received a couple and would I like take one for a test drive? I said sure thing!

I test drove a basic 4 door, automatic model, no power anything. The A/C worked great and I had no problems with headroom. In fact, the front seat went back even farther then was comfortable for me. The room in the back seats was pretty good too. No problem with hauling the kids around. The trunk was pretty deep and spacious too. The 1.5 liter motor did a good job of getting us up and onto the freeway. It was a very windy day here with 30mph+ side gusts and the Yaris handled it very well. It is a bit odd having the center console, but I suppose I could get used to it. Good visibility all the way around, however it seemed like my butt was dragging on the ground compared to my lifted Tundra!

I'm going to explore this possibility a little bit more, but right now I'm leaning towards getting one and giving the trusty Tundra a rest during the week days.

I swear gas prices jumped another 10 cents between going to work and coming home today!

subl1minal · #7 (**permalink**) 06-12-2008, 03:37 AM

Herbicidal, i was in the same situation with my tundra. just bought a yaris sedan sunday. power everything, mp3/cd, auto, etc etc etc for 16,000 otd (with tax, lic, blah blah blah).
I love it, drove the thing hard the first few days to see how it felt since it's only got a measly 106 hp. been zipping around town and the highways here and recorded a smooth 38.4 mpg on the first tank! i'm sure that driving like a granny i could easily get 40-45 out of it. cost me like 46 dollars to fill the whole freakin tank, and it will go about 400 miles on it. ridiculous. i smile every time i look at it because I know that even with the extra car payment and insurance it's saving me $800 in gas a month!

Herbicidal · #8 (**permalink**) 06-12-2008, 08:24 AM

Thanks subl1minal for the feedback.

That's great to hear about the gas mileage! It's pretty much a done deal in my mind. I need to call back my salesman today and talk financials, plus see what's on the lot still or what's coming in. Personally I'm leaning towards the 'S' model which I believe is what you have based upon the options listed? It has a few more bells and whistles.

Gas prices up here near Sacramento are now at $4.53\gallon or slightly less depending on how hard you look.

Crap!

lelandstanford · #9 (**permalink**) 06-12-2008, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Herbicidal

Gas prices up here near Sacramento are now at $4.53\gallon or slightly less depending on how hard you look.

Crap!

$4.50/USG isn't too bad compare with this forecast:

$250 oil? Don't bet on it. - Jun. 11, 2008

subl1minal · #10 (**permalink**) 06-12-2008, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Herbicidal

Thanks subl1minal for the feedback.

That's great to hear about the gas mileage! It's pretty much a done deal in my mind. I need to call back my salesman today and talk financials, plus see what's on the lot still or what's coming in. Personally I'm leaning towards the 'S' model which I believe is what you have based upon the options listed? It has a few more bells and whistles.

Gas prices up here near Sacramento are now at $4.53\gallon or slightly less depending on how hard you look.

Crap!

No problem! I opted not to get the S, because i didn't like the black gauges. The unit i bought has just about every bell and whistle they come with, minus the body kit. Now that it's summer, I need to get it tinted BAD. drove my tundra today for work. towed a small trailer about 70 miles, used a little over quarter tank. Man, i really love this yaris now! hahaha

Herbicidal · #11 (**permalink**) 06-13-2008, 12:24 PM

I now have a Flint Metallic 4 door sedan "S" model on order. The dealer doesn't have one in inventory so he's trading for the one I want. I may have it this weekend! Sweet! Just about time to give the Tundra a rest during the week and dramatically reduce my gas costs per month. We're putting down a pretty hefty amount so my monthly payment will be $156.

subl1minal · #12 (**permalink**) 06-13-2008, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Herbicidal

I now have a Flint Metallic 4 door sedan "S" model on order. The dealer doesn't have one in inventory so he's trading for the one I want. I may have it this weekend! Sweet! Just about time to give the Tundra a rest during the week and dramatically reduce my gas costs per month. We're putting down a pretty hefty amount so my monthly payment will be $156.

That's awesome. Mine's twice that, 0 down plus a high interest rate (8%) since i've only got a year of credit history (just turned 19). I somehow qualified without a cosigner, even though I've also got a loan out for a Kawasaki KX450F as well. But it's nearly paid off hahaha

kathyricks · #13 (**permalink**) 06-13-2008, 11:56 PM

The 2009 Corolla has the same highway mileage as the Yaris and is a substantially more powerful, roomy and refined car and yet costs almost the same as the Yaris.

blackbeauty · #14 (**permalink**) 06-14-2008, 06:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kathyricks

The 2009 Corolla has the same highway mileage as the Yaris and is a substantially more powerful, roomy and refined car and yet costs almost the same as the Yaris.

Same highway mileage on the sticker, but in the real world is another story. Consumer reports testing produced 40mpg highway for the Corolla, 44mpg for the Yaris.

As far as price, you would be hard pressed to find a 2009 Corolla with a sticker price below $18,000.

Herbicidal · #15 (**permalink**) 06-14-2008, 05:38 PM

Thanks, but I'm staying with the Yaris. In fact, it has arrived at the dealership! However, I want the rear passenger windows and the back window tinted before I take delivery. The dealer has a contract with a tinting company and they'll do it on Monday. So l should be able to pick it up after work.

Since the smaller cars are selling like gangbusters in my area, the dealers aren't doing any price negotiation, the closest Toyota dealer to me (NOT the one I'm buying from) is actually upgrading the rims, interior (leather) etc, THEN releasing them to be sold at prices anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000 over invoice with stuff you may not want!

Take it or leave it. Someone else will buy it. Yeah, it's price gouging.

My dealer is NOT doing that. They found the one I wanted with the options I wanted, no swaping out parts for things I don't want. I am pretty much paying MSRP, but that's it. For how I'll be using the car, I'm fine with it.