First time buyer needing a sanity check

[dr_rob]

Hi everyone,

I've been a long time reader but never had much to post as I've never had my own car.

I'm hoping that will change in the next couple of days. I've just passed my driving test (at the tender age of 34) and am looking for a decent enough car. I'm guessing I'm going to ding it here and there so I'm not too worried about how it looks. I've spent the last week looking at private sellers and checking the DVLA website for MOT details (which is amazing).

I guess I just wanted a bit of a sanity check for a car I've got my eye on. I know that given the cars that I've seen on here this will be a remarkably crap car, but still.

It's a 2006 Yaris 1.0 VVT-i T3. It's got what I assume to be 47k genuine miles and from the pictures it looks pretty well looked after. It also has a couple of deep scratches from what I assume is hitting a low wall just above the petrol cap. I don't know much about fixing something like.

The car is going for £2,350. Does that sound reasonable?

I know this is a boring post, but any information would be a really big help.

Thanks everyone,


Details:

Advisories:
2010
-Nearside Front Tyre worn close to the legal limit (4.1.E.1)
-Offside Front Tyre worn close to the legal limit (4.1.E.1)
2012
-Offside Front brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (3.5.1i)
2016
-Front Lower Suspension arm rubber bush deteriorated but not resulting in excessive movement rear bushes both sides (2.4.G.2)
2017
-Front brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (3.5.1i)
-Nearside Front Lower Suspension arm rubber bush deteriorated but not resulting in excessive movement (2.4.G.2)
-Offside Front Lower Suspension arm rubber bush deteriorated but not resulting in excessive movement (2.4.G.2)

[lost in espace]

dr_rob said:

Hi everyone,

Sounds good to me, if its from a trader. Bit pricey for a private deal, but if you keep it for 5 years its going to cost about a tenner a week to buy over this period.

[Quavers]

Pricey. It may be good but I would carry on looking.

[dr_rob]

Thanks for the input chaps. If I were to make an offer to the seller, what do you think would be reasonable? I'm willing to pay what is a fair price for the car but seeing as it's my first time buying a car I'm keen not to overspend.

[catman]

At your age, would a bigger car cost much more to insure? You could probably get a better deal on something larger, even if the insurance is more.

Tim

[Berkshire bred]

Seems like every MOT that I have ever seen says pitted or scored disks so wouldn't worry about those, likewise rubbers and bushes.

I would have thought that at 34 you could insure something larger for not much more. It is also worth bearing in mind depending on your budget newer cars are often cheaper to insure.

Don't know these cars well but sounds a bit pricey, I would deffinetly be haggling hard if you do go for it.

Edited by Berkshire bred on Monday 8th January 20:08

[dr_rob]

Thanks for the input everyone. It looks like there is some consensus that the price is too high. I will certainly keep this in mind when I have a look at the car.

As for size, my thinking was to get something small for my general driving needs which would be driving around town and the off trip down the motorway to London. I'm not worried too much about performance as I'd probably still be finding my feet with driving around. That is unless I am missing something quite obvious?

Thanks again for the help here, I don't have anyone to ask personally who knows much about cars so I really appreciate the help.

[Berkshire bred]

If you like the yaris but want a bit more poke there is a 1.8 version with 132 hp. There is a red one on autotrader 87k on the clock 08 plate for £2493.

They do 0-60 in 9.3 and I can testify they are quite nippy, I followed one on the M4 to an indicated 125 MPH in my mk2 mx5 and my foot was on the floor to keep pace. ( not that I am recommending this )

[mholt1995]

What does that Yaris cost to insure for a year?

[dr_rob]

Just to add to the conversation....

The Yaris I was talking about is about £800 per year with my GF (5 years no claims) as a named driver.

[ZX10R NIN]

I'd go for a 1.2 & above with a budget of £2500 you can land yourself some very nice wheels (preferably with a 6 speed box) with reasonable insurance costs.

1,6 Clio Initiale (Leather etc) don't be put off by the engine size check the insurance costs as they may smaller than you think.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

1.4 Dynamique

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

1.6 Dynamique S

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Grande Punto Active Sport

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Gen2 1.3 Yaris T3

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

1.4 Toyota Corolla

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Suzuki Swift 1.5GLX

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

All the above should be low on insurance high ish spec wise & whilst still being good around town they'll all have enough go on the motorway.