thanks, thread, for introducing me to rocket auto.
btw, OP, good luck with your choice. I used to own a Yaris and it was a great car. good mileage too, but don't expect it to come anywhere near the Mirage in that respect.
thanks, thread, for introducing me to rocket auto.
btw, OP, good luck with your choice. I used to own a Yaris and it was a great car. good mileage too, but don't expect it to come anywhere near the Mirage in that respect.
2014 White SE with CVT
Keep in mind if you go the Yaris route, you're likely going to pay a few thousand more up front if buying new and more money in gas because they offer pretty abysmal fuel economy in comparison to the Mirage. You're also giving up a lot of nice creature comforts like auto climate control.
I can say a thing or two about the Yaris because I had a Yaris for ten years after my favorite little Metro died. In fact, I had the Yaris up until 1 month ago when I was rear-ended in what should have been a fender bender but turned out to cause so much damage that the insurance company decided to total it.
When I bought the Yaris, they were advertising it as getting 40 MPG. Well, mine never came close to that, and I notice that Toyota no longer claims it either. Coming from the Geo Metro, the Yaris was hard to like. Not only was the gas mileage not up to that of the Metro's, but the base Yaris was one boring car. No bells or whistles at all. Plus, it was much larger than the Metro which I didn't like and the turning radius wasn't great either. The Yaris I had was at best a mediocre car.
However, it was fairly reliable. In the ten years I owned the car, only the air conditioner went out. When I gave up the Yaris for salvage, it had 88,000 miles on it and it was needing a new set of tires and a new serpantine belt. It also needed some work done on the clutch (adjustment) because the clutch pedal needed to be pushed all the way down and clamped against the floor before being able to start the Yaris or to change gears. In a sense, having the car totalled was a blessing to me because it saved me some serious expense.
I was really disappointed in the famous Toyota quality because such a minor fender bender could do so much damage. I was shocked actually. The guy who hit me didn't have any damage at all except a minor dent.
But above all, as I said, the Yaris is boring. It's not particularly fun to drive and it has no outstanding features. The base model is about as basic as you can get. The only technology in mine was a radio and that was it. Plus, do not expect the Yaris to get anywhere near the fuel efficiency as the Mirage.
The one good thing about the Yaris was that in the 10 years that I owned the car, I never once had to change the muffler. I've never had a car whose muffler lasted that long before.
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View my fuel log 2017 Mirage SE 1.2 manual: 45.4 mpg (US) ... 19.3 km/L ... 5.2 L/100 km ... 54.5 mpg (Imp)
fc321 (07-30-2017)
It would be cheaper to replace the worn out parts with better aftermarket parts than buying a new car IMHO...
For stuff like shock and bushing, just upgrade them with coilover and ES bushings when the time comes. It will drive like a new car...
For your airbag sensor thing, the dealer can't charge you for it, is a safety equipment item, they are supposed to replace it for free i think...
BTW, I had a 2005 Yaris before, hated it, so boring to drive, and everything gets rusted to hell after a few years.
fc321 (07-30-2017)
I like boring. Boring is good.
I've had a change of plans. I decided to go with a used car for my wife and keep the Mirage for myself. I was going to get a new car and give the my Mirage to my wife. Anyway I had pretty much decided to with the Yaris until I checked the prices on used Mirages. Wow!!! It looks like the used Mirages are like 4-5k less than a similar Yaris. For about 5K I can get a 2014-2015 Mirage with about 50k on it. For 5k I have to get about a 2008-2010 Yaris with 100K on it.
Any advice on a used Mirage? I know I need to check the alignment to make sure I get a good rear axle (ask me how I know).
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View my fuel log 2014 Mirage 1.2 automatic: 39.7 mpg (US) ... 16.9 km/L ... 5.9 L/100 km ... 47.6 mpg (Imp)
Rear alignment is the only "issue" to watch out for that I can think of.
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View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 62.4 mpg (US) ... 26.5 km/L ... 3.8 L/100 km ... 74.9 mpg (Imp)
And no accidents/clean title.
I just called a company called Car Shield, it's a repair insurance company. I got a quote on a 2014 Mirage with 70k vs a 2014 Yaris with 70k. The coverage is for 5 years/100K. $698 a year for the Yaris, $718 for the Mirage. He commented that the rates were very close (they obviously seem close, 698 vs 718 but his comment confirms it). So I'd say that's a plus for the Mirage. Also they probably only use new parts, which would drive up the cost of the Mirage quote more than the Yaris quote. You could save a lot using used parts with the Mirage. You don't save as much using used parts with the Yaris since the new aftermarket parts are almost as cheap.
For the record I seriously doubt I'd ever use that service. It seems like a scam, really high pressure sales tactics.
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View my fuel log 2014 Mirage 1.2 automatic: 39.7 mpg (US) ... 16.9 km/L ... 5.9 L/100 km ... 47.6 mpg (Imp)
Don't assume those 3rd party warranty providers use new parts.
Eggman (08-11-2017)
Another good thing about getting a used Mirage vs Yaris is that I should be able to tell how well it's been maintained, since I've been driving mine for 3 years. Mine's a 2014 with 70K so if I test drive another 2014 with 50k for example, and it feels worse than mine, I'll know it hasn't been maintained very well.
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View my fuel log 2014 Mirage 1.2 automatic: 39.7 mpg (US) ... 16.9 km/L ... 5.9 L/100 km ... 47.6 mpg (Imp)