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Thread: Cost of ownership vs Yaris

  1. #1
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    Cost of ownership vs Yaris

    I've got a 2014 Mirage with 65k miles. When it hits 100k my plan is to give it to my wife and get another small car. I'm leaning against the Mirage and for the Yaris because I'm afraid the repair costs are going to be very high for the Mirage from 100-200k. So far I've dodged a lot of bullets but I'm afraid my luck will run out eventually with the Mirage. I almost needed a new key for $400, luckily I found my old one. The passenger airbag sensor went out at 61k miles. Luckily the dealer cut me some slack and replaced it under warranty. That would've been $1200. My shocks feel a little mushy but they cost $500 for crappy OEMs and no one makes an aftermarket shock. I can choose from about 8 shocks from $20-60 a piece for the Yaris. I just checked on another common wear item, the AC compressor. For the OEM Mirage it's $720 compressor $333 for the condenser. I couldn't find any for the Mirage. For the Yaris it's $335 and $48 for the aftermarket! My guess is I'll spend maybe 3-5k more on the Mirage for repair costs from 100-200k. I can probably cut some costs by taking a chance on used parts but who wants to turn every car repair into a research project?


        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log 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)


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    3-5k is an absurdly high guess imho. Sounds like you're talking yourself into getting rid of it? And if your wife has it won't you still be looking at those repairs anyway?

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    Hey Madison320 has anything broken yet? What all have you replaced on your Mirage so far?

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        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 49.6 mpg (US) ... 21.1 km/L ... 4.7 L/100 km ... 59.5 mpg (Imp)


  4. #4
    Don't forget the option of inexpensive used parts. Maybe not practical for the shocks, but certainly for the AC components and that sensor.

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        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 63.2 mpg (US) ... 26.9 km/L ... 3.7 L/100 km ... 75.9 mpg (Imp)


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    Quote Originally Posted by Eggman View Post
    Hey Madison320 has anything broken yet? What all have you replaced on your Mirage so far?
    So far tires, brakes, rear axle and the passenger airbag sensor.

    My concern is the second 100k not the first. That's when the warranty expires and stuff goes bad.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log 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)


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    Quote Originally Posted by Pryme View Post
    3-5k is an absurdly high guess imho. Sounds like you're talking yourself into getting rid of it? And if your wife has it won't you still be looking at those repairs anyway?
    My plan from the start was to give my wife the Mirage at 100K and get another car, probably another Mirage. I'm just having second thoughts on getting another Mirage.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log 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)


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    Quote Originally Posted by MetroMPG View Post
    Don't forget the option of inexpensive used parts. Maybe not practical for the shocks, but certainly for the AC components and that sensor.
    That could be but since I don't do the work myself it usually seems more sensible to get a new part when you have to pay for the labor.

    I guess with the Mirage you'd be forced to go with used parts. So any additional cost compared to a Yaris would be mainly in additional repairs from faulty used parts. Maybe not that big of a deal. I have almost 2 years to decide.

    One thing I really like about the Mirage is all the space under the hood. It seems easy to work on. It's pretty amazing considering there's an engine and a transmission both in that little space.
    Last edited by Madison320; 06-07-2017 at 07:20 PM.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log 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)


  8. #8
    Have you had problems with your starter grinding? That'd be the only problem I'd be worried about in the 14 with a cvt. Otherwise there aren't a ton of mechanical changes all from 14-17. I've got a 15' mirage at work here that is getting close to 200000 miles with no problems. These cars don't have much to go wrong with them compared to some other makes.
    And yeah some parts from the dealer are expensive but odd parts that aren't expected to get damaged usually are...Wasn't your seat sensor damaged by a wet dog? That could happen to any car and I'd just go buy a used seat for $1-200. A/c condenser is $120Cad on Rockauto so much cheaper for you. I haven't seen a compressor fail yet but I'd just get a used one. But I agree parts can get pricey if they're not available aftermarket but i guess that's what happens when a car isn't very popular and there's not a huge demand for parts.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage SE wussie cvt edition. 1.2 automatic: 37.7 mpg (US) ... 16.0 km/L ... 6.2 L/100 km ... 45.3 mpg (Imp)


  9. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Fummins For This Useful Post:

    Eggman (06-07-2017),Madison320 (06-07-2017)

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    Quote Originally Posted by Fummins View Post
    Have you had problems with your starter grinding? That'd be the only problem I'd be worried about in the 14 with a cvt. Otherwise there aren't a ton of mechanical changes all from 14-17. I've got a 15' mirage at work here that is getting close to 200000 miles with no problems. These cars don't have much to go wrong with them compared to some other makes.
    And yeah some parts from the dealer are expensive but odd parts that aren't expected to get damaged usually are...Wasn't your seat sensor damaged by a wet dog? That could happen to any car and I'd just go buy a used seat for $1-200. A/c condenser is $120Cad on Rockauto so much cheaper for you. I haven't seen a compressor fail yet but I'd just get a used one. But I agree parts can get pricey if they're not available aftermarket but i guess that's what happens when a car isn't very popular and there's not a huge demand for parts.
    Good points.

    I was figuring maybe an average of one big repair a year from 100k-200k. Like a water pump, ac compressor, timing chain, that type of thing. Assuming new parts that would easily be a couple grand more in repair costs compared to a Yaris. 3-5k was probably too high. It's just a little unnerving when you go online to rockauto.com under Yaris and see like 15 choices for shocks, in all these different categories (economy, performance, premium, etc) and then you look under Mirage and there's nothing! I've never gone the used part route so that's part of the problem. Actually I'm adjusting my whole car repair mentality. I used to just take it to the same mechanic (not a dealer) and let him fix it. But that as getting too expensive. Now I take a more active role and try to diagnose the problem, order the part and then shop around for someone to install it.

    Got a couple of these to avoid future seat problems.

    "BarksBar Pet Front Seat Cover for Cars"

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log 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)


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    You seem to rack up miles almost as fast as me, I have 206,000 on a 09 cobalt xfe, I drive easy, minimize brakes etc. trying to get good FE, still original brakes. $3-400 worth of parts, in that time. I think the Mirage is built every bit as good as a Cobalt, and better than the 03 Malibu I drove to 265,000 till daughter wrecked it with $7-800 worth of parts, biggest being a fuel pump, next being $120 each front wheel bearings on both.

    Even the 98 stratus that I junked in December had 260,000 with just a $6-700 in parts, but I didn't fix the AC when it quit or PS sometime after 200,000. I think the key is all but the Stratus I got at fairly low miles and just did regular maintenance and they just keep working. The Stratus I got from the in-law so it was known and dealer serviced, I got it around 100,000.

    Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty, somebody has posted a video on you tube of about any repair you'd even need to do. If I need to do something I haven't done before I go find a video.

    In the last year I've done wheel bearing that need a puller (Nissan), control arms on the same car to replace the lower ball joint, sway bar links, CV axle replacement, bought and learned to use AC gauges for charging the AC, never done any of those before at almost 50 yo, then the car spun a bearing, got it at 150,000 miles, but at least it was cheap.

    I don't mind buying tools and are often cheaper than paying someone else the labor.


    Last edited by roosterk0031; 06-07-2017 at 09:30 PM.

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