2008 m/t Yaris - I'm very tempted

[ern-diz]

Def worth going to look at in person. Having said that, I will also say that I know my '07 looks nearly new in pictures, but when you get really close to it she shows a bit of her age. Looking closely at the pics of this car, you can see a couple scuffs on the left side of the rear bumper and it may just be me, but the seats look pretty beat. Heavy wear on the left side of the drivers and both front and rear appear to be pretty soiled. None of that is major and can be sorted easily. I only mention it because you're prob not going to get that new crispy car feeling that you'd get with the new '15. My advice would be to just keep that in mind.

Since I'm not a big fan of the '15 styling, if it were me, as long as it checked out mechanically, I'd save the money and go with the '08.

[Gogogordy]

Lists alloy wheels as well as hubcapped steelies.

Oversight or 2 sets of wheels?

(Yes the drivers bolster looks a bit hammered to me too)

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by ern-diz

it may just be me, but the seats look pretty beat. Heavy wear on the left side of the drivers and both front and rear appear to be pretty soiled.

It is not just you, this jumped out at me immediately when I first saw the ad.


To Kalispel (OP)...........owning both, there are things that I like better/think are better about the 3rd Gen Yaris, and the same re the 2nd Gen Yaris. One of the things that I think is much better re the 3rd Gen 2012-2014 (and I imagine would be the same on the 2015) is the paint. In some metro areas this might not matter, but in Phoenix the paint takes such a beating from the heat, the paint or clearcoat or both might start to suffer sooner rather than later.

My '14 Yaris was vandalized overnight last night at my hotel. Probably 20 big scratches on the hood...appeared to have been keyed. They left a female or kid sized cowboy hat as a calling card on the roof of the car . Upon noticing it, I drove to the nearest Toyota dealer. The service writer told me they don't have an in house body shop, but gave me the card of a nearby body shop and recommended them (All Foreign & Domestic Body Shop - North, in Stockton, CA) highly. I can see why. I drove there and told the receptionist what happened. A man who appeared to be the manager or owner overheard me. He looked at the hood and said it was 'right on the border' between being able to buff/;polish the scratches out or not...but that he thought they could be fairly successful. He brought the car back about 15 minutes later. 99% rectified. Fantastic! Two or so small scratches remain that they weren't able to get out, but they are so close to the headllamp lens that you have to look very hard to notice them. And they didn't charge me anything. Very professional, very courteous, and unbeatable karma. I wouldn't hesitate to patronize this business. Parked on the street in front of this bisiness, I saw one of the most pristine pre 1967 VW Beetles I've ever seen. Turns out to be an example of their work (belongs to one of their technicians, and he did the restoration himself). Bronsin, you would have drooled over this car. I probably should have taken a picture.

Anyway, the reason I wrote this last paragraph above is that I don't think I would have had anything remotely resembling this great result re eliminating the damage had it happened to my '07 Yaris....even within the first year of ownership, as I am with my '14 Yaris. Just some things to think about re your decision.

[justjesus]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

He brought the car back about 15 minutes later. 99% rectified. Fantastic! Two or so small scratches remain that they weren't able to get out, but they are so close to the headllamp lens that you have to look very hard to notice them. And they didn't charge me anything.

The free part is outstanding. I'm surprised at that. 15 minute to do the job, also a bit surprising. I've buffed out a section of my hood, for testing purposes, and it easily took longer than 15 min. Of course, they're pros and likely have way more experience!

Makes me curious as to what it looked like before, and of course, after.

Keep an eye on it, and after a month or so of washes, let us know if it still looks good.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by justjesus

The free part is outstanding. I'm surprised at that. 15 minute to do the job, also a bit surprising. I've buffed out a section of my hood, for testing purposes, and it easily took longer than 15 min. Of course, they're pros and likely have way more experience!

Makes me curious as to what it looked like before, and of course, after.

Keep an eye on it, and after a month or so of washes, let us know if it still looks good.

I'm guessing they have a very good reputation. The Toyota dealer service department praised their work immediately and added they are the only shop the dealer recommends. They're getting enough business to have two locations in different areas of Stockton.

Fortunately, I had only paid for one more night at that hotel. The old owners very likely were charging much lower rates for really long term guests. My room was nice, but the old owners let the long term occupants reflect a more seedy area that was quite a few blocks away. All was well until the hotel changed ownership a day or two before my incident happened, unsettling the long term people. One of the members of the family of new owners told me this. He also suggested that I park on the other side of the hotel in one of two spaces that are in a direct line of sight through the door of the office. Until a couple of nights before the scratches happened, I had been parking under a tree (mostly re shade) that had parts that were so low hanging they prevented anyone from leaning over any part of the hood and pretty much the windshield. I moved from that spot because the other spot opened up and I was tired of getting this sort of mild clear 'sap' from the tree on the car.. The 'sap' was landing on the windshield and the roof, but not on the hood. On my way back from having the scratches taken care of, I noticed a 24 hour laundry in a safe area near the junior college.I ended up doing long put off laundry and didn't return until the sun was about to rise. Both of the spaces the new owner had mentioned were available, so I parked in the closest one. I finished packing and then slept a bit before checking out. The new owners didn't have a complete handle on who had paid and who hadn't. They asked me If I had paid, and I replied yes through Priceliine...and that my reservation ends in five minutes. The way I phrased that must have seemed credible to them, as they didn't make me log on to my e-maill to prove that I had paid.

I'm now staying in a much nicer area (where I have already stayed most of the time on this trip) and the only negative I see is people with bicycles (riding their bikes over from impoverished areas) going through the outside trash cans of businesses and office buildings and picking out aluminum cans to put in the trash bags they already have partially filled with such cans. This doesn't seem to garner any attention from the police. Perhaps ithe businesses like the trash receptacles filling up at a slower rate .

I'm definitely going to keep an eye on the car hood, and I'll report any changes I notice