Getting ready to buy a 2007 Yaris hatch

[Type456]

Hey everyone, I'm new to the forum. I've been thinking about getting a Yaris as a 2nd car for a little while now; ever since a tree limb fell on my Subaru Forester (love that car and still have it) and ended up renting a 2012 Yaris hatch while the Subaru was being repaired.

I come from a muscle car background and have always liked cars with a bit of fun factor, but over the years I transitioned to reliable cars over "fun" cars. To me the Yaris was kind of fun to drive; not in the power sense, but its small go-cart size made it really maneuverable and it felt kind of light and zippy (the wife liked it too). I could almost see it as a primary vehicle here in NYC as opposed to the smart or IQ which I test drove while considering a lease.

Then the fun bug hit again. Since I'm looking for something small and easy to find parking for, I started looking at the civic hatch. That car has a lot of fun factor, though at 45 I'm not a fan of sitting so low to the ground and I question just how reliable an older civic would be even with a newer engine and tranny etc.

Since it's a 2nd car I wanted to keep the budget at around $6K (that's what the total cost of a Smart or Toyota IQ lease would be - and I can resell the car in 3 years as opposed to the lease where you end up with nothing. So, I found a 2007 Yaris hatch, automatic (not manual), no power windows or locks (don't really care, since it's a 2 door). The car is one owner and has only 49K miles and is pretty much flawless except for one small dent and scratch on the driver's side rear quarter. In checking the value it seems like it's about $1K below private seller value, so I'm pretty convinced this is a good deal.

I know the Yaris is the smarter choice, but the possibility of a small car with a little more power is still a draw for me i.e. the civic is still an itch and for the same money I know I could get a clean B series swapped EK hatch.

Opinions welcomed.