ECHO model advice wanted

[cruizing]

I would like to buy a Toyota ECHO and based on the amount of money that I can afford to pay, my option for years is between 2000 - 2004. I have researched intensively about the ECHO but I need to know if there is a model year or style that people would recommend regarding overall quality and reliability. I would appreciate any advice anybody could give me.

[amykathleen]

the 2003 and newer echos have a better rating according to my 'lemon aide' book. and the older echo's dont get the same gas mileage.

i bought an 03 one with 35000 km, auto and a/c, a few months ago for $9400. but i bought it privately so it saved me a good $3000 or so.

im really happy with it, no problems whatsover. and i have the full warranty til this june.

~Amy

[ECHOKnight2000]

Originally Posted by amykathleen

the 2003 and newer echos have a better rating according to my 'lemon aide' book. and the older echo's dont get the same gas mileage.

i bought an 03 one with 35000 km, auto and a/c, a few months ago for $9400. but i bought it privately so it saved me a good $3000 or so.

im really happy with it, no problems whatsover. and i have the full warranty til this june.

~Amy

I agree, go for the 03-05 sedans although 03 is a carry over through 2005. I assume the sedan? Although we (the U.S.) didn't get the hatch which came as an 04-in Canada, you might want to look at that...as I see you're from Canada. I would cause I like hatches but its totally up to you and what you feel may suit your needs, I believe the sedan may have more room than the hatch at least in the boot or trunk whatever you call it. I also may be baised cause I have an 03 and one of the main reasons is I thought it looked good or better than the previous model years (sedan) but looks are subjective (is that the right word) anyway this is one of the most economical cars to own not only on gas but reliability and durability and like most cars if you take care of it it will take care of you, but this one more than others. Good luck!!

[cruizing]

Thank you Amy and Knight for your feedback. Amy, you got exactly the deal that I am looking for - 2003 ECHO with low Km's for $9,000 - 10000. The only exception is that I am looking for an ECHO with a manual trasmission. Knight, I agree with you about the looks of the 2003 model. I like it a lot more than the 2000-2002 model too. I think that I will wait for the right deal. For now, is seems that most of what is available is the 2000-2002 models. Luckily, I am not in a hurry so I can afford to wait.

Amy, do you think you got lucky with the deal that you got or do you think that I should be able to find a similar deal. How did you find yours?

Thank you both for the info.

C

[amykathleen]

the echo i bought was originally lasted on autotrader for $13000. so i emailed back and forth with the guy and i said something to the tune of "look, if you can give me a REALLY good deal, i'll buy it from you now, if not i'm not in a rush to buy anything and can wait til spring".

so he dropped the price to $10000.
and then the day i was to purchase it, we took it to the mechanic and found it required a new brake job. so i made the guy drop $600 from his price. it was a 2 hr drive for him to bring me the car so he grinned and beared it. and i ended up getting the brake job from the mechanic for free afterwards . the inspection at the mechanics did cost $100 to inspect pretty much everything and make sure im not getting a lemon.

i highly doubt you could find a deal like that from a dealership. with dealerships you'll be lucky to get $500 off the price. so stick to private sellers and then take it to a toyota mechanic before purchasing.

one more thing to note: for an 03 echo, sellers will only get about $8400 from the dealership when they sell it to them. so keep that in mind when purchasing.

good luck!

~Amy

[cruizing]

Hi Amy, I might try your strategy because I am in a similar situation. I am not in any hurry. In fact, I could even wait until next winter. I am determined to buy from a private party exclusively. I have read the Lemon Aid Guide and I have the Red Book which confirms what you mentioned that a seller would be getting just over $8000 for this model year. I just found a 2004 ECHO hatchback for $10,000, but I think it is a CE, which means that it doesn't have power steering or AC. I am not particularly interested in this model because these are the only two extras that I am interested in having in the car. If you have any other advice, please let me know.

Claudio

[05_Echo]

The only thing I will mention is that when we bought our 05 Echo new we thought about buying used but the payments were not much less for the used one because of the lower interest rate we got from Toyota. Oh and as for the car I'd buy a 03 or newer they look much nicer and try to get at least a B package so it has the colour matched bumpers and such, it just makes the car look better.

The wife and I both really like the little Echo and much more than I first thought we would.

[stuts]

Hey cruizing I understand the money is an issue but if I was U I would get a Yaris off a lease or something if you don’t need the car right away I would for sure wait the Yaris is a much better car a little bit bigger Ultra Low Emissions a bit worst gas mileage but very very close the Yaris rides alot better and quiter on the highway than the echo

[Portico]

We picked up our '01 used for $6500 (USD) almost exactly a year ago and have since put 15000 (up to 80000) miles on it with no issues (road noise was high until I replaced the tires with a good set all weather)

Went from an '01 Focus to the '01 Echo and I greatly prefer the Echo.

[cruizing]

Thank you for all the feedback. Please keep it coming. 05_Echo, I agree with you on the looks of the 2003 and up. I hate the idea of owing anymore money to a bank in addition to my student loan and paying more than what the car is actually worth. That is the reason why I would pay for it cash and in full. Also, I prefer to buy used because I don't want to have to bite the big chunk of depreciation that all cars suffer in the first two years. Besides, I might go back to school for graduate studies in about two or three years and I would hate to have to find somebody to take up the lease of a new car. I have the impression that it is easier to sell a car than to get someone to assume the lease. Am I wrong?

Stuts, I would love also the idea of waiting to buy a used Yaris but what I am finding so far with the Echo, which would probably happen with the Yaris as well, is that it is hard to find private sallers of Echos coming out of a lease after 2 years. So far, I just foud one (LE) and the guy selling it is asking for way more than the actual value of the car. In fact, the car has been listed on the Autotrader for a good while and he hasn't sold it yet. I don't know if you would suggest a particular strategy other that just waiting.