Best Echo Year to Buy?

[littleredstuff]

Hello to all you Echo people,

I just signed up because I'm planning on purchasing a second-hand Echo by the end of the week! I've read a lot of reviews and it sounds like a great little car, but I'm wondering what model year would be the best to purchase - 2004 or 2005? The only thing that worries me about the 2005 is the Ratings it got in Consumer Reports - a few problems were reported compared to the stellar ratings for 2004. Paint problems were frequently reported for 2005, for example. Would be grateful for any advice on this - have any of you 2005 owners experienced any problems - mechanical or cosmetic?

Many thanks in advance!

[Skuz]

Mine is a 05 Echo hatch bought new. There is one space between the two 3M plastics factory installed on the rear fenders where road debris kinda sandblasts the paint. Gets worse if you use wider tires than originals. I don't know if the regular Echo also has these, I don't think so.

The only difference between a 04 and 05 Echo hatch is the addition of the RPM indicator and digital fuel gauge. The regular Echo was exactly the same from 04 to 05.

[littleredstuff]

Thanks for the reply. So it sounds like there shouldn't be any more likelihood of minor problems with the '05 than with the '04. Strange that there were slightly more problems reported for '05, but I guess it could be a fluke. Have you been happy with your purchase?

[jambo101]

My 01 just turned 200,000kms with no problems other than routine maintenance,i wouldnt worry too much about year as these cars are very durable and reliable,i'd look for something around 40 to 60000kms that was well maintained,you will probably save some money by buying private try
Craigslist=http://montreal.en.craigslist.ca/sea...min&maxAsk=max
Or Kijiji=http://montreal.kijiji.ca/f-echo-car...QQKeywordZecho

Dont get too wraptup in trying to buy a perfect showroom conditioned car,these cars are inexpensive reliable econoboxes and should be driven as such,if you want to baby the car change oil regularly,give it a coat of wax once a year ,get it oil sprayed (Krown or Metropolitan) and just drive it,dont worry about dings,dents and scratches as they will happen.

[JMSports]

Best year to buy = None.

To me, the car is the ugliest thing along with the prius that has ever been produced by toyota.

But thats just me, just letting my mouth do my minds talking.

[jambo101]

When i first saw an Echo it didnt do much for me either but then i got a deal i couldnt refuse and the little bugger kinda grew on me,now i have the Echo and a Yaris,,As i said reliable little econobox and not much more,dont waste money on mods or performance upgrades,as you might take off the lipstick

[Skuz]

Very satisfied about mine. With the right tires and a light foot you get a Prius' MPG without worrying about replacing batteries in a few years. My main complain is the cheap plastic interior which occasionally rattles.

[donald_osmond]

Originally Posted by Skuz

Very satisfied about mine. With the right tires and a light foot you get a Prius' MPG without worrying about replacing batteries in a few years. My main complain is the cheap plastic interior which occasionally rattles.

I'm getting plastic rattles with mine as well...Defiantely not something to do with the suspension... anyone know of any ways to silence that issue, or maybe figure out exactly what is rattling?

[toyopk95]

Had a 2001 2drs,173k's with no rattles,just got a 2005 Hb with 63k's but with an annoying rattle that comes from the doors lock knobs rattling in theirs holes.Thinking of finding a way to stop that, may go with tape or wedging a small piece of tie-wrap in between. Other than that I just love the thing.

[n00b]

what about a Yaris or Accent?

I have a 2001 Echo

annoying things for me are:

thin window glass - window needs to be rolled up twice to stop a window buzz/rattle
seat noise in cold weather
weak a/c

[frbl]

You might consider a Scion xA. I bought a used 2005 an am loving it. VERY similar mechanically to the Echo - only slight differences. Biggest one is gearing - hence the Scion does not get as good mileage. But still very good.

These are fun and relatively easy to work on. I have done a ton of my own work and I am only a mediocre mechanic.

BTW, paint on my '05 xA is pretty weak, too. Plenty of chips I've had to touch up.

[finboy]

Originally Posted by jambo101

When i first saw an Echo it didnt do much for me either but then i got a deal i couldnt refuse and the little bugger kinda grew on me,now i have the Echo and a Yaris,,As i said reliable little econobox and not much more,dont waste money on mods or performance upgrades,as you might take off the lipstick

you sound like a Miata guy

[jambo101]

Originally Posted by finboy

you sound like a Miata guy

Great little car but due to 2 daughters getting their drivers licenses i had to sell the little roadster last spring to get something more practical like a new Yaris sedan so i thought i'd let the girls drive the Echo and i'd drive the new Yaris turns out they drive the new car and i get the Echo
Since this topic started a year ago i traded in my 01 Echo with 220k for an 05 with 100k,damn reliable little cars.

[Stevo_Echohb05]

2005
had all the recalls done at the factory
added tach in dash

[PhatRoyale]

If I had an Echo hatchback to play with, mine would look like this.