Prospective Toyota Owner

[FL2AK]

Hi, my girlfriend and I are shopping for her next car; we're considering a 2007-2009 Yaris, Corolla, or Prius, among some Honda offerings as well. I thought I would join here and get some first hand opinions on these cars.

I'm a former Honda dealership line tech so I'm personally partial to the Hondas. We're looking at the Toyotas because of the better mileages than the Hondas.

[toku58]

Welcome to TN!
You can't go wrong with either Toyota or Honda! Great cars!

[FL2AK]

Originally Posted by toku58

Welcome to TN!
You can't go wrong with either Toyota or Honda! Great cars!

Yeah, that's kind of common wisdom these days. I just need to narrow down from the options we're looking at.

[eyeball96]

Then I guess it depends on what the gf wants then.

Civic coupes are nice lookin "chic" cars for sure.....Welcome to TN

[FL2AK]

Originally Posted by eyeball96

Then I guess it depends on what the gf wants then.

Civic coupes are nice lookin "chic" cars for sure.....Welcome to TN

Her criteria WAS a minimum 30 mpg in the city. With the downward revision of the EPA numbers, she's considering as low as 27 or 28.

My concerns are reliability, safety, ease of maintenance etc.

I own a VW and I work on it incessantly so I don't want another POS, hence the only cars in our list are Toyotas and Hondas.

[BLUEMEANIE]

Honestly, your requirements (reliability, safety, ease of maintenance and MPG) can easily be met by several Toyota or Honda models. Any of the Scion models are also right up there with your criteria.

I would look at available options. You can get an 08 Civic 4 or 2 door with everything but nav for a very reasonable price. The Scion tC is even less with similar options and the xB and xD are in the same class as the Yaris.

[T-Guy69]

Consider used?

I just purchased a 2006 Corolla XRS. 34 MPG. I purchased it for $14,500 and let someone else eat the depreciation. I would say it also meets the criteria of reliability, safety, ease of maintenance. (Didn't see FUN as a criteria) These days the search engines are great. Try VAST.com, Autotrader, CARS, etc.

[FL2AK]

Originally Posted by T-Guy69

Consider used?

I just purchased a 2006 Corolla XRS. 34 MPG. I purchased it for $14,500 and let someone else eat the depreciation. I would say it also meets the criteria of reliability, safety, ease of maintenance. (Didn't see FUN as a criteria)

These days the search engines are great. Try VAST.com, Autotrader, CARS, etc.

Oh I'm all about the used cars! Especially the certified pre-owned ones. That's how I bought my VW diesel. My dad would kill me if I bought a new car.

However, she's totally against it and I have yet as been able to change her mind. And in the end, it's her job and her money making the payments.

Your 34 mpg in the Corolla, is that city or highway? We mostly only do city driving. From what Ive been reading in ere, it seems like the 09 Corollas took a bit of a hit in real world mileages for some unknown reason. I've been partial to the corolla (at least in the Toyota line) because it's safer.

PS: no fun is not a criteria. Cars take to us from point a to ponit b. That is all. =)

[BLUEMEANIE]

Originally Posted by T-Guy69

(Didn't see FUN as a criteria)

The Corolla XRS is a rev happy 6 speed ... I'd say that qualifies as fun.

...I bought my tC used for about that, its loaded, has a panoramic sunroof, gets good mpg and is way sporty and fun.