Okay, I’ve spent the day on a Toyota Yaris forum, and I’m not the only one… Apparently these are selling like hotcakes; new ones have a long wait period, used ones are scarce, and prices are sky-rocketing… Yaris fever!!!
I waited too long to decide on “The Best Small Car”…
Call or contact dealers by email to find out what the situation is in your locale.
Our local Honda dealers still have Civics available with some dealer incentives available. That may be as good a choice as a Yaris.
You’d have to pay me to drive one. I have an intense dislike for anything with front wheel drive, skinny tires, crappy brakes, and no torque.
ya me too i don’t like imports i would buy a Chevy cobalt you car do not have to look crappy to be good on gas or pay a lot. the yaris 1.5 liter DOHC four cylinder engine only produces 106 horsepower and 103 foot pounds of torque. come on my 1995 Saturn makes 150 with a 1.9 liter it only cost me 1,000 and i have nothing to it i have had it for about a year i just did oil changes. in the city it get 30 high way is 35-37 The yaris gets 29 city and 35 high way the Chevy cobalt DOHC four cylinder ECOTEC engines 2.2 liter producing 148 horsepower (HP) and 152 foot pounds of torque and gets 25 city and 35 high way and its made in the USA!
Probably because Toyota’s record for building a quality trouble free mile for hundreds of thousands of miles far exceeds GM’s record in the past 30 years.
Mike - Ex GM fan who’s still waiting patiently for GM to start building quality cars again.
Well, there are others that are just as good. Don’t overpay for a car that is only marginally better than some of its competitors.
I was reminded of “car fever” the other day when I walked past the Dodge dealer and saw scores of PT Cruisers at $16,000 a pop, and thought back to its introduction when people were paying upward of $30 grand for them when inventory was short.
Patience - this model year changeover, combined with the small car fever will make them hard to find right now. If you can wait 5 months, you might get a better selection.
The Yaris irritates me with the dashboard design which locates gauges where they shouldn’t be to save money. Also, the brakes are just awful unless you get ABS. However people sold on the looks aren’t going to be swayed I suppose unless it bursts into flames. There’s forums and excitement out there for every car on the road, with most of it undeserved. All I can say is-drive a Honda Fit and a Mazda 3 and then the Yaris. If you you still want the Yaris then by all means buy it.
I’ve talked to a few dealers, and all are giving me the same spiel:
Oh, we can’t keep them on the lots! They’re all sold on paper before they ever get here! There’s a long waiting list! We can’t sell below MSR on 2008, and you’ll have to wait for one of those! It’s the gas mileage!
Now, I’m not all that impressed with the gas mileage – my 2000 Suzuki Swift gets better – and I find it hard to believe that all of America is pining after Yarises… Yarae??? I suspect much of this is hype.
Could it also be true that they have no info on the 2009s? Aren’t they coming out, like, SOON? Yet no idea on the price, no photos, etc. I think waiting till the panic dies down may be a good idea, although I’m still torn as to whether to just order an '09 that’s just what I want or try to save some on an '08.
You’ll find cars throughout the history of cars where people just wanted them. The Mini-Cooper, PT Cruiser, New VW Bug, Mazda Miata. None of the cars mentioned these Break-through phenomenal vehicles…The PT Cruiser was just a Neon with a different body.
People will be far better off financially buying something else that gets CLOSE to the Yaris gas mileage, but that isn’t selling as hot. If you’re a decent negotiator you could probably get it for several K less then the Yaris. It’ll take DECADES to recoop the savings.
Your Suzuki Swift is a rolling deathtrap compared to a new Yaris. The Yaris achieves great mileage given its engine size and acceleration. Besides 5mpg in difference is somewhat meaningless once you hit 40mpg because over the course of a year if you drive an average amount of miles it’s not a big difference in savings.
“We can’t sell below MSR on 2008” They mean they WON’T sell below MSR. It’s illegal for Toyota to tell a dealer that they CAN’T sell below MSR. Toyota can only suggest a price, not mandate one.
It’s illegal for Toyota
ILLEGAL??? Why is it illegal?? Many other industries SET PRICES…(From high-end Audio to Golf Clubs). About 10 years ago one Golf Course in NH was selling Ping Golf clubs BELOW MSRP. A ping rep heard about it and went in posing as a customer. When he was able to buy the clubs less then MSRP…the following day a Ping truck rolled up and removed ALL the Ping equipment in the clubhouse.
Honestly, that is probably just a temporary blip as people panic-buy not realizing the actual cost of trading in for a new vehicle.
Personally, I’d look for a Ford Focus. They’re in short supply, but not as short as the Yaris. You’re only losing 2 mpg for the automatic and 5 for the manual (based on owner reports at fueleconomy.gov). It’s bigger, has a better ride (IMO, and Consumer Reports despises the Yaris). And equipped the way I want a car (auto, abs, power windows & doors, keyless, side airbags, cruise), the Focus ends up about $300 cheaper (MSRP and invoice both). Total extra annual fuel cost for the Focus would only be $84 based on current prices and the number of miles I drive (~10,000 per year), or about 4 years before the fuel cost makes up for the difference in purchase price.
Patience - if oil stays below $120 and gas prices continue their slight drop, the panic buying will subside and dealers will start ‘dealing’ again. Winter’s always a better time to buy, anyway.
And what’s with that weird “fin” thing on the back of the 2009? Ugh.
It’s just another econo-box. Let the suckers pay list price if they think driving a Yaris will somehow make them “Cool”… (It won’t)
The only thing that really matters with cars is the cost-per-mile to own and operate them. Nothing else matters. Save your money.
OK, point taken. It’s not always illegal, but in most cases it is. It’s classified as non-competitive practice. I suppose as a franchise of Toyota it has more control. But it’s a slimy practice non-the-less. But I still stand by my interpretation of “can’t” as “won’t”. Toyota really doesn’t care how much a car is sold for. The dealer buys the cars from Toyota at a price, and then decides how much money they want to make on the resale of the vehicle. Toyota makes the same amount on the car whether it is sold to the end customer at the dealer cost or full retail.
from FreeAdvice.com:
“Most state statutes provide that fixing the price of a product or service in agreement with another individual or business is illegal. The general rule provides that a vendor may not in combination with another vendor agree to set a certain price thereby creating a fixed price within a certain market. A business acting on its own and not in concert with another may use legitimate efforts to obtain the best price they can, including their ability to raise prices to the detriment of the general public. Also, conformity of prices within a given product is not illegal unless such conformity was created by a combination of vendors agreeing on a set price. For example, where competitors agree to sell their goods or services at a specified price, minimum price or maximum price and they receive profits from such an agreement, they are in violation of price fixing. Additionally, setting a price to be charged only within a certain area in order to get rid of competition or to create a monopoly is generally illegal under most state laws. A majority of states have also enacted a “Below-Sales-Cost” law wherein businesses may not sell goods below cost if they do so with anti-competitive intent or effect”
This is very good advice. I remember when people put orders in and had to wait for 6 months for delivery of the orignal VW bug back in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. In fact there were people who would purchase a VW and turn around and sell it for more than they paid to a person who just had to have a VW.
I foresee in the next 4~6 years we’re gonna see a mass exodus from the Yaris as people are getting tired of the cramped little thing and wanting something bigger