What toyota yaris would you say is the most reliable!!

Hi there I'm after a Toyota Yaris but need some advice on what year and engine size to buy as I'm fed up with the German cars needing work done to it every 1000 miles. What mileage should I look for the minimum and maximum mileage. thanks

Toyota hybrids are the best . 
Any mileage or any year. 
Yaris, Yaris cross, Corolla 

Might be best to give us an idea of how much you have to spend, then we’ll have an idea of what age car you are thinking of..

2 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

Toyota hybrids are the best .

12V Battery? Engine damper?

9 hours ago, bobleon7777 said:

Hi there I'm after a Toyota Yaris but need some advice on what year and engine size to buy as I'm fed up with the German cars needing work done to it every 1000 miles. What mileage should I look for the minimum and maximum mileage. thanks

In your profile you say 2005 Yaris, is the age you are looking to buy? If so its a case of "are you feeling lucky", any car almost 20 years will have issues any of which could write it off.

As Primus says, how much do you have to spend.

My best advice would be to look at condition and history.

I have a MK3 Yaris similar to the one below (the blue one) its not a hybrid but does decent MPG it has a 1.5 petrol engine with no turbo and has a cam chain which should never need replacing unlike engines with a cam belt,  the MK3 was introduced in 2011 (red one below) and was a facelift in 2017 production ceased in 2020.

The facelifted version has all the toys  (a few of the main ones listed)

Toyota’s Touch2 multimedia system -  sat-nav, bluetooth, DAB radio, USB, average MPG display and range display etc

Auto Headlight dip beam.

Auto wipers.

Cruise control.

Speed limiter.

Speed camera recognition. (also has audible over speed limit warning when not using sat-nav)

Air-Con

Reverse camera and and rear parking sensors. 

The early ones are starting around   £2,000 on auto trader.

4 hours ago, bathtub tom said:

12V battery? Engine damper?

Not a wide spread , only some cars. 
Plus these are nothing in comparison to German or other brands. 
 

11 hours ago, Primus1 said:

Might be best to give us an idea of how much you have to spend, then we’ll have an idea of what age car you are thinking of..

Round about 2000 manual 

10 hours ago, skidlid said:

In your profile you say 2005 Yaris, is the age you are looking to buy? If so its a case of "are you feeling lucky", any car almost 20 years will have issues any of which could write it off.

As Primus says, how much do you have to spend.

My best advice would be to look at condition and history.

I'm after MK1 or a MK2 yaris manual 

With a budget of £2000

TBH they're all extremely reliable, with the usual caveats for age and if they've been looked after. Their biggest weakness is regular oil changes - If they get them, the engines are virtually indestructible. If oil changes have been skipped or bad/poor/wrong oil used, walk away.

Mk1s are getting a bit long in the tooth now so you have to check them thoroughly for rust, and if they're from a damper part of the country and not driven much, the headunit can develop electrical issues.

Mk2s generally good, although avoid the 1.33 engines unless there is paperwork showing they had engine upgrades from the dealer, as the factory engines have 'low friction', i.e. weak, piston rings and tend to let a lot of oil past to be burned. I made that mistake as I wanted the 6-speed and £30 tax, but it's not worth it. The earlier 1.3 is much more reliable.

The Mk2 has the best interior of all generations of Yaris - You will never want for a place to store stuff, and the rear passenger leg room rivals some SUVs  

With that money Yaris difficult to get. You may want to look for Mitsubishi colt 2004-2012. These are as reliable as Toyota or even more. Just avoid diesel and mmt auto. 

16 minutes ago, Cyker said:

TBH they're all extremely reliable, with the usual caveats for age and if they've been looked after. Their biggest weakness is regular oil changes - If they get them, the engines are virtually indestructible. If oil changes have been skipped or bad/poor/wrong oil used, walk away.

Mk1s are getting a bit long in the tooth now so you have to check them thoroughly for rust, and if they're from a damper part of the country and not driven much, the headunit can develop electrical issues.

Mk2s generally good, although avoid the 1.33 engines unless there is paperwork showing they had engine upgrades from the dealer, as the factory engines have 'low friction', i.e. weak, piston rings and tend to let a lot of oil past to be burned. I made that mistake as I wanted the 6-speed and £30 tax, but it's not worth it. The earlier 1.3 is much more reliable.

The Mk2 has the best interior of all generations of Yaris - You will never want for a place to store stuff, and the rear passenger leg room rivals some SUVs  

 

Thanks mate👍🏼

12 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

With that money Yaris difficult to get. You may want to look for Mitsubishi colt 2004-2012. These are as reliable as Toyota or even more. Just avoid diesel and mmt auto. 

I dunno, Mk1 or early Mk2 should be doable for that, although I haven't look lately so I guess prices could have risen a lot!

The diesels are pretty reliable, much more powerful than the petrols, and insanely efficient, but none of them are ULEZ/CAZ compliant

Mine.

Alex

3 hours ago, Cyker said:

I dunno, Mk1 or early Mk2 should be doable for that, although I haven't look lately so I guess prices could have risen a lot!

The diesels are pretty reliable, much more powerful than the petrols, and insanely efficient, but none of them are ULEZ/CAZ compliant

True I just want something reliable and fuel efficient 

13 hours ago, Yaris_Cross said:

The facelifted version has all the toys  (a few of the main ones listed)

Which probably makes it less reliable. If the OP wanted toys he'd have asked for them.

1 hour ago, bobleon7777 said:

True I just want something reliable and fuel efficient 

At the £2k area you are on a gamble whatever you get. You are probably better digging around Honest John and the like rather than, tbh, a Toyota fan site. Also, finding a specific old car (not necessarily Toyota) that has a good record history may be more significant than an average of a model.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202405300243877

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202404309227418

avoid the 1.3 mk2 yaris from late 2007-2012 especially in your price range as these do like to burn oil when up in the miles

Something like this - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202406150795242?sort=price-asc&make=Toyota&model=Yaris&postcode=la129by&year-from=2011&year-to=2011&advertising-location=at_cars&fromsra

MOT History - https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/results?registration=sk11ofn&checkRecalls=true

12 hours ago, MikeSh said:

Which probably makes it less reliable. If the OP wanted toys he'd have asked for them.

The OP didn't say he wanted the most basic car he can find if he doesn't want all the toys he can simply ignore my post.

Quote

Hi there I'm after a Toyota Yaris but need some advice on what year and engine size to buy as I'm fed up with the German cars needing work done to it every 1000 miles. What mileage should I look for the minimum and maximum mileage. thanks

also flash22 reminded me in another thread, the Mk2 diesel started getting DPFs and DMFs fitted to them around 2007 onwards (I forget which got implemented when but both are bad) which are the two things that single-handedly turned diesels from being the most reliable engine-type to the least in one swoop.

It does seem the theme with the Mk2s is the earlier ones are more reliable unless you for for the 1L petrols which were virtually unchanged through the whole run  

1 hour ago, Cyker said:

fitted to them around 2007 onwards

Maybe 2009 for DPF. We had a 58 plate D4D which didn't have it.

Being serious (for once) a MK1 1.0vvti is, to me, the perfect runabout. Commuting or long distance no problems. Will do 80 all day long and still do 40mpg. 60 if you drive like Mother Teresa. Seats 4 comfortably, 5 not so. Has few electric 'aids' so less to go wrong. Boot big enough for a weekly shop. Handles like it's on rails. Looks cute too. 

I got lucky with mine, 85k on the clock FSH and it cost me £400 with a years ticket. Probably now worth the £2K mark. If you can find one with not too much rust underneath then buy it.

Alex

ps she passed the last MOT with no advisories and the annual service is an oil and filter change. This year she'll be a classic (over 20 years old) and vastly cheaper insurance.

Yeah the 1.0L is a surprisingly capable engine. I was a bit disappointed with the 1.33 as it really doesn't feel that much more powerful unless you really rev it out. People that had the 1.3 have told me they felt it had more low/mid-range torque than the 1.33 despite only having 87HP vs 100HP in the 1.33.