Toyota Echo, amuse me

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Recently I've been considering a cheap beater car to drive after work. For some reason, I really like the Echo. 2 or 4 doors, doesn't matter, but a manual transmission is mandatory. I see these for roughly $2500 to $3500 in my area with anywhere from 120k and up miles. My reason for considering one is how cheap they are for their condition, and because they get stellar MPGs. Can anyone comment on how they've liked theirs?
 
Uncomfortable on long trips for big people (like 6'3" 260lbs)

The only drive train issue I've had that prevented the car from being driven normally is a bad coil earlier this year. ($50)

Other stuff is brakes, calipers, o2 sensor, exhaust patch, (2) axle seals, belts, thermostat. Watch out for early models as they appear to rust out; mine doesn't seem to suffer; stick to "gen 2" 2003-5. Try for 15" rims and matte black accents as this minimizes how ridiculous you might look.

I have no qualms about bombing down to western VA, 500 miles and 500 back two days later.
 
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I test drove one, was very boring and the instrument cluster wasnt my thing, but to each his own.. my ex gf had a 90s model tercel and it was fun to drive and got in the 40s mpg
 
I've driven Corollas (a step up, but probably a minor one) for years and years. I would strongly recommend any Toyota subcompact. They are incredibly reliable. I would be driving one now, except all the Toyota subcompacts in the 100K mile/$5000 range that I was willing to pay, were bought before I could contact the person selling the car.

If you can't get a Toyota, these Honda Civics fulfill the same role.

We loved our Toyotas so much we also bought a Toyota minivan, which will be replaced (when it needs replacing) with another Toyota minivan.

Although 100K would be the mileage limit for a used car I would buy, 120K is nothing for these cars. I took one Corolla to 330K, and another to 250K.
 
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I had a Scion xa which shared a drive train with the echo. It was a very mechanically sound car. Cheap to buy and cheap to run and gave every indication it would run as long as you wanted it to.
 
I would recommend. certainly it is noisy on the highway, it's kinda like driving a go-kart; and will likely run for an easy 300k+ miles. I have had a couple of "early repairs" (water pump at 80k, wheel bearings, a/c; expensive exhaust) but I have no doubt mine will be around for many more years and miles.
 
If you get an '04-'06 xB, you'll have a lot more room, the xA is smaller but still not bad. The manual transmission ones' biggest flaw is an EXTREMELY low final drive ratio, mine is around 3500 RPM at 70 MPH in 5th-actually kills the highway MPGs. If I run the back roads at 50-55 MPH I can get 35-38, but keeping up with interstate traffic knocks it into the 30 range.
 
They are for people determined to be as miserable as possible on the road. Uncomfortable ride, handling bad bordering on scary, acceleration is diesel-Rabbit slow, ergonomics border on the bizarre. Highway noise levels border on pain. I managed about half a mile before I was ready to get out and hitch-hike. The Echo is a convincing argument for the merits of a Hyundai Excel, or a neon-pink Pacer with chartreuse polka dots and orange interior.
 
Originally Posted By: tomcat27
I would recommend. certainly it is noisy on the highway, it's kinda like driving a go-kart; and will likely run for an easy 300k+ miles. I have had a couple of "early repairs" (water pump at 80k, wheel bearings, a/c; expensive exhaust) but I have no doubt mine will be around for many more years and miles.


They aren't anything like a go-kart except that they are small. They have sketchy non-handling biased suspension and can barely get out of their own way. They are an inexpensive A to B appliance that fills that role well and at minimal cost to the end user in terms of both initial price and TCO.

A Mini Cooper S is like a go-kart.
 
Just out of curiosity, what do you need an after work beater for? I have one but it's a pickup to haul stuff with. I don't see what utility an Echo adds.
 
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Just out of curiosity, what do you need an after work beater for? I have one but it's a pickup to haul stuff with. I don't see what utility an Echo adds.


Something that gets better mileage than my loaded work van, which is also my personal vehicle.
 
Mine has had excellent reliability, the only things that have actually gone bad were an output shaft bearing in the manual transmission and the A/C evaporator. I fixed those myself (replaced all four input/output shaft bearings) and it has been fine since. I've noticed the clutch starting to slip now on wet days so that will have to be replaced sometime soon. I have a new Aisin water pump in the box that I bought a while ago just because it had never been replaced, but it's still in the box. I'll install it sometime.

Parts are inexpensive for it mostly so that helps. I've kept up with all the preventative maintenance and overall it has been a very low-cost vehicle. I mostly use it to drive back and forth to work and for that job it does fine.
 
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