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Buying a first generation Toyota Aygo.

George J

Herefordshire member
I have caved in and admitted that I cannot manage without an ICE powered car. I cannot afford an EV, much though I would prefer that.

I have had an offer of £450 accepted for a sixteen year old base model two door Aygo, which I know runs well. I drove it to Norfolk and back [440 mile round trip] last summer, and it is a delightful little car. Light and the steering is direct and not prone to wandering on the motorway tramlines. Just about the slowest car I have driven: Zero to sixty is pretty much make an appointment, and we'll see when it can be arranged! I like that, finding sixty a fairly unpleasant speed on most roads these days. Not much torque but once wound up to a sensible cruising speed of fifty five to sixty miles per hour, it bowls along well enough.

A sewing machine of a one litre three cylinder engine, and I do like a three cylinder. Next to my favourite straight six configuration though flat twos are good as well, like classic BMW motorbikes and 2CVs.

I have never liked V configurations. V8s sound like a bag of nails to me with their uneven exhaust warble.

Anyway, I have enquired about insurance and fully comprehensive with commuting is less than three hundred pounds. And sixty miles per gallon - so quite a budget economy car.

Wish me luck. Should get it next week as I fix insurance, VED and actually buying it.

Our society is based on moving about and so a car becomes a necessary evil [though I do enjoy their mechanical nature, especially a manual gearbox] once one leaves contracted PAYE employment for freelance self-employment as I have in the last six weeks ... that is another story, but, as a fifty nine year old, I swear I will never be beholden to a single entity employer again, if it kills me.

Best wishes from George
 
I think you've done well to find one for £450. That qualifies as a learner car so I'm surprised the seller hasn't tried to capitalise on that.
 
Dear Ginger,

The seller knows me, and it is often as much about who you know as what you know. It is such an anonymous little car. No flash, and a simple metallic grey or silver paint job means it is not likely to appeal to either thieves or youngsters, who prefer a Corsa of Fiesta; neither is as good in terms of reliability or durability, and both have more get up and go.

It only has to go twelve months for me, but I reckon there could years of life left if treated with respect. The previous owner is well past retirement age so it does not get hammered ...

Best wishes from George
 
Good choice George. I still think that you should have paid for the repairs on the Skoda but you wouldn't be told so a period without a car has brought you round. They're good things.
 
Dear Steve,

Unfortunately the Fabia was a money pit with 170,000 miles on the clock. The big repairs were coming, though the engine was good. Unfortunately with a 1.9 litre diesel in a car designed for a 1.4 litre petrol, the brakes and suspension were at the end. Really that engine was too heavy for the chassis.

Anyhoo, the saving in the meantime will have more than covered the cost of getting motorised again. Sometimes it does not do to be too fastidiously thrifty. I had a bit of luck on insurance. Instead of cancelling the Fabia insurance I let it lapse and not renew in the November. Thus I have less than two years since last being insured, and so my no-claims status remains valid. Fancy if I was starting from scratch! It does not bear thinking about.

Anyway, I'll take a few photos when it is legally mine, taxed and insured, and post here ... hopefully next week.

Best wishes from George
 
We had the Peugeot equivalent (all made in the same factory?) 107. Neat little car that with decent suspension was okay on a long haul. Mid-fifties fuel wise. The only petrol car we got sixty out of was a Citroen AX.
 
As I understand it, the Citroen C1, the Pug 107 and the UK released Aygo were all made in the same factory.

I managed 60 mpg last summer over 440 miles, driving with finesse, but not babying the car either.

I hired a later Aygo a few years ago to go from Worcester to Huntingdon [for amp repairs at Quad HQ] and the round trip returned 77 mpg, which is actually somewhat better than the published economy figures. I drove in very relaxed style [starting long before dawn with almost no traffic] and returned just as gently. No lead-slipper acceleration, and almost no braking ...

It was a surprise! I did manage the same trip [more amp repairs] in the Fabia, driving in less comfortable conditions requiring full acceleration on occasion and also managed 77 mpg. That was with the famous 1.9 VW naturally aspirated diesel engine, beloved of taxi operators. Slow and no smoke under any circumstances but zero to sixty in nineteen seconds. First generation Aygos are even slower unless you rev the guts out of it. I could never do that. Just like whipping the last ounce out of a horse. Okay for a while, but then the horse will end up hating you. I have never whipped a horse. It is easier to persuade than beat, if you want the relationship to last.

Best wishes from George
 
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My daughter got one (09) after righting off her fiesta in a low speed crash ( under 30mph) thankfully as you say the insurance is very low which is great, the 3 cylinder engine rattle at low revs takes some getting used to though.
 
I have caved in and admitted that I cannot manage without an ICE powered car. I cannot afford an EV, much though I would prefer that.

I have had an offer of £450 accepted for a sixteen year old base model two door Aygo, which I know runs well. I drove it to Norfolk and back [440 mile round trip] last summer, and it is a delightful little car. Light and the steering is direct and not prone to wandering on the motorway tramlines. Just about the slowest car I have driven: Zero to sixty is pretty much make an appointment, and we'll see when it can be arranged! I like that, finding sixty a fairly unpleasant speed on most roads these days. Not much torque but once wound up to a sensible cruising speed of fifty five to sixty miles per hour, it bowls along well enough.

A sewing machine of a one litre three cylinder engine, and I do like a three cylinder. Next to my favourite straight six configuration though flat twos are good as well, like classic BMW motorbikes and 2CVs.

I have never liked V configurations. V8s sound like a bag of nails to me with their uneven exhaust warble.

Anyway, I have enquired about insurance and fully comprehensive with commuting is less than three hundred pounds. And sixty miles per gallon - so quite a budget economy car.

Wish me luck. Should get it next week as I fix insurance, VED and actually buying it.

Our society is based on moving about and so a car becomes a necessary evil [though I do enjoy their mechanical nature, especially a manual gearbox] once one leaves contracted PAYE employment for freelance self-employment as I have in the last six weeks ... that is another story, but, as a fifty nine year old, I swear I will never be beholden to a single entity employer again, if it kills me.

Best wishes from George
Hired one of those in Portugal years ago on holiday.
Loved it.
 
Anyway, I have enquired about insurance and fully comprehensive with commuting is less than three hundred pounds.

You should shop around, that is a lot for insurance IMO. We pay less than £300 for an M235i BMW in London aged 55 fully comp with business use as well.
 
Oh and good simple car, we nearly chose one for our kids learner car. Ended up with a Fiat 500 as it was cheaper to insure but more to purchase.
 
I bought a (2011) 107 not long ago as we decided to replace two similarly sized hatchbacks with a tiny car for all local journeys and a larger car for the longer stuff. Plus my younger daughter just passed her test and we wanted her to have something small for her to potter around in for a few months before uni.

I have unexpectedly become quite fond of it! The return to a kind of 'bare bones' car is quite refreshing (though I did go wild and pick one with electric windows and remote c/l). It bounces along the road quite happily and tbh the tiny engine has enough poke to do what it needs to do. It doesn't feel so tiny when you're sitting in it and I find the room in the cab is fine for me (being a very average 5'8") and we've had all 4 of us in there a couple of times with no complaints from the back (short trips into town though). The engine and road noise is quite loud and the standard radio is terrible, and the boot is only big enough for about three carrier bags worth of groceries, but I can live with that (extra bags can just go on the back seats).

Insurance: £175 fully comp for me after I switched from Churchill to Aviva.

The Aygo is what i fancy for my next car, where are they made and who makes the engine in them?
Dunno about the new ones, but I believe the 1.0 3-cyl engine in the older ones is made by Toyota, and all (Aygo/107/C1) came out of the same Czech factory.
 
I had an early Aygo auto, thrashed the nuts out of it and it kept going. Mind you when you hit the loud pedal the engine noise got louder not so much the speed. The only gripe was the quality of the metal body shell, an aluminium coke can has a thicker skin.
 
You should shop around, that is a lot for insurance IMO. We pay less than £300 for an M235i BMW in London aged 55 fully comp with business use as well.

I was thinking how cheap and reasonable it sounds!! Where we are my old S60 was about £800 a year, and my wife’s old Yaris is about £550. Neither of us have any claims or convictions, she goes down as a school teacher, I’m the fly in the ointment as a musician…
Insurance is hellishly expensive in some parts because of the car crime. We’re near the North Manchester areas that used to feature on Traffic Cops…
 
that insurance sounds rather expensive- did you shop around?

Can a car of that age use E10 petrol? or will you be restricted to Super Unleaded?
All Toyota cars since 1998 are fine on e10 apart from some Avensis models.
 


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