Would you advise me to downsize to a Yaris or Auris?

How much is my 2006 Toyota Corolla five-door worth? It has alloy wheels, the 1.4-litre engine, was recently serviced, has an NCT until 3/16 and has 89,000km on the clock. One lady owner. I am thinking of downsizing to a Yaris or Auris. What would you advise?

Bernadette Tobin (Dublin)

Apr 2014 Filed under: choosing used car

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Expert answer

Hi Bernadette,

You're most likely looking at a value of between €5,000 and €7,000 for your Corolla. If you're looking to trim your running costs then downsizing to a Yaris could be a good idea. You just need to do your sums carefully to make sure that the cost of upgrading (the price of the new car minus your trade in) isn't more than what you could potentially save in terms of petrol and road tax over the same period. 

Choosing an Auris isn't downsizing - it's the car that replaced the hatchback Corolla and is the same size. The only way it could save you money is if you went for the diesel version and that would only work if you're doing big mileages - 15,000km a year or more.

So, with that in mind, it may be worth looking at simply keeping your current car. A mileage of 89,000km is barely run in for a Corolla and it may be worth looking at simply getting your existing car serviced, valeted and maybe updated (new alloys? a nicer stereo?). It may work out cheaper in the long run.

Neil Briscoe - Complete Car Adviser
@neilmbriscoe