Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
1. How is the Echo behave like on Highway with air conditioning on (N/V/H)?
2. Does any body have their Echo with K&N air filter and Bosch Platimun plug installed?
Any bebnefit on the low end torque ?
thx in advance.
With the AC running you only notice a little slower acceleration when starting from a stop. Once up to speed I can easily keep up with everybody else.
I installed Bosch Platinum spark plugs a while ago and there is no change in power or fuel economy. In my opinion the K&N is too expensive and I decided it's not worth installing it.
You are not going to win any races but you will pass alot of gas stations and get alot of curious stares and of course a few laughing skeptics
why they would look at the tranny now makes you wonder.Is it an auto or standard trans?
Im back to driving my ECHO after surgury. I found my wife had driven it 243 miles and when I filled up the tank it took 8.3 gallons. Thats 29 mpg. I myself have never gotten less than 36 mpg, so you can see how different driving techniques can produce vastly different mileages. Basically I rarely go over 45 mph whereas my wife drives like a bat out of hell.
108k and counting. No problems yet...
Changed coolant, transmission fluid, belts, plugs around 60k. 2nd set of tires. VERY regular oil changes.
Brakes were changed around 40k when it had the recall notice. ('00 model). Still over 1/2 left on the brakepads!
See you all at the next 100k!
As I understand it to recieve proper protection you need to have your hands on the steering wheel at 9 and 3 o clock, otherwise air bag deployment can break your arm(s) And of course wear your seatbelt. The best way to protect yourself from an accident is to drive defensively and prevent it from happening. I rather doubt there is anything you can do to protect yourself should one occur...they happen so fast. You are right to check your rearview when stopping or waiting to turn left...but what can be done to save yourself from others mistakes i dont know. I ride a motorcycle also and am as paranoid as hell about other cars on the road. so far so good...
Yes its time to reward your ECHO for the service it has given you with some maintainence! Id review the maintainence requirements in your owners manual at this time in case I missed anything. (but note that some of the things I mentioned arent in the manual)
Would appreciate any feedback.
By the way, my fuel consumption stands at 50 MPG Canadian average. That is 41.6 MPG for those of you in the US.
If you consider that a new one is worth $ 18000 Canadian and that 125.000 kms is only one third of its life expectancy -if extremely well cared for- $ 6000 seems like a bargain to me. You are getting the two thirds remaining in the life of the car for half the price.
If the seller of the car can show it is not an ex rental and has all the service records and furthermore, if you have the car checked out by Toyota, it could be a very good deal.
125.000 kms means the owner had a long commute and most of those kms are highway. If all the oil changes were made on schedule it most likely means the engine is in excellent shape.
Make sure the car has not been in any accidents.
Good luck with your decision and please let us know if you purchased the car.
We then went to Bel-Air Toyota and saw a 2000 with 74000 KM. this car was mint condition with New tires, brakes, Tinted Windows, and Autostart...the whole nine yards. Took it out for a spin and was really impressed. the asking price was $10,995 (auto but no air). we negotiated and got the price down to $9775. We also negotiated to have the following included in the price:
-new floor mats
-replace the hubcaps
-fix some pulls in the seat fabric
-shampoo the car
-admin fee
-full tank of gas
We are quite pumpped over it and will be picking it up Next Saturday.
I'm sure you'll be hearing from folks, but there is a ton of info here already. I hope you'll take some time to read through the previous posts and/or use the "Search This Discussion" feature on the page bar to benefit from all of the Echo history that is here.
Im not sure the public has taken ECHO, or any small car to its heart however. It doesnt seem to be a terribly popular car. Which is a pity because we wouldnt need to worry so much about the Middle East if more people drove an ECHO. Also, its a terrifically economical car!
http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/hl/04echo.htm
The Echo has pure simplicity on its side though, not much stuff to break inside. Also, the car's fuel economy is outstanding, and the projected reliability is higher. I don't know about crash data, as I haven't seen any on the Echo. I know the Elantra didn't do so hot though in the NHTSA tests....
Reliability? In my case the car is absolutely bulletproof. No repairs whatsoever at 73k miles, only maintenance items. In my case: ATF drain and fill yearly, coolant drain and fill @ 40k, oil changes and tire rotations every 10k.
Sparkplugs replaced @ 30k, they were the regular copper type. Installed platinum spark plugs that should last 60k miles. Brakes are still @ 50%, Michelin tires 70% usable tread left, outstanding!
Question....At how many KM's should I consider changing the Sparkplugs? Would this improve the fuel economy? Is this something I should get a mechanic to do or could it be done myself?
I am a US service member living near a base in Germany. I'm interested in buying an US spec Echo used for the reasons of reliability and and fuel economy. The choices (or choice at this time) is very limited. I'm seriously considering buying used stateside, like from an Ebay auction, and then shipping to Europe. The only problem is that the warranties don't apply in Europe, so I would be driving "naked" so to say. Does anyone know of a European company which I could buy a warranty from? What do people think of my plan? Thanks.
Dean.