Got 2-Toyota Echos. The one I'd like to keep has nearly 83,000 miles. I put new tires and a new battery in it in 2021. The heat shield rattles, but I can still drive it. I bought it used in 2018 from a Toyota dealership in Massachusetts so it has some rust underneath. How bad it is, I really don't know.
I bought the other Echo in late 2021. It has nearly 101,000 miles. The ride is a little rough over bumps, but it drives pretty good. The tires seem OK and the engine looks OK also. I can't see much rust underneath. I think it was a rental car at one time.
I'm an older lady, who is not a mechanic. I DO maintain any vehicle I own on a regular basis so both cars are well maintained ( at least while I owned them).
My question is, which one should I sell? I was intending on using the one I bought recently to do gigs like doordash, uber eats, etc. but I broke my leg a few months ago and I can't afford the cost of maintaining both cars while I'm recovering.
Scotty always stresses how much trouble rust can be in the life of a vehicle so I guess it would be logical to sell the Echo with the rust underneath, but I really like that Echo the best because, overall, I think it is superior to the other Echo that I bought recently.
I would appreciate comments about what you would do in my position. Thanks!
The interior is in mint condition. The owner of the Echo with higher miles was a pet owner and the interior, while not too bad, is not in mint condition. Maybe I like the lower mileage car with rust because I think it looks pretty good-from above. I have to agree though, that rust is a deal breaker. I was gonna take the newer tires and newer battery off of the car with rust and put them on the higher mileage Echo, that I think I'll keep.
I would keep the higher mileage one with 100,000 miles because it's not rusted you can't stop rust and Toyota echoes were notorious rust buckets once they started to rust
Are you sure having a 2nd car adds a lot of overhead?
Personally, I have quite a few cars and as long as only one is used a time, It doesn't add that much expenses. (Insurance, registration, tires, batteries - for me it ends up being about $150 monthly on average per car. the real expenses like breakdowns, gas, etc. are usually per millage)
As far as what one to keep, I'd have the nicer Echo (aka. Euro Yaris) inspected by a mechanic. If the mechanic says the rust isn't a big deal and it shouldn't cause the frame to fall apart anytime soon - I'd go with it.
