The problem with forum members, and indeed yourself, trying to assess the condition of those cars, is the pictures. Either through poor quality or having the car situated somewhere in shadow or with inconsistent light such as the first Jazz and the first two Avensis. Or through simply not having enough pictures, such as the second Jazz and third Avensis.

I agree with Catsdad re the first Jazz, going on about how well the car has been looked after when there is a nasty dent in the tailgate and the rear towing point cover appears to have been ripped off (no mention of either in the description). It sets off alarm bells for me!. As for the risk of corrosion on the tailgate?, if the paint surface has been broken there is a very high risk of corrosion, otherwise it should be OK. The second Jazz looks lovely from what we can see (assuming you like the colour), but there just isn't enough pictures. Maybe not an issue if you live nearby, but i'd be very reluctant to travel any distance to see the car because of this.

The first two Avensis, i realise it is not easy showing up a dark coloured car, but again, very difficult to make a judgement on the condition based on those pics. The first one looks to have some paintwork damage to the front bumper cover, but it is only a plastic cover so no corrosion concerns. The third one, like the second Jazz, is hampered by the lack of pictures. I'd also be a little concerned about the Halfords and Quick Fit servicing as some of these places have pretty horrendous reputations for various reasons. Obviously they are not all bad, but it would put me off unless i knew the branches in question had a good reputation or good reviews from customers.

As for the choice of transmission, i have no experience of the Avensis CVT, but we have a current shape Jazz CVT which we have had since about May 2017. I was wary going for the CVT based on what i had read in the motoring press and on various forums (including this one), where they are almost universally derided. I won't go into details here, suffice to say i am very glad indeed i decided to go for it!. The transmission in the two you in your links appear to be the same 'CVT7' as ours, where you have 7 electronically stepped 'ratios', to mimic a good conventional auto or a DCT type box.

One last thing, i know SLO often says it is a good idea to look for privately owned cars, but i think this is more for the bottom of the food chain, with cars up to about £2.5k. You should be reasonably safe buying cars at around £5k from a dealer with a good reputation.

Edited by badbusdriver on 01/03/2019 at 12:26

Thanks SLO76 / Heidfirst for your inputs.

Called regarding the first Jazz that was advertised. Car has not been serviced by dealer for long time. Hence eliminated the Jazz.

Went and saw one of the manual Avensis advertised. It was advertised as 1 owner. Actually had 2. Couple of large scratches on the side that was not mentioned on the ad.

Anyway testdrove the car. First time driving the new model Avensis, Drive was great. Car felt very solid. EPB was not very off-putting. However the car had the other problem of cracked front doors, near the hinges. Argh!!