2007 Yaris hatchback wrecked...odds of it getting totaled? Details inside

[Josh_G]

Hey all,

Sadly as my first post here is pretty much about the death of my Yaris, at least I think so. Friday my wife and I were driving to work (carpooling) and as we came around a corner an 18-wheeler was stopped with their blinkers on in the oncoming lane of traffic (stuck coming up a small hill). It surprised my wife as it was still dark and snowy, she started to brake and we slide off the road and into a DOT guardrail. We were going probably no faster than 25 or 30 mph when we hit.

The guardrail hit the Yaris squarely in the front and I mean squarely. The center of it hit the center of the front of the car about dead center in the Toyota logo. Long story short, the car has been towed to a garage pending Allstate insurance checking it out.

I don't have any pictures I can upload at the moment, but I was hoping that I could describe the damage enough for people to give their opinion on whether or not it will be totaled.

First off, nothing seems to be damaged past the front wheels, no windows broken, doors open and close fine, etc. Even the front wheels seem to still have their bounce like the suspension isn't damaged. Naturally the air bags went off

The damage is pretty much entirely in the engine compartment, page 113 in the repair manual shows pretty well the damaged area. The headlights work, but are bulging out. Who knows where the engine is hiding because the radiator is pretty well back past where the engine is suppose to be. But it is still in there somewhere. There is no damage in the passager area beyond a where the seatbelts popped the plastic off the inside past the doors.

I know little about the inner working of a car, but my first reaction was that the car is a total loss. But given how new the car is I have my doubts.

Even with my limited knowledge I feel like the engine compartment is completely gone, and most likely everything in it would have to be replaced.

So if anyone read all of that and wants to throw in their opinion feel free. I can answer any questions if needed. And I probably could get some pictures eventually.


Thanks

Josh

[Tamago]

if you damaged the core support and the hood and fenders, you're looking at a $7000 bill.. depends where you take it..
airbags should be another $2000 ?

the car's probably worth $10,000 give or take..

you're on the bleeding edge.. but yeah pictures would help

[CTScott]

Hey all,

Sadly as my first post here is pretty much about the death of my Yaris, at least I think so. Friday my wife and I were driving to work (carpooling) and as we came around a corner an 18-wheeler was stopped with their blinkers on in the oncoming lane of traffic (stuck coming up a small hill). It surprised my wife as it was still dark and snowy, she started to brake and we slide off the road and into a DOT guardrail. We were going probably no faster than 25 or 30 mph when we hit.

The guardrail hit the Yaris squarely in the front and I mean squarely. The center of it hit the center of the front of the car about dead center in the Toyota logo. Long story short, the car has been towed to a garage pending Allstate insurance checking it out.

I don't have any pictures I can upload at the moment, but I was hoping that I could describe the damage enough for people to give their opinion on whether or not it will be totaled.

First off, nothing seems to be damaged past the front wheels, no windows broken, doors open and close fine, etc. Even the front wheels seem to still have their bounce like the suspension isn't damaged. Naturally the air bags went off

The damage is pretty much entirely in the engine compartment, page 113 in the repair manual shows pretty well the damaged area. The headlights work, but are bulging out. Who knows where the engine is hiding because the radiator is pretty well back past where the engine is suppose to be. But it is still in there somewhere. There is no damage in the passager area beyond a where the seatbelts popped the plastic off the inside past the doors.

I know little about the inner working of a car, but my first reaction was that the car is a total loss. But given how new the car is I have my doubts.

Even with my limited knowledge I feel like the engine compartment is completely gone, and most likely everything in it would have to be replaced.

So if anyone read all of that and wants to throw in their opinion feel free. I can answer any questions if needed. And I probably could get some pictures eventually.


Thanks

Josh


People who have been through the same can answer better than I, but being a low price tag car and with both airbags having deployed I would bet on it being a total.

On a positive note - I like hearing stories of people walking away without injury from accidents in the Yaris...

[TheSilkySmooth]

Good you were unhurt - no ABS I guess. I had a rear lock on me and steer athe car. You may want to explore a lawsuit. It seem the yaris has rear brakes prone to locking up and causing swerving. Ok, From what you describe - this is Salvage - Unrepairable. Now you can go buy a "good" car like a Suzuki SX4 with AWD for 14K.:wink:

Sonjas Bro

[TheSilkySmooth]

PIC please - I love the devastation!

[TheSilkySmooth]

So the guardrail was moving and the Yaris was stopped. I do not understand ...

[Josh_G]

So the guardrail was moving and the Yaris was stopped. I do not understand ...

I wish! Hitting another car would have caused less damage then that guardrail, at least another car would have absorbed some of the damage and moved. The guardrail just sent all the damage right back at the Yaris, which is why it was so bad for such a low speed accident.

I will get some pictures soon though, hopefully this afternoon or tomorrow.

[tk-421]

AFAIK, if the engine got damaged in the accident, it is very likely that it will be considered totalled.
Good to know everyone's OK. :smile:
Are you thinking about getting a new Yaris?

[Tamago]

Are you thinking about getting a new Yaris?

one with ABS?
:iono::wink:

[Josh_G]

AFAIK, if the engine got damaged in the accident, it is very likely that it will be considered totalled.
Good to know everyone's OK. :smile:
Are you thinking about getting a new Yaris?

I'd like to get another Yaris, I know my wife would since she just loved that car. I'm basically hoping that with auto sales in the US being so poor lately, even Toyota's, that I could score a good deal with the money I get from the totaled Yaris. Basically, I still owe a couple thousand on the Yaris so I thought about calling the dealer that I bought the original Yaris from and see if something could be worked out. Kinda like the "pay off your trade no matter how much you owe.." deal, except that my trade is totaled (haha).

Seriously though if the dealer really wants to move a vehicle I could see them going for it, they 'forgive' the debt that I owe them, take the money I get from the totaled Yaris and some extra from me, then I get a new Yaris. That's getting ahead of myself though.


And it wasn't a ABS (or lack of) problem, just snowy roads, a slight hill, and poor timing with the brakes. My wife didn't slam the brakes, or even brake hard. We wrecked on the same hill that the 18 wheeler was stuck on, just that they were going uphill and we were going downhill.

[PaidTimeOff]

Now you can go buy a "good" car like a Suzuki SX4 with AWD for 14K.:wink:

Sonjas Bro

But then why would he want to downgrade from a "great" car to a "good" car? :wink:

[eric81]

Weren't you in a wreck in a Yaris right before the hack? You have some seriously bad luck if you did. I remember you from before the hack, but not exactly what your posts were about. Nice person, as I remember though. (I used to be ergatzke)

[Josh_G]

Just as an update, the Yaris is getting towed to a Toyota dealer today for the final run through to determine if the car will be totaled or not. I couldn't get any pictures since the tow yard was closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.

So far the Allstate guy that looked at the car as the repairs at $6,400 with about $1500 to $2k more before the car would be totaled. He wanted to get the Yaris up on a lift to check out the underside of the car before signing off on the repairs. But I don't think the dealer will find anything new given how we hit the guardrail.

[Bob_VT]

Well not being totaled maight be better.

If you owed money on the car and depending on how much...... that's where GAP insurance comes into play. If they repair it and you do not feel comfortable with the car then trade it in.

Some dealers will accept a smashed up trade and the insurance check applied to a new car since a dealers body shop can repair it cheaper.

Bottom line.... no one hurt!

[TheSilkySmooth]

You have to pay for guardrail also - may cost MORE than car!
This is no joke - the state will make you pay for property damage ...

[TheSilkySmooth]

Josh- DONT go back to dealer they have NOTHING to do with your loan (unless buy here pay here) - the only deal you would make is a ROTTEN one ...

- the Bro

[Chupacabra]

You have to pay for guardrail also - may cost MORE than car!
This is no joke - the state will make you pay for property damage ...

That's why he has insurance. He'll never see a bill for that...

[Josh_G]

Just to throw an update out there:

So far my "final" repair estimate has changed three times, each time jumping upward, right now the Toyota dealer has the repair at $9556. My insurance company is giving the car a final review to determine it's pre-wreck value so they can decide whether to fix the car or not.

Which considering the insurance co. (Allstate) has already seen the car, what more can they do to determine a pre-wreck value?

But anyway, the $9556 is still under the 75% repair guideline in North Carolina since the blue book value is still over $13k. I already told Allstate that if the Yaris is totaled I expected to receive the value for an excellent car rating.


My gut feeling is that the dealer wants the car totaled so they can sell me a new car. The sales department has called me twice (both times yesterday) just to make sure I was OK, blah, blah, blah right?

What blew my mind is that I told the dealer I wasn't interested in getting a new car since I am in the process of building a house. The only way I would be interested would be if they wiped clean the debt I owed my current Yaris ($5.5K) and would take no more than my insurance settlement on my car.

Oddly enough they said that was very possible.

I should hear a final verdict from Allstate today or tomorrow so I'll probably update at least one more time.

If they do total the car it will be pretty interesting if the dealership holds to their story on selling me another car.

[Josh_G]

You have to pay for guardrail also - may cost MORE than car!
This is no joke - the state will make you pay for property damage ...

The Yaris barely even scraped the yellow reflective sticker off the end of the guardrail, other than that, the guardrail looked exactly like it did before.

But of course the DOT replaced at least a 30 ft. section of it around where we hit.

So let Allstate pay that bill too. My rates should be up racing upward any day now. Did I mention I've only had Allstate for about 3 months?

[Revsson]

You should see if they will put the Yaris in one of their Allstate commercials....
and compensate you for that, of course!

[Izi.D]

Hey man, good luck on that. But if you see a good deal with the dealership, I say hop on it.

[Josh_G]

Well, it's official, the Yaris is totaled. The insurance co. is giving me a good amount for it, but with the new house being built, now is not the time to get another car, despite how much my wife loved this car we both know its best to wait.

[Bob_VT]

DId you have the GAP? Was it paid for? Are you going to suffer any loss?

Consider a "substitution of collateral" ask your dealer about that and it is a win-win when a car gets totaled.

[Josh_G]

DId you have the GAP? Was it paid for? Are you going to suffer any loss?

Consider a "substitution of collateral" ask your dealer about that and it is a win-win when a car gets totaled.

I had GAP insurance, but I only owed about $5K so it really didn't come into play, I always make it policy to pay off new cars in 2 years or less.

I have been working with the dealer, never heard of that "substitution of collateral" deal, is that something like where the dealer takes your totaled vehicle as a trade? I'm trying to work something along though lines, just where the dealer forgives my $5k owed since I am getting a new car, but I think of that as a best case request.


In other news, I am cleaning the Yaris out this coming weekend (20th-21st) so most likely on the 22nd I will have a few pictures of the damage if anyone would be interested in seeing it.

[Josh_G]

Consider a "substitution of collateral" ask your dealer about that and it is a win-win when a car gets totaled.

Boy that is a magic phrase, I mention that and get the General Manager of the dealership on the phone in like 5 seconds, he says he wants to do whatever it takes to get us back into a Toyota. So we have an appointment on Saturday to meet with him about it. Awesome. I don't know how it will end up, but so far thanks, Bob_VT!

[jambo101]

And it wasn't a ABS (or lack of) problem, just snowy roads, a slight hill, and poor timing with the brakes. My wife didn't slam the brakes, or even brake hard. We wrecked on the same hill that the 18 wheeler was stuck on, just that they were going uphill and we were going downhill.

What kind of tires were you driving on?As i'm thinking snow tires might have made a big difference in the outcome.

[Josh_G]

What kind of tires were you driving on?As i'm thinking snow tires might have made a big difference in the outcome.

It was just the default tires that come with the Yaris, so probably all-season tires.

[TheSilkySmooth]

Good luck man, sorry for the rant.

-bro No: Electricity, heat , running water for 5 days now.