And another one bites the dust

[jkonrath]

Crap. Was driving to work yesterday, and some jackhole changes lanes in front of the SUV in front of me quick, and a split second later, traffic is stopped, but I'm not, and CRUNCH.

The good news: I am not hurt. Airbags did not deploy (I was going maybe 30, but hit at a weird angle.) No apparent suspension damage. No frame damage. No leaking fluids. No glass damage. No metal outside of the front clip was damaged. And the CPA that pushed me to the side didn't scratch up my rear bumper.

The bad news: the aircleaner box evaporated, and everything on the driver's side of the engine bay is askew. Radiator support is all bent up.

Anxiously awaiting the call from the insurance adjuster as my baby sits alone at a body shop. Break it to me gently - do you guys think it's a total? It's an 08 with 18,000 miles - otherwise in excellent shape. I'm guessing the KBB value is like $11K? $12K? I still owe $8500. I would love more than anything to just not have a car for six weeks and get her back. If I walk away with a couple grand and no second car payment anymore (but higher insurance) I will survive. But man, I love this car!!! :cry:

Side note: I get home and find out Angels rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart got in a wreck just hours before and was killed. So, some perspective there.

[devinlamothe]

I am glad you are not hurt, but if that happened here in Ontario you would have been at fault for driving too close. Just sayin'. :confused:

[nemelek]

Ouch. If it were my car and it wasn't totaled I would still consider it damaged goods and look at getting a new one. In my experience it's tough to break even with insurance companies after accidents.

[TheSilkySmooth]

Thats a tough one to call, But I'll vote repairable. Need harness, bat, TB, intake, MAF, Hood, Fender , bumper cover, fusebox, relay box. Its close!

[YAR1S]

ouchies, look at that hood...... surely it was faster than 30? :O didnt realize the hood was that flimsy.

lookin like a total.... but who knows.
you gonna get another 08 yaris?
If i totaled my car i wouldnt get an 09' i prefer the 07-08 look.

sorry this happend to you, I know how you feel i wreckd mine last year (3k later and im a lot more grateful).

[SailDesign]

Dang! Lot of that going around recently. Glad you'e OK

[IllusionX]

definitely hit the car at a weird angle. and by the braking down force, you kinda slid the air bag sensor under the car infront of you..

glad you are ok~

Yar1s: well, a hood is not made to be rigid. it is made to bend up and crush without sliding back into the car. It sure would not look like that if the bumper hit straight in front.

[evil genius]

Sorry about the accident, at least you are okay.
Good luck, with the repairs or the new car.

[41magmag41]

No air bag deployment bothers me but without the airbags going off she should be repairable. I would repair her then trade her. I never trust any car again after damage like that. Especially with the unibody construction, it's to easy to tweak it and not get it right again.

[41magmag41]

But glad your ok.

[mr9865]

or fix it and sell it to me lulz

[AlexNet0]

No air bag deployment bothers me but without the airbags going off she should be repairable. I would repair her then trade her. I never trust any car again after damage like that. Especially with the unibody construction, it's to easy to tweak it and not get it right again.


The crash sensor/airbag deployment sensor was barely missed. see it here ( I believe that is what this box is)

[41magmag41]

The crash sensor/airbag deployment sensor was barely missed. see it here ( I believe that is what this box is)



I would have thought she would have had more than one sensor located throughout the engine bay.

[1NZYaris1]

Thats what you would call a close call .
glad your okay , the yaris on the other hand looks very sick .

[jkonrath]

Just got off the phone with the body shop - they have it torn down and said it's not as bad as it looks. Nose, sheet metal, radiator, condenser, but the only thing that happened engine-wise was a crack of the intake manifold. (Plastic? Weird.)

He did give a total guess estimate of 8-9K - not sure how close that is with the insurance company, but I hope they can work with me, maybe get some used parts, and not total it. I am hoping they say the car is worth $12K and work with me.

I'm closing on a new house at the end of the month, so it's the worst possible timing on this, and I can't jump into a new car until I recover from closing and moving costs. If she ends up a total, I'll probably wait out the summer and then maybe see what the '10s look like. Fingers crossed though - I really do love this car!

[ChinoCharles]

That is pretty much as screwed up as a Yaris gets without being totaled. Glad you're OK.

[jkonrath]

The crash sensor/airbag deployment sensor was barely missed. see it here ( I believe that is what this box is)

That is correct. It's that little white box. I think there are a couple, maybe one on each side? The guy's bumper did hit high, and my frame must have dipped low when I hit the brakes. Sheer luck, though. Everyone at the shop was looking at it in amazement that the airbags didn't deploy.

That said, it scares me a bit that if that SUV had a 4" lift kit, that bumper would have hit me eye-level and I wouldn't be typing right now...

[roxy1]

Just got off the phone with the body shop - they have it torn down and said it's not as bad as it looks. Nose, sheet metal, radiator, condenser, but the only thing that happened engine-wise was a crack of the intake manifold. (Plastic? Weird.)

He did give a total guess estimate of 8-9K - not sure how close that is with the insurance company, but I hope they can work with me, maybe get some used parts, and not total it. I am hoping they say the car is worth $12K and work with me.

I'm closing on a new house at the end of the month, so it's the worst possible timing on this, and I can't jump into a new car until I recover from closing and moving costs. If she ends up a total, I'll probably wait out the summer and then maybe see what the '10s look like. Fingers crossed though - I really do love this car!


i may be wrong, but cant they total a car like the yaris for $8-9k even if they value it higher? so, ins company could total it and still give you 11-12k. since you owe $8500 that could be a few thousand in your pocket. id say that is preferable to having it fixed (poorly, as is often the case). even if you dont want to buy a new car, a few grand would buy you a car that would be quite usable for a year or two.

[supmet]

He did give a total guess estimate of 8-9K - not sure how close that is with the insurance company, but I hope they can work with me, maybe get some used parts, and not total it. I am hoping they say the car is worth $12K and work with me.

ROFL

9 grand in repairs on a car that costs 11? That's the stupidest thing I've heard in a while. The KBB value of totaled and repaired yaris won't even be 9000. (even if it was, nobody would pay that much because there's 100s of used yarii out there that haven't been wrecked and are 9-10 grand)

Tell them to keep the car and give you 11 grand. Pay off your loan and put the rest of the money down on a new one.

edit: if they make you fix it, tell them you want to go to a different mechanic. Even if the insurance is paying, that mechanic is a money grubbing bastard, and that usually doesn't equate to quality work.

[SailDesign]

ROFL

9 grand in repairs on a car that costs 11? That's the stupidest thing I've heard in a while. The KBB value of totaled and repaired yaris won't even be 9000. (even if it was, nobody would pay that much because there's 100s of used yarii out there that haven't been wrecked and are 9-10 grand)

Tell them to keep the car and give you 11 grand. Pay off your loan and put the rest of the money down on a new one.

edit: if they make you fix it, tell them you want to go to a different mechanic. Even if the insurance is paying, that mechanic is a money grubbing bastard, and that usually doesn't equate to quality work.

Hmm.. My '07 just got totalled, and the insurer doesn't use KBB, they use NADA, which made my 30,000 mile '07 hatch worth 10,300. Since I owed 9,500-ish, i was pretty frikkin' happy with that. Dropped $700 value in 2 years.....

[supmet]

Hmm.. My '07 just got totalled, and the insurer doesn't use KBB, they use NADA, which made my 30,000 mile '07 hatch worth 10,300. Since I owed 9,500-ish, i was pretty frikkin' happy with that. Dropped $700 value in 2 years.....

10,3 before it was totaled.. No one is gonna shell out 10 grand for a wrecked and repaired yaris