Well, my beloved Yaris is dead

[Yaristeve]

On Thursday morning, I was rear ended on the freeway. I was stopped at a backed up off-ramp and was nailed by someone doing, I would guesstimate, about 40MPH. He hit me at an angle (I am guessing trying to swerve when he finally saw me stopped at the last minute) and gave my car a whole lotta "English". Not sure if it was 1-1/2 or 2-1/2 turns but I was spun back end first into a guardrail. In spite of the impact, I didn't suffer any injuries other than the next-day soreness; but it's all gone now. The Yaris, even though it is an inexpensive little commuter car, is well made.

I bought the car 5years ago, 2weeks shy, to the day, on a whim based on the early commercials with the cute little pink piggy bank. I needed a "commuter appliance" with good gas mileage. I tried to think of it as "just an appliance" to avoid getting attached to it, but over the years, I really began to like the car and its character. It's slow, has so-so handling, and is the cheapest Toyota you can get. And yet, it is a hell of a fun car, especially with the MT; I wanted to keep it forever.

I drove it for 147,000 miles and never had any problems. The only maintenance I did on it was to change the oil/filter every 4,000miles, the air filter a couple times, and a new set of tires once.

I was planning to buy a Scion FR-S next year (but still keeping the Yaris) but I guess I will be buying one now. It's been a great experience and fun being on this forum with a lot of great, knowledgeable people. Take care of your car and it will take care of you. Take care all!

[ern-diz]

Happy to hear you weren't injured.

Having said that, I'll also say...

ugh, bummer.

[WeeYari]

So sad, but glad she kept you safe.

If you can, get that Tanabe Medalion Touring pulled off and sell it.

[NYC-SE]

Sorry to hear this but glad you're OK.

[Kalispel]

A sad demise for your faithful little Yaris.

It seems like the road is increasingly full of highly distracted, stupid, and/or overly-aggressive/rude drivers these days.

I barely escaped being rear-ended a couple weeks ago while sitting at a green light in the left-turn lane, waiting to turn left, by some idiot USPS mail truck driver who wasn't paying attention. He noticed me at the last second and slammed on his brakes, smoke billowing from his locked/screeching tires, and I gunned it forward into intersection out of sheer reflex since I saw him coming up fast behind me. Even with the added 20 ft or so, he still barely missed my rear bumper less than 1 foot after squealing to a stop behind me. Ironically, it was the exact same intersection/direction that I was rear-ended in my previous car (2000 Accord) back in 2011-2012 while sitting at a red light there in the rightmost lane.

If my 2015 Yaris SE was totaled, I would be out shopping for another 2015/2016 SE, even if it mean't getting an automatic (and/or different color) this time around. No other 2015/2016 new cars on the market really interest me enough to want to purchase them.

[Yaristeve]

Thanks, everyone!

Originally Posted by WeeYari

So sad, but glad she kept you safe.

If you can, get that Tanabe Medalion Touring pulled off and sell it.

You have a pretty sharp eye, to see that especially since I painted the muffler body flat black to reduce some of the bling! I thought about it but the car is sitting at a body shop from which AAA dispatched the tow truck. It had a few choice bits that people on this forum have been looking for:
1. 60/40 rear bench
2. clean cargo cover
3. The Tanabe Medalion
4. Tachometer gage panel

But I figure any money I could make would be eaten up by storage fees because I can't take time off from work just to strip out a few parts... Plus, State Farm likes to work fast! They have already looked at and totalled it and said they would cut a check for $8200.

[ern-diz]

$8,200 is nothing to sneeze at. I would not have expected that much. Am I off base?

[Yaristeve]

Originally Posted by ern-diz

$8,200 is nothing to sneeze at. I would not have expected that much. Am I off base?

I agree. I tried the KBB pricing tool and a 2011 Yaris in excellent condition for private sale came out to just $5k, probably due to the 147k mileage...

[BLKHILLSGUY]

Like the looks of the Toyota/Subaru collaboration, but Consumer Reports has said that the Scion and Subaru are both very unreliable. I can deal with less power for killer looks, but I can't deal with an unreliable vehicle. That's exactly why I drive a Toyota in the first place. It surely isn't for the performance, or usually the looks, although I do think the 15 European designed Yaris is quite the looker. Good luck. And glad you're safe most of all.

[bronsin]

My condolences.

At least its last act on earth was to protect you!

Never change a winner!