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!