New Owner of 2012 Yaris "Snowy"

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Val E Um

Just bought a new 2012 Yaris 5-dr LE from Beaman Toyota in Nashville.

MSRP was 19.5k +ttl. I walked out the door for 16.9k paid in full (taking a small hail damage discount for two small dents that you can barely see and the fact I paid cash).

So now I am deciding what do do with it. I've already ordered replacement license plate LEDs and interior LEDs (red for night-time), but am not sure whether I should swap out headlights or put any Ground FX on it. Anyone driving a 2012 that has made some changes to stock and have some pointers or ideas? I don't plan on racing it or anything like that, but I do want to get the most out of my purchase. I am more practical than anything.

This is my first ever NEW car. My car history since I began driving in 1993 has been:

1976 VW Beetle (rolled doing 70 mph... engine still worked and went into dune buggy)
1984 Jeep Cherokee 4x4 (developed major oil leak and transmission issues)
1995 Pontiac GrandAm (hated this car)
1996 Chevrolet Cavalier 2-dr Coupe (stolen off work parking lot)
1994 Oldsmobile Delta 88 (engine literally exploded at a gas station... big fireball... Good thing it was totaled since I think I ruined the seat when that happened)
1996 Lincoln Town Car Diamond Anniversary Edition (retiring but keeping as backup... this car is a boat and horrible on gas mileage, but smooth and comfy ride)

BTW, the fact I can play Slacker from my iPhone over BTA on the stock stereo is too cool :) Who needs XM!

Welcome! Yikes.....I hope you are able to protect your car from hail in the future. A few months ago I pulled into a space in a parking lot. I noticed a brand new Red Chevy Sonic parked next to me. It didn't even have plates yet. It looked as though it had just 'survived' the worst hailstorm known to man. I felt so bad for the owner.

I sympathize re the engine explosion on your previous car. The same thing happened to me (minus the gas station fire). I was driving to Las Vegas for New Year's Eve (in a spare car I had) and my engine exploded on Hwy 58 between Mojave, CA and Barstow, CA. A friend of mine's fundamentalist mother had recently retired to the High Desert and she was nice enough to drive out and pick me up (the car was only worth leaving for the tow company). I spent New Year's Eve with her mother's new social group . Her mother was nice enough to later drive me to the airport. I never did make it to Las Vegas on that trip.