Need help with a potential purchase - Toyota Yaris Forums

JustPassinThru · 01-12-2014, 08:26 AM

That's high even for a car with a clean history. For one with an accident - too much.

The problem with accident repair is that in the damage and repair, corrosion protection is compromised. When the body is welded and painted at the factory, it is dipped in a charged vat of metallic primer. The charge pulls paint into every recess of the body.

When a car is in a collision the whole structure flexes and can be deformed. It sometimes isn't obvious unless you see it videoed, such as those test-collisions done by DOT. I had a Nissan pickup truck, years ago...smacked in the rear on the box. Damage SEEMED isolated to the right rear corner; but an examination showed that the whole frame flexed; the box was shoved up against the cab on the forward left quadrant and dented the bulkhead about half an inch forward in a foot-long area. The frame was no longer true, also. Interestingly, the box returned to its proper alignment relative to the cab; so either the bolts stretched or the frame flexed downward to allow the two to come together.

So...to this Yaris: What has flexed inside and underneath, peeling paint and coatings, that wasn't found because it had sprung back to original form? Hidden friction points? Places where parts removed and replaced scratched metal? Add road salt and a few years, and what you have is a headache.

I'd avoid it unless it were much, much less expensive than that.

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01-12-2014, 08:26 AM	#6
JustPassinThru Drives: No more Yaris Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Montana Posts: 180	That's high even for a car with a clean history. For one with an accident - too much. The problem with accident repair is that in the damage and repair, corrosion protection is compromised. When the body is welded and painted at the factory, it is dipped in a charged vat of metallic primer. The charge pulls paint into every recess of the body. When a car is in a collision the whole structure flexes and can be deformed. It sometimes isn't obvious unless you see it videoed, such as those test-collisions done by DOT. I had a Nissan pickup truck, years ago...smacked in the rear on the box. Damage SEEMED isolated to the right rear corner; but an examination showed that the whole frame flexed; the box was shoved up against the cab on the forward left quadrant and dented the bulkhead about half an inch forward in a foot-long area. The frame was no longer true, also. Interestingly, the box returned to its proper alignment relative to the cab; so either the bolts stretched or the frame flexed downward to allow the two to come together. So...to this Yaris: What has flexed inside and underneath, peeling paint and coatings, that wasn't found because it had sprung back to original form? Hidden friction points? Places where parts removed and replaced scratched metal? Add road salt and a few years, and what you have is a headache. I'd avoid it unless it were much, much less expensive than that.