Disposable Car

[kustom play]

there has to be more to the story

be glad they totaled it out

good luck selling a car thats been involved in a major accident

[facebreaker1212]

I'm not saying I hate the car, I think some of you are getting riled up for no reason.

Just point your yarii in a safe direction is all I am saying.

[Kal-El]

Originally Posted by facebreaker1212

I'm not saying I hate the car, I think some of you are getting riled up for no reason.

Just point your yarii in a safe direction is all I am saying.

Still not getting any details. We'd just like to know where you hit it at 20mph. Front, side, rear? What did you hit/what hit you? Pics would be helpful.

It's like starting a thread entitled "Wow, you gotta see this picture!!!" and when you open it, there's no pic.

[tuckevalastin]

happens anytime anything even semi negative is said about the Yaris, but what do you expect it's a Yaris forum!

[Rich k]

I've been in a few cars (as both driver and passenger) and seen a few other freinds and family members cars after crashes @ 20-30 mph and these cars varied from an 85 Turismo, a 92 ford escape, an 04 chevy impala, an 04 chevy cavilier, a 00 corolla and a 78 plymouth satellite sebring, most of them faired badly, all but the cavilier and the sebring were totalled, the cavi just plain got lucky and the sebring wihch rear ended the car in front of it because it was rear ended from behind had absolutely no damage. The sebring was a tank with body on frame built in the late 70's with honking huge chrome draped iron bumpers and factory installed bull bars front and back with 1.5" of rubber on each. It would take a lot of abuse in an accident and just keep going, though as i understand it the occupant's internal organs, well that was dicey. Best of luck finding a 78 sebring. I don't want to know about your innards after your next 20 mph accident, 'm sure next of kin will like inheriting the barely scratched vehicle though.

[Bella]

To the OP - I'm sure when you purchased your car you would have done at least a little bit of research on the Yaris and its safety, right?

If you had have done so you would have learnt that the Yaris is MADE to be recyclable (in fact, in Australia it says as much in the promotion brochures the dealer hands out) - plastic front and rear bumpers are used to take the abuse of being knocked and hit - paint transfers from other surfaces rather than scratching on plastic. They are also made out of plastic to make it cheaper for you if you do have a minor accident to replace body panels. Imagine the cost had your car not been totalled yet your bumpers were made from metal?

It is a lower-level economy car. The Yaris' crumple zone is designed to do exactly that .. Crumple. No matter what car you're driving I would just be thankful to walk from an accident unscathed. If you can walk out unharmed and you're responsible enough to have insurance I wouldn't be stressing about the apparent 'disposable' car you were driving.

Originally Posted by 500snakz

Yeah you are right about DISPOSABLE...I hit a deer going 50 mph and the deer ran away. I was left with 4k damage.
The car should never have been totaled in a 20 mph accident.
There is NOTHING in the front of these cars but a small amount of plastic. My body shop guy said that he would never drive one of these cars for safety reasons and that they are dangerous in an accident.
I like the yaris, but there are some things that I wish were made a little better in a 13k car.


Good thing the deer was gone, I probably would of kicked and beat the snot out of the thing.

Mate that's not a small collision - I would be thankful for just a $4k repair bill! From what I've seen deer aren't the smallest animals out! Out here if you hit a kangaroo in any car (without a bull bar, no matter what safety rating etc it has) it's near on guaranteed to be a write-off! Good thing Australian Yaris' have ABS and all the other awesome stock standard stuff! =)

[SilverBack]

Originally Posted by facebreaker1212

Yaris, owned for 16,000 and one year and loved every minute. Until I was in a 20 mph collision and now the car is going to the salvage yard.

Loved it but not buying another. I was not harmed but come on, that's silly.

Aren't all cars technically disposable? I mean, most people don't keep their cars around for the rest of their lives anyway. Those who do are usually the stubborn types who unwelcome changes.

Besides, we're all gonna get into an accident sooner or later, no matter who's at fault. That's the way life is. The important thing here is that you're okay, even if the Yaris isn't. Think of it this way: it sacrificed its' life to save yours. Give it some credit, man.

So with that said, wouldn't you want to get another one? You said it yourself that you loved yours, which means you're just as likely to love your next Yaris the same, if not more. If mine got thrashed, I would replace it with another LB the same week my insurance pays off the car, no question about it.

I would sleep on this decision of what my next car's gonna be. I would even weigh-out the pros and cons of what I had and what I now need in a car.

I'm sure you'll make the right decision

[nsmitchell]

Originally Posted by Kal-El

Remember that the definition of "totaled" isn't whether or not a car can be fixed or not but rather what the repair cost is vs. the value of the car. With a car like the Yaris, the reletive value is already low so fixing damage from a 20 mph crash may simply not worth it.

But if you have equally severe damage on a $100K Mercedes, then the repair is justified even if that repair costs $25K.

So to mastaofdisasta and his post, would you spend $9,000 to fix a $13,000 car? I would think not. That's what people mean by disposable. We are not relating the Yaris to a cheap product that we throw away every year. In fact, many of us plan on driving it 200,000-300,000 miles which it will do easily.

Exactly.

Also, the car protects you by crumpling up like an aluminum can by design, this causes more damage to the car, but protects the people inside.

In the old days the car would not be damaged much in an accident. They would just spray it out and get it ready for the next victim.

[Mead]

you can do what my friend did and bought a BMW 535i because it was 'safer'

well during stop and go on the fwy he got rear ended at 25mph (he was going 5mph). the rear quarter fender rcrumpled perfectly exactly at the rear door, the back end was jacked up ( but I don't even think the tail lights cracked)... all the doors were unharmed and opened normally, there was no paint damaged... total cost: $15,000

another time I witness a Ford Explorer rear end a Camry, at 5 MPH... because the Explorer bumper is higher it took out all the Toyota's tail lights, smashed in the trunk and drop the rear bumper (but it was still hanger off hinges) right there it was prolly $7.5K and that's at 5MPH. Most of today's cars have the trunk opening mechanism at the bumper... any hit and all that needs to be replaced

[1stToyota]

Originally Posted by 500snakz

We live in a disposable society. Why would a new car be any diferent? Because it cost 13,000 dollars, thats why. I just expected more from a car.

I'd have to go back and revisit 1983 to find a new car that I spent less money for than I did for my '08 Yaris. I don't expect it to take the punishment that my last ride ('05 GTO) could probably take, but I actually feel a lot safer in the Yaris...less power and quick, nimble handling, compared to the nearly 4,000 lb pig GTO.

[SMALLNUMBERS]

Originally Posted by walri

If only they built em like the American cars of the 1950s lol. No plastic on those babies. All steel frames and thick sheet metal panels.

i own a 65 chevelle as well as my Yaris, and although steel frames and sheet metal are good for up to 40 mph crashes, after that... it's bad news for you.

I drove like a demon in that car, but was always thinking of a high speed crash aftermath.

Head- All metal steering wheel, no air bags. No special glass with adhesives in it to prevent shattering out.

Passenger- All metal dash.

Everyone in the car- Only lap belts, no side curtain air bags.

Basically, its a cage of death if you take a bad one! Don't get me wrong, i LOVE my muscle car, but when it comes to safety, i'd take one of these "disposable" cars ANY day.

Glad you weren't hurt homie!

[gid]

KOU , nice rims . Don't mean to sound like a perve .

[gid]

Sorry to hear of your accident . We've been rearended 3 times . The '99 PRIZM was totaled . The '93 FESTIVA was as well ( rearended twice , 1st time minor ) . The times these cars were totaled was when hit by vehicles over 3,000 lbs. The PRIZM by a JIMMY while we were waiting for oncoming traffic to turn left and the FESTIVA by an old TOWN and COUNTRY station wagon at a red light . The impact of the wagon bent the drivers seat all the way back . The 1st thing the young driver said was that he'd like to settle this without the police or insurance companies . Not , are you o.k. or a sorry . Therefore , I said no way and called the police . So , I feel for yeh . As for the SUZUKI , I'd skip it . They depreciate badly and have a poor track record . For safety , reliability , fuel economy , and resale you may want to consider these . A SCION XD , XB , or a '09 PONTIAC Vibe ( TOYOTA Matrix with the PONTIAC badge ) . GOOD LUCK

[gid]

oh , the SCION XB and '09 VIBE come with VEHICLE STABILITY CONTROL and TRACTION CONTROL standard . The SCION XD has it optional for $250 . The '09 COROLLA is loaded with safety features and V.S.C. with Traction Control is optional on certain models .

[kou]

thanks Gid.the 18 year old that drove into the back of me said she didnt realize people were stopped in traffic,she was in a dodge caravan doing around 40mph i must have hit the car in front of me at 20mph or more.i have some ligament damage in the left elbow and some herniated disc's. and my seat rails bent in the impact.

[gid]

Originally Posted by kou

thanks Gid.the 18 year old that drove into the back of me said she didnt realize people were stopped in traffic,she was in a dodge caravan doing around 40mph i must have hit the car in front of me at 20mph or more.i have some ligament damage in the left elbow and some herniated disc's. and my seat rails bent in the impact.

for your pain . My mother had herniated disks and seen the suffering it causes . Wish you better days . TAKE CARE

[Thirty-Nine]

Well, it sounds like the Yaris did its job, and you didn't get hurt, which is obviously the most important part.

I love the SX4; if Toyota won't offer a manual transmission in the five door, the SX4 will probably be our next vehicle. It also got very high safety marks just last week. However, I doubt it'd fare any better in a 20 MPH crash. Regardless, it's a good choice if you're looking for a small AWD vehicle. Heck, it's the only AWD subcompact on the U.S. market.

[ChinoCharles]

This is the tradeoff you have to decide upon when buying an economy car. Generally the safer you are, the worse your mileage is going to be. Frame strength = more weight = less MPG. Plain and simple.

Also keep in mind that when an insurance company makes the decision to total a car it is based on the disparity between the price of repairs and the estimated worth of the vehicle. If you were driving a VW Rabbit, it would have been scrapped too, because that new radiator would have cost 50% more than one for the Yaris. There is more to vehicle longevity and accident survival than how "safe" it is. You got hit from both ends, so it doesn't surprise me the car was totalled. I would argue that most if not all of the cars in this segment would have been in the same boat.

Having said that, enjoy your Suzuki.