2007 Toyota Yaris

So when the Metro started having reliability problems, I decided it was time to grow back up and get a nice new car like normal people do. I decided that the 3-door hatch was exactly the configuration that I wanted. It worked for me. This would be my commuter car and general run-about. I wasn't in a rush, because I always had the BMW to drive, and well, that ain't bad.

When I set out looking at what was available, I scoured the globe. I decided to start with the USA. I thought it might be nice to invest back into the American car industry. But the truth was they had nothing. Of all the American car manufacturers, not a one had a 3-door hatch. Not one. Ford had the Focus, which had a nice 3-door hatch model, but they'd discontinued it. It would actually have been the perfect car for me, but I couldn't get one any longer. GM and Chrysler had zilch. Nada. The 3-door hatch had seemingly disappeared from the American car lexicon.

Surprisingly, the Asian market had little to offer in that configuration either. My only two options, really, were the Hyundai Accent and the newly introduced Toyota Yaris. After looking them over the choice was obvious. The Yaris had a quality I and never seen in small cars before. The wheelbase was pretty typical, if a little wide, but it was a very tall car. Most little cars are low too, and you have to crouch down to get in and out, and they're a little cramped inside. But in the Yaris you sat up high. The seat was at a proper height for a normal-sized adult to easily climb onto, and still there was spacious headroom. And because it was a little wide, there was plenty of elbow room.

So I figured I was good to go, but it proved to be a lot harder to buy a new car than I would have expected. The local dealership didn't have any on the lot. It was a newly-introduced model, which meant first that they hadn't produced enough of them to flood their dealerships, but also that they were popular and were selling as quickly as they could acquire them. I knew that meant that I wasn't going to be getting any great deals. But to my surprise it also made it hard to get one at all. I gave the salesman my name and number, thinking that they pushy car salesman would start calling me all the time. But in fact I never heard from him. I figured my name was on a list, so I just sat patiently and waited. Then one day a friend informed that that he'd seen one down at the dealership. I went down and talked to the same damn salesman who had taken my number and never called me back. I wanted to walk away out of spite, but I really wanted the car. And the one they had suited me. It was black with a muted blue/gray interior. Basic black for my basic run-about. I quickly secured a loan and purchased the vehicle.

It proved to be a fine little car. It was what it was, and it met me expectations of what it should do. It was nothing to write home about, but that's not what I bought it for. In terms of maintenance I was very happy with the Toyota product. All I ever did, really, was oil changes. I followed the manufacturers recommendations for a while, having it serviced at the dealership, but eventually I opted out of more and more of the things they recommended, until finally I just started taking it to Jiffy Lube whenever it was due. Other than tires and brakes it hasn't really needed a damn thing.

At around 70,000 miles I thought about trading it in for something nicer. But before I could make up my mind it needed both tires and brakes at the same time, and to my surprise the muffler had gone bad as well. When I was younger and driving older cars I had to deal with mufflers all the time, but in this day and age I was really surprised that I was back down at Midas again. This little maintenance-free car cost me a bundle that year. Nothing was particularly untoward, but it all came due at the same time. After sinking that dough into it I decided I was going to drive it into the ground. I would save all the money I would have put towards car payments and get something collectible.

A little over 100,000 miles, things started to pile up. The muffler system had gone, and the estimate was into the low 4-figures. The brakes were starting to go. New tires weren't far away. The airbag light came on. I could have put up with all of this, but it was just so damn noisy to drive that I got to the point I couldn't take it anymore. I decided I'd toss it out on Craig's List and see if I got any nibbles. It actually got a lot more interest than I would have expected, and before too long one guy who bought it sight unseen to add to his all-Yaris fleet of medical supply delivery cars in Oneonta.

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