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Another Accident-What To Look For?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by John6012, Mar 10, 2010.

  1. John6012

    John6012 Member

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    I have an 07 Prius with 29,000 miles. A car came out of a side street and hit the right frt fender (passenger side) smashed the bumper and broke the plastics around the headlight. Are there any things I need to look out for before it gets out of the shop? The are replacing the bumper, fender, air breather resonator, Frt bumper impact absorber and odds and ends which aren't significant. It did bend a metal support structure behind the right frt fender. It is very drivable (once I pulled the fender off the tire) and I drove it to the body shop. Total amount of damage/labor/parts: $2575.52. So, my question again: Is there any further damage I should be concerned with? Thanks!
     
    #1 John6012, Mar 10, 2010
  2. bw03

    bw03 New Member

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    The body shop should be able to find all the problems when they fix it. A lot of times, things don't show up until they take the car all apart.
     
    #2 bw03, Mar 10, 2010
  3. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    The parts you listed sound reasonable.

    Good thing the LF fender wasn't hit, as the engine coolant heat recovery canister would probably have been nailed. Besides being a costly part, that would require the engine coolant to be drained and refilled (an issue as it appears some mechanics have trouble getting the air out.)
     
    #3 Patrick Wong, Mar 11, 2010
  4. John6012

    John6012 Member

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    Thanks for your replies! We rec'd the Prius fresh from the shop today and I noted that the hood/fender has a gap of ~1/2" on the wrecked side and 1/4" on the drivers side. The guy said it was an aftermarket fender and they don't always fit perfectly but he would work with it to adjust/move the hood laterally to reduce the gap. It is so obvious when one looks at the car that it has been in an accident. (I hate it when a car is in an accident because it is never the same). Car runs great, everything works as it should except for the gap. With 29,000 miles, I'll have to drive this 07 4-5 more years then it'll be down in value to where it should be...But, I am taking it back to have the "hood" adjusted!
     
    #4 John6012, Mar 13, 2010
  5. John6012

    John6012 Member

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    I forgot to mention, I loosened the bolts the fasten the hinge to the hood and there is no lateral adjustment.....down beneath and behind is the bolts that fasten the hinge to the body will they adjust laterally?
     
    #5 John6012, Mar 13, 2010
  6. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    John, did you agree to aftermarket parts? Since it is the other party's dime I would have insisted on new or salvage (if perfect) body panels.
     
    #6 JimN, Mar 13, 2010
  7. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Very sorry to hear you are having this problem. I think that you should reasonably expect the repaired car to have the same panel gaps as a Prius fresh off the boat from Japan. Besides the uneven gap, are you satisfied with the paint job: the color, texture, distribution of pearl or mica flakes etc.?

    It sounds like the new fender needs to be adjusted, not the hood. If the shop can't adjust the panels to spec, I'd encourage you to request that they install a salvage part or Toyota new part.
     
    #7 Patrick Wong, Mar 13, 2010
  8. justin time

    justin time Junior Member

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    What prompted you to use that shop? They sound pretty flakey.

    From everything I've read on these cars, seems like the dealer is the place to go for most repairs, especially major ones. That's why I avoided salvage title cars when shopping for one.
     
    #8 justin time, Mar 13, 2010
  9. John6012

    John6012 Member

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    I am going back to the body shop and am going to ask them that they put a OEM fender on the Prius. Hate to do it but it is so obvious and when it comes to trade-in time....but it'll be another 3 years.
     
    #9 John6012, Mar 16, 2010
  10. jelloslug

    jelloslug It buffed right out!

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    Aligning the front end body panels is tough. I took me many, many hours to get ours looking decent.
     
    #10 jelloslug, Mar 17, 2010
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