Why was this car Considred Totaled?

Lots of money to be made parting out. Sometimes the insurance company wants the car to be totaled depends on make model and equipment. Toyota parts are not cheap. They crunch the numbers only concern is turning a profit.

 

A distant family member specializes in restoring salvaged cars, especially Prii. According to him, the car he drives (2010) was totaled primarily because the steering mechanism (control arm assembly?) was damaged beyond repair on one side. He stated that Toyota doesn't make spare parts for a couple of years after a new model is introduced. Since no O.E.M. parts were available, the insurance co. "totaled" it. He then brought in the undamaged parts (from the opposite side) to a machinist who then duplicated the parts. He then ended up (after all the repairs) paying less than $10K for a car with less than 20K on the odometer.

 

Well, this thread has been educational. Being in the market for a used Prius, I have seen a lot of used ones for sale with salvage titles. Now I know why.

I personally would not buy a salvaged car simply because they are harder to sell privately, and you can forget about trying to trade them in at a dealer.

 

The 2007 Prius Touring Pkg#6 car (with only 39k miles) that I purchased was also considered "totaled" in 2009. Apparently the owner driving it was leasing the car and walked away - wanted a new car instead of a fixed car and police reports showed both parties at fault. The insurance companies took almost two years trying to figure who should pay and finally decided to total the car and split the $$'s from auction sale.

The private dealer who bought the car and repaired it could not believe the car was considered "totaled" - the frame was intact, airbags did not deploy. The only damage they could SEE was the hood and bumper. Figured there would be a surprise down the line once they took it to the shop. So they took it to a Toyota Collision Center for repairs and the guys there agreed all the car needed was the hood, bumper and they also replaced the grill using all new genuine parts (instead of trying to repair the damage).

When I saw the low price $14,500 for a 2007 Prius Touring Pkg #6 I figured there was more than the pictures were showing, so I took it to our local Toyota dealership our family has used for years and they inspected it for me and said it was in great shape - no frame or other components damaged. In fact, the mechanic said if I didn't want the car he would buy it for his 17-year-old daughter. I took it to another independant mechanic who specialize in Japanese cars, including hybrids, and he also gave me a green light and had been looking for a rebuilt hybrid for his mother - this one was the best he's seen in a long time.

So I asked the seller to replace the tires (we agreed to split the dealer cost for 4 new tires) and I bought the car for $13k. I've seen other '07 Touring Pkg #6 (fully loaded) sell for over $20k with higher miles. I've had my car for two months now and LOVE it - and I would not hesitate again to purchase a rebuilt (salvage) titled car that suffered only minimum damage.

We tend to keep our cars for a long time - well over 150k miles, so I don't really car about the resale value.

 

Uhh, no. You can buy spare parts from day one.

 

From the pictures, not surprising that the car is totaled. Very substantial damage to the car, that we can see in the photos, never mind what other angles would show. Then you have to think about the damage you can't see from the outside. Adjuster might have been talking out their but about the "covered in acid" part, but from the seen damage, it wouldn't be totally surprising to see/hear that the battery housing had cracked or broken totally and began to leak.

 

What? Total BS. Spare parts are available for order from day 1. You can occasionally get a part that the dealer or the local Toyota distribution center doesn't have in stock, but they can certainly order one. If it is a part that is rarely called for, they may have to order it from Toyota Japan, and it may take a few weeks, but the parts have to be available at sale date, and for at least 7 years on by Federal law.

I would be very hesitant to trust a mechanic who "specializes" in restoring cars and doesn't have a grip on this basic concept. Believe it or not, cars are in accidents the very first year they are for sale, you think everyone would just walk away from the car for want of one part?

And yes he may have gotten a car for less than $10k, but it will also always be worth less if he is in a state that stamps the title "totaled". You may also have difficulty obtaining insurance for the car with that on the title.

 

Something isn't right with this story. Well a couple of things really. The "owner" (in a lease the owner doesn't really own the car, the leasing company does, the "owner" is merely renting it) doesn't decide whether or not the car is totaled, the insurance company does. Maybe if it is borderline and the customer insists, they might bend a little one way or the other. But if it is a clear choice, the customer has 0 input. He/she can't just walk away cause they want to.

Let's look at it logically. If you were the insurance company, and you have a car that was worth what, reasonably $18-25k, I have no idea how to find the value of what a car was worth at a point 2 years in the past. But you said the offering price of $15.5k surprised you, so I think it is safe to save above that is reasonable. So let's low ball it and say top of the line, 2 years old, reasonable mileage, $18k in value. Hood and bumper with install and paint should run $2-4k, and that is all that is wrong with it. So let's put it high at $4k in repairs, and really that is high for a hood and bumper, really high. But OK, you with me? You are the insurance company, you can either consider it a repair and send out a check for $4,000 and call it a day. Or you can consider it a total, send out a $18k to the owner, and then have to collect and deal with the car. Most of the time total vehicles are simply sold off in auctions and get a fraction of their value. Plus the auction company gets to keep some of the money. Now if this guy was willing to sell it to you for $14.5, after he repaired it, it is safe to say he paid quite a bit less than $14k to buy it from the insurance company. Or he is a horrible business man. The less he paid, the more the insurance company loses. Clearly the insurance company(s) is out more money, and all the numbers I used were slanted to make it as favorable as possible, if they total the car than if they send the guy the repair money. So why would the insurance company total the car?

Now that doesn't mean you didn't get a bargain, if you consider it that, it just means something isn't right with the story you were told. Either someone really screwed up in their job, or the dealer was selling you a line. I would strongly say the later is much more likely.

 

Are you familiar with the location of the 2 batteries in the Prius?

I'm curious, given the visible damage in the photos, which battery would you not be surprised to see/hear that about? The 12 volt or the 200 volt?

 

yes

the hybrid, I could see something getting shoved back hard enough to crack the case. Or the forces put on the frame moving one mounting point in one direction and another mounting point in another direction. I am not saying that did happen, as I don't know, but just that it might have, and it wouldn't be too hard to imagine.

 

How much did they total the car for?

 

I too, found it incredulous that spare parts were not available, I only repeated what he told me--that Toyota doesn't make available replacement steering parts for a couple of years after a new model's introduction--at least for the Prius. I have no reason to doubt his statement. He appears to have a very successful car restoration operation in Hawaii.

Initially, I had considered the possibility of buying a salvaged car. The state of Maine said there wouldn't be any problem in registering one and my insurance company, (USAA) told me there wouldn't be any problem, although they said we'd have to agree upon a lower than standard "stated value" in the event of a total loss.

 

Does the owner have the legal right to buy the wreck back? I had my 2005 totaled and was allowed 9k.It had a rebuilt title but two doors and 1 air bag with repaint would have fixed it

 

there are tremendous forces at work in an accident.
again
you could have some part of the car that pushed back on another part, that pushed back on another part,... that pushed into the battery case that was then cracked/pierced by the final part.

You could have the frame flex enough to crack the case of the battery if it is attached to the frame. If you have the drivers side stopping totally in 6 inches, while the passenger side continues forward at 50 MPH for another 4 inches beyond that, and you have an item that can't flex that much, it breaks.

You could have the rear end, at the moment of impact rise up 2 feet or more

ahh screw it, there are multiple scenarios that would see the battery box damaged. Is it likely, probly no. Is it going to happen every time, probly no. But is it reasonably possible, absolutedly.

without more info here, it is impossible to say how it happened here and indeed even if it did happen. although what would be the benefit to faking it?

The reason to doubt him is that it is not true. Point blank. It isn't a grey area. It isn't open to interpetation.

go down to your local dealer and try to order an part specific to the 2010 MY Prius and see what you can't order. There isn't anything.

1) it would be a direct violation of Federal Law, first and foremost
2) it wouldn't make any sense, what would be the benefit?
3) there is no recent record of any auto company not abiding by these rules for any model offered for sale
4) can you imagine the lawsuits that would result from people not being able to get the parts to repair a current car? People sue Toyota because the smart key system allows people to forget to turn their cars off. You don't think people wouldn't sue if they suddenly had a $25,000 paper weight?
5) once you have a couple of thousand vehicles out there, you are going to have a least one of them involved in an accident within a month.
6) Obviously they have the parts, why wouldn't they sell them?

different states have different rules regarding salvaged vehicles

 

depends on the insurance company and state, sometimes people will be allowed to take a lower amount for the wreck than they would get if the car were salvaged. Used to hear about that more often, not so much any more, not sure if it is just who I hang out with or something else at work.

 

Exploded is almost certainly not accurate. Especially in the truest sense of the word. I believe I said the adjuster may have overstated that part, but that the battery could in fact be damaged in the accident. Not my intent to say it truly exploded, I would find that highly unlikely.

 

Nor the claim that there was battery acid all over the engine bay. Prius batteries are in the back, and the HV battery does not contain acid.

Tom

 

Agreed, getting battery acid in the engine compartment would take a really big crash.