Rear Ended - Just Can't Believe it!

First, thanks for all the comments. The experienced perspectives are food for thought.

So... this is what happened. We are all okay. I purchased a replacement Prius V. Love it. Everything about this car is the same - same bells and whistles, same colour, etc. I think the dealership was happy to see me and the actual price for the new vehicle was better by a couple hundred dollars that the original vehicle, plus they threw in a few extras and the vehicle is one year younger. Very content. Love my dealership. Within three weeks of purchasing the vehicle, we put on 2700 miles during a family vacation. This means the inside is well lived in after the trip. Got to get it cleaned properly so it looks new again.

After the vehicle was totaled, I was just too tired for the fight so we accepted the settlement amount and the reason we did this was because we had a new car replacement clause in our policy. This means that since we met the criteria of the policy, we qualified for a new vehicle. We HAVE a new vehicle paid for by our insurance.

There was a valuation of the damaged vehicle. I had to request a hard copy of the valuation from my insurance. They do not offer you the information and they do not post the details. They just post the total value of my damaged vehicle. The theory is that thirty vehicles in my area were used to determine the value of my damaged Prius V. After reviewing the valuation (which is rather interesting and chalk full of information), I learned some interesting things.. Included in my hard copy were 10 vehicles used for comparison but the other 20 were absent. I have to contact the valuation company my insurance company used for the other 20 comparison cars. Again, they do not make it easy or user friendly. And the truth is, I doubt most people even request or read the valuation once they receive it. It takes time and patience to comb through and digest. (Cars and insurance are not my strength but I certainly understand substantially more now.)

I was rather curious which vehicles they would use for comparison considering I had been using Autotrader, Edmunds and Toyota websites to find comparisons myself. I was having a hard time finding a vehicle like mine with similar mileage in my area, and often had to source vehicles out of state for comparison because my damaged vehicle was the first year of a brand new model. There just weren't many used Prius V's around for sale. What I did notice was rather revealing. The valuation did not use all the same vehicles to compare with my vehicle, and no one caught this error. Of the ten cars on the valuation, five were different models. The difference between my damaged vehicle and five of the 10 comparisons was night and day (if you know anything about Prius).

As a result, the valuation was grossly lower than my vehicles value, yet because we have new car replacement, it is a wash. Should I say something - yes, I should, however, I am so tired from this ordeal and on how hard you have to work to protect your own interests when I am paying for the insurance service, that I am not going to say anything. Our driving records are clean. We have always paid for our insurance on a timely basis and insured our vehicles appropriately and been with the same insurance company for ten plus years. We have never made a claim, except when the tree fell on our car. (Love those random acts of God.) I am not out to take advantage of the system. I just want to be made whole.

Just as everyone here has said: read, read, read and then READ SOME MORE!

Find your self a reputable body shop now before you need one. You do not have to use the insurance company's body shop and philosophically, I do not recommend it. Their body shops work for them - not you. I found a body shop and had my damaged vehicle towed more than 20 miles past lots and lots of body shops. When I arrived at the body shop, it was evident that they were excited but the prospect of work. However, when the vehicle was declared a total loss, the were fine about. They always have more work coming in because they are reputable. I was happy to post on the internet and on social media that this was a good body shop.

Also know your state requirements for medical claims through your insurance. The insurance company will tell you a lot of information for processing the claim but YOU MUST ASK THE QUESTIONS if you want to understand what your options are. Was my experience with my insurance company bad? No, they have been patient with all my questions and had to repeat themselves sometimes a few times so that I fully understood the process or calculation of what they were explaining. They also, have been diligent in returning calls and sending out information, and I am content with the final results.


Oh, and had the damaged vehicle not been a total loss and I had to repair it, and sections of the unibody frame were substantially bent, I would have had those bent sections removed and replaced before having the vehicle put just on the frame machine and twisted back into shape. When sections of the frame are replaced, please keep in mind that you may be moving the crumple zones to another area than was originally intended because the new repair is so strong that it can create new weak sections in the frame. Areas of the frame that were twisted but not bent and the frame material is not compromised, I would have had bent back into shape on the frame machine. It's a pretty cool looking machine.

As my Dad always said, "The success is in the details."

This has been a huge learning curve but I am ready for the next accident for myself or my family. Hopefully, there never is another accident.

Again, THANK YOU TOYOTA ENGINEERS!!!