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Accident Questions

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by beachbaby902, Jan 27, 2016.

  1. beachbaby902

    beachbaby902 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2014
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    Location:
    Harrisburg, PA
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    So yesterday my poor Prius got hit by a big snow plow. It wasn't one of those pickup truck ones. This was the front end loader type. He backed into it with his tire. I watched as my car when down and back up. And hearing the crunch sound.
    Doesn't look too bad - The pictures don't show the dent as much for some reason. Everything in the front end is shifted a bit. You can see the headlight lens is pushed against the hood. Its the same on the passenger side. Also the fog light isn't aligned in its little spot. The black plastic that runs the front of the car is moved over a bit too.
    I only drove it a mile or so and everything seemed okay. I'm going to drive it a little bit today to see.

    Currently just waiting on my insurance company to get back to me. I'm waiting to see when i can take it into Toyota for repairs/estimates on the damage.

    But i wanted your opinions on it. How much do you think it'll cost and is there anything i should watch/lookout for when they are going over the car? I know its not much damage, but my previous car, a chevy Cruze was crunched like that on both sides and had over $15k in damage that was hidden. (Although i don't expect that here)
     

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    #1 beachbaby902, Jan 27, 2016
  2. Stevewoods

    Stevewoods Senior Member

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    Location:
    Seattle, WA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Sorry, anything anybody tells you is going to be a WAG! I would not put much stock in it. You will find out soon enough from the professionals.

    Only thing is, I would have at least a couple of body shops look at the rig before agreeing to anything -- you can take to Toyota if they have a body shop -- but they often don't and if they don't they'll just sublet it, which I would try to avoid, but that is just me. Also, state laws vary in some states you can take it to any bodyshop you want BY law and the insurer has to go along. In other states, no.

    While people often diss the body shops that the insurance company will invariably recommend, I have found that those shops are often among the better shops in the area. As for aftermarket parts, your insurance contract probably has a clause that forces you to use them if they are deemed fit and if you want something different, you have to pay the difference.

    On a 7-year-old car, I would not be that picky.
     
    #2 Stevewoods, Jan 27, 2016
  3. beachbaby902

    beachbaby902 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2014
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    Location:
    Harrisburg, PA
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    I was mostly going with this body shop because they have an amazing reputation and i've seen their work before. Its not Toyota themselves doing it, but a body shop thats part of their "owners/Team" It does Toyota and Honda. Also my insurance company works with this body shop.

    I'm sure it'll ruin the value of my car. I was possibly thinking of trading in for a Rav4 or V. Only because i tend to haul stuff ALL the time. I was just looking at Hitches and wire baskets for my Prius the other day.
     
    #3 beachbaby902, Jan 27, 2016
  4. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    +1

    I'm curious about something....
    Why are you curious?

    If a snow plow damaged your car, it would seem to me that somebody else is writing the checks.
    Also....this is the second time that this has happened???

    You can ask for a diminished value claim against the people who whammed your car, but for a 7-year-old car we're not talking about very much money.....and most people trade their cars in rather than selling them privately these days, so we're talking about even less.
     
    #4 ETC(SS), Jan 27, 2016
  5. 48mpg

    48mpg Member

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    they hit you so they have to pay, take it to the dealer, body shops use cheap after market parts..demand a dealer repair and a rental while its in the shop
     
    #5 48mpg, Jan 27, 2016
  6. Stevewoods

    Stevewoods Senior Member

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    Note, this is a snowplow. Probably owned by a city/county/state agency of some sort.

    It's been many years (1980s), since I had a tort claim against a government entity. It took forever to resolve -- that may NOT be true in this case, but....

    Anyway, normally, if someone is liable in an accident, I would make the claim against their insurance company. Leaving your company out of it is usually the best IMHO. In this case, however, I would just let my insurance company handle it. You might (and I could be wrong), get much quicker resolution.

    And, just to be on the safe side, I would not authorize any repairs or anything that results in $$ charged until I got a go-ahead from whomever will be paying the bill.
     
    #6 Stevewoods, Jan 27, 2016
  7. Dion Kraft

    Dion Kraft Member

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    2004 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    The question is the left fender going to be straighten or replaced?
     
    #7 Dion Kraft, Jan 27, 2016
  8. beachbaby902

    beachbaby902 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2014
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    Location:
    Harrisburg, PA
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    Who wouldn't be curious as to how much it would cost to repair their damaged car?

    No this is the first time a snow plow hit my car. I had a Cruze that got hit by an F150 and thrown into a Tahoe.

    They are going to pay. And i am getting a rental while it gets fixed. Dealer can't repair the car. They don't have a body shop. They just refer you to someone else. I don't know of any Toyota dealers with in a 30 miles radius around here that has its own body shop hooked onto the dealer. Where i am going is part of a business or whatever of Toyota and Honda dealerships. They own both and have a body shop.
    merged
    Its from the borough. The police were called and the plow truck driver admitted fault. I have all the paperwork for that. They said to take my estimate to the borough and they'll take care of it. But i'm not a moron. Its not that easy. Thats why i called my insurance company, whom fought and fought and won the last time i had an accident and wasn't in the car. My insurance company will be on the borough to pay for all of this and i won't have to worry about the hassle of harnessing them.

    I have a damn good insurance company who will go above and beyond to make sure i'm fixed and pretty while they fight the other people and make them pay. I'm not going to sit with a damaged car for months while the borough plays around with this.
     
    #8 beachbaby902, Jan 27, 2016
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 27, 2016
    bisco likes this.
  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    sounds like a good body shoppe. sorry about you're accident, my guess is $1,750.:) all the best!(y)
     
    #9 bisco, Jan 27, 2016
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