Prius Body Work

What does your insurance policy specify? Last time it happened to me (rear-ended too), I rang MY insurance company, gave them the details of the accident and the person at fault - and later that day, they contacted me to say they'd negotiated with the other guy's insurance company and it was approved. They gave me details of 2 repairers within walking distance of home to contact.

If they don't do it that way, it could be worth checking with their insurance first, which body shops they deal with.

 

Wait for the insurance to tell you that its okay to take it to the body shop. They will give you a list of shops to take it to that they will pay. Since its a new car, never take the cash option thinking that you can get it done for cheap and pocket the change. Actual cost may be more than what they are offering you.

And don't forget to sue the other guy for diminished value because of the accident. I just found out that this is a thing.

 

That's certainly possible.

When I was rear-ended, it looked like I just needed a new bumper cover and painting - which is what the chap at fault thought. However, when they crawled underneath at the panel shop, he called to me and said "you better come and have a look at this" - and the reinforcement bar was bent significantly, as were the mounting brackets.

 

Using insurance company "approved" repair places can be a mixed bag, depending upon how "in bed" those two entities are with one another. If they're working at arm's length, and the shop is willing to do what's necessary to fix the car properly, and not cut corners to please the ins co, then fine. If not, watch out. I had what turned out to be a good experience with an ins co recommended shop in New Orleans a number of years ago. Key was the fact that they insisted on doing the job properly and when push came to shove, which it did a couple times, the ins co deferred to the shop. But sometimes the shop will play to the ins co, wanting to stay on the "approved list." Then bad things are likely to happen.

 

I had an excellent result too - trouble was the repairer was attached to the local BMW dealership. When I drove my FORD in, it was parked among, BMWs, Merc, AUDIs and some high-end sports car which was badly damaged.

When I drove my FORD out, it had noticeably better paint finish on the replaced bumper than the rest of the 3yr old car.

But if an insurance company specifies a body-shop and you go elsewhere, they are fully able to say - "tough luck, end of story" - because it's a condition of the policy. Then - you are back to the messy business of trying to get the money out of the person at fault. And - he's probably able to say "end of story, you did it your way, my insurance would have done it under their conditions - I'm not paying" And I suspect you'd never get any €€€s out of him.

 

Check that carefully. One of the really "messy" things about US law is how much it varies from state to state. In some US states anyway, state law requires that the ins co allow you to choose your repairer (with some conditions, certification, etc.); overriding any policy provisions to the contrary. If your lawmakers and regulators leave this issue to the ins co, well, you're at their mercy!

 

Possibly - but sometimes it's easier to be compliant - than have to fight them later. With the risk of losing - after all, their lawyers are much bigger than the ones you can afford.

 

At least in Florida (and a good number of other US states) we have a nice way to "level the playing field" built neatly into the law. Paraphrasing, the provision states that if you have to litigate with your ins co to obtain benefits to which you are entitled (in other words, you win the case), the insurance company pays YOUR attorney's fees and costs. Usually, the reverse is not true.

 

The body work, particularly the rear, is no different from most modern cars - the bonnet and hatch lid are aluminium - but then, they are used to a myriad of materials these days, with various plastics (about 4 or 5 different types in various bumpers, aluminium, carbon fibre, fibreglass and quite a few types of steel etc.

Most panel repairs involve changing body parts and respraying unless the damage is major. You might find a rating on GOOGLE search - but keep in mind that many ratings are made by disgruntled - not by appreciative customers. eg


This was my panel shop - and when I looked closer, they had 5 5star reviews, and one 1 1star - so 4 who were over the moon, and one disgruntled customer.

 

Here in the UK legislation allows us to choose which body shop we want to use, but insurance companies can put an extra deductable on if you don't go with their approved shop.

 

Yes. One other thing I remembered is that here, most insurances (mine does):
"provides a guarantee on the repairs for the period of time that you own the vehicle." But that's only with one of their approved shops.

 

When I had to get my Gen 2 Prius repaired, the shop that I took it to had a warranty on the repair work. Call them up and ask if they have that. Otherwise, look through yelp for reviews.