Insurance predicament due to many mods

shocked by the number of mods that were listed in the post because the subject title.

 

The details may depend on the state, but the way I understand it, the next step after a 'salvage' title is you complete the restoration, with all the receipts showing you came by the parts honestly, invite the authorities for an inspection, and with their signoff you get the 'salvage' title converted to a 'rebuilt' title, and insurance companies like those better. At least, that's the way it works here.

If the damage was as slight as you say, the 'restoration' shouldn't be much trouble ....

They probably will consider the value to be lower by some amount than with a clean title, and Toyota is going to say they're off the hook for future recall and extended service campaigns.

 

What they offer u this go round

 

Some states (like NC) will keep the salvage title after the DMV inspection rather than change it to rebuilt. Also, that inspection is only to ensure no funny business with repair parts (such as off a stripped stolen car)...the regular state safety inspection is trusted to ensure the vehicle is deemed "safe".
Generally, salvage/rebuilt titles do not retain their book values simply because people just won't pay it unless they don't know any better. My Insurance Co will pay book value in case of a major accident though.
Also , recalls and other such types of actions by the manufacturer still apply and are valid, but all warranties are canceled...including the hybrid parts longer term warranty. With a newer year model, I believe this is the reason their values is less...I have driven Rebuilt/Salvage cars for the last 15+ years...for me they are a greater value for the buck. I bought my 2015 Prius in early 2017 with 24k miles (and no warranty) for $9000....and have not had a single problem in the 4 years I've driven it (almost 50k miles driven).

 

Money spent on mods, upgrades and changes usually is GONE forever.........salvage or not.

 

What mods were added? I'm interested in which ones will actually increase the value of a Prius.

 

Sorry...

You bought the car for "next to nothing" from an insurance company, and thus THEIR estimation of the real-world value of the car IS......
Those guys and gals aren't stupid.....and they already paid for the car ONCE...and they all use a common database, which is why they no longer ask embarrassing questions about how many wrecks you've had or tickets are on your record.

Me too.
My guess is "not many."
I always look at a heavily modified car as being worth LESS than a clean, well maintained, stocker....but that's just ME.
EVEN presuming that the mods were correctly installed, and properly designed for the car, and even IF they do not negatively impact the looks or the performance of the car, I always "presume" that a car with a bunch of performance mods was ridden hard and put up wet, and a car with purely "aesthetic" mods may or may not have been owned by someone who was enthusiastic about modifying the car and perhaps not so much about maintaining it.

I know that in most cases this is not true, and I will stipulate that in your case it's absolutely NOT true, but putting a "for sale" sign on a car with a salvage title is sort of like putting an add on a dating site and stating that you had a "social disease".....BUT...you're all better NOW.
Car mods are like the same person with ink on their body.
Sometimes a little ink not really visible.
Sometimes even a LOT of ink makes a positive social statement.
Other times?
NOT so much!

I simply don't make those kinda long-term bets with MY money.
I would theoretically buy a car with a salvage title BUT....ONLY if it's price adjusted.....and dealers can read Carfax reports too.
In fact....they usually have a subscription to the service.

Also...your car is more than 10 years old....which means that it's current real-world street value based on Kelly Blue book values for your zip code WOULD BE about $7,000 if it were in exceptionally good shape, which yours is NOT in, because it got totaled in an accident.

For the kbb estimate I presumed White, which is the most expensive color, and 150,000 miles which is the industry average, even though yours "probably" has more miles on it than that, otherwise the battery would have been covered under the CARB warranty.....pre wreck.

So....
IF you can find an insurance company to cover the car for comp and collision (and its catalytic converter.....in the epicenter of cat-napping!) on a salvage title, they're only going to use the standard guide to estimate the ACV (actual cash value) of the car and not the replacement value.
Usually?
ACV for a salvaged vehicle is 50% of the low end of the KBB value.

SO....
Your best bet is to drive the car into the ground, and then sell off any of the mod items that are worth anything before you have the car junked.
Second best bet would be to stick a "for sale" sign on the car and see what people offer you for it.

You'll have to disclose that it's been totaled in an accident, but if the car is a work of art, somebody may value it more highly than the insurance industry - which, as previously stated, has already bought the car once.

 

Hmm, yeah, I skimmed over that the first time. Although I'm not there now, I grew up in Michigan, where auto insurance is no-fault, and your interactions are with your insurance company, the one you selected and chose to do business with.

So it would probably still rub me the wrong way a bit to have J. Random Other Driver's insurance company telling me what my car is worth.

 

go to kbb and select the Prius, check the mod upgrades section, then check the boxes for the upgraded listed and get the total value last

 

In most cases, mods decrease the value of the vehicle, not increase it. It would be rare for a mod to add value. I tend to avoid cars that have any mods done to it that can't easily be put back to stock. I have zero confidence in owners doing quality modifications to their vehicles and expect trouble down the line if I purchase it.

Airbags going off on a 2010 model would be an automatic salvage title even if it's a minor fender bender. What you do now is buy liability only coverage as your insurance company is going to value the vehicle as the "next to nothing" you bought off them if you get into another accident. There will be no point to full coverage. Interestingly, if you are involved in another not-at-fault accident, you could be paid the blue book value again for the vehicle by the other driver. Ask me how I know.

Edit: Misread op. No idea, why the vehicle is salvaged then.

 

Yeah, I read the OP too fast the first time myself. The airbags went off in the other driver's car.

The other driver's insurance company then helpfully decided that a 2010 Prius with bumper scratches is a total loss.

 

I do not have a dealer's license. I found it on Craigslist where I found everything else practically that I own, lol. This was in 2017 when I bought it, the car is a 2015. The car was 2 years old and salvaged with a front left collision. The car is not perfect. It is trouble free and dependable and that's all I wanted. It looks fine, body shop bought it from the auction and repaired it and I got it from them. I have driven it about 50k miles in 4 years...no issues but a 12v battery. I change the oil and filter, and I changed the trans fluid this spring. And tires. Thats all.