Hey guys, made my account for this post. Thanks for all the wisdom, I snuck around on here for months while I was picking my Prius. Finally got one. Long story short, Progressive (my insurance) dropped me in the underwriting phase and as luck would have it, a bus then hit me. My Prius doesn't turn on or anything at the moment. The bus company is going to drag it's feet - they said they have video and that I was driving without my lights on so it's my fault. I thought I had auto lights, and I thought culpability was based on 'not taking a left turn into someone'. But so it goes. For now, I took out a loan to fix my Prius so I can get to work and won't lose my home and kid and life. Got the Prius because I drive about 5K miles a month. Anyone know a mechanic that I can trust to have the Prius towed to and get work started? Toyota is really expensive AND the ones near me don't seem to know much about Prii anyways. I met them all over the months and dozens of test drives. So, I'm not confident in Toyota to repair the Prius - as all they tried to charge me for service that couldn't even be done to the hybrid. Help. I have a 2011.
Welcome to Prius Chat . One shop that is close to you worth checking out is Matt at @Texas Hybrid Batteries . Hope not too much was damaged in the accident.
Thanks Ray, I probably won't be able to do much to help the OP unless the accident somehow damaged the Hybrid system (HV Battery, inverter, Electronics, ect.). This will probably be mostly body damage. If the OP wants to give some details about the damage or maybe post a picture it will give me a better idea of what type of shop(s) they need to go see. Matt
Thanks for the responses, guys. Attached is a picture of my Prius. A transit bus (not a full size) and I were traveling on opposite sides of the road and he took a left at an intersection into me as I was passing the bus station he wanted to pull into. The Prius handled the impact phenomenally well. No airbags deployed, thank G-d, because my drivers side airbag has a recall that hasn't come in yet. I was able to turn the car off/on about once. After which, it just flashed and glitched out and all the lights were blinking and I wasn't able to move it again. I don't know if it just does that after a collision or if the hybrid system etc was damaged intensely. I believe the axle is bent, the front driver's side wheel is pushed in a bit. Drivers door won't open. I had originally paid full coverage insurance through December, but Progressive cancelled/refunded my coverage after sending two letters to my old address asking me to call them - which I did not. So the car wasn't insured at the time by me. I don't know the extent of damage. I need to find the right place to have it towed to so that they can figure it out. Since I only have a sore back and whiplash I have no 'personal injury' recourse (which is fine I just want my car back) - but I need to out of pocket this for now.
Thanks for the pic. Looks like the bus got you good on the drivers side. Can you pop the hood and take a look on the drivers side for damage. The area that got hit hard is the fuse box area, so some of those may have gotten clipped. Also, is the front wheel affected, as in how does the car track or roll? Are there any fluids leaking from underneath? Do you have a code reader like Techstream (or know someone who has it)? Keep us posted .
So, hours after this happened I had to get on a plane for NYC for my holiday visit. The car is at impound and will have to wait there until my next paycheck on the 30th and all in all - getting it out will cost my entire paycheck. I'll have to hope that Dallas has better public transportation than I give it credit for. The front wheel is definitely affected. I was able to turn it on quickly after impact (I originally shut it off) and scoot it forward out of the road - but it was very hard to do - either the axle is bent or the wheel was just getting caught on the pushed in parts of the body. I do not have a code reader. I know no one who knows anything about Prii. I usually buy cash cars off of mechanics that I trust. But after wearing one down on my daily commute, I decided I didn't want to risk my job overheating in traffic every day and got myself a reliable Prii under 60K miles within it's hybrid warranty.
Wow, that entire situation is unfortunate. I agree with you about the left turn, though. There was enough light for the video to see you, but not enough for the bus driver? Hmmm...Was law enforcement called? Accident report? Tickets issued assigning fault? My totally un-professional opinion looking at the photo would be to keep my eyes open for another car, just in case the suspension/drive system is damaged along with the body. That damage adds up fast $$ and if the wheel took a hard, damaging hit, who knows what else may have been damaged further back in the drivetrain. Hopefully, it works out for you.
You’ll need to get the codes read to see what all is bad. Getting your Prius up on a lift and looking around at the underside will help diagnose the next steps . I would Private Message (PM) Matt and see who he knows that might be able to help. Based on the forces involved and looking at the resulting damage, there is probably some gremlins in the axle and transmission area. But the codes will help with the next steps.
Hey Matt, can't PM you because of your security preferences. Would you mind sending me a PM - need to know where I should have this towed to.
Hoo boy! What a mess. Even without looking under the hood or putting it on a lift, it would not surprise me to learn that repairs will cost more than replacement. If so, you have a bunch of parts you could sell to help alleviate the financial pain.
I literally just got this car 2 months ago. I've only made two payments on it and I wasn't insured. So I can't afford to replace it. I don't even know how I'll afford to repair it aside from getting another loan for repair. I have a call with LegalZoom in a couple days. Total nightmare.
Sounds like a good idea. This is really sad. You should have some sort of recourse since it was a case of them not sending the notice to the right address, especially if you can document having sent them a change of address.
I thought I would have some recourse because my insurance agent told me to disregard any cancellation notifications coming from Progressive - but I don't know how to even begin that. Ultimately, it's on me. I should have started a new policy immediately. But it would have meant losing my deposit on the home I moved into the day this accident happened. I couldn't fathom giving up $1000 over the abstract fear that for the first time in years I could get into an accident. But I did...and I should have. So it goes. I just wish the bus that hit me would step up and make this right. There's an entire team behind him though and they don't want to be at fault. Them vs Me doesn't feel very promising.
