I was side swiped a week ago and now have to decide if my Prius is worth fixing or not. I got a estimate to fix from insurance for $7,500. This is a bit "light" according to the body shop I went to. I can get about $2,100 by scrapping it at the local CoParts joint near me. I think the cost to fix will be into the upper $8K range after all is said and done. However, that would carry with it a Repair report with the car. Car details are: 2011 Prius III 102K, Newer MCU module as it gave out a year ago, original batteries, New tires and new LED lamps. Car is clean otherwise. Crash details: Drives ok but back tire hits the quarter going over bumps so I am not driving it but who knows about frame being bent unless it is torn apart. So fix it or or something else?
Rear axle might be bent. We had a hit in the same corner, axle bent. Insuranced to the gills and got it repaired like new, with brand-new rear axle and extensive body work. We only needed to pay $500 CDN; bottom line was $6772 CDN.
That seems like a personal choice kind of decision. Financially, I'd think it's worth fixing when you compare it to the price of a direct replacement. But, if you're itching for a newer car, maybe take the insurance money and then scrap the car. Then again, this isn't a good time to be buying a car, especially if you need one right away.
If he's worried about the repair cost or says he can sell it to a junkyard....then probably no insurance is involved. Otherwise the insurance would determine if it's worth fixing or not. They would either charge him a deductible, or either total the car. But he says he got an estimate from insurance, so I don't understand why he is trying to decide to repair it or not. I agree it's probably worth repairing rather than buying another car at today's prices.
^ That. The OP lives in the California, and so gas cost and the insane prices for a small inventory of mostly picked-over, left-over cars is worth shoving into the equation.... HOWEVER (comma!) There ARE TWO very important counter-arguments..... 1.) MCU module gave out a year ago? I smell a dealership. It's a distinctive odor that smells like unrefrigerated 3-day-old fish. If this is a "dealer maintained" car then it's a ticking time bomb. See: any 10 threads mentioning EGR or HEAD GASKET. B.) SoCal. There's a $1500+ insurance claim for a stolen CAT that's waiting for a time and place to happen. Me? I'd fix it cheap and wait for....um....."things" to change a little bit and maybe club up to a PHEV....but then I live on free soil, where gas is only more than $3 a gallon when a despotic world leader is driving up the price of his exports (petrol)......and a stolen cat is a $300 fox - WHEN they get stolen.....which around here is NOT likely. ...At least so far. Good Luck!
before making a decision, investigate the cost of new and used replacements. and keep in mind the catalytic converter is worth over a grande for the precious metals.
I don't quite follow the OP. The insurance company can give you whatever estimate they like, but at the end of the day they only have two options: 1) pay whatever the bodyshop charges minus deductible, or 2) total the car and give you whatever the market value the car is worth. In that sense, their repair estimate is irrelevent, but their estimate of market value of the car is more important. Since the insurance offered you $7500, obviously they think the car is not totaled. I guess the real question is: does the OP want to get rid of the car or not. I would keep it if I had have the car for a long time and felt confident about the reliability of the car. Otherwise I would take the oppotunity to get a new car if finance is not an issue. BTW, labor rates are very high in the Bay-Area. Check your estimate to see how much the total labor cost is. It is probably a big portion of the total repair costs. If you want to keep the car, drive it a couple hours away from Bay Area, and you may save over $1000.
I am surprised that the insurance company would pay 7,000 to fix this car. Consider what the car will be worth next year as a trade in for you about $5,000. Car wrecks are what insurance is for. I would fix it but have them fix everything - including that bent rear axel
Based on the info you provided in your first post (new tires, clean interior, new module(s), original HV battery, etc), I'd say have it repaired. So what if the repair is on the carfax, the things 11 years old. Also, you KNOW this car.... any other used car you would be replacing it with in this market is a huge unknown. But if you keep and repair it, DO clean the EGR cooler and intake manifold very soon.
Body filler and a bumper cover. Save money. Cars are just to commodity you don't need it the last 20 more years you just needed the last three or four more.
All. Thanks for the thoughts. Many ideas to consider for something that should be simple. No dealership here to to be clear. Great thoughts on EGR and intake clean. (thanks for that). Its not my insurance covering this so no deductible. I was not certain on the used car market prices but yeah the cat is worth more than I thought. I was not a EV car person but driving this even with no power was not as bad as I thought. Gas here is close to $4.50 a gallon. It is nice to have a car to drive that you don't have to park in the back 40 to keep it from getting dented. So its economics and a situational choice. I hate to junk something that is in good shape that can go many many more years.
If you're coming to vacation in Florida drive it one way and I'll buy it while you're here and you can fly back
