New 2024 PRIUS DANAGE. Appreciate advice and opinions!!

The best part of this is that you weren't in the car.

I've never been involved in a WI MVA, but I can map your options in OH on the claim. Of course, if your insurance company totals it, your decision gets easier.

If it isn't totaled, your damages are the cost of complete repair AND the diminution of value. You can intuit that a heavily damaged but repaired 10 day old car will be worth less than an undamaged one.

For us up north, corrosion is an issue, not just a return of function. I've been in a half dozen of these myself. Several times the damage was merely cosmetic and the repair was perfect. Several of those times though, the car wasn't ever exactly right again. Don't sign anything releasing your claims until you are confident the thing is actually fully repaired.

It might feel like wasted money to have your attorney handle this, but that will be the source for more solid answers.

 

You should hope it is totaled AND she has good insurance from a good company. Plus hope you have a good company as well that will fight for you.

 

Let me note why you might like to have your lawyer handle this.

The model for an insurance company is to be paid premiums, not to pay claims at full value. Every telephone contact with your insurance is recorded. I'm not a PI attorney, but when my clients have been in a MVA, I tell them to stop answering the phone unless it is someone they already know.

When I was young and new I had an in-house captive counsel argue that my client was lying about having been injured because he had a recording of her saying she was fine. Turns out, the claims examiner called without identifying himself and opened with "Hi Sue! How are you?". As an upstanding citizen of the midwest, she reflexively responded "Fine, how are you? And you are?"

Of course, "How are you?" is an idiomatic greeting, not an inquiry about injuries.

Having a lawyer means you aren't discussing anything with insurance people.

 

IMHO; since you had so little time behind the wheel of that car - If insurance doesn't total it out, I'd personally get rid of it or insist on a replacement. It's very easy to make these cars look good again, but how will it handle or take another hit would be my major concern - your going to take a major hit in resale value - right off the bat with major repairs on your carfax.
I'm sorry to say this but make the old lady's insurance company make you whole again - that's the purpose of insurance. Hopefully your not in a no-fault insurance state.

 

I feel ya. My 2023 LE got hit in the passenger front corner. Cost $4500 to repair the damage. I don't even feel like keeping it anymore even though all the damage was repaired and you couldn't tell at all even if you looked closely at it.

It has been bad luck with this Prius for me. That accident, 3-4 near accidents, took 2 chips to the windshield (still waiting for the weather to clear up so I can get the 2nd chip repaired; apparently they don't do repairs if it rained), and ran over a spare tire in the roadway that another car lost (thankfully it had enough ground clearance and the tire was thin enough to not cause damage).

My 2017 Two Eco wasn't anywhere near this unlucky. Never got the coolant leak from the exhaust pipe, never got a chip in the windshield, never in an accident.

At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if it got wrecked. I wanna get out and away from this bad luck!