In an accident with my Prius (pictures included)

Glad you're both okay, cars are just things that can be replaced, people cannot.

Its almost certainly totalled. I can't imagine an insurance company looking at that with almost certain frame and engine compartment damage and not totalling it.

 

Argg - I'm sorry to see that. Glad you both are ok.

 

I'm very happy that you are both OK. The Prius is a well designed vehicle, and I suspect you might have been worse off in many other types of vehicle.

The damage looks pretty extreme, but insurance companies balance the cost to repair against the current value of the vehicle. In this case, the high resale value of the vehicle will work against you.

With the advantage of hindsight, it is easy to see that you were both very wise to be wearing your seatbelts.

Steve

 

What they normally do in cases like these is take them to a dealer and see if they can get it going to the point where they can pull all the codes from the computer and then reset it and start it again to see what codes come up. Then they check to see if there is damage to the power train module, IE: ICE, MG's and CVT, also inverter etc. Stuff that is really expensive to repair. If after all that it looks ok then they estimate the repair cost and what they can get for salvage and determine which way to go. From what I see in the photos I'd just hazzard a guess that it's a total. Do us all a favour and keep this thread updated as to which way the insurance company goes. We all have a vested interest in such outcomes.

 

If this were a "normal" car, i.e., one that could be had without waiting 9 months, I'd say it was a total. It looks as if the severity of the impact has totalled both motors and has obviously done extensive body damage. The cost of even apparent minor repairs (1000 bucks in my case to replace a rear bumper) can make a total out of what might look like only moderate damage.
My condolences to you both. I'm happy you survived unscathed and had the generosity to share your tragic experience with the rest of us. I've wondered about the airbags, etc, in my Prius and how it would survive an accident. I'm sure most of us have had nightmare thoughts of something like what happened to you.
Some insurance companies, however, are way above the norm in how they deal with situations like this. They might be willing to at least factor in the difficulty of replacement when they figure out what to award you. Since the accident was not your fault (I assume there was a police report that cited the other driver?), they might be even more "generous" since they will subrograte the other driver's insurance company. Even if you don't get a replacement Prius, you might get some additional compensation above strict blue book value.. Contrary to the above post, I think the very high "street value" of this car might lead to a repair rather than a total loss. Cars are totalled by insurance companies when the repair costs more than the car...it's not hard for that to happen. When the car carries a high value, the damage limit beyond which it would be a total, is also increased.
Please keep us posted. I'm so sad to hear about this and to see your beautiful baby in such shape. She did protect you, though, and that's wonderful.
Bob
I

 

So very glad to see you walked away.. the Prius seems to sacrifice itself very well.

There was a accident in Ca (I think) where the ambulance personal took one look at the Prius and asked why they were called and not the morgue??? The drive and others in the car only had minor scrapes.. walked away and did not go to the ER. ambulance driver said great car..

I would say that there is at least 15,000$ to the fontend.. the Prius SHD might run 10,000+ of that...

I would start looking for a list to put my name on. Just from the looks of the Prius.. but as was stated about Ins. Co.'s go my $$ and numbers... all in the hands of the body shop.. There est will be the factor..

If I was to put money in a office pool.. I would pick $17,000 cost to repair... depending on region and not including rent-a-car...

 

Wow, quite the hit. I remember seeing something similar when we were first looking at the crash-test results from the '04 back around November/December of '03.

The result was surprisingly similar. The engine compartment took the brunt of the hit very nicely, and collapsed, leaving the passenger compartment almost completely unaffected. Pretty amazing for a high-speed hit too. But then again, the Prius did score top marks for front and rear collisions, and only very slightly lower on side-impacts.

I'd be surprised if the car wasn't completely replaced, but as others have said, insurance companies aren't well-known for their generosity.

At any rate, as others have said, so long as the people are alright, that's what matters. Incidentally, I'm sort of curious what it was like when the airbags deployed. I've never (fortunately) been in that circumstance and I'd imagine the combination of an accident plus explosives going off in-cabin would definately be an experience.

Dave.

 

rear collisions! ya right.

 

That's so very sad to see You're car is totally totaled beyond any doubt. I have seen other Prius come through with MUCH less damage and they total them. It's just too expensive to repair the car, It's far cheaper and less of a liablity for warranty issues (repair warranty issues) to total the car. Please keep in mind that since you are not at fault at all, you should NOT have to pay your insurance deducatable (if one applies).

I really hope that you have another Prius on order - they are in fact wonderful cars and Accidents can happen to anyone - you certainly deserve another Prius.

Im very glad you're okay and I look forward to seeing new Prius photos if you choose to have another (I hope).

 

Six or seven years ago I had a used Ford Aspire that was totalled. I had a head-on collision with someone in a 1978 ...tank... and we were both going around 25 or 30 mph. The front end of my (much smaller) car looked about the same.

I think I described it to people as like feeling your whole body "squished" violently for a split second.

I can't think of any other way to describe it. I've written and erased four other sentences after that one, because I didn't think they communicated the feeling well to someone who had never been in an accident.

You probably already know this, but it's important to get back in a car and drive again immediately after the accident. Have someone come with you. You need to prove to yourself that driving really is safe, so you don't end up with some kind of aversion to driving.

(Or is that only when you're a new driver? That was my first car, and I had just recently sent in my first month's payment when the car was totaled.)

--Michael Spencer

 

Wow, I'm glad that people inside were OK.

Look at the windshield of the poor Prius! It is not even broken. That goes to show that the Prius has very well front buffer zone design. The last time I saw that was a BMW 5 series after a 35mph front offset crash test. Only the BMW 5 had unbroken windshield among all luxury sedans tested.

 

Glad you both are OK.

My vote is they will total the car.

I’m curious as to how much experience most repair shops have in doing a major rework of a hybrid. The unknowns of working on a high voltage hybrid system will scare many away from attempting the job. The learning curve would just be too high. “Um, Bubba, wherez the shiny key to start this thing, and point out the dang key hole?

Go back to the dealer you bought from and tell them your sad story. They may bump you to the top of the list . . . being a repeat Prius buyer and all. If not try Toyota Corporate Customer Care.

“Head of the line privilege from Toyota Corporate should my Salsa Baby be totaled in an accident or stolen†was my response to the PriusChat topic : What feature do you wish your Prius had?

My nightmare has become your reality. I feel your pain.

 

elphaba:

In what part of the country do you live?

There are dealers starting to have inventory who do not charge over MSRP. I'm sure that between us we can help find you a Prius in a matter of a few weeks should you be in that position.

I too am glad to hear everyone was OK. Keep us posted.

 

Though from the looks of it, it seems the car would be totalled. However, another poster here or on PriusOnline hit a moose. Not only was there the usual car damage, but blood/guts from the moose. It wasn't totalled, though the owner wanted it so, as they were concerned about stains and smell. It was as good as new once repaired. Repair costs came very close to replacement cost.

 

Sorry to hear about your crash, but these things happen. The results - for you anyway - could have been far worse if you had been driving a different car. I can't think of a better car to get into a crash.

The EU traffic safety agency NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme) tested the 2004 Prius and awarded it the highest marks for collision in offset and side impact. Those thoracic and curtain airbags sure help.

NCAP also rates how "friendly" a car is to pedestrian impacts. Most cars do poorly in this regard and the Prius is an average performer. So whatever you drive, try to avoid hitting pedestrians. That should be obvious.

I first looked at the Prius as I wanted a new car with thoracic and curtain airbags, and that is a very small list indeed. Here in Canada, it was the CHEAPEST car that offered that level of protection!

There was no crash data from IIHS (Insurance Institute of Highway Safety) here in America, but NCAP had already tested the Prius. Their results clinched it:

http://www.euroncap.com

http://www.euroncap.com/content/safety_rat...p?id1=3&id2=193

Since the Prius is a unitbody platform, it will most likely be written off. The crumple zones worked as they should, and usually those cannot be repaired. Since the entire unit body is now tweaked, even if repaired, it may never drive the same after.

There are many instances of write-offs being quickly repaired and peddled off. Their handling is unsafe and the tires wear in odd ways. If it was up to me, a write-off would immediately be sent through a crusher, so it could never be resold at auction and peddled off on an unsuspecting consumer.

 

Glad you both walked out. I'm showing my wife the pictures. Always nice to have real evidence of the crash worthiness in 'real world' form though I'm really sorry you have the ability to provide it.

I'm guessing total. My minor accident - hole punched in the rear bumber, not even sure the foam inside needs to be replaced but the collision guy put it down in case: $750. The OEM bumper cover itself is only $187. Lots of labor involved in removing, painting and replacement.

I think most of the cost if the car is forward of the dash and yours looks gone! Hard to tell though. How are the front axle and transmission? Just the $60/hr or whatever labor cost to bang things back in place will add up to thousands. Then all the replacement parts and labor to put them in.

Since the Prius is hard to get but is more available in some areas, perhaps the ins co will pay to ship you a comparable package from elsewhere so you don't have to wait forever for one in your "I'm willing to drive that far" radius.

 

Wow! I'm glad you're both okay.