In an accident with my Prius (pictures included)

Glad to hear that you are OK.

Your car looks like a shoe in to be totalled. The engine bays are too tight in these cars, for the drivetrain to have survived that impact without damage, and that's where the money is REALLY going to add up.

As for not being able to replace it. I'd get ready to get down and dirty with the insurance company. With there beginning to be inventories on the lot, you should have no problem getting a replacement, and the nearly 100% resale value on the car should be enough to get you a replacement car. You do NOT have to take their offer and run. With dealers still charging over MSRP for them in hard to get areas, you are in a position to demand a new replacement car, especially since yours was only a few months old. Don't let the crooks intimidate you.

 

Hey, great pics and what a fab job Toyota did on its creation of crumple zones.

I know you are not happy about losing your "baby" after just a few short months but at age 48 I can tell you that the sheet metal means NOTHING to me now, its all about PEOPLE.

My Prius is in, I should pick it up in two days and these pics are just incredible, very reassuring.

Its totaled, and DO NOT take it back under any circumstances. Get another one.

And don't get flimflamd over the replacement/current value business. My brothers '04 Prius on depreciated 800.00 from his purchase price over the past year.

So, insist the car be totaled, and get the $$ value you need. Check Edmonds, NADA guides for current values on your car before it was totaled.

I wish you continued good luck, but you sure had a barrel full in this crash already. As in most cases you made your own luck when you made the decision to buy a very crash safe car, a current design and not some warmed over 80's design.

 

i will echo the sediment here that your health is worth 10 Priuses...

but losing your car still ranks very very high at least for me. in the short time ive had my car, ive never become this attached to any other car ive ever owned.

i am impressed with the way the car did fare. the smoke you saw when the air bags deployed was most likely the result of the explosions used to deploy the airbags. most have small charges of something similiar to dynamite to insure deployment in time to prevent injury.

and considering that the windshield of the Prius is one of the largest on a passenger car, its impressive for it to be undamaged in a 55 mph front end collision...

the many safety awards the Prius has won are obviously well deserved...

good luck in your quest for a replacement

 

I also remember that smell. They pack the airbags with powder so they don't clump up or stick together, and thus fail to open completely.

 

I am glad everyone was ok. That is the best news. There was a picture of a 04 Prius that was T-boned by a 18 wheeler hauling an oversized piece of earthmoving equipment I saw last summer. Can not find it now. A kid under driving age and with out a licence pulled out in front of the truck as he was going 65 or greater. Drinking was involved as there was a 18 pack in the back of the Prius. 5 kids in the car all under driving age. The pictures were awful the amazing thing was 3 lived, they were the ones with seat belts on. The other two did not have belts. I think it is a well designed car capable of protecting you if you help out a bit. It looks like the Prius here did what it was supposed to sacrifice the car for the people. Count me as one who wants to know how this comes out! Do you have your name on a dealers list yet?

 

A few years ago, my car was in an accident and was totalled. I learned that the industry has gotten more efficient recycling used parts and rebuilding is much more expensive than the original assembly. All of these factors lead to more and more totalling for less and less damage.

Be grateful if it's totalled. I had a car I really liked so much I pressed to have it repaired anyway. It was never the same. The frame had gotten bent, and it never tracked correctly again.

 

You got it.

In addition to thoracic and curtain airbags, I also wanted ETC, EBD, brake assist, etc etc. That further narrows the short list.

A Kia? Yeah, right ... I doubt they have stellar crash ratings. It was the NCAP crash rating of the Prius that sold me on it.

 

8) elphaba,

rear collisions! ya right.

Would you like me to scan in a copy of the police report to show you that my story is indeed accurate?

Mr. Frank Hudon had posted his story and pictures when he was rear ended in his 04 Prius. I believe he was just stating he understands what you are going through.

Ben

 

Victim of the snow storm, correct? Yeah, there was lots of accidents out there, it was pretty bad.

Glad you're both ok. And thanks for sharing the pictures - I also vote that this will be totalled, as it seems that "essential organs" were damaged. Poor baby...

 

the powder on airbags, is acctually simple cornstarch. and its is designed to keep it flexible so its ready when you need it.

the burning smell is the airbag discharge cap. it ignites a solid state nitorgen canister. which expands rapidly into the airbag.

yea way to go soon to be college grad

give myself a P on the B

 

Those pictures look an awful lot like my 97 Saturn looked after an accident last month. It was a total. (Which is why I'm shopping for a Prius now!) Of course your sparkly new Prius would be worth much much more than my Saturn was but I'm thinking that whoever said that you surely had very pricey drivetrain/engine damage was right.

I hope you can get a new Prius pretty fast... I actually hear the wait in or around Chicago isn't too bad... unlike where I live in D.C.

 

What kind of car did you hit? Was the other driver injured?

 

Wow, I'm so glad you walked away from this accident. Danny's right--go to a doctor and don't admit that you're "OK" to an insurance company until you let a good amount of time pass.

BTW one reason I went with 21st Century insurance (it was a few dollars more than the cheapest quote I got) was because they specify OEM parts (VERY important as far as I'm concerned) and for a one-year period they completely replace a brand-new car if it's totalled.

Best of luck in getting this resolved. You definitely CAN find a Prius quickly at MSRP in the color and package you want--it just takes some time on your part to e-mail dealers. You're more likely to get a good price from the fleet/internet department than from the sales department, so check with dealers within a certain radius from your home. I hope you're enjoying your new one soon!

BTW Manny and I know that Salsa is the BEST color...just think how pretty a red Prius would look in your driveway!

 

Oddly enough, I think there was a recent post saying someone from out of state went to Tyson's Corner to get one more quickly!