New 2008 Prius damaged after 19 days!!!

You get on the phone with that woman's insurance company immediately. NEVER take an insurance company's first damage settlement quote. Get a manager/supervisor on the phone right away and do not negotiate with anyone else! I'm shocked your insurance company is not helping you claim the full amount for the damages you received. Shame on them. Did you purchase any gap or total loss insurance? My insurance company USAA offers total loss insurance for $179 total, that's it. It sometimes takes a firm word with an insurance team manager to get the ball rolling. Do not get steamrolled by her insurance company. They are not working in your best interest. Let me know what happens! Good luck. I feel for you. Buck up and know this will all resolve itself in your best interest. This really sucks. Sorry.

 

I am sick for you! What Grocked says! Do not accept repair of panels get new parts! if no dice then call_a_lawyer! They love this kind of stuff!

When a lady on a cell phone bounced into my wifes Jeep, we accepted nothing less than new parts fresh painted. We got it too. Since she was hurt the lawyer got that done for us free. Accepting bondo damages the car resale forever.

 

Each State and insurance company are different. It is a new auto and should come out of the repair shop looking new. I would turn it into my insurance company and let them fight it out with the other persons insurance. You would have to pay the deductable but when they settle you would get your money back. I have done this in the past with good results, it does not go against you with the insurance as the other person was at fault.

I would also go to another body shop. There should be no need to blend paint it should match. Is this body shop a Toyota dealer? I like to take a auto to the dealer's body shop if it is close to new.

Hope this is of some help. Good luck getting a satisfactory job done.

 

If it makes you feel any better, I have had mine for 3 weeks today. Parked in front of my house tonight. Doing some yard work, and some teenager decided he wanted to RUN across my car, front to back. Dent in the top of my car now....

 

Did you catch the kid? I heard that you all in Chicago have had a lot of shootings in the past day or so. If you didnt catch him, do you have full coverage to cover the damage? I hope both Chris and Dex get their cars fixed.

 

that happned to my poor old car, this kid jumped up and down on the roof actually..i was so pissed of man. I almost ringed the kid's neck in front of his parents. I demanded money from them or i would call a lawyer..we exchanged info and i would be in touch. The next morning they had moved out! Turn's out the house was a meth lab! not kidding...i never got any money back or was able to contact them whatsoever..i went the cheap route and used a rubber mallet on the interiour to pop the roof back up gently, it worked out 75% , at least it looked alot better...i hate kids

 

I purchased our car on March 8, 2008. Car got "keyed" across 2 doors, either on the 14th or 15th of March. $700 to make it like new again. $1000 deductable.

 

So sorry to hear. Is the damage just cosmetic or has equipment such as the flask been damaged? I fear so much bout frontal damage as there is so much equipment up front in the hood.

 

There's no reason why a door with bondo would be noticable that it has body filler on it, if done properly, and I don't see why the bodyshop man would even say that. That tells me their work isn't very good. Even if they slapped the mud on 2 inches thick, they can still make it look good. That being said, I'm surprised anyone is pushing to try and save the door at all. Most places don't want to deal with returning customers due to faulty repairs that come back to haunt them. I had the *SLIGHTEST* ding in my rear door of a car I once had, and the consensus was to replace the door. the fact that it was a door that got hit means it could have stressed the hinges, mount to the body, etc.... and they didn't want to risk there being any problems in the future.

If done properly, I don't have any problem with mud. I don't particularly care for the actual brand of Bondo that you can buy at walmart. Bodyshops use a much better quality product.

The thing I would be most concerned about is blending the paint together and making sure there aren't any runs, fish eyes, orange peel, etc.... It wouldn't surprise me if they are insisting on painting adjacent panels at least partially. For example, if only your door and fender are damaged, you normally can't just paint the whole door and whole fender because you WILL see a color difference between the fender and hood and door and rear door etc.... Thus, they blend in the color to adjacent panels. Some colors are easier to blend than others.

You have the right to take your care whereever you want to get fixed, and it's up to you to get your own estimates and to get your insurance company involved to make you happy. This is a brand new car and you shouldn't have to worry about "cheap fixes." Repairs need to be done right, and a competent body shop will insist on doing it that way to make you happy (and to cover their butts in the long run!).

 

Dex,

What part of Maryland do you live in? I may be able to refer you to a decent body shop...Your car should be like new when finished, no bondo!

 

"I hate kids" Dude I love that . Thanks for making me laugh. Should put that under your avatar.

 

2 weeks from new, (600 miles) my 06 got hit with freeway debris: new front bumper, air dam, lower grill and fog light = $1300 +the passenger door was also damaged and repaired. There is no way you can tell it was fixed, except for some white overspray on the black door trim, which I easily polished out. Finding a good body shop may be an issue, but the repairs can easily be done and you would never know it was damaged.

 

My husband and I feel your pain. We've had our baby almost a full year, and the carriage lamp at the foot of the driveway has attacked our Prii twice now. The first time Hubby was driving, and the darned lamp fell over onto the car, denting the rear driver's side quarter panel, and scraping the driver's side fender at the wheel. (he MAY have nudged it trying to get out of the driveway).

I caused the other scrape a week and a half ago, scraping the driver's side rocker panel and BOTH driver's side doors :smow: total for the damage is $700 to fix the scrapes and repaint the affected panels to match the rest of the car.

I can't look at the damage without being nauseous. :behindsofa:

 

I'm currently writing a book about this so I'll impart some more sound advice. Bring your Prius to a Toyota Dealer only! Only a dealer can "sell it" (all your damages) to an adjuster. The dealer has more credibility than your average body shop. You'll need a service adviser at the dealership to sell ALL the damages to the adjuster. I'm NOT talking about doing ANYTHING illegal. But, if you are NICE to that service adviser and ask him/her to help you with your case (to firmly establish the relationship between the accident and ALL your damages) he will take care of you. Tactfully and respectfully let the service adviser know you will "take care" of him. Then, when all is said and done and you get the settlement you deserve, tip him well! It's a GAME. And this is how it's played. Good luck.