Wife's Prius got it last night. She was going 55 in a 60 and a guy pulled out from a side road. He hit her right at the passenger side wheel and door. No people injuries to speak of, but the car has a lot of visual damage. The first thing our insurance rep says over the phone is "a 2006 won't be totaled." Just when we were getting close to paying that thing off too. BTW - The guy who caused the wreck has no ins, no DL, no registration, and doesn't speak English.
Sounds like a good enough reason to trade up to me! Seriously, ouch, though. Good that noone was hurt. Did the side airbags pop on the hit side? (maybe not if noone was sitting in the seat?)
That's tough to hear. I hope you can get a fair settlement. Remember if they do total it out to not settle until you get a fair amount. They typically low ball you initially. As for the non speaker with no DL. Send his info to Acorn. They'll sign him up for the next election. :focus::mod:
What happens with people like this? Do they get a slap on the wrist and go on their way? Perhaps a new generation of smart key will be required, which only works if your license and insurance are up to date. Tom
Really it's not a bad idea, insurance companies will love this. To give a benefit of the doubt, this non-English speaking dude maybe a tourist driving around with his wallet is still in the hotel.....
We're still waiting for the insurance appraiser to look at the car. The Prius dealer's body shop - where we had the car towed to - is waiting too. I guess the two appraisers will work together so the estimate will cover the cost to repair. That is, if they can repair it. We'll wait and see. BTW - The wait on the appraiser is killing me ... they told us it normally taks 3-5 days to get an independent appraisal. The guy that caused the accident looked to be a day laborer who was working in the area ... there are a few houses still under prolonged construction in my neighborhood. He was definitely not a tourist, nor did he happen to misplace any of his documentation/proof of insurance. The police told us they gave him four citations: no DL, no ins, no registration (tags), and causing an accident. Basically, he went home. They guy's bumper is embedded in the wheel opening. I left the damage "as is" for the appraiser to see. I really wanted to start looking at the damage around the wheel and open the hood, but I decided to wait. Oh yeah, we have uninsured motorist coverage.
In my state of NM, close to half of the cars on the road are uninsured drivers. Overwhelmingly they speak English just fine, since they are local residents. No problem for hte insurance companies though: they just pass on the risk as "uninsured motorist"
Pretty much.... Here in my whole town.....the saddest story. One of the no DL, no insurance, no English people, was driving down the road, and on some of our roads, people have to park on the street......well he took out this elderly gentleman's not one but TWO cars. He hit them both, totaled one, major damage to the other. Of course, the elderly gentleman, being older, and both the cars were older, only had liability, not full coverage. The offender was basically released back into the driving public. Just awful.....
That was an uninformed statement for the insurance rep to make. Does he think that a 2006 is surrounded by an anti totalability force field? Any car can be totaled. My 2007 I am selling books for around $17,500, and if it were to be wrecked. I am sure they would total it if the repairs started getting close to the replacement figure. They could probably get a couple thousand for salvage value, and might consider totalling it if the reparis got to be $14,000 or so. If it is a close call, they may even consider you input.
I'm glad the wife was not hurt. You probably got hit by the same guy that totalled my first Mustang GT back in 1993..
Update - They will fix the car ... mixed feelings on that ... and they appraised the "visual" damages at ~$4500. That number seems low to me. I'm gonna have a look at their list of parts before I sign off on beginning the repairs. Also, it sounds like they spec'd out re-manufactured OEM wherever possible. I'm getting a look at their parts list tomorrow. I'm not sure how best to insist on OEM new parts and win. Lastly, so far, all talk of diminished value has fallen on deaf ears. They aren't even considering that.
Keep on them... $4500? No way, not including the suspsension damage there, thats a $10,000 repair easy. I would consult an attorney. The vehicle will absolutely suffer diminished value as a result of that accident (ask yourself, would you pay as much for a car that had been damaged like that?). I would contact them again and let them know that you want an independent appraiser to look at the vehicle, and that you want them to reconsider the validity of your diminished value claim otherwise you are going to retain an attorney and they can communicate with you through him/her from then on. I believe they MUST use OEM parts if you demand it. Insurance companies really stir my tea. You pay them all that money for all those years and when it comes time for them to stand behind you in a situation like this that wasn't your fault they give you all this trouble. Should be illegal.
You ABSOLUTELY need to get yourself a competent attorney. The insurance company is ONLY trying to save themselves as much money as possible. Let him do the talking, once retained. Every time I have had occasion to retain their services, things worked out just fine. What are the odds the person that hit you might actually pay the fines for the tickets issued.....wouldn't hold my breath on that one!
My insurance company is Ameriprise (purchased through Costco). My collision claims agent told me they are "allowed" to use non-new OEM parts, and even non-OEM parts, on a state-by-state basis. It appears the insurance company is going to be as cheap as possible on replacement parts. I called Ameriprise customer service this evening to ask if there was an OEM parts rider, or something to that effect, I might have been able to purchase. They said there was no such thing in their company. It will become a little clearer when I see the parts inventory list tomorrow. I wonder if using a non-OEM part, or a re-manufactured OEM part, in the hybrid drive line would void my hybrid drive warranty? FYI - An independent appraiser did look at the car along with the Toyota collision center appraiser. Together, they came up with the ~$4500 number. They stressed it was only for visual damages and that more repairs might be needed.
When they get in there the bill is going to go way up... I personally don't know if I agree about the OEM parts or not. There was a court case some years ago that involved State Farm and them refusing the use genuine parts when repairing new vehicles, it was a class action. The verdict was that they had to use new genuine OEM parts to repair vehicles when requested by the consumer for vehicles up to 7 model years old. You'd have to do some research to know whether that applied to a certain state... If they use aftermarket or remanufactured parts then you're definately going to need a diminished value claim... Get an attorney.
I thought it was universal in the US that you could choose one shop of your choice, and there was no need to take the lower of three estimates. There are shops that will only use genuine OEM parts and advertise restoring your car to pre loss conditions. Does this varry from state by state? Seems like you could find the shop of your choice, and they would go pick up the car for you and tow it from the substandard shop. Don't forget to have your wife tell your insurance company how she has noticed neck pain developing.
