Accident Prime Advanced - Collision (released from hospital)

Prime is appreciably better than a Prius c (PRIME on LEFT):

 

The road with the stop sign looks like it should have a "Right Turn Only" sign. Turning left into a four-lane road with a wide median is just asking for trouble...

 

To be honest - white is one of the easiest colours to keep clean - the absolute best is pale silver.

I had a dark grey - it was both invisible - but always looked not quite clean unless I'd washed her that day.

Hardest and most invisible:

 

Regarding what you get paid out for the car - read the insurance policy clearly. Almost all comprehensive policies here include "New for Old" for cars which are under 2 years old - some only 1 year. If mine gets written off under 2yrs old, they keep the wreck and give me a new identical (or equivalent) car - unless there is no equivalent model 2yrs later.

Maybe that's not the norm in USA, but worth checking.

 

Wow that certainly a total loss. Someone else hit a deer and had minor damage to the front and side and the cost for repairs was upwards of $14,000. YOUR car has major damage and isn't even structurally sound anymore, I'd guess.
I'd almost be happy in your case if you got away with no injuries. You can go grab another Prime from up in NY(they've got like $5k off) plus get another $4500 federal tax rebate plus if you get anything from your state.

Here's to hoping you make off with a new car and come out on top.

 

I would amend that to "Do not pay any more than the absolute minimum out of pocket."

After a few months, the hospital and/or the fire department (if you needed their services) will send your bill to a collection agency unless you show some good faith. It only takes maybe $50 a month but there's no point giving them anything until they start making ugly noises. Those were the instructions from our lawyer. We made sure he knew what we had paid and he figured that into his negotiations and we got that money back when he was done.

 

Not sure I'm reading it the same way- the c scored one grade lower on the small overlap crash test.

The crash prevention score on the c appears much lower, but the IIHS awards only one point for a crash prevention system until they actually test it in a given car. The Prius c has the Toyota Safety Sense system. I think the prime has the same system, but I'm not certain. So it could just be that they've tested a prime and not a c.

 

PRIME on left in all 3 tests
vs


vs


vs

PRIME


PRIUS c

 

I wasn't disputing the value of the prime's better grade on the small overlap test. What I was calling attention to was that the c appears to score 4 points lower on the prevention score when in fact this is only due to the fact that it has not yet been tested. That information gap seemed much more significant to me.

 

Agree absolutely

 

Yes, after the accident is not the time you want to find out about how your insurance coverage works. My policy is up for a renew, I am going to read through the small prints. Thank you.

 

In PA, the medical stuff also seems to go through your own insurance.
I had an accident and the other person was at fault for running a red light and hitting me. I went to the ER as a just-in-case. It was billed to my car insurance but I didn't have to pay anything. Just lots of signatures on forms from geico.


Also in terms of getting money for the totaled car, my situation took about 3 weeks. I used a rental in the meantime. They had to get an adjuster out to determine that it was a total loss. I had to mail my signed title to the car insurance company. Once they got it, the mailed me a check for the car's value(which they determined when the adjuster looked at the vehicle).

 

Just FYI, I also have GEICO for last 4 years, and my experience with them have been nothing but the best. I mostly had only minor claims for glass breakage, but our old HCH driven by my son had a minor accident. It was minor fender bender but the car ended up in a ditch with broken side mirror and some cosmetic damages. There was no injury, no other car involved and no property damage other than our car. Although, the car was probably drivable, it had to be pulled out of the ditch by towing truck, so as a precaution, the car was towed to a garage. When GEICO adjuster got to see the car on first business day (it happened over weekend), he determined the cost for repair is going to be more than the fair market value of the car itself, so he determined the car is "totaled" for insurance claim purpose. I went to see him next day, and after seeing the car and checking damages which was only side mirror and AC condenser, and fairly minor cosmetic body damages, I decided to keep the car instead of taking the full value. The adjuster quickly calculated the wholesale value of a junk car of this make, and subtracted that amount from the total value of the car and handed the check to me on the spot. I gave the signed title to him and drove away in the car. All this took 30 min. I later fixed the mirror and condenser and straightened a few body parts on this car, and applied for a new title for it. The car is still being driven by my son after a year since that accident.

 

While available in the U.S., it is not at all the norm.

 

I got rear ended in my C from a guy in a full size pickup going 55 while I was stopped and I can attest I would much rather have been in a car with a longer trunk. My back seats were pushed into the front seats. Had I had a rear passenger at the time I'm sure the would have me gravely injured. The C front seats also failed. Both front seats were laying completely back after the cash.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

A couple of points...state law determines when a car is considered a total loss. It might be if repairs are as low as 85% of the book value...if that's what's in that state's law.

When you bought back that total loss car, it came to you with a branded title. In some states the salvage title can be cleared to a clean title after repairs and inspection. In other states the branded title cannot be cleared. Anyone trying to sell a vehicle with a branded title must disclose that, and the selling price will be lower than a car with a clean title.

A posting above from an Australian used the expression "comprehensive" about car policies, and I think he meant what we call full coverage (although there is no standard definition of "full coverage"). The way we use the term "comprehensive" is for damage that happens when not driving. A crash is under the collision part of the policy. Comprehensive coverage kicks in for theft, weather damage, fire, etc. Just trying to keep things clear....

 

In my case, the estimate for repair cost was higher than the fair market value of the car. I must say I was so glad to have full coverage on that 10 years old vehicle, otherwise, the loss would have been on me totally. You are correct about a branded title. For me that didn't matter, since the car is going to be used by my son till it falls apart. No plan to sell this vehicle. By the way, soon after the accident, I dropped full coverage on this car, for it has no market value in it now even though it is still a very good reliable daily drive thus very valuable asset for my son.

 

Actually it may not have been worth having full coverage on a ten year old car even before the accident. From what I have heard a lot of policies for older cars are way overpriced for what they pay out if the car is totaled. It depends on the insurance company of course, and what type of deal you are getting. If you calculate how much you paid for collision coverage for the car for the previous three years, how does that compare with how much they paid you? Although you may have paid less than the payout and it seems like a good deal, remember that is looking in hindsight.

If for example you have a seven year old car, you could cancel collision coverage and put aside the amount saved. The odds of it being totaled in the next three years is relatively low, and even if it is the difference between what they would have paid you compared to how much you saved may not be that much. If it doesn't get totaled, and let's say you sell it after ten years, then of course the new car you will get full coverage on, but you will also have a bundle of money in your repair savings account, which you could still keep in a savings account for use as deductible on the new car if needed, and raise the deductible on your new car as high as possible which will lower the rate quite a bit.

Of course part of what you are paying for insurance is peace of mind, so I'm not saying don't get full coverage on an older car, but just to be aware of how much you are paying for that peace of mind and decide whether it's really worth it in the long run.