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<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Prianista @ Apr 7 2006, 04:18 PM) [snapback]236550[/snapback]</div>

Sorry for your trouble. We live in Oregon. We took our Honda to the repair shop of our choice. The other folks adjuster's estimate was less than our shop. Our shop dealt directly with the insurance company and it was all taken care of. I don't think they can insist on your taking your car to a particular shop.

Just my 2 cents.

 

take it a couple of places and get estimates. insist they use all OEM parts. we saw a job done on the front end of an 05 with non-OEM parts, it was a shoddy job to begin with but the parts didn't fit right either.

ask each shop you visit for references you can call. if you trust your local dealer ask them if they've seen the work of each body shop, maybe ask them who they deal with because many don't have their own body shop and contract through someone else.

if the front end is messed up and some of the underhood stuff is damaged, have a prius tech look it over after the body shop is done with it and document anything suspicious. DH has done this for customers in the past.

sorry your car got smashed but glad to hear you walked out of it relatively okay.

 

Sorry about the accident, best advice take it to your Toyota dealer to repair, it is still under warrantee. If your dealer has a bad shop take to another dealer shop that you know is excellent.
The other guys insurance company will pay all, as he is at fault.
Best of luck

 

My wife wrecked her car a couple of years ago. The insurance adjuster offerred us $16,000. We had it towed to a body shop that the dealer recommended. The good body shop stopped working on the estimate when he hit $35,000. I got the body shop and the adjuster on the phone in a conference call and got the car declared totaled. Fortunately it was less than 6 months old and had less than 5,000 miles. The insurance company paid us our purchase price less the deductible.

The advise is have the dealer recommend a good shop and have them evaluate it before you agree to anything with the adjuster.

Good luck on your health and your car.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Prianista @ Apr 7 2006, 05:12 PM) [snapback]236569[/snapback]</div>

Major bummer. I would ask the local Toyota and Lexus dealers who they send their cars to.

 

I did what Begreen suggested. Fisrt I called the Toyota Service Mangaer at the shop where I bought our car and then I called the Warranty Administrator there and asked where they would send it. When those two both gave me the same shop name my search was over.

 

One of the differences between good insurance companies and cheap insurance companies is how you're treated when you have a claim!

Your insurance company should pay 100% of the repair cost at any reputable body shop -- no deductible! and then they should collect from the company of the driver that hit you, since he is at fault.

The driver who caused the accident is liable for the full cost of repair, and cannot set limits on the cost, providing that your shop does not inflate the cost beyond what the repair should cost.

REPEAT: the driver who is liable cannot set limits on what he will pay to repair your car. And if your insurance company is any good at all, they should allow the body shop to bill them directly, so you never pay anything, and they should then collect from the other company. (Unless you are not telling the truth and you share in the liability. But if you were hit while stopped at a light, then you bear no responsibility.)

 

ooooof.

yep, that's gonna be some work. make sure you get a good shop to take care of it.

fortunately the front end damage didn't protrude into the engine compartment so it's probably mechanically intact.

 

Yes, you're far better off to have taken the bigger hit at the rear.

I hope they've fixed you up with a rental car?

Responsive service is one thing, but DON'T let the adjuster rush you into anything until YOU understand the total costs, and the major components that are going to be replaced, and that no after-market parts will be used.

A shame to have such a new car uglified like that, but we're glad you weren't hurt worse. When the rear was impacted, did your head impact the head rest? (You may not know.)

Did you see the damage to the Camry? Shouldn't have been too bad.

Some of the best advice PC has to offer is available in the case of accidents. Don't be afraid to ask anything. Among us, we've about seen it all.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mouztrpd @ Apr 7 2006, 08:01 PM) [snapback]236628[/snapback]</div>

Who did they recommend? Several years ago I was rear-ended by a drunk while I was stopped at a light. That was in a Camry wagon, so I went on the downtown Seattle Toyota dealer's recommendation. The body shop did a first rate job of fixing the car up.

 

Im not trying to sound negitive in any way here & Im sorry to hear of yet another unfortunate accident.

I always tell people when stopped or driving if you cant see under the car infront of you your too close (if you can see the rear differintial/pumpkin or the gas tank) and some one hits you in the rear you should not make contact with the car infront of you. this also provides an escape route were you can swerve to aviod the collision.
With that said,

Did they look at the car yet? can it be fixed? I wish I had gotten the red

P.S. take it to the dealers auto body shop as they use genuine toyota parts.. No after market parts theres a reason aftermarket is cheaper..

 

I can feel your pain, but looking at the pictures, it seems easy to fix.
Don't worry.

 

My complete sympathies. We just picked up our Barcelona Pkg #8 today and your photos make me cringe. Don't know if I'll have the guts to drive it out of the garage tomorrow. On the other hand, I am heartened to see how well the passenger area of the car was protected.

Hope you are able to bring this to a satisfactory resolution. Keep us posted.