Prius 2010 in Collision

:welcome: I am very glad that you are all OK, that's the most important thing. So sorry to hear of your problems. In my opinion, it can be totalled as most of the airbags deployed, and those are pretty costly to replace. Othrwise, it does not look so bad - the salvage value of the car would be pretty high. In your place, I would definitely press my insurance company to write it off - but if they refuse, it can be repaired and driven without too much worries, I would say.

I hope you will enjoy Priuschat and remain a member despite the unlucky reason you registered for . Good luck and hope you will get a new car and enjoy it for years to come.

Please would you keep us informed how the things are going?

 

Sorry about the accident...Glad your ok. I can't tell enough and am no expert but the rear drivers area seems to have the most physical damage.That may be repairable, but if the Hybrid System was damaged in any extent I may think it would not be repairable, and you have to consider the frame, etc. I would wait to see what they find and if over a certain amount of damage and $$$, you may want to push for the Total. Keep up posted....

 

What insurance company do you have (If I can ask?) ? I know that some are much better than others in getting a 'totalled' car officially totalled.

While the damage seems extensive, I have seen worse cars only get fixed, leaving the owner several thousand in the hole, or with a less than perfect new car to deal with.

I hope that they work to get you a new car though. Please keep us posted. (Above all, I am glad that your family is okay).

 

There's one way that you can almost ensure that your car is declared totalled. Assuming you're filing the claim with the other driver's insurance, you have a right to claim the diminished value of your car, since it's not worth as much once it's fixed as it was before the accident.

If you mention to their insurance company that you will be hiring a professional to put in a diminished value claim, they will know to expect to pay several thousand dollars for that, plus the repair costs, so they'll likely just total it instead. This doesn't work if you're going through your own insurance company, because they don't have to pay diminished value claims.

I'm getting my car back this week after $19.9k in damage (yes, I know it should have been totalled...it's a long story), and the diminished value is going to be several thousand dollars less than the original value. The other driver's insurance is going to be on the hook for writing me a check once I put in the claim (although I'd rather just have a new car).

 

i have to dig it up, but my 2004 Pri i had a truck turn left in front of me and i tried to avoid them and missed by an inch. they basically creased the car all the way down one side. no airbag deployment but still required replacement of all the panels. it was totaled. just barely but totaled.

you have air bag deployment which is a $5-7,000 fix in itself. probable frame damage since frame strength is front to back, not side to side.

so ya, it will be totaled a few times.

 

Hi Erinmck32, I too am glad to see no one in the car was seriously injured and you're getting good suggestions about a thorough medical to be sure there is no unseen injuries.

Something I saw in another thread that you might want to keep in mind and assertively discuss with the insurance company adjustor is the Hybrid electrical connections. I recall a post that when the car is jarred as much as yours has been, the chance of long term electrical system and connection problems that are intermittent, thus difficult to diagnose and more difficult to repair is very high. --TK

 

Thanks for sharing your experience with us. I'm very glad to hear you guys are doing well and that no one was seriously hurt.

You've received a number of great suggestions, and I hope you are in a position to follow-up on them.

My recommendations:

1. Don't rely on the insurance company's adjuster. Go to a reliable independent for an estimate. If the shop is reliable, it won't try to give you a low number just so the repair goes to that shop. Instead, you hope to find someone who'll give you the real word sooner, rather than later.
2. Read up on the story of phartin, who posted earlier in this thread. phartin created a thread of his own story, and I think it is WELL worth the reading. Here is the link: Reconsidering warranty after repairs

 

I would tell you how the car is doing after the repairs, but unfortunately I don't have it back yet. It's been in the shop since August 13th. The shop is waiting on one more minor part for the glove box and then it'll be done.

I hired a professional diminished value appraiser to come out and determine the diminished value and also to do a post-repair inspection to make sure the repairs were completed correctly. He's coming out today, so unless he finds something they fixed wrong, I should get my car back in the next couple days.

 

Thankfully the at-fault party has insurance! These days you're lucky if they do.

Since the other party is at-fault, keep in mind that they they should be offering you a rental car also. Usually they will do that to keep you happy.

I looked up the state financial responsility limit for Ohio and it looks like it is only 12.5/25/7.5 which is pretty low. I hope that if your car is totalled that they have more than the state min for the property damage. If not, you'll have to file for the rest under your collision.

Do NOT sign any releases for BI at this point-even if you don't think you were hurt! Sometimes it takes a week or so for a neck ach or something like that to appear. Wait a couple of months to make sure no one has anything crop up.

The damage looks pretty bad. Hope they total it. Keep us posted!

 

+1 There are a lot of dipsticks out on the roads these days without insurance.

 

Glad things went your way. Didn't think it was going to be easy thats for sure. Thanks for reporting back, chat at you soon.