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Totaled!!!

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by perryma, Mar 14, 2009.

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  1. Dipena

    Dipena Senior Member

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    I am glad you are OK--that sounds so scary. You are so lucky you walked away from that.

    Sorry about your sweet little Prius, though.
     
    #21 Dipena, Mar 14, 2009
  2. jtlytle

    jtlytle Caution: Prius owner

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    Glad you are okay! Hope you'll get 2010 Prius!
     
    #22 jtlytle, Mar 15, 2009
  3. amm0bob

    amm0bob Permanently Junior...

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    It's a good sign for you to be asking questions after a bell-ringer.

    As for your car... it sounds to me like you survived... I'd recommend getting a similar car with that record... but check on the curtain airbag, are you sure it had em installed... they were an option... as was the one on the seat I think... and it has been known that a manufacturer will spec a car wrong on the invoice on occasion... check to see if the thing is there and plugged in.


    Oh, and the uninsured suck...
     
    #23 amm0bob, Mar 15, 2009
  4. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Airbag deployment is very reliable and very consistant, but most people don't understand when and why they are supposed to deploy. It would be helpful to see a photo of the car to see the exact point of impact. The fact that the front bag deployed but the side did not suggests that it was primarily a frontal impact. While the secondary impact(s) and the induced yaw may be what caused you to hit your head, the fact that you did not suffer a serious head injury (ie. intracranial bleeding, skull fracture, broken neck) actually supports the fact that the side-impact bag should NOT have deployed.

    I can't reiterate enough that airbag deployment is a violent impact in itself. They should only deploy when the risk of serious injury from the collision is greater than the risk of serious injury from the bag. The fact that your injuries were minor (relative, please understand where I'm coming from as an ER doc in a level 1 trauma center) tells me that it was a good thing that the side bag did not deploy. They are not soft cushy pillows that make a crash a comfy gentle event, they simply counter a stronger collision force to moderate injuries that might otherwise be fatal or very serious.

    And, FWIW, I suspect that even if the impact had been directly on your door that you probably would have been less injured than you think...the side bags would have been deployed and helped protect you from life threatening injury--I admit that's pure speculation since I have no knowledge of the speed/force of impact involved. But, I don't think being in a Volvo would have offered significantly more protection than a properly equipt Prius.
     
    #24 efusco, Mar 15, 2009
  5. nascrlvr

    nascrlvr nascrlvr

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    Perryma..................sorry to be jumping in so late. I just read this!! I am thankful, first and most importantly, that you are ok. Please keep us up with how you are physically and what you are going to do down the road as far as a new car is concerned. Blessings!!
     
    #25 nascrlvr, Mar 15, 2009
  6. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    Another late entry to the thread. Like everyone else, I'm sorry to hear about your car, and glad you're okay.

    And to repeat what someone said above: If the insurance company declares the car totaled and pays you, they own it.

    Volvos have a reputation for safety, but no car is going to let you walk away unbruised from a serious accident. It looks as though your Prius did its job. I think you should not reject the idea of another Prius just because the side air bag didn't go off. As Evan said, not going off was probably the right thing for it to do under the circumstances.

    I hope you get well soon.
     
    #26 daniel, Mar 15, 2009
  7. magruder

    magruder Average Member

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    Blue book values are inflated right now from what I've seen. The higher mileage vehicles are even more inflated. Therefore, I suspect you will come out in good shape as far as the car goes. I wouldn't be surprised if you get enough money to replace the vehicle with a similar one and still have cash left over. I hope so anyhow.
     
    #27 magruder, Mar 15, 2009
  8. perryma

    perryma New Member

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    I guess I was what you call T-boned. It was a perfect hit front to side. If I was heading say, 12 o'clock, it knocked me exactly 3 o'clock so that I was heading the in the same direction as the van that hit me. It was the front panel but I still thought my side bag would have deployed. It did not however hit my door. Anyway, my car loan is another question. It has been a while since I have had one but on this one they took the interest and just plunked it as a lump sum onto the final price . It was late and cold and I was too tired to argue when I buoght it.
    The guy said that is how they are all done. Anyway, that could be a problem when it comes to paying this off. We will see. I do think I will just get something decent to drive until the 2010 cars hit. I love the new Prius and the Volt. Who knows? I am looking right now at the Ford Escape hybrid as well as the Ford Five Hundred. I am not usually a big ford guy but I like these two pretty well and they get good gas mileage for a non-Prius. Oh yeah,thanks for the well wishers, I feel sore but fine and fortunately my hard head took most of the impact. I"ll post pics when I get them.
     
    #28 perryma, Mar 16, 2009
  9. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    But Volvo has a lot bigger advertising budget to show how much safer they are. ;)

    Tom
     
    #29 qbee42, Mar 16, 2009
  10. perryma

    perryma New Member

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    Well here are a couple of pics. It basically took the area from the front of the front tire to the bumper off. I thought it had hit further back. My cost to fix was about $14,800 (?). My neck is still hurting me but outside of that and being loopy, I am fine. If they come out in order, the first was from the front side right infront of the driver's side tire. The next is her backside and you can see she was a beaut' and if you look closely you can see the very front of the care seems to be gone. It did bend the (rails?) really badly. (The pasenger side door wouldn't open from the front panel being bent over it.) The next pic shows the airbags and the last is the backseet which still looks perfect.:(
     

    Attached Files:

    #30 perryma, Mar 24, 2009
  11. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    First pic alone was enough to total it - inverter had been displaced.
     
    #31 HTMLSpinnr, Mar 24, 2009
  12. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    Yeah, like *that* will just buff right out ...

    You're getting better? Quite the scare
     
    #32 jayman, Mar 25, 2009
  13. Mike Dimmick

    Mike Dimmick Active Member

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    Looks like inverter and transaxle and a bent chassis.

    Inverter's around $5k, transaxle the same, but a bent chassis is never worth repairing.
     
    #33 Mike Dimmick, Mar 25, 2009
  14. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    I believe the proper wording is something like this: Inverter, $5k; Transaxle, $5k; bent chassis, priceless.

    Tom
     
    #34 qbee42, Mar 25, 2009
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