2005 Prius in At-Fault Rear-End Accident

[GreenGirl8]

Today my husband was driving our Prius and rear-ended a car waiting to make a left turn. The car he hit, a Chevy Impala, was able to drive away, after discussing the accident, with only cosmetic damage. However, take a look at our Prius. I think it's totaled, although we have to wait until Monday when the adjustor looks at it. We have Progressive Insurance and I'd like to think we'll have some luck getting at least a decent settlement, because we'd really like to replace it. Even though we're at fault, and I'm not sure if that affects things (other than our future insurance rates, which I know will go up a lot, and the loss of our deductible), I'm hoping to get a fair settlement. Our car was a 2005 Seaside Pearl Prius, purchased used this past March 2008, with only 37K on it. It was great. But I think it's gone. The tow company has it now. Any words of advice? Please only post positive or encouraging or instructive or helpful responses. I've had enough bad news today to not need to hear any negatives--believe me, I know them. Thanks.

[Tech_Guy]

Maybe it is totaled, maybe not. As long as the frame is not bent, soft crumpled body parts can be replaced. Did the air bags go off???

Keith

[a priori]

I'm very sorry to hear about this accident, and I would like to be able to help, but it may be pretty hard for me (and others) to offer much advice without a bit more information.

Did you attempt to start the car after the accident? With what result?

Did you lose any fluids? If so, what kind? (At least try to go with color, smell, viscosity.)

Did any airbags deploy?

Are any doors (or the hatchback) jambed? Any glass broken (doesn't look like it, but I'm not certain)?

Where was it towed? Is there a Toyota dealership nearby?

This is just a start. Please try to share a bit more, and you may find someone here has some very valuable advice.

[GreenGirl8]

Here's some more info about the accident:

The airbags did not go off.
The car was still running after the accident.
Red fluid was coming out of the "injured" area.
The driver's side door was not opening correctly.
No broken glass.
It was towed to a tow lot nearby. There are plenty of Toyota dealers around.
(We're in the south of Boston area.)

Thanks for your replies.

[a priori]

Sounds as though you may be facing a bit of body work, but it appears the HSD is intact (for the most part)! It is hard to see how this car could be totalled.

Unless you have a great relationship with a Prius-certified mechanic, I think you'll need to get the car to a dealership for an estimate. I hope your carrier is covering the costs of the tow and lot in the meantime -- subject to your deductible, I assume.

[kscableguy]

If you have full coverage and if they total the car, you need to do alot of reasearch before settling with the insurance company. Go to Autotrader.com, cars.com, carmax.com and also local toyota dealers. Do a search for your the year of your Prius and with the same features and miles. Do a 200 mile radius search. Then figure up the price you will have to pay to replace your Prius with the same year and model. In most cases I would say if you don't have GAP Insurance you would probably be upside down in the amount you owe VS the price to replace. But not in today's world witht he big demand for a Prius. The insuance company will try to do the Kelly Blue Book thing, but we all know that KBB is not up to date with the huge demand for a Prius right now. You might have to keep pushing them for a few weeks, but don't back down.

If they don't total the car, make sure you get to take it to a repair shop of your choice.

[brick]

The red fluid was probably coolant, which is not a huge deal as long as the car wasn't left running for long. (The engine probably shut itself off anyway.) No surprise that the door doesn't open right given that the quarter panel was damaged that badly. They might total it bit it looks to me like the car will be running again. Worst case, they total it and sell it off to a rebuilder.

[galaxee]

ouch. looks like that could have taken out your chs tank, hence the coolant loss. unfortunately we can't realistically estimate repair cost on the internet, but let us know how it turns out.

[Huntceet]

So when is the divorce final?

Rod

[patsparks]

Looks worse than it is I think. Looks like an off-set hit where your DH caught the corner of the car on another. It looks like the chassis rail is in tact but you can't tell with a photo. I wouldn't be surprised if it bounced back to you all straight.