Again!! Second Prius to be Hit -- Back to the Same Repair Shop, I Guess

About four months ago, right before I was to pick up my new 2010, my 2007 Silver Pine Mica was sideswiped by a hit-and-run driver. It happened on the road, right in the middle of town, and the guy took off like a shot. The police never caught him, and I got stuck with the bill (well, at least my $500 deductible!).

Tonight, my 2010 got hit. Very different this time, because it was parked, it happened in the dark, and the driver walked up to my door, rang the bell and volunteered all of the necessary information. Nobody was hurt -- there wasn't even a danger here. Four months ago, though, the hit-and-run guy drove off at 50 to 60mph in a busy 35mph main street.

Still . . . My 2010 Blue Ribbon Metallic has quite a crunched left front fender. It is driveable -- at least at speeds of up to 35mph. It made one weird sound the first time I hit the brakes hard, but there were no rubbing sounds when I did tight turns with the wheel turned all the way left and then right.

I just can't stand the idea of being without my car. I expect it will be another week's time without the 2010!

Pics? All I have right now are a couple of shots from my iPhone. I pulled up next to a street lamp so there would be some light, but you can't see a whole lot.

Oh wow.. I am SO sorry this happened to you. I am very sympathetic about your car. I can't believe how the guy who hit your 07 sped of like that.. people these days. I really hope you can get all of the complications fixed with the 2010. I hate to see the car in that condition. It really makes MY jaw drop just imagining that happening. I hope you get everything worked out, I really do. Just keep your head up!

Good luck, Derek.

Thanks, Derek.

The GOOD thing is that the woman who hit my car decided it would be better to walk up to my front door and let me know about everything.

I was just about to leave the house and drive to my office (yes, this late at night!), and I stayed just a couple of minutes too long. It was so dark on the street that I likely would not have noticed the crumpled fender until I returned home and parked in my driveway. I have lights in the driveway that would have highlighted the problem. At that point, I would not have known where the event happened, and I'd be out another $500 deductible.

Yes, it is terrible that the first guy sped off as he did -- in broad daylight, with witnesses and endangering people. But it is reassuring that the woman who did this (in the dark, no witnesses and no one threatened) decided to do the right thing.

This is very sad news. Sometimes, I wonder what people are thinking when they are driving. At least, in this instance, the person that caused the damage did the right thing. And, certainly, the body shops today can do very professional work. My thoughts are with you. Hang in there.

sorry, the iphone takes bad photos, the 3gs is not much better.

I wish the crinkles were all due to distortion from the tiny little lens on the iPhone, but it really is from being hit.

Have you considered relocating? :yo:



Seriously though, sorry for your trouble, but it was damn decent of the new hitter to voluntarily cop to it. At least that's a bit of a positive.

-Accidents happen. It's how you deal with them that counts.

Yikes

Bugger!!

That's heartbreaking! So glad they gave you their info though.

ahhh i have the exact same model/color as you too! hope your car gets fixed pretty quickly

Oh %&$#@!!! Had to clean that up for public consumption.

SO SORRY. You seem to be taking the incident much better than I would, but the other driver stopping to alert you takes some of the sting out. Looks as if the damage may be confined to the left fender - sheet-metal wise anyway. No hood, window, light, or door damage. Make sure they check out the entire front end including alignment etc. And I'd insist the repairs be completed at the Toyota dealer body shop so the mechanics would be verified by a trained tech. I'm sure you know all this, but.... Sure hope the paint matches to a T. And your baby is as good as new when she's delivered back to you.

I've been avoiding street parking or close-to-the-door parking lot like the plague. As they said here accidents will happen. But, why not to just clunkers?????

Once you get your car back, I'd be interested to hear how well they were able to match the paint. Mine will be getting several new painted panels as it gets repaired over the next month or two and I've had bad luck on another car with the paint not matching.

Gutted!
So sorry for you. Glad this lady did the honest and the right thing.

What was she driving by the way? The damage looks pretty high up, from the photos I can't see any marks on the wheel or the tyre, so I'm guessing it was an SUV or a truck. :unsure:

Hope your car is fixed soon and fixed well. :thumb:

That has to painful, my condolences. Sure glad the the person who hit it was honest.

The dent can be fixed and you will never be able to tell it was there.

But if there is any chance the wheel or tire was hit have a 4 wheel alignment done, or maybe just have it done anyway. Best to have it done by the dealer so they can reinitialize the steering zero point (don't remember the exact name of the adjustment) using their software while it is on the alignment machine. This adjustment tells the VSC and the LKA when the steering system is pointed straight ahead.

Wow, that stinks!! Glad she was an honest person, but that would really suck to be without your 2010 for a week or more...so sad.

Hope it's repaired quickly and flawlessly!

Is this what they mean by Love Hurts? :Cry:

Ouch--sorry to hear about this. Thankfully nobody was injured.

The most obvious damage was to the one panel (the left front fender), but there also is damage to the bumper, the door and, most expensive of all, the wheel. The panel and wheel require replacement. The bumper may be salvaged, but they won't know until they take the car apart. I don't wish more cost on the woman who hit me, but a new bumper would cure the severe marks left by a previous "bump and run" who gauged the bumper and put a couple of creases in it.

The repair will be at a shop acceptable to both insurers and to me (unfortunately, I just had this happen three months ago to my 2007, and the same shop did a great repair job).

I have other fixes to be done at the dealer, so I'll ask them to check on the work, after the fact. If Toyota says there's a problem, I'll take it back or have the insurance company pick up the tab. There's a lifetime (limited!) warranty on the paint. The match on my Silver Pine Mica was flawless, so I'm not worried about the paint job on this one.

I'd be nervous, but based on my recent experience at this shop, I'm fairly comfortable.

Isn't it great that she did that? I know we should expect that kind of behavior from ourselves and others, but experience has shown that many people balk under such circumstances.

The vehicle? Some VERY large SUV whose bumper rode up over the tire. Something low down, however, took a slice of metal out of the wheel.

I agree with you on this. I had the insurance company confirm they would order a full alignment from the shop. I'll confirm with the shop that they can set the "zero point" (or whatever it is called) so that VSC and LKA can rely on it entirely. I've only had the LKA for 12 weeks now, and I forgot to mention that to the insurance claim person.

Make sure let us know how everything works out!