New Prius - Wrecked

Is this supposed to relate to this discussion in some way ?

Not sure what you're saying.

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Glad everyone is OK. Your car will be fine and the repairs should be guaranteed for as long as you own it.

 

Glad you're OK.

When I was talking with my salesman and wondered half in jest what it must be like when all seven airbags go off, he said they only go off if the seat is occupied.

 

carfax reports everything. i was in a parking lot accident where damage was only $900. it was reported

 

You have a very viable "Diminished Value" claim.
You need to do some due diligence for your State to understand how it's regulated there. Just google "Diminished Value Insurance Claim" Carfax, Autocheck, as well as industry proprietary databases will show the claim. When you try to sell the car or trade it some time in the future the value WILL be diminished by this collision which was not your fault.

 

I disagree. I had a 2005 Prius that was pretty new at the time and was totaled with similar damage. A lot more factors go into calculating a total loss. Salvage value, repair cost plus contingency, rental car, etc.

For those arguing diminished value, they don't realize that it's very unlikely and varies by state. The insurance has to make you whole. This means restoring your car to pre-accident condition. Not restoring it's speculated value.

Plain and simple. Being in an accident sucks. Hopefully they total it and give you a fair offer so you can replace it.

 

The accident did a nice job of making your headlights look JDM.

 

Carfax only reports what is reported to them. If a body shop or repair shop doesn't report it to carfax .... carfax has no idea it happened.


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A lot of this information is in the manual. On page 128, it says that if the passenger seat is unoccupied, the front passenger airbag and front passenger seatbelt pretensioner are deactivated, but the side airbag (on the seat) and the curtain airbag (in the ceiling) are activated.

On page 117, it notes that the airbag sensors are set to deploy in an impact with at least the force of a 3300 lb vehicle hitting directly perpendicular at 12-18 mph.

And on page 119 (this is my guess for why they didn't deploy), it notes that if the collision does not hit the passenger compartment, or hits at an angle, the side and curtain airbags may not deploy. There's also a graphic, pointing to right where it looks like you were hit, as an example of when the side airbags won't deploy.

Tom has a good point; airbags do sometimes cause injuries, so there are many types of collisions that won't trigger them. Additionally, when an airbag deploys, it damages the car and increases repair costs. And airbags aren't designed to help in certain types of collisions, even if they are severe. Designing the airbag system is as much about when they *shouldn't* be triggered as when they should be.

 

that is great news! its good that the insurance agent informed you of this. From the bit i know of a dminished value claim, it is usually adjusted based upon the market value price. Lucky you, a used Prius can go as high as a new Prius so you should get quite a significant sum back

It is not unlikely. It does depend on how cheap the other person's insurance plan is. If they got the bare bones insurance, you might be out of luck. However, just because the insurance company doesnt pay, you can always take the person at fault to small claims court and get them to pay, and more than likely the plaintiff will win too. There is even a whole formula out for diminished value. Google up "Formula 17c."

 

I'm so sorry you are having to go through this. Just try to stay positive.

 

Oh wow, so you're not all ok. Ah man so sorry about that. I hope you all heal well and quickly and may the other driver be cited and sent to driver training, and that your car is made new quickly.

 

I admit, I haven't read all of this thread. I just looked at the first picture, though, and the most immediate thought is that the transaxle should be replaced given that the wheel -> axle -> transaxle appears to have taken the brunt of the impact. There is a damage category for undercarriage and this certainly fits the bill. I hope they total it.

 

Gosh I'm really really sorry

 

With all due respect, I don't think you can tell much from that picture with regard to 'transaxle' damage. It looks to me like the wheel was barely touched, or it was a glancing blow. Sure there's a flat tire, but that happens in accidents all the time if the car is jarred hard enough to push it sideways, or if only the tire was hit to push it off the rim. The wheel doesn't even have a scratch on it that I can see ... sure it's turned, but it looks like BOTH wheels were turned in the one pic where they're putting it on the wrecker.

Insurance companies don't replace stuff for the fun of it .... they;ll give you a warranty and if the transaxle fails afterward, they'll cover it within reasonable mileage.

That car will be just fine after they replace the damaged stuff. It looks to me like the hit was pretty much localized in FRONT of the front tire .... the last thing the owner wants is for that car to be totalled like everybody seems that they're hoping for. They will lose a TON of money if it's totalled, because all the other company has to do is get them ANOTHER used Prius to replace theirs. You'd rather get it repaired and sell it or trade it yourself than have it 'totalled'.

It's funny how people always hope for a car to be totalled ... that is about the worst outcome possible from a financial point of view.

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PalominoPrincess, hang in there girl! Best wishes!!

 

Looks like you'll have a lot of physical therapy in your near future. Regrets about your accident.

 

Wow PP !

I'm really surprised. Hope that it all works out how you want it to. I just really can't believe they'd total that car, or the other one for that matter.

Keep us informed, and hope you feel better soon.

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