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Our 2010 Gen3 is going to the great Prius graveyard in the sky ( due to accident )

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by farmecologist, Jun 18, 2021.

  1. farmecologist

    farmecologist Senior Member

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    Hi all,

    Bad news...Our 2010 liftback that was our first introduction to hybrids ( and got me hooked ), and has been a darn good car, is going to be 'totaled' by the insurance company ( it is a lot worse that what is on the pic ) :

    Accident.jpg

    Our daughter graduated from college recently and took the 2010 up to Minneapolis so she could start her new job. Unfortunately, she has to drive I94 everyday...sometimes in rush hour ( not great ). She was in stop and go traffic on the way home and some guy rear ended her going pretty fast. With enough force where she *lightly* bumped the bumper of the vehicle in front of her ( another Prius! (y) ).

    Luckily, she was not hurt ( too much ). She is telling me now that her back hurts a bit...so she will get that checked out soon.

    Also luckily, due to Minnesota law, if you are part of one of these chain reaction events, and you are not the perpetrator ( the car at the end ), you are *not* at fault ( this is coming from the Police as well as the insurance company ). Therefore, the claim is going to the person that rear ended her...even for the person she hit lightly. They are working on getting a rental for her until we can figure out what to do about a different replacement Gen3. Until then, the plan is to have her drive our Prius V (wagon). However, I'm not sure how I feel about the V being parked on the streets in Minneapolis. o_O Cars get *really* dinged up doing that and this 2010 was our 'beater' car where we didn't care about dings and such.

    With all that said, it looks like we are in the market for a replacement Prius. However, it isn't exactly great timing....used Prius seem to be going for a premium lately ( even more than ICE vehicles ). Yikes...I hope the insurance companies have taken this into account.

    Anyone have a used Gen3 to sell me? Or leads on where to find one? Any help would be greatly appreciated! (y)

    P.S. - On the bright side...at least I don't have to do all the engine maintenance I have been putting off ( EGR, throttle body, etc.. )...but I had just replaced the rear rotors/pads a couple weeks ago...(y)
     
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  2. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    since a budget want stated, I will offer mine for 3 times above the kbb value. It yields 65 to 67 mpg to the tank with oil catch can and custom aero mods. I plan to get the model 2 in 2022.
     
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  3. farmecologist

    farmecologist Senior Member

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    Haha...given the crazy used car market...you might get that! (y)

    C'mon people though...I'm not joking around...she *really* needs a vehicle. :whistle:

    I'm almost pondering doing a "fly in pickup" to Tampa Hybrids because they are so highly rated around here. I like the idea of getting a "Florida car" with minimal corrosion vs. the crap you see up here.

    Edit : Adding @jerrymildred here to see what he thinks.
     
    #3 farmecologist, Jun 18, 2021
    Last edited: Jun 18, 2021
  4. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    Be careful verifying the pedigree of a used "Florida Car."
    Lotsa car flooding down there and LOTS of fleet cars, probably owing to tax rules.

    Tampa Hybrids might be a good way to go!
    Nothing like a nice road trip in a new car. If @jerrymildred weren't overseas he might be talked into a scouting mission for you.

    If this doesn't pan out I'd consider something like Carmax/Carvana and take the $1000 hit over a "too good to be true" private deal.
    If nothing else....it might keep you off on an airplane - which in itself MIGHT BE WORTH most of the $1000.... ;)

    Good Luck!
     
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  5. farmecologist

    farmecologist Senior Member

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    Oh crud..I forgot Jerry is overseas right now. Just my luck! (y)

    Yeah...Tampa Hybrids has a very good reputation around here...because they 'specialize' in Prius sales. From the posts I see, people have been pretty happy with them as well. I can't find anything like that around here...stealerships don't count. I'd rather just go with them than some who knows what crap around here. :whistle: And my wife wants to go to. A one way ticket to Tampa can't be that bad...right? :ROFLMAO:
     
    #5 farmecologist, Jun 18, 2021
    Last edited: Jun 18, 2021
  6. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Alternatively you cold hit up Sacramento Valley in California. If you bring the hybrid battery pack and a universal fit replacement catalytic converter there's lots of good Prius for a less than a couple thousand dollars.
     
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  7. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    Sorry Farmeco I "liked" it but you know what I really mean. I do not like it but thanks for sharing.
    Used cars expensive at the moment unfort.
     
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  8. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    Keep in mind, early Gen3 did not perform so well (or perhaps more accurately was not expected to perform well) on the newer small overlap crash test, that came out, I do not know, about 2013. So somewhere around 2014 2015 models Toyota made some quick fixes on the Gen3 crash worthiness.
     
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  9. farmecologist

    farmecologist Senior Member

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    Yep...we are looking at 2013+ models mostly.
     
  10. AzusaPrius

    AzusaPrius Senior Member

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    She will still be liable for the car she hit.
    You have to have a cars space in front of you and or see the bottom of the cars tires in front of you.

    The guy that hit her has nothing to do with her being so close to the car in front of her.

    Good luck with that.
     
  11. farmecologist

    farmecologist Senior Member

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    Wrong...she isn't liable...well at least not in Minnesota, bub...don't be rude. :whistle: The impact pushed her into the vehicle in front of her. This info came directly from the police AND insurance company. I think they know best. (y)

    There are also a multitude of articles out there about it that can be found with a simple Google search....try researching next time.
     
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  12. AzusaPrius

    AzusaPrius Senior Member

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    When the person in front of your daughter tries to get their car fixed that persons insurance will say do you have the info on the person that hit you?

    Im pretty sure the person in front of your daughter did not get the info of the person who hit your daughter.

    Your or your daughters insurance will always try and put the blame on others.

    That is how they keep their money.

    Yes the police and your insurance said whoever hits someone from behind it is their fault, so they are telling you the truth.

    Your daughter hit someone from behind.
     
  13. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Unless you know more about Minnesota traffic laws than the cop making the report and insurance company handling the claim, I doubt what you're saying is true because OP specifically said: "due to Minnesota law, if you are part of one of these chain reaction events, and you are not the perpetrator ( the car at the end ), you are *not* at fault ( this is coming from the Police as well as the insurance company )."

    And while rear end collisions almost always find the person in back at fault, unless you're stopped or driving slowly in traffic and are a safe distance from the car in front of you and you get rear-ended into the car in front of you that's not your fault and a judge and jury would agree, especially in Minnesota that has a specific law related to that type of collision.
     
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  14. farmecologist

    farmecologist Senior Member

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    Good lord...DIPs&*t alert...geez. o_O

    I just talked to the freaking insurance company and they have opened claims for my daughter *and* the person in front of her to the person behind her ( who was at fault ). And this is after all the insurance companies talked about it. The other insurance companies *did* initially open claims on our insurance...but those are all cleared now.

    I suspect you have had bad experiences with insurance claims? Personally, I have had very good experiences... (n)
     
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  15. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    Generally speaking, if you hit another car it's *your* fault.
    Period.
    Full Stop.
    However (comma!) if your car is the meat in a 'cell phone triple sandwich' then you're not going to be at fault (even in some of our more dysfunctional states!) because you didn't actually hit the car in front of you, but rather your car was shoved into their car by the person who hit YOU (or a car in front of you.)
    Legally speaking it's not much different than your car being hit by a vehicle while parked, otherwise traffic in any large city would quickly grind to a stuttering stop because everybody would be afraid to stop within 100 feet of another stopped person.

    You ARE supposed to leave a gap, but if one can believe Sir Isaac Newton, there's not much you can do in a Prius-sized car with it's Prius sized tires if some inattentive driver deposits about half a million pound feet of energy into your rear bumper - sorta why they NAMED a unit of force after the old English dude.... ;)

    My beloved company, contrary to popular belief, actually spends quite a bit of money in training its drivers.
    The last time I checked the rule of thumb is that if you're able to see the bumper of the car in front of you while stopped then you're good to go unless you're you've been trained by my other employer and are wearing 782 gear, have an M9 strapped to your leg in a drop holster, and an M16A3 in the back seat.
    Then?
    You're supposed to leave enough room to drive out into the other lane or on a sidewalk.

    Either way, insurance companies go by what's written on the accident report,ans since states like to sorta copy other states there's usually a little block that they tick off indicating which driver is at fault.

    Unfortunately, this places many LEOs in a position of having to call balls and strikes over the plate in many cases a half hour after the game is over with.
    To make matters worse.....one of the scams that's out there is that a car load of "victims" will drive around and look for a nice, fat, self-insured Fortune-50 company vehicle to "crash into them" - because, hey.....5 witnesses > 1 right?

    Fortunately, in most cases, big companies do not get to be big companies by being stupid companies.

    Solution:
    Dashcams. ;)
     
    #15 ETC(SS), Jun 18, 2021
    Last edited: Jun 18, 2021
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  16. farmecologist

    farmecologist Senior Member

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    I agree...it's too bad dash cams are not mandated as standard equipment! Seems like that would make everyone's job a lot easier.

    No dashcams in this accident at all though...in *any* of the vehicles involved. That will change. (y)
     
  17. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    got front and rear dash cam in my vehicle. They’re wired to a lifepo4 battery so they continue to record after car is shut off when needed
     
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  18. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    BTDT myself, when my first Prius was at the front of a 3-car sandwich. Here in Washington State, it was handled the same as OP's police and insurance contacts described for his Minnesota case: my repairs were paid by the insurance of the teenager in back, not by the man in the middle that she shoved in to me.

    The responding Officer took everyone's insurance and contact information, typed it up on a single sheet, and handed all of us a copy. Then he dismissed me and the man in the middle as free to go, at the same time, no citations. (Both of our cars were still able to move under their own power, unlike the causing car.) Only when the teen's (or rather, her parent's) insurance agent contacted me and asked some questions, including if anyone else was cited, did I learn that any citation at all had been issued. To her client, of course.
     
    #18 fuzzy1, Jun 19, 2021
    Last edited: Jun 19, 2021
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  19. farmecologist

    farmecologist Senior Member

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    Yep...similar situation...except my daughter was the 'middle' car.

    In our case all three vehicles were 'drivable', according to the police. However, daughter said the 'steering wheel felt funny' and our insurance company later towed it to their lot. And then looked at it and decided to 'total' it.

    It will be interesting to see what happens with the valuation given the market. They did say they take a 'survey' of 'similar' 2010's in the area and then average the out. The problem is...the 2010s I've looked at in my searches are NOT in anywhere as good of condition as ours was, so I'm expecting the worst. You never come out 'ahead' when your car is totaled...sigh. (y)
     
  20. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    They always say to not accept insurance companies first offer... I don't have experience with that, but that's what many say. Main thing is making sure health of your daughter doesn't have any lingering issues from impact.
     
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