End of an era... 2015 rear ended and probably totaled

How ironic that I posted just a few months ago a thread in this very forum titled, "What car would you get if your Gen3 died today?"

A couple of days ago I was rear-ended by an elderly woman in a sedan after slowing down to allow pedestrians to cross at a marked crosswalk. She was going about 35-40 MPH and I do not believe she even tried to brake. Thankfully I instinctively kept my foot on the brake and the Prius barely budged, so no pedestrians were harmed. I am glad that she was not in some ridiculous oversized pickup or SUV.

Here's the aftermath:



Where is my bumper cover, well it was lodged deep into her hood and taken away on the tow truck with her car. I was able to drive the Prius home after stuffing some of the underbody trim back in place so it wasn't dragging on the road. Steel bumper is obviously bent downward, whatever the frame is called behind that has been deformed and metal has torn on driver's side rear corner frame area. Bins in the trunk won't sit right. Most damningly, the driver's rear quarter panel that wraps over the doors is deformed to the point where the rear door cannot be opened. Adjuster has not come out yet but I'm pretty sure they will take a quick look at it and declare it totaled.

This was a 2015 Persona Series with 190k miles and unfortunately looking at similar vehicles I will be lucky to get $10k paid out to me. This is unfortunate because most of the miles were highway, and I have records of having done all the required maintenance plus additional preventative stuff since it was new. It ran beautifully, zero mechanical issues ever. My Prius is worth more to me and not interchangeable with any random Prius of similar mileage on the market as I do not have confidence that another driver maintained the vehicle. I will try to use these points to argue for more money from insurance, has anyone been successful in this regard?

In anticipation of the Prius being totaled and trying to move on with my life, I have put a deposit on a 2024 Rav4 Hybrid Limited that will hopefully be delivered in the second half of October. It feels like an arms race out there with seemingly everyone getting SUVs and pickup trucks, and I just don't feel safe getting another sedan. Visibility while test driving RAV4, Venza, and CRV was awesome... I forgot what it's like to be able to see around other vehicles and further down the road.

I definitely wasn't a super active member here but I learned a lot from this forum for the past 9 years I was in my 2015 Prius. I'm still upset that I didn't get to drive it for a few more years, get it over 200k miles, and get the most of my money by driving the car until the end of its natural life. The value of having reliable and economical transportation as a paid off vehicle with $0 monthly payment... insurance payout can't come close to making me financially whole.

Sad to move on from Prius but I'll still be in the Toyota hybrid family. Excited to use all of the MPG maximizing tips I've learned on Prius to see how far I can push the fuel efficiency of the Rav4. I guess I will soon have to migrate over to the Rav4World forums.

Thanks to Prius and Priuschat for nearly a decade of vehicular enjoyment.

 

Yes insurance has already determined me not at fault with the photos and police report. Didn't even need my dash cam footage.

I don't see what a lawyer would do. In my state I cannot sue unless damages exceed insurance. I cannot claim pain and suffering unless I pay at least $2k out of pocket in medical expenses. Insurance covers $8k so that's $10k in medical expenses needed. It's possible if my injuries don't heal but I am a long way away from that after just 1 doctor visit so far.

 

Yup and I wouldn't want to drive it after bending stuff back. Metal isn't the same once it's been deformed and will not react as it was engineered to in a future incident. I can definitely afford a new car, and I value safety over savings.

Not to mention dealing with salvage title and stuff, I'm sure Massachusetts has very strict requirements.

I do have USAA and I'm filing through them to subrogate the other party's insurance. So hopefully they take care of me.

As far as a settlement the "tort threshold" requires $2k in out of pocket medical expenses. MA has the first $8k covered by insurance so I have a long way to go. Honestly I'd rather heal up than end up at the point where I could be presented with a medical settlement.