Accident

It's hard to tell, even if you had supplied pictures.

Having been through this mill a few times (fortunately, not with the prii!), I can say that you will be amazed at how well the car can be repaired (assuming you pick a good body shop, that is): you simply won't be able to tell there ever was a problem. This is assuming the frame wasn't bent, that is: if it was, then all bets are off, and you should then press your insurance to total it for you and let you buy a new one. But if the frame is OK, you should be able to get the car back in perfect condition from a competent body shop.

Since you are dealing with your own insurance company, things should be somewhat simpler on a couple of levels. State Farm has a pretty good reputation, so you should be fine. They might even waive the deductible since the accident is not your fault.

One other thing that seems to get missed in situations like this: just because the party at fault had no insurance, it doesn't mean they are off the hook. Your insurance company may go after them legally to recover all or a portion of their outlay. Waiver of the deductible might depend on their perception of how likely they are to collect from the other party. If the other driver is "judgement proof" due to being too poor to make you or your insurance whole, then you may have to pay a deductible. That person still might be liable for civil or criminal penalties in CA, though. Probably up to a prosecutor. Was the other driver an illegal? Was the car registered?

Anyway: working through this sort of thing takes a few weeks usually, but it pretty much always works out fine in the end. You just have to be patient.

 

they wont be waiving the deductible. They will file this under your UM / UIM coverage (uninsured / underinsured coverage). You will pay your deductible to fix the car even though it wasn't your fault. State Farm will most likely on your behalf go after the person responsible to recoup their costs, if they are able to recoup all of their costs they will give you back your deductible. The problem here is that it usually takes a long time before you see any of that money back, and if the person doesn't have insurance they also probably don't have any money.

 

From my recent experience with buying totaled Priuses I would say that it's totaled.

 

Don't know about State Farm, but Allstate has waived my deductible in a couple of cases. So I know it can happen.

I agree that it may not happen here, for the reasons you state (that the uninsured motorist probably can't make it good to the insurance company).

If they total the car and give the OP a check for a new car, the deductible will not be that big an issue, I'm thinking.