Wrecked 2007 Prius - Looking for opinions

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by GatorJoe, Feb 25, 2009.

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  1. GatorJoe

    GatorJoe New Member

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    I got t-boned yesterday by some teenage girl not paying attention. going through all the insurance bs now. it hasnt gotten to the body shop yet and i havent gotten an estimate yet but im worried. if they total the car, i'm worried that im going to get screwed. i owe $26k on it and the kelly blue book at best is $20k. an insurance guy i know says they only pay up to the market value of the car. from anyone who has had accidents w/ their prius's tell me what you think of the extent here...also i think the axle is busted because the wheels wont turn when i move the steering wheel. everything is fine inside the car, engine wise. just the damage that u see in these pics.

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    #1 GatorJoe, Feb 25, 2009
  2. GatorJoe

    GatorJoe New Member

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    I want it to look like this again!

    [​IMG]
     
    #2 GatorJoe, Feb 25, 2009
  3. SZ92

    SZ92 Junior Member

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    It doesn't look that bad, but it depends if the car frame was bent or swayed and if you damaged any of the computers near the engine. Also for a car to be totaled the cost of damage must be 70% of the cars value.
     
    #3 SZ92, Feb 25, 2009
  4. SZ92

    SZ92 Junior Member

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    What kind of rims are those and also what tires? Do you take a hit on the mpg and also so about what happened to your car.
     
    #4 SZ92, Feb 25, 2009
  5. GatorJoe

    GatorJoe New Member

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    they do affect the MPG a little bit. when i first got the car, i was getting at best 53mpg. at best now i get 47. usually i got about 48-49 before the tires and now i get 43-46mpg. if it's cold like it is now, i get about 39-42.

    basically i was driving down a 4 lane road and this teenage girl in a honda civic was at a stop sign and apparently realized she was too far into the road and tried to back up but she was actually in 1st gear and she shot forward 1/2 way into my lane. i swerved as much as i could to avoid her but there was no time and she kept going into the lane and never stopped till i hit her. i was doing about 40, she was probably doing at least 5-10mph.
     
    #5 GatorJoe, Feb 25, 2009
  6. GatorJoe

    GatorJoe New Member

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    i forget what type of rims they are. i got them at les schwab a local tire place. the tires are Maxxis.
     
    #6 GatorJoe, Feb 25, 2009
  7. SZ92

    SZ92 Junior Member

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    Wow! You are lucky that it wasnt more serious. But again I must ask what kind of rims are those, they look great on your black Prius.
     
    #7 SZ92, Feb 25, 2009
  8. GatorJoe

    GatorJoe New Member

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    computers inside are fine..the front where the hood is barely got bent. the penetration into the door didnt go past the first layer, ie the door panel on the inside was not touched. glass is fine too.
     
    #8 GatorJoe, Feb 25, 2009
  9. KK6PD

    KK6PD _ . _ . / _ _ . _

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    Hi there, well it could have been A LOT worse!!! I would say abut $2.5k for the door, $1.2k for the Quarter Panel. If the Hood did not crinkle that should be OK. Looks like the Front Bumper got dinged, $750, maybe more down there, depends on the condition of the Bumper Mounts. The tire and rim look OK. Whats left is the damage under the hood. Can you pop the hood. If you try and you start to hear horrible crunching, grinding type of noise STOP and close it up. You don't want to cause more damage. Can you turn the car on and not any warning lights or worse the RED Triangle of DEATH?
    If that's all the damage you have I would say $4500 -$6000 for the damage shown in the pic's. Like I said, it's going to hinge upon what's under the hood?
    I wish you luck, and go with a body shop you trust!! What state are you in. If you happen to be in Los Angeles I could recommend a shop so good you could eat off the floor!!! Their work is 2nd to none!!!
     
    #9 KK6PD, Feb 25, 2009
  10. GatorJoe

    GatorJoe New Member

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    the rim on that tire is cracked if u look closely u can see its broken.those were $1200 for all 4 w/ the tires so that shouldnt be too much. what do u think of the axle situation?
     
    #10 GatorJoe, Feb 25, 2009
  11. GatorJoe

    GatorJoe New Member

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    oh and yes it starts up fine, goes into gear, and will move but i cant steer. all other functions work. even the GPS.
     
    #11 GatorJoe, Feb 25, 2009
  12. GatorJoe

    GatorJoe New Member

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    im in wa state. im going w/ a co that did a car of mine about 10yrs ago. they did an excellent job and they did afriends truck 2yrs ago and did well on theirs too.
     
    #12 GatorJoe, Feb 25, 2009
  13. KK6PD

    KK6PD _ . _ . / _ _ . _

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    If you can not turn the wheel, there could be damage, or something has crumpled inward preventing the wheel to turn. Maybe another $3k, worse case!! If she hit you, her insurance should pay 100%. Maybe you should talk to a lawyer, just to cover yer Butt!!
    Go to a shop that the Toyota dealers in your area have faith in, and not where the insurance company sends you.
     
    #13 KK6PD, Feb 25, 2009
  14. GatorJoe

    GatorJoe New Member

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    yea as long as they dont total the car ill be happy cause i owe more than it's worth. i dont want to have to sue this guy but i will if i have to.
     
    #14 GatorJoe, Feb 25, 2009
  15. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    I suspect it will be repaired.
    May have a broken tie-rod or the rack could be toast.
    I hope the repairs are to the same standard as original.
     
    #15 patsparks, Feb 25, 2009
  16. GatorJoe

    GatorJoe New Member

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    i just got my rental car. it's a Pontiac Gran Prix. it's probably the worst piece of crap car ive ever driven. god i miss my baby. :(
     
    #16 GatorJoe, Feb 25, 2009
  17. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    I do sympathize and wish you luck.

    Every one should resist the urge to borrow money to buy a new car. Then disasters like this one don't hurt so much.
     
    #17 richard schumacher, Feb 26, 2009
  18. paprius4030

    paprius4030 My first Prius

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    Unfortunatly if people didn't borrow money to buy new cars there would probably be no Prius. We'd all be driving 1950 Chevy's like in Cuba LOL.
     
    #18 paprius4030, Feb 26, 2009
  19. brick

    brick Active Member

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    That, and borrowing can be a valid financial strategy vs. paying cash. It all depends on the interest rate of the loan vs. what kind of return you could expect to get if you kept your money in the market instead. I admit that doesn't look like a great prospect right now. But one can't simply make the blanket statement "loans are bad" with no nuance.
     
    #19 brick, Feb 26, 2009
  20. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    Spending money one doesn't have is "bad".
     
    #20 JimN, Feb 26, 2009
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