So much for new and un-molested

Your alive, be grateful, the car can be replaced.

 

major bummer! sorry to hear it. glad you're okay. can't blame you for being upset, kid was probably texting or dialing. i see them all the time in the rear view mirror looking down instead of forward. you should have the police pull his phone record at the time of the accident. all the best!

 

From experiences on this forum. Rear end accidents aren't as likely to be totaled as front end ones are, unfortunately. Good luck.

 

always a bummer... glad to hear you are okay.

 

I'm glad that you seem to be OK.
Make sure that you didn't get hurt. Your frame may have been knocked a little out of alignment and there is soft tissue injury to consider as well.
No.....you don't need to go running to get an MRI but you should be on the lookout for new aches and pains.

Your car has been wrecked.
Can't change that. I'm glad that the snot-nosed kid was OK too, because I was in my teens and 20s once upon a time too.
Let the sniveling, bottom-feeding, bed-wetting, ambulance-chasing, slimy attorneys do what they do best.....
....Profit from accidents like this one.
You're in So-Kal. Lots of lawyers there. You have a legitimate diminished value claim.
Tell the insurance company that you're AWARE of this.

If you can't negotiate....litigate.
Good Luck!
BTW...
You did the right thing by telling the kid to just walk away.
Good Anger management.

 

If it makes you feel any better, and I suspect it won't...I had almost the EXACT thing happen to me 3 years ago with my at the time new Honda Fit.

And it does suck. 1 month is when you usually start to feel real good about your vehicle. If you haven't had any problems, it's when you are starting to feel good about not having a lemon. It's that zone, where the vehicle is still new, BUT you also are starting to feel comfortable with it.

The timeline was almost exactly the same as well. I had my vehicle for almost exactly a month, in my case, it was a young early 20's girl, who had the exact same excuse.....just not paying attention.

What made me mad at the time is up to that point I had been driving a 16 year old Honda Accord, in which I would of cared less if it had been hit from behind. Drove the Accord for years with no incident...1 month of new vehicle ownership? And one careless young girl takes away the "New" car reality.

To try to lead you to some sunshine here? How much damage was done? In my case the rear bumper impact was so minimal it really wasn't an issue. The bumper had to be repainted, I think some mounts straightened, but no accident claim was filed.

Since this obviously wasn't your fault, just make sure you get everything checked out and paid for, including a rental car for the time you will lose your own vehicle. Your next move should probably be finding the very best body shop you possibly can find. You want the quality of work to be excellent.

Good Luck...I know that experience really is a bummer.

 

Rather than making an injury claim to recoup lost value in your vehicle, especially if your are not genuinely hurt, consider making a diminunition of value claim.
A DMV claim is meant to make up for the loss in value of the vehicle after it has been in an accident.
Making an injury claim when you are not hurt simply causes the rates to rise for all of us. I know this because I'm a litigation adjuster for a major insurance company.
If the car is totaled, do you have gap insurance?

 

Who the heck said anything about about making an injury claim to recoup the diminished value in a vehicle??!!

This isn't the best medium for conversation, mind you but I reread my post twice (easier since you reposted it...) to see if I was unclear.

 

I saw the line about "making aprofit" and assumed you were suggesting that the OP make an injury claim to make up for the value of the vehicle. I missed the line about the legitimate dimunition of value claim. In my defense, I am viewing thus on my phone and didn't see it. Sorry about that.

 

I apologize. I misread your post. I see that you have already advised about making a dimunition of value claim.

 

Apology accepted.

Like I said.....this is fairly good medium for conveying information.
Not so good for conveying thought. PLUS I wave a wonky sense of humor.

OP: Keep us posted. I know it sucks, but the sting will ease off in time.

Good Luck to you!

 

I suggest you Subrogate a claim with your insurance company.

I wish you the very best, I feel your pain.

Donald LaFavor

 

Just posted a similar story - I feel your pain. I'm a bit of a snob in liking things "just like new," and have treated all my cars very well, so to have some stupid lady in an SUV far too big for her hit me and drive off was quite...... frustrating. You're not alone

 

OP I feel your pain as it's happened to me. Its a good thing that the kid has any type of insurance, and it's a good thing that kid didn't flee. And of course its a good thing that no serious injuries came out of this situation. But one thing I would be concerned about is chronic pain that may creep up out of nowhere.

 

First, glad the OP is OK. It is a shame, but the car did its job. Why is your trust in the car destroyed? Did something not protect as it should? I can't say I have ever read a story on here where someone was disappointed in the Prius' abilities to absorb an impact with the exception of low speed parking lot events where the air bags did not deploy. Just curious what the trust-breaking things were for future knowledge.

When you outlaw texting and driving, you get people staring at their crotches instead of the road. People are going to text, so if you can hold it up in your field of vision it is a lot safer. I text with my phone but use the voice activated commands and transcription as often as I can.

 

Have to disagree on that one. Texting and driving should not be done...Period!