My new gen III got keyed today--what do I do?

Oh my gosh. I read your post and my heart sank. I am sorry that this has happened to you!

If you have comprehensive, it absolutely should be covered. Call them back. Look into your options...

Bryan

 

So sorry to hear about that. Vandalism is lower than low.

I guess criminals like this think one can wave a magic wand and it would all be new again.

Unfortunately, they don't have a clue that it takes about 11 hours at the factory, in clean rooms to paint a car (I learned that on a NUMMI visit). 11 hours, at the original factory. How can a body shop begin to match that quality?

About insurance - that is called comprehensive damage, and if you have that coverage, you are coverage - comprehensive - fire, theft, and vandalism, etc...

 

I would still like to know who this company is who is denying the claim, however as a side note; it doesn't sound like you have actually filed a claim, rather just inquired with a rep. They can't not let you file a claim, at which time an actual claim rep will determine coverage. Again, DOI if they will not let you file a claim or deny it even though you carry comp., you do carry comp for sure right? If you don't have a lien on the vehicle you will not be REQUIRED to carry comp or collision.. I would though

 

we had our car keyed a couple years back, first things first file a police report. next, call your insurance agent. if you've got comprehensive, it should be covered provided your deductible isn't nuts. and if your car is brand new and financed, you're probably required to have comprehensive insurance. don't let them walk all over you.

you'll probably have to bring it in to an adjuster to look at the damage, if the insurance covers it. we were able to choose our body shop. the insurance paid their part, we paid our part, half the car got repainted.

 

Keying a car really makes my blood boil. In high school I had a '66 Beetle, just had it painted over the summer, some keyed it all the way down the side the first week of school man was I pi$$ed, I'll never forget that.

 

i agree that you need to push your insurance company. with the paint Job the Pri has (it would be VERY helpful if you could chime in with your color) its not a simple matter of sand and blend. the entire panel has to be redone. if its two panels you are probably looking at $1500+

u say one scratch is big the other small. the small one, who knows? might be able to hide it well enough, but the big one will have to be repainted. a scratch that big will have dug deep enough to have hit metal somewhere and that is all it takes.

on my repair estimate. dent pull, sand, reshape, mask, gasket removal and reinsert was all about $250...

paint cost for the car was over $300. paint labor took up the rest. this was for two half dollar sized dents and a few scratches. for that , the ENTIRE SIDE has to be repainted because, its impossible to match up the metal flake paint. so cant blend it.

a small spot, i could (and current do!!) live with. a 5 foot scratch?? no way. too noticeable.

as it is now, only a small handful of people have noticed my dent and i have a few hundred people walk by it at work every day

 

Is your parking lot shared with other companies? If it is just yours, I would contact the facilities manager as well as human resources. This could be a co-worker of yours. It's unacceptable.

 

Man that sucks. Vandals are lower on my list than thieves. At least a thief gets something for his/her troubles. A vandal just deprives you. I luck wher I park at work. Its a back lot and my boss parks on one side of me and a good friend on the other. I also know everybody else that parks there.

 

That sucks bee, thats my worst nightmare.

USAA is very good. I've never had them but someone bumped into the back of me last year that did and USAA actually called me to set up the estimate, while most companies just wait until you call. Very good...just wrote me a check.

Paint isn't as hard to match as the folks here have been saying, provided you have a good body shop with modern paint matching equipment. Ask around, get referrals, go on tours of the shops...find a shop that does a lot of high end cars. Look down the sides of cars at the shops that have had their sides repaired and look for wavyness or uneveness in the paint. My Lexus is a tri-coat Black garnet pearl and I had it matched perfectly. Color blending isn't a great thing, the whole panels that are scratched will need to be repainted, but good shops should not have to repaint adjacent panels anymore due to the computerized paint tinting programs they have.

Let whatever shop you choose know upfront that you are very particular and that you will demand an excellent job before you take delivery of the vehicle. Go over it with a fine toothed comb before you drive off, look for any particles stuck in the finish, any dull spots, and specifically for orange peel when comparing the freshly painted sections with the factory sections...

Keep us posted. Expect to pay $2,500 or so.

 

USAA is always one of the top rated companies for customer service.

 

This was the one thing I keep fearing, since I've heard some people are overly belligerent towards Prius (as if saving gas and the enviroment are bad things). When I took mine home two days ago and had to park at a Pathmark grocery store, I made sure to park in a well lit area, and I STILL was worried about coming back and seeing my hour old car scratched!

It'll be cool if we could set up a webcam inside and keep records - just another high tech option for the highest tech car out there ;-)

 

I've wondered if it woudln't be possible to set up a camera inside to shoot a view outside..seems like a good idea for some inventor to come up with.

Edit: I guess someone already has:
http://www.espysecurity.com/product.php?productid=18364&cat=317&page=1

 

if you leave that thing running exposed while parked, someone is just going to break your window and steal it

 

What an awful story. I'm so sorry that happened to you!

It's disheartening and a little concerning to read that other owners have had the same problem. I'll be thinking about that from now on when I leave my brand new baby parked.

I hope all goes well with insurance and the end result.

 

What kind of insurance do you have? I hope mine is covered. I have a 300 deductable and they pay the rest.
Remember People in the work place a re A**&^*&%#@ ( Stay close to your enemies. Send some pics....