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'06 Prius totalled; replacement values? (Update 7/16/07)

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by b1ffd00d, Jul 2, 2007.

  1. b1ffd00d

    b1ffd00d New Member

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    Long-time lurker, first time poster here with a sad story -- on Friday afternoon my '06 Prius was totalled on the 91 Freeway in Riverside, CA. The freeway was crowded, but traffic was moving well; we were travelling with the flow of traffic at 55-65 mph in the fast lane when we were rear-ended from behind by a Ford Taurus wagon. The collision pushed the front of the car into the carpool lane where we were hit again by a large truck (something kind of like one of these). Both front airbags went off; amazingly, all three people in the car -- my dad, my brother, and I -- were able to walk away with only minor bumps and scratches. The most dramatic injury is an abrasion on my left arm, probably from airbag inflation. The Prius gave its life for us! Everyone -- the fire department, ambulance EMTs, the CHP officer, the tow-truck operator -- was astounded that we were essentially unharmed after the car took the amount of damage that it did. You can see the pictures that I took at the tow yard the next day, when I came around to pick up our personal effects:

    http://www.happybeagle.com/images/prius-wreck/

    Since the accident happened late on a Friday, nobody from my insurance (AAA) has actually seen the car yet. I've described the damage, but they're still under the illusion that it's a good idea to tow it 30 miles to a body shop near my house so that they can decide whether or not it needs to be repaired!

    We'd like to replace our dead Prius with a brand-new one, of course. Since (naturally) the guy who rear-ended me was uninsured, I'll be dealing solely with my AAA insurance. Thankfully, we're carrying collision coverage and the UM deductible waiver. Anyone recently gone through an accident that resulted in the writeoff of a totalled car? Anyone gone through the process with AAA? How closely did your insurance company's estimate of your car's depreciated value match what you might find in the Kelley Blue Book or NADA guide? I'm worried that not only will our insurance try to lowball us on general principle, but that the resale value of used Priuses has taken a hit now that waiting lists are mostly a thing of the past. Any tips would be much appreciated.
     
  2. jrmgkia

    jrmgkia Wish I was cycling

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    Thanks for the great picture gallery, it was interesting to see how the Prius handled a number of impacts from all different sides. As for the body shop question your car is without a doubt totaled, my friend is an insurance appraiser and after seeing the photos he said there is no doubt it will be totaled. One question for you, what about the uninsured motorist? What happens to these scum bags? Are they arrested, held accountable? And did you get a chance to talk to them about what they were doing driving recklessly without insurance? Thanks again for the great pics.
     
  3. siliconhybrid

    siliconhybrid Member

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    Man.. that was some accident you got.
    Here is my experience, I hope it helps http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=33418&hl=

    AAA offered me for 6 mo old package#4 Prius 23.5K (plus tax +fee = $25+K ), I bought it for 26+K + tax + fee
    that was before the police report came out to clear my insurance AAA from any fault. After that, AAA got easy on me, and gave me around 26K + tax + DMV fee, that's because I argued about the carpool stickers. It would have cost me 28+K to obtain same Prius with carpool stickers.

    I'm sure they will low ball you, you have to come up with the listings of used prius in autotrader, cars.com, craigslist, kbb, edmunds. They will do the same.

    Take your personal stuff out of your car, and may be something from the car ^_^ (I forgot to do it for my case) like the jack or spare tire or the antenna, mats, the emblems, etc do that before taking the car to the mechanic.

    you should also make sure your bodily injury is taken care of, do not underestimate it. It has been 2 months for me, and I still feel the pain on my neck & lower back after exercising.
     
  4. siliconhybrid

    siliconhybrid Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jrmgkia @ Jul 2 2007, 12:50 AM) [snapback]471361[/snapback]</div>

    Yes, what happen to the irresponsible driver?

    I am sure it will be totalled. AAA said if the cost to repair it exceeds 50% of the car value, it is automatically deemed as total loss. You can take them to AAA affiliated body shop, AAA has list of these shops. You can call nearby Toyota dealers and ask their recommendation of body shops, then you check the AAA list, hopefully some match. This way you dont need to wait for the AAA adjustor to estimate the repair cost. Well anyway, no doubt in my mind it is a total loss what ever way you choose to go.
     
  5. Sufferin' Prius Envy

    Sufferin' Prius Envy Platinum Member

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    No doubt about it, that car is TOTALED! :(
    Yes, the Prius gave up its life for yours.
    Amazing how intact the passenger compartment stayed . . . you can even see some ripples in the roof. :blink:

    If you think your laptop booted, chances are all the info on the hard drive can be recovered. If a local computer shop can't get the info off the drive - and the info is THAT important, there are businesses which specialize in recovering info off of physically damaged drives. Just do a Google search.
     
  6. b1ffd00d

    b1ffd00d New Member

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    jrmgkia: I just spoke to the CHP officer briefly (she came to the hospital while we were getting our injuries checked out), but I believe he's getting cited for reckless driving, plus lying to the officer -- he had the nerve to tell her that he hit us because someone rear-ended him, despite the fact that his car had no rear-end damage! Plus, AAA may elect to go after him in court to recover their costs; I think Geico tried that a few years back, when they were covering our cars and my wife was hit by an uninsured driver. (But this guy was driving a junky mid-80s Taurus wagon; how much money could they possibly get? You can't wring blood from a stone ...)

    I didn't actually talk to the Taurus driver face-to-face; he ended up a few hundred yards down the road from me (I suspect that he may have tried to flee the scene, but then found out that his car was more disabled than he thought). The CHP officer seemed to be trying to take advantage of the distance to keep us separated. I started to walk to the Taurus to exchange info, but the officer met me in the middle to get my license and insurance card, and then sent me back to stand over near my car.

    siliconhybrid: Thanks for the link to your story. I'll collect as much current pricing info as I can; hopefully the fact that I had the carpool stickers will give me a little extra leverage, since they've become such a hot commodity. I've already pulled all of my personal items out of the car, and took the floormats, just in case we get another car with the correct interior color. B)

    Prius Envy: Once I plugged the laptop into an external screen and keyboard, it worked just fine! I doubt it's long for this world, though; I've dumped all of the important stuff off to an external USB hard drive.
     
  7. b1ffd00d

    b1ffd00d New Member

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    Update so far: I spoke with my first 'real person' at AAA, and sent her to my photo gallery; she agreed immediately that the car was totalled (and thanked me for putting my photos on the Web; she said I was the first damage-claim customer to supply her with my own damage photos!)

    So now it's a matter of waiting for the police report and then getting down to brass tacks over replacement value, it seems.
     
  8. priusmaybe

    priusmaybe New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(b1ffd00d @ Jul 2 2007, 02:04 PM) [snapback]471605[/snapback]</div>

    I am glad you are ok.


    How do people get away with driving uninsured? I mean so many people? In Georgia most are illegals or repeat DUI offenders that just don't care.

    As citizens and taxpayers, we need to demand reform. These uninsured are always the worst drivers. How do they even get a license?? Why isn't it revoked or sent thru a computer data base to check for valid insurance?

    Most of us are held to the fire with fines and high premiums if we drive and do anything wrong.

    I am really sick of deadbeats. We ought to at least be able to beat the hell out of them if they hit us.
     
  9. Malarkey

    Malarkey New Member

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    Impressive amount of damage to walk away from, glad you are all OK for the most part. As mentioned, you probably should get checked out to make sure there hasn't been any neck/back damage. That can take a few days to show.

    Am interested in how it turns out - keep us posted.
     
  10. NoMoShocks

    NoMoShocks Electrical Engineer

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    Well, we never like to see a Prius like that, but it is good to know that the crumple zones did what they were supposed to do. The passenger cabin looks to be pretty much intact.

    For the insurance, if they try to low ball you on the settlement, ask them to show you were you can obtain "Like Kind and Qualtiy" for the price you are being offered. If they cannot show you, they must give you more.
     
  11. slair

    slair Ubër Senior Member

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    wow, thats like a textbook accident for the prius. Its so perfect looking, everything worked exactly how it should have. I feel so safe in it now :p.
    You should part it out as much as possible before insurance takes it. Emblems, I saw that headlight, if its not scratched, thats like $250. I also love how no windows broke. WS is cracked, but even the rear window is in perfect condition.
     
  12. quagmire0

    quagmire0 New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Slair @ Jul 2 2007, 02:16 PM) [snapback]471663[/snapback]</div>

    Definitely. If they'll let you grab some parts, do so.
     
  13. subarutoo

    subarutoo New Member

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    Amazing pictures. Glad you're alright. I'm a high mileage LA freeway commuter (90 miles a day), and I take getting home every night for granted. Your photos are really sobering. There are so many idiots out there. I was rear-ended in college by some inunsured idiot. He had so much speed going that he hit me twice, knocked me forward, and hit me again. I was in my beloved 66 Mustang, and he had a big Ford (ex-taxi). My Mustang was still drivable, no so for his big Ford. My back still bothers me after almost 30 years. Good luck with everything, and thank God and the Prius designers, that you will live to tell about it. Go after him. In my case I paid the deductable, which my insurance company paid back to me aftter going after the other driver. My "other driver" was arrested on the spot for drug suspicion.
     
  14. Tom6850

    Tom6850 Retired

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    Sorry about your accident. The safety features that the Prius has really did there job. It is amazing that you folks were not seriously hurt or killed. Good luck with the insurance company, they can also be very happy that you were not hurt or it could have cost them a lot more.

    I have a great insurance company here in Pa, Erie Insurance, they have always treated me extremely fair.
     
  15. NoMoShocks

    NoMoShocks Electrical Engineer

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Slair @ Jul 2 2007, 12:16 PM) [snapback]471663[/snapback]</div>
    I would be willing to bet that that headlight assembly has dammage to it's mounting tabs. Anyway, you cannot part out your total unless you buy it from the insurance company for the salvage value.
     
  16. bigscrb15

    bigscrb15 New Member

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    Looks like it will buff right out!!!!


    I am amazed how well it kept the passenger compartment intact. I have always driven big trucks and get nervous in little cars. This really helps to see and know I am still safe.
     
  17. b1ffd00d

    b1ffd00d New Member

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    Good news!

    Our insurance came back with their first-pass settlement offer, and we'll be taking it without hesitation. I'd been steeling myself for a fight, and collecting used Prius listings on craigslist, eBay, Auto Trader, etc. -- but the value that they came back with was a few thousand over the total amount we originally paid for the car, and around $3K above what even the most optimistic online sellers were asking for a similarly-aged Prius with carpool stickers. And that's before they added in tax and the unused portion of our license! The woman seemed relieved that I didn't want to challenge their offer -- but why would I? At the end of the day, it looks like we'll come out of this with a new car and thousands of dollars ahead.

    We'll be going in to our local AAA office at the end of the week to sign over the title and hand in the keys; supposedly we get the check on the spot.

    Losing the HOV stickers is a bummer, but since I work at home and usually travel with my wife in the car, it's not a huge issue. They really only came into play once a month or so, when my wife had to drive across LA for a recurring doctor's appointment. My only regret right now is that it doesn't seem like the Touring is available (in Southern California, at least) with a fabric interior -- between two active dogs and my wife's preferences, leather upholstery is right out.

    I wish I could tell other people who'll find themselves in this situation what my 'secret' was -- but other than having carpool stickers and doing regular maintenance on a relatively new, relatively low-mileage car, we didn't do anything at all. We're thankful (and more than a little baffled) that we got an offer this generous right out of the box.
     
  18. chuck_k

    chuck_k New Member

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    ....like the traction battery.....

    "Hey, that's mine!"
     
  19. Blurry

    Blurry New Member

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    Glad to know you're all okay. Those were some pretty amazing pictures.

    Our 2005 Prius was totaled in January of this year (an F-250 pickup smashed the front of our car; it was our fault, though). The insurance company gave us $150 more than what we had paid for the car 18 months earlier.

    My husband walked away without a scratch or any ill effects--no soreness or anything! We were very happy to go out and purchase another Prius after that. Your story--accompanied by pictures--makes me even more confident in its safety features!
     
  20. jayselle

    jayselle Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(b1ffd00d @ Jul 16 2007, 06:09 PM) [snapback]479893[/snapback]</div>
    After seeing the car they figure there is no reason to mess around. They could easily be forking over tens of thousands in bodily injury. You could of claimed your neck and back hurt and sought out an attorney. It's good to see that an insurance company is actually doing the right thing.

    And the whole uninsured thing drives me mad. Here in Oklahoma there is pending legislation to start impounding vehicles if you're caught uninsured and it will remain in the impound giving you time to get insurance or it will be sold at auction.

    I need to look into that waiver for the deductible for uninsured motorist for our plan. I noticed after our accident on Friday we have a $1,000 deductible for uninsured and no rental car. That will be changed soon as it seems so many wrecks require uninsured motorists insurance.