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2017 Prius 3 touring Rear driver quarter got hit. What am I looking at?

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by yayprius, Oct 15, 2022.

  1. yayprius

    yayprius Member

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    Hey all, long time no post but that's only because it's been a dream so far since buying it new a few years ago. Well, had it in the drive way and then it got smashed in on the rear quarter and tossed about 25 feet. Lucky no one was hurt and the driver didn't run and was very cooperative. Unfortunately I watched from the porch as this car comes down the road fish tailing and slams into my car, not a great sight.

    Now I haven't filed anything and am waiting for the police report to come back ( the officer said the evidence is insurmountable against the driver ). I want to get an idea of my loss. I love this car and would love to have it repaired but I worry that the damage looks significant. That's where my post comes in. What am I looking at in these photos, how significant is it? I've been screwed over by other drivers insurance before and I want to be mor informed this time as I have time on my side.


    I have more photos but I want to start it out now.
     

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  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Best case the car gets totaled and you buy the car back from insurance company at a fraction of the total loss. Cut off the damage qtr and weld on another piece.
     
  3. Doug McC

    Doug McC Active Member

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    I apologize for not remembering how I ran across it (I THINK it was through the Toyota app or the owner’s site) but there is a link to important considerations regarding body repair. From the pictures one important consideration is the safety sensors that require precise calibration and the correct body parts. Insist on genuine Toyota parts and a body repair shop that is at least approved by your dealer (if the dealer doesn’t do body repairs (mine doesn’t but they have one they approve for repairs). Good luck.
     
  4. Doug McC

    Doug McC Active Member

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    I would say BEST case is you get a brand new vehicle out of it and WORST case is trying to rebuild it.
     
  5. MalachyNG

    MalachyNG Active Member

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    I think your best bet is to file a claim with your own insurance. Sure you'll be out your deductible to start but you can start the process to get it evaluated and get you in a rental if you have that coverage. If/when your insurance subrogates from the other guy's you'll get your deductible back.

    It's probably worth making a claim. You have parking sensors that will need to be replaced and your hatch looks crooked. And that's right around your gas cap so you'll want to make sure they double check that's ok. Plus frame damage and the rear wheel components. After I had the right side of my 2016 repaired after hitting a wire guard rail in 2020 I had to replace front and back bumpers, sensors and wheels and they never did get the alignment back into spec. Something was bent and the body shop didn't want to put in additional work orders because the bill was already real close to the line that they'd declare it totaled. (The next claim, a deer hit, totaled the car a year later).

    If they do declare your car totaled you should not take their first offer. They owe you the fair market value of the car and efficient cars like Prius are going for a premium on the used market right now. You'll need all you can get out of them to be able to replace it with the market the way it is. New cars are selling for over MSRP. Used prices are, like I said, totally bonkers. You may even want to consider buying it back and having it repaired as salvage.
     
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  6. yayprius

    yayprius Member

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    Well that's interesting, in this case would I be out of pocket for the buy back or negotiate that with the insurance?
     
  7. yayprius

    yayprius Member

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    I'll most likely go to the dealer for repairs to help ensure factory spec repair, I don't want to accept anything less than good as new if it's going to be repaired. On the brand new car idea, that would be sweet, this car used, I have 40k on it, is going for more than what I paid for it, which it bonkers.
     
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  8. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    The insurance will total the car and offer you a settlement price, which you can accept or counter with another figure (market comparables of the same car). Then if you choose to buy the car back, they just minus that amount before issuing you the check for the totaled car.
     
  9. yayprius

    yayprius Member

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    Yeah I want to exhaust as much of the damage assessment as possible before I let anyone start work, I think this damage is on the frame so I don't know how that bodes for anything other than salvage plus the loss on resale, though cars with accidents are still selling for wild prices.

    I dread being in the market for a new or new to me car. I may just do the salvage route just because I hadn't planned on selling or having a different car, I spent a over a year before I found this car. I wonder about how I would be compensated in this route, would I be able to have the other drivers insurance pay for a rental or add that into a settlement if it's declared totalled?
     
  10. yayprius

    yayprius Member

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    Okay, so this car is worth like 28k plus before this accident. Is it totalled after 28k worth of damage? How would I afford to fix it and 'buy it back" if that's the case, I suppose it's got to be less than half for this to be a viable option?
     
  11. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    You would need about 75% of the value of the car to be damaged for a total loss. So if they quotes are reaching $20k to fix it, you can pretty much say this car is totaled. They also have to pay for a rental car while this is being repaired, a few months can add $5000 to the repair bill.
     
  12. ttou68

    ttou68 Active Member

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    It's been a while dealing with insurance company....
    If my memory serves me correctly, repair cost will have to be 50% or more of the value of your vehicle.. and buy back is probably around 20% of the settlement value?

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  13. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    I'm guessing totaled for sure. Sorry for your loss, hopefully you don't get screwed on the payout.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  14. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    You don't want that car. It will never be right.
     
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  15. MalachyNG

    MalachyNG Active Member

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    It's really tough to say at this point. Either way you'll need to file a claim with the other guy's insurance or your own or both. I recommend both just so that any shenanigans from the other guy you can pass on to your own insurance. Anecdotally, I had more extensive damage in 2020 on my 2016 Prius Four that also had parking sensors to replace along with wheels and tires. No airbags went off. Allstate still repaired it but it was close. I want to say it had 60k-70k miles on it by then too so it wasn't exactly a pristine specimen. But your insurance may have lower thresholds. This was also in NY. Your state may matter too in their calculations.

    I don't know how rental assistance works when making a claim against another driver's insurance. I would presume not. If you pay for it through your insurance then take that and maybe they'll get reimbursed from the other guy's. I suppose I err toward working with the devil you know.

    If they do total it you would be cut a check for the fair market value. You can use that money to buy it back usually for a hefty discount because they're just going to sell it to an junkyard or auction company for practically nothing.

    That same 2016 (poor thing had 3 claims in 3 years, damage from a raccoon that busted up the front grill and grill shutters, the guard rail and then in 2021 a deer head on) was totaled last year. At first the adjuster said it was repairable and ordered parts and it took 2 months for those to come in and get time in a shop and then the shop cracked her open and found even more damage and my insurance decided the higher bill was too much and totaled it. The offer was fair for the new market and thankfully enough to pay off what I still owed and cut me a check for the rest which I used for a down payment on my 22 Prime. I had a hunch that was how it was going to go so I had my eye on new and used prius listings for my region and beyond. So I suggest even if they do say it can be repaired at first start putting out feelers now. You could use the pay out to buy it back and repair it or buy a beater that'll get you through winter or look for new/used. the northeast still gets a pretty good number of prius and prius prime allocations. Some are still selling at MSRP.
     
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  16. yayprius

    yayprius Member

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    I didn't want to hear this, but the damage really does look bad.
     
  17. Doug McC

    Doug McC Active Member

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    You shouldn’t try to deal with the other person’s insurance company (my son thought he was smart enough to and he didn’t make out too well in the long run). Your insurance premiums pay for your insurance company to go to bat for you (they don’t want to foot the bill, they want the other company to). Just call your agent, get them working on it. If need be, contact a lawyer so someone in this equation is focused solely on your well being, not profits. You would be surprised how much better insurance settlements are once they realize you are being watched over by a lawyer who isn’t working for them but for you.
     
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  18. CooCooCaChoo

    CooCooCaChoo Active Member

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    Exactly this. This is why you have insurance: so they take care of everything. Otherwise what's the point?
     
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  19. yayprius

    yayprius Member

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    Any one familiar with estimates I could show you make sense of them? How do I insist on oem parts?

    Edited for clarity
     
    #19 yayprius, Oct 19, 2022
    Last edited: Oct 19, 2022
  20. Doug McC

    Doug McC Active Member

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    Talk directly to your insurance agent and tell him why oem parts are important to you and your safety. As far as estimates go, if you are the one getting them just go to dealerships.
     
    yayprius likes this.