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New 2008 Prius damaged after 19 days!!!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by dex20000, Apr 21, 2008.

  1. Ichiro

    Ichiro Member

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    you saw this happening!? i hope you were able to dole out some physical retribution?!:crutch:
     
  2. AdamKPL

    AdamKPL Member

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    I just got my Prius brand new last Friday and it seems as though everyone is out to get me, riding my (back) and just way too close for comfort...

    None the less I would definitely argue to the insurance company that because the carfax will reflect this, your car has permanently deteriorated in value because of it's history and DEMAND compensation for that aspect. Best of luck to you,
     
  3. sdtundra

    sdtundra Senior Member

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    I would demand new panels....my truck got hit on the side in a parking structure at the ASU game. Girl left her information, good for me, not for her. Took it to 4 body shops, every single one said, new bedside, new rear bumper, left taillight plus paint. Ended up being $3,000 because the impact had moved the entire bed over and it had hit the cab. Toyota dealer's body shop matched the paint perfectly and gave me a little bottle of extra.
     
  4. dex20000

    dex20000 New Member

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    I tried to ask my insurance and the other party's insurance for compensation for reported damaged and the answer was no. The way the insurance industry sees it, the car is back to original form. I can try to demand all that I want and I have tried, but it is not getting me anywhere. Maybe I will contact the insurance commission and seek their advice.

    I tried to ask all panels be replaced too, but the answer I got was that if it is practical to be fixed, then they will only pay for it to be fixed. The damages were not very severe and there was no structural damage.

    The bad part of this was that the car was brand new. And if the car were 2-3 years old it would not bother me so much, but it's beyond my control.
     
  5. Janus

    Janus Drug Pilot

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    I know that some owners have successfully sued for loss in value. Just by fixing the damage, they have NOT made restitution on your loss - the car is less valuable today than it was before it was hit, and the owner of the other vehicle is legally responsible to make restitution. If you file a lawsuit against the other owner, their insurance company might pay to have the claim go away. Consider talking to a tort lawyer.
     
  6. Keri

    Keri New Member

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    I was hit in 2005 while driving the brand new truck that my husband had just bought me. When the other guys insurance company sent me the check, I did not sign it over to the body shop until I was satisfied with their repair work. When I went to pick the truck up, it had orange peel on the front, driver side quarter panel. I said nope, not getting paid. They kept the truck an extra week, paid for the continuation of my rental and fixed my truck to where you could not even tell it had been hit. Of course I knew it had been hit and traded it in anyway. If you have not turned over your check, I would suggest that you don't until you are satisfied.
    I'm with Adamkpl, your vehicle is worth less now that it has been hit. I would just call a lawyer, most reputable ones will give you advice for free on the phone and at least let you know if it is worth your time to pursue it. Good Luck.
     
  7. longrider

    longrider soxfan

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    Took a golf ball right through the windshield two weeks ago. It's an 07 but I've only had the car a little over a month. Fortunately insurance covered it 100%.
     
  8. Tim in Hollywood

    Tim in Hollywood Junior Member

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    I guess you learned the hard way that the driving range is not a parking lot! ;)

    Seriously, though...if the insurance companies are not offering a proper settlement, decline it. Then threaten to file suit to recover your damages. If your claims are valid, they will likely come around. If they still refuse, proceed with your suit.

    The sole purpose of an insurance company to make $$$ for their shareholders. It is not to write large checks to you. :(
     
  9. sktn77a

    sktn77a Member

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    It's called "Diminished Value" due to the accident repairs. Take your car to the Toyota used car dealer and ask him for a trade-in appraisal. Then ask him what that trade-in would have been without the accident damage repair. The difference is the "Diminished Value" and the insurance company should pay that. Of course, they won't without a fight! Unfortunately, with CarFax, anyone will negotiate down several thousand(probably 2-3000 in your case - a brand new, top of the line Prius) dollars with this information in hand.
     
  10. CLEEVE

    CLEEVE National Security Advocate

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    DITTO --I HATE kids!
     
  11. NoMoShocks

    NoMoShocks Electrical Engineer

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    Sound like that first body shop thay said the repair might be noticible was Allstate's contract shop. Don't let them con you into believeing you have to use the shop they specify.

    I have also had the Kid jumping on the roof of my car. I had just painted my 1971 Pontiac Tempest and I loaned it to my brother. He had a 9 year old 4H kid ride with him, and he went into the house for a second and came out to find the kid jumping up and down on the roof of the car. I also found dents and scraped on the facia under the front bumper, and my brother admitted he had used tha car to chase some sheep through a field.
     
  12. dex20000

    dex20000 New Member

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    Thanks for the good advice. Tomorrow, I will call Allstate and ask for $3000 for the car's diminished value. If they say no, I will ask that they determine a number. If that does not work, I will call my Sales Person at Toyota and ask for the values with and without damage as would be noted in carfax. If nothing else, I will call my attorney for assistance. If he says it is worth fighting, I will go for it, otherwise I will have to come up with another plan.

    When I asked my insurance company Erie, they said that the carfax report will say something on the order of "front passenger side damage" but will not indicate the extent of the damage.

    I will be real pissed if the car gets into a wreck and say it is a total loss, and the insurance company tries to tell me that the car is worth less because it does not have a clean record!!!
     
  13. dex20000

    dex20000 New Member

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    I called Allstate three days ago and asked for compensation for Diminished Value. They had to ask around the office and finally told me to call my insurance provider and to file with them, so I did. I called Erie and they told me the right person would call me back. The person I talked to said that because I did not have specific coverage for Diminished Value, that I need to file directly with Allstate. I called them again two days ago and this time they said I need to talk to a Mark Brown in the Columbia Maryland Office, and they would leave him a message. No callback, so yesterday, I called at the end of the day, and they found Mark, and the person I talked to spoke directly with him, and he said he got the message but was swamped and that he would get back to me. I have yet to hear from him for whatever reason. So, I will call again tomorrow.

    The imformation that I got from Erie is that fortunately, Maryland law allows claims for Diminished Value, the difference between what your car was worth with and without the damages. I had no idea what it was called and understood what it was, but probably would have been nudged when asking for compensation. So the support here is very helpful. I bet a lot of people don't know to ask for this kind of compensation. Even the insurance company folks seemed not so educated on this topic and both insurance companies require the supervisor handle this type of claim. Hmmm, wonder if they will just try to convince the claimant that they are crazy? So we shall see what happens, and if I am not satisfied with their response, I am prepared to call my attorney. More info to come...
     
  14. dex20000

    dex20000 New Member

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    I did get a call back on May 23rd from Allstate. Was told that the Diminished Value claim will take 4-6 weeks to process and that an assessor will be assigned to evaluate differential in clean title versus my vehicle which should show an accident and red flag in a carfax report. They asked me how much I think the Diminished value should be, and I said $2000 to $3000. I was later told that it should be much less than that, below $1000. PLEASE! If it were me, I would never consider buying a car like mine without knowing the exact history. Only a sucker would take a risk in buying my car to save $1000. That's my opinion, what do you think?
     
  15. Kinare

    Kinare New Member

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    I completely agree with you, but keep in mind the insurance company is not there to give you money. They are saying that to minimize their costs.

    And yes, if it ever ends up being a total loss, they will pay you less because it has damage on the carfax report.
     
  16. MagneticGrayIndy

    MagneticGrayIndy 06Prius;94M Miata;65Rambler770

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    we got our prius 5/31/06 and within two weeks, while in a parking garage of a hotel overnight, someone backed into it and broke left tailight, damaged tailgate and bumper... We were bummed! But had terrific repairs at local shop (Church Brothers). A few months later, I forgot to put the hatch down before backing out of garage - tore the spoiler right off! That was an easy fix.. new spoiler, professional paint (same shop), and DIY install. Car looks brand new still!
     
  17. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    IMO Offering a number is a tactical mistake unless you highballed. If the claim is legit and your number is low that is all you'll get.
     
  18. racerbob

    racerbob Member

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    We're suing Allstate over Katrina home damage in New Orleans. They suck and just don't pay their claims. Their profits are astronomical. All my friends that own/manage body shops say that AIG is the best auto insurance when it comes to "making it right".
     
  19. HomeandRanch

    HomeandRanch New Member

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    What's up with these kids? Maybe they are like " I'm going to get these Greenies" or something.

    First thing I am going to do when mine gets here is get a bumper sticker that says "I am a redneck and I carry a guns".:eek: