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Prius C in accident

Discussion in 'Prius c Main Forum' started by coffeecat, Dec 11, 2016.

  1. coffeecat

    coffeecat New Member

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    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    Recently I was t-boned in an intersection by someone paying no attention to the road I assume. The fault was determined to be at the other driver by the police and both insurance companies. I have just recently purchased this car barely 4 months ago, so of course all the payments are not paid off. I have never dealt with this before, so I am unsure of how to go about this situation. As for the car, the insurance company has not inspected it yet to determine if it will be repaired or totaled. I asked the police for their thoughts on it and they told me it could go either way and it is tough to call whether or not it will be totaled.

    Anyone else been in this situation or similar? Or any advice to give?
    Of course I do not want this car to be totaled and in the end if it is I will be getting screwed because the value of the car may not even cover the payments left on it, let alone a new one.
     
  2. Got2bHam

    Got2bHam Member

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    Id say it would be totaled. Typically when a newer car is totaled they'll pay the loan amount. Depending on their insurance company it'll vary but I imagine since the other guy hit you, you should be taken care of. Best of luck! Also, make sure the insurance company doesn't take the car before you receive the check.
     
  3. Bentone23

    Bentone23 Junior Member

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    All things are negotiable with insurance companies. They will try lowballing you. Also, your company should be fighting to fully restore you to the condition you were in before the accident. His insurance company should pay you all expenses. Go buy another one with their money!


    iPhone ?
     
  4. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    First of all...sorry, that's a sad situation with a nearly new vehicle. But it sounds like everyone is healthy?

    Now for my opinion?
    You say T-Boned...so I'm going to assume the damage is pretty severe. Not just cosmetic.

    If it's at all severe, I'd almost be hoping the Insurance company DOES total it.
    As magical as a good body shop can be....there is a point in my opinion where the trauma inflicted makes the future of the vehicle become questionable. You "had" a brand new from the factory vehicle....if it's not totaled you will now ONLY have at best a diminished value, it has been in a severe wreck vehicle. It will appear in the records or on a Carfax, and the vehicle will never be worth as much as it potentially would of been before being involved in this accident.

    I'd rather start over. Even if it cost me a percentage out of pocket. You then don't have to fight for diminished value, and you don't have to worry about the impact....of the impact...accident..for the rest of the vehicles life.

    Since this wasn't your fault. Yes, you need to fight to get as close to full replacement, or restoration as possible, including if they don't total it, diminished value for the vehicle you have.

    Good Luck.

    I personally hope you are soon shopping for a new vehicle, at the nearly the complete majority expense of the offenders insurance company.
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  5. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    coffeecat, start shopping for your car as you will want to determine what sellers are asking for cars like yours. You should also start shopping for a replacement.

    Check out the shop that has custody of your car. Also check out the Toyota dealers' Collision Shops. This may be the more convenient way to go as if you have a problem later it will be between the dealer and Toyota to fix it.

    I agree with the police. I've seen vehicles that look like they should be totaled get rebuilt. As long as the estimated cost of the repairs is $1 less than the insurance company's threshold for declaring a total loss the vehicle will be repaired.

    Since you don't have a clean title on the car the lender will have to sign off on the settlement.
     
  6. Not sure what MD law requires, but do you have GAP coverage?
     
  7. coffeecat

    coffeecat New Member

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    Thanks for all the help and advice! It did in fact turn out to be totaled and I am losing some money but the damage of the car was over 11k. So in the end I guess driving around in an accident-free car is going to set my mind at ease rather than driving one with all that previous damage. Browsing for another c as we speak!
     
    Got2bHam likes this.
  8. roadrunner

    roadrunner His (blue) and hers (black).

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    Location:
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    If you are ok with a Prius C one, you might consider Hertz. That is where I bought mine in November. Very happy with the car.
    My wife is also going to get a Prius C from them once they get one in white in the Warminster, PA location.
     
  9. Got2bHam

    Got2bHam Member

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    It's probably for the best that it was totaled, typically after that kind of damage cars just are just not the same. Best of luck on your hunt!!, the deals are great right now.
     
  10. The reason I ask about gap/loss coverage is, even though I was not at fault, I ended up also *paying* for my total loss of Skylis 1 in 2013 (and I lost my trade-in). With gap coverage I would not have to pay the difference between current value and amount on the loan.
     
  11. coffeecat

    coffeecat New Member

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    Updating that my new purchase was a prius c once again! Very happy with my previous one so I decided to get another. The value that I was offered for the car was more than what I owed on it, so my GAP didn't come into play even though I did have it.
     
    jerrymildred and bisco like this.
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    congrats!(y) same color and package?
     
  13. coffeecat

    coffeecat New Member

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    Different color same package. I now have summer rain and loving it!
     
    bisco likes this.
  14. How did you pull that off? :eek: I lost Skylis 1 in 2013 when it was 7 months old... but the value was $7000 *less* than what I owed on the loan.
     
  15. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    It depends on how much is put down on the car.
     
  16. coffeecat

    coffeecat New Member

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    I only had the c for about 4 months, but only owed about 6,000 due to paying a lot more than needed each payment. I was definitely surprised that the insurance company offered such a high first offer at almost $12,000