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Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by jasond, Mar 22, 2004.

  1. jasond

    jasond New Member

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    Last week we had snow. My wife decided to be helpful and clear the snow off my car. She's seen me do this in the past with a shovel to clear off large quantities quickly, so that's what she did.

    Except that I did it with a plastic shovel, and she did it with a metal one.

    :cussing: :cussing: :cussing:

    So, now my nice new Prius is covered in scratches. It doesn't look like any went through the primer, but the primer is definitely showing. One way or another, I think every body panel has at least some scratches, and the roof is the worst.

    Is this fixable short of going to Maaco and having the whole car repainted? Or, if I don't repaint it right away, is there any risk to the car if the primer layer is still intact everywhere?
     
  2. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    I would wait to have it fixed until you collect on the divorce...any judge will immediately rule in your favor after hearing this story!

    Man, that sucks, I can see my wife doing exactly the same thing.

    I can't answer your question, I think you'd be best taking it to a body shop, maybe even the Toyota body shop and let them decide what can and can't be done.
     
  3. toyoprius

    toyoprius New Member

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    OUCH!

    You know, I'm surprised I didn't hear the polite discussion you had with your wife over this....

    (Your comprehensive insurance should take care of it. Attribute it to vandalism. After all, you can't prove that your wife didn't do it intentionally! The better body shop paint jobs are indiscernable from the original factory paint nowadays.)
     
  4. xlarimer

    xlarimer New Member

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    Oh Man! I'm so sorry to hear that.

    Wow. I've wondered how wives/partners would get back at us since we spend so much time playing with our prius?

    Now I know.
     
  5. Stan Wilson

    Stan Wilson New Member

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    Guess the divorce rate just went up in the US. I had a friend whose wife washed his car with Tide...not a good thing.
     
  6. m1j1tc0rn

    m1j1tc0rn New Member

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    yeah, i hear it's a 4-6 month wait to file. some lawyers have been telling me i can't get divorced until mid-2005.
     
  7. rocketman7

    rocketman7 Junior Member

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    The local Saturn dealership was giving free car washer with their new 'state of the art' car wash. My wife and I pull up in her Explorer (she was driving) and the attendant guides her in to the automated track (it's the kind of car wash that pulls your car along to the other side).

    I told my wife to make sure the car was in neutral (it's a manual transmission) and she says it is. The car rocks up and then down and we're not moving. It happens again. The attendant looks in her window and motions to her to put the car in neutral. This doesn't help and my wife rolls down her window. The attendant looks in and say's "You need to take your foot off the brake."

    I'm glad it doesn't snow here.
     
  8. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    LOL :D !!

    Will he send us a key-chain while we wait?
     
  9. bparrish

    bparrish Junior Member

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    Any chance this would be covered under comprehensive? It was an 'accident' of sorts. Might not hurt to ask.
     
  10. jasond

    jasond New Member

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    Thanks for the suggestions. I'll price it out and then call my insurance agent to check.
     
  11. jeffrey

    jeffrey New Member

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    Ouch! :(

    The guys who detail my car have often gotten out some fairly deep scratches (even to what I thought was primer) by a good wax and buff job. You might try that first, and I pray it works for ya!

    I wll NOT make any partner jokes :)

    Peace
     
  12. Dianne

    Dianne New Member

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    OMG -- we are dyin' here in my office!



     
  13. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    How deep does the snow get there in Boston that you need a shovel to scrape the snow off your car? I use a brush, here in Fargo.
     
  14. lzahirsky

    lzahirsky New Member

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    About a week after I received my Prius, I scraped it with a butterfly bush. Some of the scratches are pretty deep. The others were light enough that my friendly autobody shop was able to buff them out. They know me on a first name basis. I'm their only customer who backed into family members cars twice.

    not signing my name [too red-faced]
     
  15. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Whoa Jason, don't get in too big of a hurry to call. Unless the price dramatically exceeds your deductible (like by several hundred dollars or more) you're far better off NOT reporting this to your insurance. It can go against you and potentially cause an increase in your insurance rates...even if they don't do it immediately if there is another claim it will, almost for certain, cause a siginficant rate increase.

    That is why we have $1000 deductibles on our insurance. Anything less than that I'm not reporting and will pay on my own and the savings on premiums more than makes up for it over a couple years.

    It's up to you, but think about it carefully before taking advantage of that insurance...it could easily cost you more in the long haul.
     
  16. jasond

    jasond New Member

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    Well, that's what I meant by "call to check" :) I certainly wouldn't make a claim unless it was well above the deductable (which it probably isn't).

    But.. I'll see if someone can detail it out first. That'll be a heck of a lot cheaper if they can improve the look. It's not THAT bad even now.. have to be close to the car and looking to notice.
     
  17. joleta

    joleta Junior Member

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    I had some scratches and hood dings on my 2002 Prius that I was trading in, so I took it to a franchise called Colors on Parade. They do small body work jobs, often the same day you come in. The owner looked at my car and advised me not to bother fixing the scratches. He said that the dealer wouldn't value my trade-in any higher without them, and that if I decided to sell it privately and a prospective buyer complained, I should just knock something off the price. He also gave me a free bottle of touch-up paint and showed me how to lightly touch up the scratches.

    Now, there's a business I would go back to in a minute if I need their services. If you've got one in Boston, give them a try.

    Barbara
     
  18. djc

    djc Junior Member

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    Jason,

    I'd be careful even calling to check about the claim. I'm not sure if it applies to car insurance yet, but I know that my homeowner's insurance carrier (State Farm) will count any calls to your agent with even a simple question as a "claim event". In their eyes, even asking a question is as much of a penalty as a claim itself. Too many claim events in a time period, and they drop you.

    --Dan.
     
  19. jasond

    jasond New Member

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    Thanks. I've been through similar situations with my agent before and he's pretty good about being "friendly" with things like this..

    (some years ago, my mother (who has the same agent) filed a claim for a lost item. They paid, and then a while later she found the item. She returned the money, and he's had a favorable opinion of our family ever since :) )

    I'm going to try having it professionally buffed out first, then I'll probably take it to Maaco. Shouldn't be expensive enough to even get past the deductable.. just FRUSTRATING!
     
  20. Fredo

    Fredo Junior Member

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    If it's going to be more than week or two before you get in in to be fixed, you should probably give the car a good wash and wax. The primer isn't nearly as durable as the finish paint, and they're going to have to clean out the scratches anyway.