Hello: Total newbie here. We bought our 2014 Prius about three months ago. Look what a drunk driver did to it on Friday night! Not only our car was damaged – several other cars. The driver was in a BMW SUV. This doesn’t look fixable to me, but what do I know? I filed a claim with my insurance, and we’re waiting on the police report. But I haven’t owned a car in many years so I don’t know what happens next. Any suggestions on how to deal with this would be truly appreciated.
Ouch! Hope you are ok. Prius doesn’t look so hot. Given it is seven years old and the hit is across the suspension I would bet they will call it a total loss. Good luck!
agree. not much you can do except wait. our daughter and sil are on 23rd and 2nd. fortunately, they have parking under their building. new york is not an easy place to own a car
If they total it fight the insurance adjuster for a high value. Cars are in short supply right now, anything you choose for a replacement will be priced high through most of 2021 at least.
Thanks for this comment! Any suggestions for arguments I can use? Will they reimburse more than what we paid?
Many (most? All?) comprehensive insurance policies pay replacement value, rather than market value. In other words they would give you the amount of money it would take you to buy the same car on the current market, as opposed to the amount of money that you would expect to get if you SOLD the car. So once they tell you the amount, compare that with any listings you can find for cars with similar mileage and similar year model.
Check the kbb price of your car, print it out and if your insurance try to low ball you, give them a copy to show them the kbb value.
^ Can't really think of anything. If your car was parked then you've avoided injury - always the most important part! One of the really great things about being in NYC is that you can get along without a car for a much longer period of time. TAKE THAT TIME even if your insurance company decides to fix the car - which may happen. If you can wait a few months then car prices may settle down a little bit. As mentioned above, now is an exceptionally bad time to buy a car. It's mostly a supply and demand thing. Just a month or two ago you couldn't GET a COVID shot. People were carpet bagging to other states and dressing up like geezers to jump line. Now? They're trying to pay people to get a vaccine. Waiting just a few months (and you can DO THAT in the city) may not only save you some money but it can also keep you from buying a bad replacement for a good car. Also....see if your insurance company will allow you to buy the car if they total it. It's a little more work, and it will be harder to get done where you are, and there are pitfalls to owning a salvage title car....BUT....if you have access to a good body shop and you tell then that you're not in a hurry - they might be able to get the car back on the road again. If nothing else you might be able to flip it - even as-is. GOOD LUCK!
