We were stopped at a light and Amapola got rammed from behind and propelled into the car in front. This right and truly sucks, big time. No apparent physical injuries to the five persons in the three cars. Here is the essence of what I am reporting to my insurance company, USAA. (Their accident hot-line says since it is not an emergency my report can be done over the 'net.) I got all the pertinent info for the other two cars/drivers concerning driver and vehicle licenses, insurance data -- apparently we're all covered. I've taken it out to protect the guilty. Date/Time: May 2, 2010, 11:30 am Place: 6010/6011 York Road, Baltimore, MD I was proceeding northward on York Road. My vehicle was stopped in the single northbound traffic lane at a red light at the intersection of York Road and East Lake Ave. I had my foot on the brake. My vehicle was struck hard on the center/ right rear bumper by a late model Chevrolet Malibu also proceeding northward. There was no screeching of tires before the impact. There were no skid marks on the roadway left by the Chevrolet. My vehicle was propelled forward some 6-8 feet forward and struck a late model Toyota Corolla in my lane, also stopped at the red light. The driver and passenger restraint air-bags did not deploy. Posted speed limit 35 MPH. My vehicle sustained considerable damage to both rear and front body work and structure. Driver of late model Chevrolet said that she had taken her eyes of the road "for only an instant." There was a large curbside garage sale on the right hand side of York Road, about 50 feet before the scene of the accident. My vehicle: Two occupants, seat belts in use, no immediately apparent injuries. Visible Vehicle Damage includes: (Photos in this album.) * Rear bumper: bumper cover heavily scratched, gouged, bent, and distorted. * Rear hatch: bent and distorted, hatch will not close and car cannot be locked. * Large gap between rear hatch and body on upper right side. * Dislodged right rear turn signal * Rear frame: bent(?) at rear hatch latch/locking mechanism * Front bumper: bumper cover heavily scratched, gouged, and distorted. Upper edge distorted and pushed up under front edge of hood. * Front license plate holder: torn off. (License plate was recovered.) Late model Chevrolet Malibu Driver: 79 year old female Two occupants, seat belts in use, no complaints of injury voiced at scene. Visible Vehicle Damage includes: * Front bumper, cover heavily scratched, gouged and distorted. * Hood, many small dents and an approximately 1 in. by 2 in. tear near centerline, just behind leading edge. Late model Toyota Corolla Single occupant, seat belt in use. Driver complained of a headache and said she was going to a clinic for a check-up. Visible Vehicle Damage includes: Rear bumper; bumper cover scratched and gouged. All three vehicles departed the scene under their own power. Police involvement: Scene was visited by Baltimore Police Officer. He would not make a report as the accident did not result in personnel injury requiring immediate medical assistance and an ambulance or any of the vehicles being rendered unable to leave the scene under their own power as per Departmental policy/instructions. I am deeply concerned that the frame of my vehicle is bent due to the distorted metal just visible below the rear hatch latching mechanism and way the rear hatch is off center by the hatch glass. The distorted bodywork and frame around the rear hatch and tail light assemblies requires careful restoration as if not done well leads to moisture getting past the gaskets/seals and subsequent standing water, dampness, and fungus growth in the car. This would be absolutely unacceptable. I will accept only Toyota OEM parts as replacement parts and insist on my right to verify that the vehicle has been restored to before the accident condition before I accept the required repairs. I insist that a four-wheel alignment be done and any adjustments made to bring all readings within Toyota specifications as part of the repair. I require a no-cost-to-me rental vehicle be authorized immediately for my use while I locate a competent repair shop and during all repairs and related matters. The last five items come from my reading of all too many postings of accidents here. Are there any other information/concerns/requirements that I should be including? Folks in the greater Baltimore Metro Area, do know of a trustworthy, very competent, no BS collision damage repair shop that you can recommend? (Is that an oxymoron?) Thanks in advance.
Rokeby, Good news to hear everyone is OK. Not an expert on body repair/damage but the images (you linked) suggest pretty limited damage (to this layperson). Somehow I think everything is going to work out fine for you, and you'll never even know the car had a fenderbender. Good luck
Wow, Rokeby - first, glad that you and your wife are okay. Cars can be fixed or replaced. Second, wow... your documentation skills are awesome. Good job! Hope it turns out well for you.
FWIW, despite the damage, the car was driveable with no apparent mechanical or electrical issues. One not surprising result of the collision was that the plastic cover that wraps around the rear bumper and lower body was shoved forward. The result is that the forward facing ends popped free of their restraints and stick out some 4 inches. They form anti-aero scoops at the worst possible place, at the rear where best aero practice is to smoothly lead air separated by the passage of the car to rejoin with as little turbulence as possible. What surprised me was how great the effect was. Given that air temps were ~70 degF, I was familiar with the roads, traffic was light, the car was fully warmed up, I would expect about 55+ MPG on the 8 mile trip home with PSL of 35MPH. My ScanGuage registered only 44 MPG. That's a 20% hit from an apparently small disturbance. There is the possibility that the alignment has been screwed up which would contribute to the MPG reduction. If so, it wasn't noticeable... but yes, it could still be there. The message here is Toyota did a great job with the aero tweeks, and even small changes at critical locations are going to seriously hurt FE/MPGs.
I don't think there is any frame damage. They body shop will have to pull or replace the rear wall of the back floor pan and everything else rear of that. They should be able to pull the rear quarters back into place after that. If they fit it you should check the gaps between the rear doors and the rear quarter panels as well as the fit of the hatch. You should also pull the spare tire out an make sure that the seal the tire well up properly.
Sorry to hear about your loss but glad to know that no one was hurt. I think you did a great job documenting the event, especially needed since the police did not file a report. Many of the pictures in your photo album were taken at an angle. If you haven't done so I think it would be worthwhile to take some pictures straight on, not at an angle, such that distances and distortions may be discerned easier. Just my 2 cents and good luck restoring the car (I see that you had many personalization done on it)!
Let the Insurance company adjuster send you his estimate for review, IF the insurance company does not total your car. A car is totalled when the cost of repairs exceeds 75% of the value of the car when undamaged. The adjuster WILL use non OEM parts, salvaged parts, etc. Then IF the part fails later BEFORE YOU GET THAT REPAIR MADE, you must call and file a claim to get the work paid for in full IF THE PART FAILS WITHIN THE SPECIFIED WARRANTY TIME AND DISTANCE. They Only Pay for that part failing IF you call first for an OK !
Hi Rokeby, Glad nobody was hurt. Bummer that the Prius is bent. But it appears to be a minor bend that any good body shop can fix easily. It will not be cheap, but it does not appear to be even close to a total. If the same happened to my sweet 2005, I'd fix it in a heartbeat and be glad it wasn't worse. If you have a good insurance agent, ask them about the best body shops in your area. Or try Angie's list. Or ask the local motor heads, the people with the collectible cars and/or hot rods. They usually know. Take Care, Dan
Oh noooo ROKEBY. Thank you SO MUCH for sharing, my heart pours for you and your family. HOWEVER, I highly do not advise that you post any of this sensitive information until the case is closed and you've received your settlement. Its very potentially damaging to your case to have this information posted on a public website/forum. The first thing insurance companies do is scan the web. I'm sure you know this, but I was surprised no one mentioned this. I do recommend having this removed ASAP by the moderator, if at all possible. Good luck to you.
Glad to hear you're okay. Do you feel up to coming to Rockville for the repair? I have a GREAT, GREAT shop that I've had work on my cars for years in Rockville I could refer you to...all my stuff has always been minor but my neighbor across the street got rear ended in his Acura TSX, it was MUCH worse than that and they repaired it...and I can't even tell it was ever in a wreck...
I too would like to hear more on what the problem could be. I haven't had an accident/incident in 30+ years that required a claim. So, I can claim not to understand the interaction between what I've posted and my claim. What I posted was essentially sanitized; * no identifying info on the other vehicles or drivers, * open-ended observations on possible injuries and vehicle damages. I welcome comments from folks with actual experience on this or direct insurance company involvement.
If Rokeby had posted one set of facts and told his insurance co another set of facts, that would potentially be a problem. Since his story seems to be consistent, I also do not see a problem. (His letter to the insurance company seems a bit harsh: "insisting" and "requiring" this and that. If I received such a letter my fur would stand up. In the interest of maintaining a good business relationship, it might be better to first discuss those issues on the telephone, see what the response is, then follow-up with a letter if necessary.)
Hey Rokeby - so glad to hear that everyone is ok. Having walked away from a rear end collision recently myself (see Prius v. 18 Wheeler), I know how you feel. The good news is that our little cars are pretty stout - my frame survived bend free and once the body work was completed, it was back to high mileage as usual. So there is hope.
