My 2008 Prius sustained damage to the hood, bumper and radiator after a rear-end accident, which was very low impact, at 5mph, no airbags deployed, car was driveable and not leaking. We went with an estimate through a repair shop that was recommended by our insurance. Shockingly the estimate was over $10,000.00 Does this sound oddly high to anyone else? What interest would our insurance co. have in steering us to a body shop that came up with such a high number?
Let's see some photos (you need to post 5 times, first.) $10K does sound quite high for a 5 mph accident where no airbags deployed. Your insurance co has no logical interest in referring you to a body shop that produces a high $ repair estimate, unless the insurance company wants to "total" your car.
It is possible that the shop got burned on a Prius rebuild in the past and just doesn't want to mess with it. The same goes with insurance companies, as they seem very quick to total a Prius. It sounds like you have a lot of components that need to be replaced: hood, radiator, radiator support, air conditioning condensor, bumper, bumper absorber, reinforcing bar, etc. Couple thousand bucks each for parts, labor, paint -- $10K is at the high end. But the body shop may think that they are doing you a favor, knowing that the insurance may accept the total loss on your vehicle in light of their estimate.
on my 09 whatever needed to be done included removal and reinstall of the engine, adding over $2000 to the estimate (which reached over $14,000!
the body shop doesn't need to estimate high because any hidden damage will be paid by the ins. co. after it is dismantled and even down the road if something goes awry. the ins. co. may be concerned about hidden damage costing more than totaling it. doesn't seem likely tho. is insurance well regulated in cali? my daughters 04 got hit by a deer, front hood, bumper cover, right front quarter panel, passenger doors fron and rear, wheel, windshield and misc. and it was under $6,000.
Insurance companies and body shops use standard methods to estimate repairs. They don't over-estimate, as the insurance adjuster would clobber them, and they don't underestimate, as they would end up out of pocket. Try it and see - get 3 estimates and I bet they are within 5% of each other.
The repair is FREE, Toyota will cover all the damage at no cost to you. They are an excellent automobile manufacturer.
