Hybrid car repair blues
In a very stupid parking lot accident, I rear-ended our favorite car (sorry Ju) — the Toyota Prius — against a wall. It was a very low-speed accident (less than 5mph). But because of the hatchback design, the tail lights, rear bumper, and back door all have minor damages. As soon as I see it, I know the repair bill will be high with so many parts to replace. But still, I can drive it just fine on the highway. The repair cannot cost more than $2000-$3000, right? Very wrong!
The repair shop told me that the estimated repair cost runs around $8000! I can buy a new car (or two) for that kind of money! Good thing that the insurance pays for that! The costly part is that the bodyshop has to send the car to the Toyota dealer to remove the hybrid battery and store it in a special storage facility. Then, they work on the body. After the body work is done, they send the car back to the dealer to install the battery and re-test all the electronics. Notice that we are not talking about some no-name bodyshops here — we are talking about one of biggest and best bodyshops in the area! Yet, they have no in-house experience to work on a Prius hybrid car.
Is this going to be a problem when the current hybrid car fleet age? When we bought our Prius in 2004, we had to wait for months in order to get one. But now hybrid cars and SUVs are readily available in a variety of popular models. The body shops have to get themselves more prepared!
We love the Prius. It has exceeded all our expectations (reaching 55mpg in normal driving) except for this repair sticker shock (although this is really my stupid mistake). We are planning to buy a second Prius next year (the 100mpg one!). But we really hope the readiness of repair service will improve soon in the future (not that I will have any accident again! knocking the wood …).
Remember the happier days …
May 25th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
In the first place, try another bodyshop. I have never heard of this problem before. It is *not* Toyota mandated since I have seen many Prius bodywork repairs undertaken without any such difficulty.
In the second place, if you managed to damage the rear door and the taillight cluster, that is surely quite a serious bump, wasn’t it? Honestly?
J
May 25th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
JerryW,
Too late to switch bodyshop now … All the insurance paperwork is done and they already started working. They are a very big and reputable bodyshop in the area. I guess my point was that you’d think they should have this kind of expertise (to handle the battery etc.) already.
$8000 is a major repair no matter how you look at it.
It was a very low speed accident — but I did hit a wall not another car, and hence damaging the rear door. If this were to happen on a Corolla, I think the rear bumper will be able to stop the car — no need for such expensive repairs.
cheers
Michael
May 25th, 2007 at 7:24 pm
It is okay, dear. Don’t feel so guilty. You did not do it on purpose! Drive safe though.
May 26th, 2007 at 4:34 am
hoho, now I know how it happened! I can tell Ju is saving all the energy to come back and kick ur butt for this stupid accident!
June 26th, 2007 at 1:45 am
phew..that was a huge amount…i guess almost all car owner has gone through some major car repairs or paid huge amount for the fixed…And i’m one of them, i got the purchased few BMW 325IS Parts and paid lots on the installation…i’m almost broke..:(
July 19th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
Michael
what did the final bill come out too. Does your car insurance cost more for the Hybrid than a non hybrid based on the expense to repair?
Any other negative you have seen with the Hybrid car?
July 19th, 2007 at 4:34 pm
The repair bill came out around $8000. The insurance paid most of it — I only paid the deducible on my policy. I do not think my Prius has a higher insurance premium than a regular Camry.
I’d buy another Prius when the new comes out.
January 6th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
What our your feelings on the water for gas system that is a buzz on the internet. If you have never heard of it you can see a video about it from fox news here
water4gas videos. There is also a video about a 94 escort that gets 60 mpg. This car would be whole lot cheaper to repair if it was in an accident then a hybrid.
June 30th, 2008 at 5:31 am
Holy sh&^. $8,000?? May be it’s for repair by gold master? But the prius is great!