Doesn't look totalled to me, but I'm no expert. I feel your pain, I really do. 85 year old man hit me ( http://photobucket.com/albums/v283/n...nt011Large.jpg ) , and that about 8K of damage when my car was 4 months old.

 

Man, why is it that our cars are such accident magnets? , if I had a second car I would prob. drive my tC less.

 

Looks perfectly repairable to me...mostly you'll just need a new door shells or door skins, a mirror or two, a new rim/tire and some suspension parts, some front/rear quarter panels.

The reason why the insurance company doesn't want to total the car is because they'll end up paying you more than the repairs would cost and insurance companies don't like losing money.

Do yourself a favor and pick the best body shop you can find and don't let them take it to one of their "prefered" shops. Make sure you over see the cars work every now and again. Request they use only 100% OEM parts and no body filler, if the rim is gone, make sure they get you a new one and don't send it out to be refurbished.

Take it from me, my car was rear-ended and then sideswiped with a total of $13,649 worth of damage and they fixed it. I took it to the best shop I could and they did a wonderful job.

You're better off having it repaired anyway because you won't get what you paid for the car, you'll get fair market value. You won't see any of your taxes or anything back either. Drop the car off and take a rental car. The woman who hit you, her insurance company will reimburse you for the rental. And depending on your state, you may be able to put in a claim for diminished value with your insurance company, if not, you can try taking it to small claims court.

If you need any help, send me a private message. I've been through the loop twice already with this car and I know how it works.

 

I would think that they need to total it because there may be damage that you can't see. I know that it makes you sick seeing your car messed up. I wish you luck.

 

that sucks man..i hope u can get a new tC with all that damage..its not worth keeping

 

I know how you feel. I got hit by a 40something yr old man on Halloween. I was scared that they were gonna repair mine and had the same concerns that your having. Thank god they deemed mine totaled. I finally got my second TC last friday. All I can ssay is just keep fighting and if you have to, threaten with a lawyer if you feel the need. The way I looked at it was, I'm not paying for a car that needs to be extensively repaired because some idiot can't drive. It's a waste of my money and no one is going to want to buy it if I ever decided to sell it. ANyways, here are my pics and good luck!

 

honestly, once your REAR quarter panels are bashed... I think its done for... and to add, your steering was mangled... I can hear it now, "when I hit 45 mph, my car starts to vibrate like crazy...etc"

 

"The woman who hit you, her insurance company will reimburse you for the rental. "

Depends on what state you are in.

 

PLEASE, don't just take the ins. co. word for damages! Get the best custom shop in the area to go give you an estimate. Then go to carmax.com and see what they offer for a car with frame damage.... NOTHING! SO, tell the ins. co that when you want to sell it down the road, no reputable car dealer will accept it. So, you can sue them for diminished value. Because the car will be worthless, not just worth less.


And I know, the tC doesn't have a frame, but the point is still there to be made.

 

^ uh, yes it does... dont mean to call you a , but there is a frame

 

ISn't it a Unibody?

 

a Unibody is still a type of frame guys... I think what oldmanatee ment by frame is like how trucks are built- with a subfram only (sorta like a table)

 

Yes, that is what I meant to imply. I am old school, and a frame is a frame, a uinbody is "frameless".
Am I still a

 

lol... no! I didnt mean to call you a I just thought it was a funny face

 

...1st don't sign anything !
...2nd seek legal advise .
...if they don't total it , do as 'FromThisSoil" suggest :
... find the BEST shop + 100% OEM parts + total repaint or the shades of silver wil be noticeable .
............................... have your attorney find out if she was on a cell phone at the time .

 

I bet she had a $200 cell phone in that $50 car......


And it's all good speedlmt...

 

Don't worry. I am totally fighting this. I work in a law office and am going to law school, so at least I have several friends who can offer legal advice. Haven't signed anything - haven't authorized repairs. There was no word on the suspension on the estimate - so if that costs more than 1K, they should total it because I would be right at 75% of the value of the car. I should hear something this afternoon.

My whole point is that I am not hot on getting a new car, but what the hell am I going to do with a car that has had such extensive body work? Cosmetic or not, no one is going to want to buy a vehicle that has had that much repair. I wouldn't. Furthermore, I still have to pay for the car for the next 5 years and I didn't even do anything wrong....maybe that's what ____es me off the most. Of course, the insurance company doesn't care about that. They just want to pay out as little as they possibly can get away with.

The driver was 90 years old. He probably doesn't even know what a cell phone is...lol. But seriously, he claimed that his accelarator was "stuck." When the tow company showed up, they said that the accelerator in his car was absolutely not stuck. In fact, it was still driveable which in itself was kind of funny. That old lead slead is probably what saved his life. Too bad for my car though.

 

I'd still get at least 2 more estimates from the best body shops in town, it's your car, you have that right. And since you can prove you had no 'body filler' in the car last week, you will not accept any in it next week. 100% new TOYOTA parts, not OEM equivilant, even down to Toyota nuts and bolts.....have them check all 4 rims for true, after a shot that moved 3 cars from a standstill...sideways there is a possibility of bending the center of a rim...This isn't just some fishing scheme, these are things I have learned the hard way.

And demand that they check the straightness of the car in every way possible. You don't need a sand crab....

 

This sucks to go through. My Bride just got her RS 2.0 back after a month. She has had migraine head aches every other day that last two to three days, and major neck pain.
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/vie...r=asc&&start=0
Be glad you we not in it. T bones are hard on the human body.

I hope it all works out better for you.

 

Usually, the way it works is, if there's damage you can't see...the insurance companies will cut a check for the damage they CAN see. The body shop will start the repair with the first estimate. As they take it apart and find more damage, they will take up another estimate and the claim adjuster will come out and take a look at it again. Then the insurance company will cut another check.

I can tell you this from experience because my tC got hit offset in the rear end and then side swiped. The first estimate was Just under $9000. There was hidden damage with the suspension and a cross member and they cut another check for just under $5000.