Prius Structure Shouldn’t Be Repaired With Junkyard Parts
Filed under: Auto Parts, Body Shop, Diminished Value, IIHS, Prius, Salvage Parts, Toyota
Do insurance companies really repair seriously damaged cars by splicing in reinforcement parts from other damaged cars? And if so, how would a person ever know that their car had been repaired safely and would not collapse if wrecked again?
A few weeks ago I was involved in an auto accident that caused a lot of damage to my Prius. The insurance company at first wanted to replace the reinforcement panels behind the fenders, bumper and other front sheet metal panels with parts that had been salvaged from previously wrecked cars like mine. I was told the salvaged parts could be welded to the structure just like the originals and the car would be a safe as ever following repairs.
I wasn’t convinced that this repair technique was sound even though the adjuster said it was routine. So, I balked at the notion that my car would be repaired in such a questionable fashion. A few days later, I got word my car would be totaled out.
Do insurance companies really repair seriously damaged cars by splicing in reinforcement parts from other damaged cars? And if so, how would a person ever know that their car had been repaired safely and would not collapse if wrecked again? This seems like a horrid way to do things.
Kenny
Batavia, OH
David Williams writes:
Thanks for asking an important question, Kenny. The sad answer is, everyday cars are improperly repaired at the insistence of insurance companies. While what you experienced is uncalled for, it certainly isn’t uncommon. As a rule, we find that most insurance companies pay to repair cars as inexpensively as possible, even though their obligation to policyholders by virtue of policy language and the law greatly exceeds this.
Somewhere insurers have gotten the notion that they only owe to restore damaged cars to a functionally equivalent state without regard for the repaired car’s appearance, value or crashworthiness. As a result consumers get cheated out of money they rightfully have coming almost every time a car is repaired. Worse, crash damaged cars are often left structurally deficient by inadequate repairs; a fact many consumers will have no knowledge of until they are involved in a subsequent crash.
When insurance companies give in quickly, as they did in your case, and ante up for a more comprehensive repair method or total a car they previously wanted to fix, you can bet they were trying to get by, first, without paying the full value of what was owed to make the claimant whole. When they hear objections or sense that their actions will be scrutinized, insurers readily give in fearing their inadequate offers will leave them open to bad faith lawsuits.
The lesson to be learned here is that consumers should always question repair methods and other settlement options until they have a thorough understanding of what is being offered by an insurer. Additionally, they should have their repaired car examined by an independent auto repair and valuation expert to determine if repairs have been safely performed and how much of the car’s value might have been lost due to the accident and repairs. Insures will never tell you about diminished value, but they often owe consumers for it over and above any costs they may have paid for repairs to the damaged car. However, it’s the obligation of consumers to prove their loss and demand payment for it.
Take a good look at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) crash test photo and the deformation that takes place in a car crash at 40mph. Like you, most consumers, wouldn’t want structural reinforcements that have been rotting away in a junkyard replacing genuine Toyota parts in such a critical foundational area of the car. While the Prius, as designed and built by Toyota, has good crash ratings according to the IIHS, most repair shops lack the skills and equipment to mimic Toyota’s manufacturing processes. As a result, repaired cars are often weak and inferior compared to like-kind cars that have never been subjected to damage regardless where they are repaired or by whom they are repaired.
Prius hybrids, with all their gadgetry and electronics, are rather complex vehicles. Moreover, they are small so there is a greater burden and stress on the sheetmetal and reinforcements in front of you to perform predictably when a crash takes place. You were correct to question the insurance adjuster and make him justify his offer of salvage structural parts. Clearly, it was an offer designed to save the insurance company money without regard for your life or the lives of your occupants.