I am realizing that I am sick of cars and car-related issues. I am tired of auto insurance companies, police reports on accidents that don't determine anything and I am tired of people having to take a loss for something that was out of their control.
Does this have anything with me being in an accident that totaled my brand new Toyota Prius-c? Yeah, just a little. Okay, a LOT!
So there I am, sitting at a red light in the innermost left lane, waiting to turn left. I see the red light change into a green arrow, I start driving and turning left -- about halfway in the intersection and about 1 second before I was hit, I see this lighter shade of grey come barreling at me really fast and this woman ends up t-boning my car in the front passenger side. She hit me in just the right spot at the right speed too mind you, enough to end up totaling my Prius-c which I bought brand new just 3 months prior. I've never been in an accident of this magnitude - I never thought my Prius-c was totaled! That is of course until the insurance company called me last week and broke the news. More than $20,000 worth of damages, so the estimator stopped counting after the $20,000 mark because it's not worth fixing anymore at that point. I was kind of in disbelief. After all, I wasn't badly injured from the accident - just walked away with whiplash, neck pain and some bruising. Most of these minor injuries are gone, except the neck pain still persistent on my right side. I may have to see a doctor for that one after all since it's been more than a week and it still hurts to turn my neck in either direction. But I really didn't imagine that my car was that badly damaged. WOW.
Then come to find out that the police report deemed the fault of the accident INCONCLUSIVE. Now what really bothers me, is that there are freaking CAMERAS at this intersection. When I saw those cameras at the scene of the accident, I felt very comforted and happy because mind you, in the few minutes it took for me to get my bearings after I was hit, none of the drivers around us stuck around to stay as witnesses. The only person I could grab was a man at a bus stop, who had come over to ask if we were okay. I asked him if he saw the accident and he replied "kind of". Not very comforting, but what else could I take? So I jot down his name and number and gave it to the police officer and insurance company. So when I saw these cameras, I was elated - thinking that this is factual proof that this woman ran her red light and hit me. Even after the accident she said to me, "I'm so sorry, I don't know why I thought I had the green." I told her, no problem, it will all get worked out somehow, not to worry. Boy, was I wrong.
I'm pretty certain that I will not be able to get the same car again. First of all, when I went to buy my new Prius-c 3 months ago, I had $3000 cash for a down payment on a new car and I also had my 2000 Honda Accord to trade-in at a value of $1500. I DON'T HAVE THESE THINGS ANYMORE, so if my insurance company doesn't give me a good settlement on my car, I still won't have a decent down payment for a new car. And I am STILL awaiting this value report on my top of the line Prius-c. The original value report gave me a horridly low number - they claimed that they did not know that I had the level 4 Prius-c, the highest level you can get on this model. Not only that, but we also added the sunroof and alloy wheels options + floor mats, which is another $1050 + the extended warranty which was $2100 + the car alarm which was $595! Now they are re-working the estimate and I am still driving an awful rental car
I realize that the value of a new car drops the minute it drives off the lot. But c'mon.
I know I am probably overreacting, but I am just TIRED of this. I've been impatiently waiting for this new value report and I've been shopping around at different dealers for quotes for another Prius-c. Since I don't have my down payment or my trade-in car anymore (essentially these were basically LOST in the accident, an accident that I did not cause), if I want my top of the line Prius-c again, I'm going to have to pay more monthly than I was paying before - and for what? An accident that I again, DID NOT CAUSE!
Does this infuriate anyone else or is it just me?! I just don't understand how this is fair. I think this woman who caused the accident should have to pay me this difference. Wouldn't that be FAIR?
Had I had any cause for this accident, honestly - I would say OK Karen, this was partially your fault, you gotta take a loss somewhere. But for an accident that I did not cause at all, I am absolutely steamed about this.
So basically, if I want to pay what I was paying for my Prius-c before, I need to get a cheaper car or a used car.
I looked into the Hyundai Elantra today - the only other car that I was really interested in getting other than a Prius-c. If I want the equivalent of the Prius-c (with nav, sunroof, leather seats, etc) - it would actually be the same cost as the Prius-c I had before, except that since I don't have the down payment or trade-in value, it would be more monthly.
I wish I didn't care so much about this stupid car, but when I was driving around my dumpy old Honda Accord for such a long time, I was ecstatic about getting a brand new car for myself after more than 10 years of my old car. I was going to have something shiny and brand new with all the perks of an upgraded car.
This woman is apparently telling her insurance company that she had a green. WOW. Can you believe that?! She jacked up my car enough to TOTAL IT. SHE HIT ME. And she still claims that she had the green. I hardly doubt that she can argue she was paying attention because if she had been, I do think she would have freaking slowed down and caused much more minimal damage to my car than what she has done.
I know what I saw. I know I had been sitting at a red light for about 20 seconds before I got the green arrow. I know all this and I know if I had that camera reel, I would have the proof, but of course, this is something NOT within my grasp because apparently, these stupid cameras don't work or stopped recording because some idiot man got caught cheating on his wife on these cameras and broke his constitutional rights. Now it would be too costly for the city to take down these cameras, so instead they stay sitting up there, giving people like me false hope that they actually work.
I know I'm being a bit childish, getting this angry. But I really can't help myself right now. This is just plain wrong.
