Toyota RAV4 Forums banner

Rav totaled in accident last week.

5K views 14 replies 8 participants last post by  Turbomatic 
#1 ·
Looks like I'm in the market for a new car. I was driving to work last week and I got rear ended at a stoplight by some young hispanic kid with no insurance. It's an all too common occurrence here in South FL unfortunately. He was driving a 2003 Ford Expedition, and he hit me going 35-40mph probably. My Rav got pushed into the car in front of me, so the back end and the front end are both destroyed. I really wish the police would have arrested this idiot, but the laughed at me when I suggested it. "We don't arrest people for no insurance" said the officer, even though I was injured in the crash. Thankfully I have uninsured motorist insurance, so it will be covered, but I'm equally sure Geico will use it as an excuse to raise my rates, or screw me when it comes to offering me fair value for my Rav. I've become very cynical regarding insurance companies, stemming from my experience with them about 2 years ago, when I was in a previous accident. By I digress.

Lucky for me, I didn't get hurt too bad. Some sore ribs, a bruised left shoulder from where the seat belt held me in place, and a bruised right hip, from where the seat belt was fastened. My thumb was a little injured too, probably from hitting the airbag or steering wheel; I don't really remember, it happened so fast. About 2 days after the accident, I noticed my neck felt a little sore as well. My neck muscles started to spasm very slightly when I was at the gym doing some military presses. :) Probably wasn't a good idea to try to lift weights so soon after the accident, but I'm a gym addict.

Overall though, I came out ok. I'm amazed at how well the Rav took the impact. Yeah, the vehicle is a complete loss, but considering the size of the vehicle that hit me, it could have been much, much worse.

Be that as is may... I'm now in the market for a new car. I'm considering purchasing a 2012 Rav4 V6, or maybe a Ford Edge.

There are a few V6 Rav's in the Miami area I've seen online, that have low miles, and are in the low very 20k range. Ironically enough, one that I test drove 4-5 months ago (I was considering trading my Rav at that time) is still on the lot, and it's only got 18k miles. They've also reduced the price about 4k from when I was there last. I'm amazed it never sold. My only guess is that people here in South Florida have no desire for 4WD vehicles.

As stated earlier, the other vehicle I'm considering is the Ford Edge. I've test driven the 2014 and 2015 Edge and I liked them both. My only concern is my lack of knowledge about them. The Edge may be a fine vehicle, but I don't know what to look for or what to avoid, whereas I'm very familiar with the Rav4. The price of a used Edge is comparable to V6 Rav4 as well. I can get a used 2013 or 2014 Ford Edge with under 30k miles for about 2k more than a 2012 V6 Rav4, which I find amazing, considering a brand new Edge will run 40k, with any sort of options.

My main beef with getting another gen 4.3 Rav is their lack of interior features and the irritating road/cabin noise, which I'm sure are as present in the 2012 Rav's as they were in the 08's. The cabin of the 2012 Rav4 isn't much different than what I had in my 08. It's very dated, to put in mildly, compared to the competition. However, I know what I'd be getting and the bare bones cabin isn't necessarily a deal breaker, but I'm considering all options.

Any suggestions?

I'm not considering the Jeeps or anything from the premium automakers. I just can't justify spending that kind of money.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
So sorry to hear about your accident, the loss of your RAV4 and your injuries. Thankfully the injuries weren't serious.

My understanding is that Toyota beefed up the sound deadening in the 4.3s starting with the 2009 refresh. I doubt the difference is huge, but you may find it a noticeable improvement.

Having been a previous Ford owner (bought two of them brand new, impeccably maintained, they *both* started falling apart at < 90K miles) I would jump on that V6 4WD RAV4.

However, for me reliability (and functional utility) is vastly more important than interior creature comforts. To each their own on that, I guess.

Either way, let us know how it turns out!

.
 
#4 ·
You're probably right, but I can tell you that here in South FL, about 30% of the people on the road have no insurance, which is substantially higher than in almost every other part of the country.

So sorry to hear about your accident, the loss of your RAV4 and your injuries. Thankfully the injuries weren't serious.

My understanding is that Toyota beefed up the sound deadening in the 4.3s starting with the 2009 refresh. I doubt the difference is huge, but you may find it a noticeable improvement.

Having been a previous Ford owner (bought two of them brand new, impeccably maintained, they *both* started falling apart at < 90K miles) I would jump on that V6 4WD RAV4.

However, for me reliability (and functional utility) is vastly more important than interior creature comforts. To each their own on that, I guess.

Either way, let us know how it turns out!

.
Thanks for the info regarding the changes to the 09-12 models. Any changes that mitigated the wind and road noise would be welcome.

My experience with Ford automobiles has been very different. I've owned 3-4 Fords and every one of them was a fairly solid car. I bought the cars as a matter of convenience and coincidence, not loyalty. I've owned 2 Taurus's and a Thunderbird, and my parents have a 2005 Taurus that they still drive. I got 230k out of my 96 Taurus, though the tranny did go at 140k miles. My 99 Taurus was my backup car that I sold in 2012 when I moved to FL. It had only 110k miles on it, but it was a decent car none the less and other than tie rods and ball joints, it never had any problems. It was getting rusty, but it still drove great.

I'm going to go take a look at some of the Ford Edge's I see online, and then I'll make my decision. But you'll be happy to know, I am leaning towards getting the 2012 Rav4. for the 22k asking price and only 18,000 miles, it's practically a steal.
 
#6 ·
"We don't arrest people for no insurance" said the officer, even though I was injured in the crash.
sorry to hear that. can you sue that f*cker?

when my wifes car was totaled (in the work parking lot, i know, crazy) by her coworker with no insurance and suspended license, she complained to the management and that person was at least fired.
 
G
#10 ·
Been there and done that ! T boned on drivers side by a GMC denali,
guy was on phone, blew the stop sight at 40-50 mph. Minor injuries
to me, and the car got totaled.
1. take the time and talk to an attorney, most 1st consults are free.
write a list of question before you go and take it with you!


2. when insur co. starts to talk about value of your totaled vehicle
IT IS TIME TO NEGOTIATE, its all flexible numbers, & your money!


3. 2012 is a good year, last of the old body, I have one. Look on line for
low mileage unit. And be PREPARED to go some miles to look and
buy a good one.


4. Good luck , just takes a bit of time to get back to normal.
 
#11 ·
They're giving me a little over $13,000 for my Rav4. Got the call earlier today. I was shocked they offered me this much, as I was expecting to be screwed. I think I'll take their offer and run. Truth be told, I think it's a fair offer. I had about 108k miles on it, and it wasn't in the best condition.

I've already found a low mileage 2012 Rav4. In most other parts of the country you may have a hard time finding Rav4's with the V6, but the ones you find on the car lots here, sit for months. Believe it or not, no one is South FL wants AWD vehicles. I test drove the 2012 Rav4 I was speaking about above, back in October, and it's still sitting on the lot! There are less than 20,000 miles on it, and they're asking $4000 less for it than when I was there in October. It might be the one I get, but for now I want to look at as many options as I can.

Regarding the lawyer, I'm not going to waste my time. I wasn't seriously hurt, so what's the point suing? Geico is already going after the responsible party and they're in the process of paying me for my car. I don't see what else I could gain, except a sense of revenge.
 
#12 ·
Ok, I went out and did some more test driving. Just for the hell of it, I went over to the BMW dealer and took the X3 Xdrive28i for a spin. It's definitely a snappy car, and it felt as quick as it was athletic, but I don't get all the hype associated with the BMW's. I didn't delve into all the bells and whistles it had, but I wasn't blown away by the driving experience. The model I drove was a 2013 with a $38k asking price.

After that, I went over to the Ford dealer and drove a 2014 Edge Limited with AWD. My wife definitely liked this car a lot more. The 2014 model I was looking it is slightly used, with about 25k miles. They're asking about $28k for it, before taxes and other charges. No towing package, so I'd have to install that myself, which kind of annoyed me. I could probably save myself a few thousand and forgo the AWD option, and settle for FWD instead. Truth be told, I probably don't need AWD, but being from the north, it's one of those things I've convinced myself I need, even if I don't.

I'll probably test drive a few more cars on Thursday and Friday, and then I'll make a decision about what I'll buy. Now that I know Geico is offering me a fair settlement, I may expand my search just a bit and look at something from Jeep or GM.
 
G
#13 ·
Regarding the lawyer, I'm not going to waste my time. I wasn't seriously hurt, so what's the point suing?




You can speak to an attorney without suing . . . anyone, if injured or not.
Its for knowledge and protection, sorry you view it as a waste.


Sound like its all over the dam now anyway.
 
#14 ·
Two things that seem to stand out in reports concerning the 2014 Edge is a very uncomfortable driver's seat and poor fuel economy even on the highway. Might want to check into that prior to making a purchase decision.
 
#15 ·
Generally speaking if the other driver is uninsured and has no assets the lawyer would tell you there is little they can do. Now this is based upon Pennsylvania law so your state could be different.

In the situation where there is no insurance the only way to get Pain and Suffering recovery, if any is if:

1. You do not have limited tort, verbal threshhold, or other limitation on lawsuit options on your own insurance,

2. You have uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage.

Again this is PA law and also applies to New Jersey. Your own state laws may be different but I doubt it will be substantially different.

The point of this is that you must buy the right insurance coverage to cover you in the situation like this.

Now, your car replacement money comes from comprehensive coverage on your own insurance if the other side does not have liability coverage. This should not be confused with the pain and suffering coverage which is completely different matter.

There is also PIP coverage for medical which is your own insurance coverage again. Again state to state there may be differences.

No I do not sell insurance for a living and this post should not be construed in any way as legal advise.

Good luck on the replacement. It can be hard to find a good decent priced suv with towing capacity and decent reliability.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top