[HiFi]

:On August 26 a driver going through a red light hit my 2004 Prius. He hit my beautiful red car in the engine and spun it around hitting me again in the tail before moving on to go through the wall of an office building on the corner. Amazingly the air bags did not go off and all I had was a slight bump on the knee. The engine of course was dead and the vital fluids of my 8-month-old car dripped into the street. I don't know how I kept myself from going after the driver of the 1977 Impala rust bucket but I found myself surrounded by firemen and a policeman wanting to know how I liked my car and what gas mileage I was getting. I ended up doing a Prius commercial for all those around.
Now I have a rental car for a few weeks and find that my Toyota Dealer has a list of 142 people waiting for a new Prius. Obviously I will be without a car very soon and I would appreciate any leads on a model BC that will be available soon. cry:

 

[Tharkun]

:shock:

Thankfully you're alright!

It's too bad about your car but cars can be replaced lives can't.

 

[karenann]

Dear HiFi,
I am so sorry to hear about your car. Do I understand that you are looking for a totally new Prius? Different dealers have different waiting lists. Dan Hecht Toyota in Effingham, IL had a shorter waiting list, last I heard. You might be able to get your car there. I can give you the 800#, if you want. We also have a new Toyota dealership here in St. Louis and I hear that Toyota gives them a lot of Prius cars because they are a new dealership......

Again, sorry to hear about your car. What a devastation.

 

[smtrader]

Sounded like a close call! I wonder why the bags didn't deploy.

RE: wait list. Maybe this is nothing new, but there are wait list, and there are different lists! After waiting 6 months, I bought my Prius, but I just learned that a neighobr/friend got his Prius less than a month, becuase he knew the owner of the Toyota dealer! He was called when someone didn't take delivery of a #9 and so he has a Prius. Ah, I guess it really is WHO you know, not where you're on the list. I'm happy for him, but all those who are on the wait list will remain on the wait list...

 

[karenann]

Sounded like a close call! I wonder why the bags didn't deploy.

RE: wait list. Maybe this is nothing new, but there are wait list, and there are different lists! After waiting 6 months, I bought my Prius, but I just learned that a neighobr/friend got his Prius less than a month, becuase he knew the owner of the Toyota dealer! He was called when someone didn't take delivery of a #9 and so he has a Prius. Ah, I guess it really is WHO you know, not where you're on the list. I'm happy for him, but all those who are on the wait list will remain on the wait list...

Who you know has always been important. Sad-- but true.

But there really are dealers in farming and small communities that have very short wait lists.

 

[kenlacy]

Glad to hear you are alright!

The air bags will only deploy on a front impact (maybe rear as well). I don't know if Prius are the same, but my Burban, if there is no passenger in the passenger seat, the passenger side airbag is de-activated as well.

 

[stevesol]

The "new" St. Louis dealer (think Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad ____) is the only dealer in town that charges above MSRP. That's the main reason they have a short waiting list. Expect to pay at least 2K over sticker.

I feel for you... I'm glad that you're OK.

 

[arizona charlie]

Try Asif at Toyotatown in Stockton CA. He can delliver a car in less than two months.

You can email him at:

[email protected]

or call him on his cell phone at

[209] 327-0488. He is a teriffic guy and a total expert on the Prius.

Arizona Charlie

 

[moocatdog]

HiFi,
Sorry to read about your accident and hope you find a new car soon. But there is a silver lining to your story: A '77 Impala running a red light smashes into a Prius hard enough to spin it around and hit it again and the driver's only injury is a slight bump on one knee? Without the benefit of side airbags? An amazing testament to the safety features engineered into contemporary passenger vehicles.
Drive happy,
Moo

 

[kenlacy]

Fortunately it was hit in 1 of 2 of the best possible places to get hit - front quarter or rear quarter. You could hit a Ford Pinto in the front quarter, side impact, and more than likely not get more than a bruise.

Now had it taken a door hit or head on, and the driver walked out with a bruise, that would definitely be a testament to its safety features and overall build.

 

[markincolorado]

Fellow Denverite

Not only am I a fellow Denverite, but a fellow Salsa BC owner...where did this happen? I feel for you and will keep my eyes and ears open for any BC leads around here...what a drag!

Mark

 

[hdrygas]

Call Helena Motors, Helena Montana. Not all that far from you. You should not have to wait too long. They are on the net. 406 442-6310 http://www.helenamotors.com/. I dealt with Kourtney Koch (Cook) he was good. Sorry about the car. There but for the grace of god go I.

 

[HiFi]

Thank you all for your concern and suggestions.
I have taken some of your suggestions and I think
I have a line on a Prius that will arrive in about 2 months.

 

[karenann]

The "new" St. Louis dealer (think Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad ____) is the only dealer in town that charges above MSRP. That's the main reason they have a short waiting list. Expect to pay at least 2K over sticker.

I feel for you... I'm glad that you're OK.

I appreciate that information about J. Wolf Toyota. It is good to know so tht I do NOT steer anyone in that direction. I myself got my Prius in Effingham, IL, Dan Hecht Toyota-- scrupulously honest. Thanks for setting record straight about the "new guy" in town.

 

[flare]

Yeah, I also want to get my Prius from Effingham.. They told me they only had 4 on the waiting list and their waiting period is 2-3 months. But don't too many of you order!! Iwant to orderonefrom them too when I get enough money=)

 

[Carol]

I am very concerned that the airbags did not deploy. This is the 2nd separate incident I heard about on this message board alone where the airbags had not deployed in a collision. How many other such incidents have there been? Have these airbag failures been shared with Toyota and the NHTSA? Airbags are required (to work) by law, yes? The reason it is law is to save lives, yes? I am very relieved to hear that those who experienced these accidents survived without their airbags. Maybe the next person won't be so lucky?

By the way, the thing I feared most about buying my Prius was the airbags. My last car ('93 Ford) did not have airbags. I recall hearing many incidents (early on) where the airbags caused more harm than good (in lower-severity accidents), especially if you are short and have to sit close to the steering wheel, which applies to me. My brother got into a fender-bender once and came out more injured from that airbag (bruises, etc). It took a lot of coaxing from my husband to convince me that I would be safer WITH airbags. My argument was that the seatbelt alone should be sufficient. I haven't had any personal experience with an airbag and hope I never do, but if I find myself in harm's way, then I hope the airbags are there when I need them!!

 

[stevewa]

Carol,

Airbags are designed to deploy only in very specific conditions. It sounds like this accident was a side-impact only, in which case front airbags would be more likely to cause injury than to prevent it. If the car had side-impact airbags or curtains, they might have deployed (depends on where the impact was). Since the initial hit was on the front quarter, that would probably not have triggered those either.

Airbags are explosive devices and can cause injuries. You really don't want them going off unless the risk from the airbag deployment is less than the risk of injury from not having them deploy.

 

[Carol]

You really don't want them going off unless the risk from the airbag deployment is less than the risk of injury from not having them deploy.

I whole-heartedly agree!!!

 

[BIF]

Amen to what Stevewa said.

I saw a young girl after an accident with the airbags. Damn, I thought she may have had some broken facial bones. And she was a passenger in a car that t-boned another car.

The airbags in the other car didn't deploy. Unless you want to talk about the husband of the lady who got t-boned. Oh..that's a windbag! Sorry, I was confusing myself...

 

[Daniel]

Carol: HiFi came out of it with only a bump on the knee. This shows that the airbags were not needed. And that is precisely why they did not deploy.

Air bags save lives. Under some unusual circumstances they can cause more harm than good. But you are much more likely to be in an accident where the air bag saves you, than in one where it harms you. If you choose to drive a car without air bags, you are betting against overwhelming odds.

I bought my '89 Civic (new) because my previous car did not have shoulder belts, and I got rid of it this year because it did not have ABS or air bags.