Accident in california

recently I was involved in accident with big Chevy SUV. I own 2009 toyota corolla. It resulted in other person fault so lucky i do not have to pay anything. its around $4000 cost for repair. Front Body frame was twisted to side. Do not know why because accident happen at 40 mph and I was at 1 mph. So question i had is

  1. how good will repair be ? I understand no matter what u do car will not run like earlier is it so ?
  2. can i claim for “car depreciation value” reimbursement in CA if so how much should I ask for ? Car value before accident on kbb.com was around 7500.
  3. For my new car what would u recommend I was thinking SUV (no cross over) may be highlander or pilot or accura RDX. I do not was small SUV like CRV or rave4 low powered.

Thanks

Venza with a V6?

If it is fixable and done properly, you should not have any issues, but those are big IF’s. I don’t think you will get anything in lost value esp for a 2009 Non-luxury car. Just make sure it is fixed properly.

As far as your next car, just because you had one accident in a Corolla, don’t rush into buying something you don’t really need.

A 40 mph collision could indeed cause some frame damage. The good thing about all this is that cars crash all the time, so there’s a lot of experienced technician who have the knowledge and expertise and equipment to fix them. As long as the insurance company didn’t declare it totaled, you should be able to get it fixed good a new. Work with your insurance company. I don’t think you’ll be able to get any compensation for depreciation due to the accident, but no harm asking your insurance company. I expect they’ll say the way it works is when it is repaired, it is as good as before the accident, so there’s no depreciation involved.

I can’t answer your legal questions but a Corolla sustaining a 40 MPH impact from a big SUV would seem, to me anyway, to be on shaky ground so to speak.
It would be very difficult for me to believe the subframes and floor pan were not damaged and that generally means major problems.

Maybe that 4 grand estimate is for a front clip, throw some paint on, and run it out the door while pronouncing it good to go with no concern about the hidden and more serious damage.

I’m going to stray from the opinions of some here for whom I have great respect…
I don’t think any of us can even guess without actually seeing the vehicle. While an SUV certainly has the capability to destroy the unibody in an accident such as you describe, only someone actually assessing it can tell if it did.

Your anxiety is normal. Your best bet might be to talk to a lawyer. He/she’d better be able to advise you of your options under California civil law. He/she might tell you that you have no real options until the vehicle is repaired and you see how it comes out. But he/she might tell you that you can force the SUV driver to buy you a replacement vehicle, or perhaps he/she will advise you that you can take full book value rather than accepting the car back. These are legal questions rather than car questions. And you also have the question of depreciated value and (I’m sure) other expenses like perhaps a rental. He/she could advise you on these issues too.

Sincere best. Let us know what the lawyer says if you decide to talk to one.

So your car has a marked title now? Salvaged? Damage disclosed and so on?

Are you letting the other person’s insurance handle the claim and repair? That is generally a bad idea. I would have your agent assist you and your first order of business is to get an estimate from a repair shop of your choosing. Then have your agent go to bat for you by working directly with the other person’s insurance company. You still won’t have to pay anything (yourself or via your insurance) but now you will have an advocate in the process who will make sure you are treated fairly.