Someone redesigned my car :(

[selavia]

Hey all,
So about two weeks ago I'm driving down my street and I slow down because some children are running across the street and a bus is passing by in the other direction. The guy behind me must have either not been paying attention or felt that my car needed some redesigning, because he slammed into my back end at a pretty fast speed. My trunk has now been placed in my back seat. I failed to mention that the guy was driving a 1995 Ford Bronco...the big one, not the smaller one. So I find out tommorrow if my car is totaled. The claims adjuster/ estimator/ whatever his title is looked at it and said it might be repairable. Estimated $7800 in damages!! I'm taking it to a shop that BMW recommended. Anyone have any suggestions as to what to with repairs, or whether I should sell the car if it is repaired. Never been in an accident before, and seeing as this is my BMW baby I am not sure what to do. Any advice would be helpful thanks. And watch out for idiots in Broncos...or any car for that matter.

 

[Tom]

Sorry to hear, can we see some photos of how bad the damages are?

 

[selavia]

Yeah, I'll take some tonight when I go home. It really doesn't look bad until you see the back seats, though. The guy pushed my trunk in from the bottom though, a bit hard to see, but I'll try and take some pics of the damage.

 

[Kenny2g]

Sorry to hear that. Can't you just get money from the guys insurance and then buy another Bimmer with that? I would do that if that's possible. Can you post a pic of the car also?

 

[bmw046series]

When that happens and any scratch for that matter you just want the car just like you just bought it - I hate that feeling. I like the idea of redesigning the car...

 

[Ghost]

Sad to hear that. Depending on how damaged the shock towers are the rear end may never be aligned the way it was, but there is always hope.

 

[tool fan]

selavia, sorry about that man, I know the pain as you may or may not have read I was rear ended on the autobahn by some dumb ass chick talking on a cell phone. Due to the fact that the 530's in germany cost 63,000 euro and I only had 14,000 worth of damage the insurance could not total mine, which is what I was hoping for. If you had "extensive" damage done, I would be shooting for a total and buy a new one. Bmw's as you know are performance cars and once they have been damaged it is hard to get them back to near perfect condition performance wise. I was lucky, the only major damage to mine was the bumper and its internal workings. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[epj3]

The fact he pushed the bottom in, tells you that the frame is almost definitely bent. If your frame is bent, you should push to have it be claimed as totaled, because it will never drive the same (If they fix it, it will not be as sturdy as it was before).

 

[selavia]

Hey all,
Thanks for the words of wisdom...I had a feeling that it would never drive the same, but I'm hoping.... I drove it to the shop this morning and it drove pretty ok; some metal in the rear wheels is rubbing some other type of metal; the steering shook a bit when I went over 40mph. The shop told me that there probably is extensive damage underneath the crushed rear quarterpanels and bumper/trunk. Futhermore, the guy was giving a quick look around and the side rocker pannels are dented pretty bad; probably when my car slammed into the ground after being hit. He said that the insurance company is not going to attribute that to the accident and I may have to pay out of MY pocket. G*d d*mn f&^*ers!!! And they said the frame is bent, but probably repairable. They're going to take pictures when they tear it down....I can't wait.


This picture is a side view of the passenger quarter panel; it's all smashed up, and the picture is taken at an angle.

The pictures do not look as bad as it does in real life....nor does it look as substansive as the repair shop/insurance company are telling me. Oh, this is funny...this morning they used some sort of jack to remove the spare tire from the trunk. It looks pretty pathetic, but if I don't laugh I'm gonna go apesh*t. lol. j/k
Thanks for the sympathy, Sean

 

[selavia]

how do I post pictures??

 

[epj3]

how do I post pictures??

When you make a post, below the "Submit reply" button is an "additional options"... click the 'Attach Files" button. Use that

 

[grc]

make sure that everything you can think of is itemized on the estimate, down to the undercoating. how can you get factory rubberized undercoating?... you can't! you want to run the estimate up as high as you can, take it to several shops if you have to. the other guy's insurance writer "missed" a lot of stuff when estimating my car, once the work was started they weren't going to stop screwing my car. if the rockers are damaged, they go on the estimate. unfortunately, most lawyers don't care to take property damage cases. no money in it, but maybe you can find one to help you? pursue "diminished value" and add that to their cost of doing business. "loss of use" too. it's an uphill battle, you might have to get something to drive if you want to try to beat them at their own game. the next time i get hit, i'm not getting out of the car, i've missed a couple of "set for life" deals already. let them come and get you out. dial L A W Y E R S. the car will be the least of their worries.

 

[selavia]

Ack! My pictures are too big to be uploaded!!! How can I shrink the size and/or upload these pics; they're only 95kb a piece. And thanks for all the advice. I am really just sick and tired of dealing with insurance companies and whatever. The shop I took it to said they won't repair it if it won't be 100% like factory. They said they'd fight the insurance company to total the car, if they could not get it to 100%. THey were a lot of nice BMWs up there, so I feel pretty confident in their judgment. I actually intern at a law firm. I did ask the lawyer a bunch of questions regarding the insurance/money aspect of it, but as far as reconditioning my car, and after effects of an accident I thought this forum would be more helpful. THanks. And let me know how to upload pictures so I can make you all cringe. lol. Thanks, Sean

 

[grc]

it'll be pretty hard to make me cringe, i got plowed from behind and sandwiched into the car in front of me by a drunk. it was shortened about 2 feet. i knew i was sitting in a total before i got out to look. i went from sitting in the trunk to bouncing off the windshield frame in about a 1/4 of a second. just got it out of the paint shop again after getting bumped from behind again(3rd time). i was 2 minutes from parking it for the winter last season. i had them repaint the hood, repaint and align front bumper, and a new windshield. about $1000 of my own pocket. the first estimate was $300 and some for the rear bump. ended up really being about $1400.

 

[selavia]

So... I get a call from the repair shop...they're like "this car probably isn't worth fixing. THey estimated $9000+ for repairs. Now the insurance company is not returning my calls and being a big b*tch about everything. Dragging their feet, now even saying that I don't need a rental car, if it cannot be fixed, and they won't even do anything until the claims adjuster looks it over again. Damn A-Holes! So I'm without a car for awhile with no rental. Furthermore, I dunno how much they're gonna give me. The claims adjuster told me the value of my car is around 10k (a hair under was his exact words). And I put $1000 worth of work into the car in late January/early February. Does anyone know whether I'll see that money? Has anyone dealt with insurance companies on that? I asked the lawyer I work for and he said as long as it's within 6 months, but I dunno these insurance people are really pissing the hec out of me. I don't even want to think about the hassle it's going to be getting another car. ARGHH!!!!! I did start looking today...which brings me to an opinion question...I'm thinking either 95-98 325/8Is or 96-98 5 Series (probably 528; don't think I could get a 540 for under 15k). I don't like the look of the 3 Series 4 door; but I do like the look of the 5 series four door. WHat'd you guys/gals think? Plus I'd want a Manual...would a 5series be hard to find in a manual?
Thanks. Sean

 

[Tigas Bud]

Sean,
Sorry about your accident. I am surprised the insurance company even is spending time doing anything else than writing you a check for your car. Running NADA book value for a '95 318is in Michigan gets me between 7500-9500 retail. You can check it out online at NADA.com. I ran a '95 540 price and that shows 12-15K for retail here. One of my friends has the 540, a 1994, with the auto and a 1992, 525 with the stick, he wishes he had the stick in the 540 although even with auto the 8 goes a lot harder than the 6 does. I am sure the manual is harder to come by. Look online for bmws to get an idea. Also there were some bad years for 8s - you'll want to check that out as well.
As to the $1000 work, unless it was for something extra that you bought or included extra in your policy, the chance of getting more than high retail value is right next to zero.
Sorry again,
Tom

 

[Kenny2g]

men can we see the damn pic of the car?

 

[selavia]

men can we see the damn pic of the car?

How do I load the freaking pics!! My brother put one picture of it on his website for his car. You really cannot see the way the fenders bent in this picture but whatever.

http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/428657/2

Someone tell me how to load 98k pictures and I can load all of them.

 

[Kenny2g]

wow, that doesn't look that bad, but am sure it is. I would take the 9 grand and put extra 5grand and get me the new body style 3 series. you know.
Good luck men.

 

[selavia]

wow, that doesn't look that bad, but am sure it is. I would take the 9 grand and put extra 5grand and get me the new body style 3 series. you know.
Good luck men.

It doesn't look that bad, until you see the back seats and the underneath of the car. When my dad saw the damage he was like "there is no way the repair cost will be more than 5000. Whatever. At least I'll get a good amount to replace it with. And I'm thinking instead of the new body style of the 3 Series, I am thinking about a 96-00 5-Series. I like the look and it would be nice to get a bigger sedan. Eh, I'm up in the air right now.