Hey Guys- it's been a while since I've been on the forum. Unfortunately I was involved in my first car crash a few weeks ago.

Basic rundown- I was driving down the street and going to merge into the right lane. I look over my shoulder to make sure I can move over, start to merge and look back ahead, and a big F-150 Lariat 4x4 is dead stopped. I slam on the brakes but I don't have time to stop and rear end the guy. I tried to keep drifting over to the right to avoid him, but it was either hit the back of his truck or run up the curb and hit a light pole. Turns out the lady in front of him slammed on her brakes for no reason, he hit her, and then I hit him. And the lady that stopped for no reason just took off. I probably hit him going about 15 mph- honestly I can't even remember now. It really didn't seem that hard. The airbag didn't go off or anything. He didn't appear to have any damage either, but unfortunately I went "under" the back of his truck and caught the bottom of his bumper and trailer hitch brackets.

Anyway, here's the damage:












And if that weren't enough- I get a call from the adjuster saying there's some new damage to my car and go to see this:





Turns out while my car sat in the towing company's impound yard overnight it got hit in the rear left. There's a scratch and hole in my rear bumper, there's some big scratches running along the side of my rear quarter panel, a deep dent in my left rear passenger door, and scratches on my left rear rim. And I have no idea how they scratched the middle of my rear bumper. Sigh...

Anyway, the estimate for the front is about $8K. I haven't gotten the official estimate for the rear, but the towing company has admitted liability and is paying for all the damage they caused.

So I now have a check from my insurance company in front of me for $7K (I had a $1K deductible) and I'm actually debating if I want to try to sell my car off to a salvage yard. Anybody have any experience doing this? Curious what kind of money I'd get for it if I went that route. My car is an '04 non-Nav w/36K miles. Blue book on it is around $20k...

I still like my car and I'm sure it will be repaired great, but I'm totally OCD and knowing it's been wrecked is already bothering me...

 

Damn, that sucks man...That extra damage is BS.

The lady that took off probably didnt have insurance. Though it really wouldnt have mattered since it wouldnt have been her fault.

 

Did you settle already with your insurance company? I hope you didn't let them off the hook. The old rule-of-thumb for final repair costs (if done right) is 150%+ of the first estimate. By the pics it looks very fixable but at what cost? I think you need 2+ estimates with a high "shouldn't exceed" repair cost. These insurance companies today try to get you to sign-off real fast with the enticement of quick money under your nose and subtle threats on rate hikes and lost coverage.

Stick to your guns and get your car repaired to like condition. That's what you're paying for.

 

Interestingly enough, my insurance company is only putting 50% of the "fault" on me. After getting a statement from the truck driver they are putting the other 50% on the lady that stopped in front of him for no reason. I guess that will help me in the long run...

 

Wow, well then I guess it was a good thing she took off. 99% of the time you rear end, its your fault.

 

I'm not sure what would be considered "settling"? Sorry, this is my first accident and i'm a bit of a newb with this. They said they were going to issue a check to me for the damage estimate, but I haven't received it yet. I haven't signed anything although I did get a copy of the estimate. The car is at a body shop that I trust- should I ask them to do a high "shouldn't exceed" repair estimate? The repair shop guy actually told me that a lot of times they'll find more damage when they start to dig into the car, and that the insurance company might have to come back out and "sign off" on additional costs. I guess I'll be calling my insurance company again tomorrow morning...

 

The short version is to get your car completely repaired with new parts back to OEM specifications with no additional costs to you aside from your deductible. In Cali we have no fault insurance, you company fixes your car and they work something out between them at settlement. Like I said, be careful what you sign. Read everything and when in doubt ask questions and don't take no for an answer. Get everything in writing and never go forward on a verbal agreement, etc. You will need three estimates and get referrals for repair shops. You don't want to go down "should’ a could’ a" street or learn the hard way.

If you don't know, ask for help from them's that do. Good Luck!!

 

Thanks for the info Still Water

The car is getting repaired with OEM parts- I made sure of that. I also chose where my car is getting repaired. I guess the mistake I made was having the insurance check issued to me instead of the repair shop. I thought that would be better so I would have something to "hold over" the repair shop in case I wasn't happy with some of the work they did, but now I think I should've just let my insurance company and the body shop deal with each other. But I haven't signed or agreed to anything as far as the payout is concerned. I will raise hell and I have a lawyer waiting in the wings (who was going to help me deal with the tow company damage if they tried to weasel out of that) if they try to stick me with more than my deductible costs at this point...

I definitely have learned and am still learning a lot with this, let's just hope I don't need to use this info ever again ... unless it's to help someone else.

 

HOLY OUCH! Dont feel bad some dilbert hit me while I was at a redlight!! He was doing 40! I was on my way to a car show so. lol. yeah. But be confident that the TSX will look brand new with the help of a good body shop! Dont let the insurance companies run you over! For real! They will try to be sneaky sneaky sir!

 

Good for you! Life is a learning experience. It sounds like you have the right attitude to gets things done correctly while learning just how the system works. Keep us informed.

 

Yeah, its always better if you let the body shop and insurance company work with each other. In a lot of cases, the repair shop will start tacking on "charges" and the check in your hand won't be able to cover their final invoice. If you can, maybe tell the insurance people that you don't want to deal with the body shop, and they can have their check back. That way THEY receive the final invoice, and you don't have to worry about it.

Then again, you do have a point. If the repair shop doesn't do a satisfactory job.....

 

And another one. So sorry man. As I said in another post "I'm NOT glad I'm not the only one" when it comes to wrecked TSXs.

First the accident, then the added damage at the tow yard. That's gotta get ya steaming. But this too shall pass. Eventually. We just have to try to be patient when dealing with insurance companies.

My experience (yeah, I had a major accident six years ago very much like the one I just had with my four-month-old TSX) compels me to let the insurance company deal with the $$s. Just don't be afraid to be picky when it comes to making sure it's repaired properly.

 

Yeah, I'm trying to keep a good attitude about all this. I was seriously stressed out the first week and realized it's just a car and it will get fixed, and the good thing was I wasn't hurt. Then I was inspired to do a lot of research (even called the state insurance commission a few times to get some info.) I'm sure the body shop and the person handling my claim are tired of the phone calls, but I'm polite so they can bear with me

So far I think my insurance company has actually been very fair with me (knocking on wood right now.) I called them this morning to inquire what happens if the body shop starts finding additional damage since they've already issued me the initial payout check. I'm told they do "supplements" to the initial estimate. The body shop finds new stuff wrong, the adjuster confirms this, the body shop gets a check for the supplement amount to repair the new damage. I didn't even realize it but there was already one supplement to my initial estimate to the tune of about $700 for some additional paint refinishing that was signed off on. The body shop was issued the check directly for that.

I am going out of pocket to specifically buy an OEM radiator and A/C condenser (I'm really anal and need the OEM Japanese DENSO products.) Those two items my body shop didn't demand OEM parts because the competitive parts are supposedly as good and a lot cheaper. Oh well. The body shop is just knocking the cost of those two competitive items off the estimate and I will supply them with those two items.

 

Yeah, that added tow damage definitely boiled me for a few days.

I'm Mr. Picky about stuff- when this is all said and done I'm sure the repair shop is going to be glad to see me and my car drive away...

 

Why didn't you insist on an Acura dealership doing the repairs - then you know you're getting OEM spec product fitted.
You're also entitled to have the car brought back to the exact level it was before the accident, therefore, you are entitled to the original parts fitted at the factory to be also fit as part of the repair.
You've been too soft with your insurers and as you've not cashed the cheque yet (I hope) then the matter is still live and not closed, no matter what they tell you.
And as per above, let them handle the receipt once it's been repaired - just in case the repairers do find something else when they pull the broken bits off.
Oh, and you're covered for quality of work done no matter who pays for it - so if something isn't right or to your satisfaction, they you still have recourse to having it corrected free of charge.

 

Damn. What is with all these crashes in the past couple weeks? Anyhow, I hope your car gets fixed quickly and you don't have any additional problems.

 

I had $14K in damage on my TSX from an accident that I got in. I had it repaired and it runs just as good as it did the day I picked it up from the dealership. Don't screw yourself over becuase you think the car will never be the same; it will be!Don't sell it. Good Luck with the repairs!

 

The shop I took the car is the shop that my dealership sends all repairs to. For some reason in this case the radiator is the one thing they don't demand being OEM- I guess I could bitch about it, but to be honest with you I'm gettting a brand new OEM radiator and condenser for cheaper than the two non-OEM ones they spec'd, so I'm not going to hassle about it- that extra money is helping to reduce the pain of my deductible.

All the other parts will be brand new OEM, and I trust this shop as I've seen the quality of work they do and they were recommended to me by multiple folks (as well as my dealership.) I personallly still want to hold the reigns as far as receiving the check for the damage- that's just me...

 

umm because "Acura dealership" don't do crash repairs ?

 

That's looks like light damages and can be easily repaired & restored to its former glory
but if you're so anal then if you're willing to eat the cost you might as well get a 06/07 with NAVI (!!!)

 

ummm, yeah, d'oh! Brain fade moment.
Meant, but didn't say, a dealership that has a self-owned bodyshop or one affiliated to it that they send all their repairs to get done at.