RandyChicago

AGH! It finally happened. My baby, my RL, is no longer cosmetically flawless...

downtown Chicago, 5:41 PM:

Coming back from taking my girlfriend's mother to Midway Airport, on my way to pick up my girlfriend from her office at Adams (near Canal)... I'm northbound on Wacker Drive, approaching a green light at Jackson. BAMN! This 22-year-old in a 1994 Lexus ES pulls right in front of me just as I'm coming through the intersection. He was making a legal u-turn on Wacker (he was going south, he wanted to go north). I saw him sitting there on the left as I approached the intersection, I have no idea what caused him to pull out when I was literally like ten feet from him doing 30 MPH, when I had the right-of-way.

His car got the worse of it, it had to be towed. I crushed his passenger side front fender and door, and bent his right front wheel into the engine compartment, so that the spring was pushed into the tire.

On my RL, the whole lower front fascia (plastic) and my license plate frame/cover were crushed and scuffed badly. Luckily, both of my foglights and headlights came out ok. The grill has some marring on it, and the hood is now slightly tighter to the driver's side fender, looser on the passenger side. I'm PRAYING that there is no frame damage.

The police came, and issued him a ticket, for failing to yield to traffic that had the right of way (me). So, hopefully the insurance battle won't be too ugly, since the police report clearly states that he's at fault. However, he's already being wormy and claiming that I was speeding, trying to lessen his fault. I wasn't speeding, as I had just pulled away from the red light the block earlier, and the officer took note of that. I hope his insurance just covers it all and it won't even have to route through my company...my agent warned me that my rates could go up, even if it's 100% not my fault. Insurance companies piss me off.

Randy

Here are the photos from my phone:

sotiri

Randy... 2 weeks ago on Peterson and Western, I am driving west on P, minding my own in the right lane when the car in the left decides to pull a right turn into the Shell station.
As I have the tech package... the system slammed the brakes before I could... I stomped on them, bring the car to an abrupt halt avoiding a tbone.
I was thrilled..... until 2 days later, when I backed up into a minivan in the healthclub parking lot crunching my back bumper causing me to get it replaced ($900).
The point is.... you didnt get hurt, no one got hurt, or killed, and its only a minor damage to your car.
Dont let it get you down....

sotiri

Also, because the street was wet, the damages were mitigated... he skidded sideways easier and the force was diluted to both cars through the tires skidding (sliding on wet pavement).
I dont think you will have any frame damage.

peter97

Randy, I feel for you. Last Sunday, I got rear ended by a Jeep Cherokee while waiting at a red light. Impact was hard enough that part of her license plate is tatooed on my bumper. Initial estimate at one body shop came in at a little over 3k and will take at least 2 weeks to repair. What gets me is that the repair job will never get it back to the original state because of factory wetsanding, etc. When the car is someday resold or traded in, the accident will either be noted or asked and therefore you get hit again with a reduced valuation. The "injured" party never gets "whole." Nor during the repair time, the rental you get is nowhere comparable to what you were accustomed to. Sucks.

jftjr

Even if you were speeding, he STILL has to yield to you, and should have been keeping a proper lookout.

Sucks, indeed. At least you weren't hurt.

UW RL

it sucks to see an RL in an accident. At least no one is hurt. And it also sucks that the other party lied about you speeding, trying to lesson his fault. Now adays you just have to be careful as a lot of people on the road are on psychiatric care.

GoHawks

He can claim whatever he wants. He got the ticket and you didn't. Unless the cop stated that you were speeding, his claim should be without merit. I work for a major insurance company so I have a bit of insight.

The problem is how your insurance company determines surcharges. This wouldn't be a chargeable accident since you weren't at fault, but sometimes insurance companies use "occurences" to determine your risk. Even if the accidents are not your fault, if you have a high number of occurences, your company may think you're just a bad risk.

Tully44

Sorry about your accident. But of more importance then your well being,...can Acura afford one less RL on the roads?!

Rob L

Sorry to hear about this but good to read there were no injuries.

Sad he is trying to weasle out of it and just is another sign that most people refuse to take responsibility for their screw-ups.

bkw

Ouch, my condolences.. My wife has been in 3 minor accidents - tree branch falling during a storm, rear ended on Xmas, and most recently, backed up into in a parking lot. Perhaps the boring style of the RL makes it almost invisible to stupid drivers?

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Randy, sorry to see your car get banged up. Good thing the RL is a well built vehicle and your description seems to indicate minimal damage. His car, on the other hand, looks like it's gonna need extensive repairs.

Hope everything goes well and you'll have the car back soon.

CM udall

Im sure ur car will be fine, a taxi hit my moms rl going alot faster and she got it all checked, no body damage. But who knows all crashes are different.

gbriank

Hey y'all, make sure to request 'deminished value' from the individual's insurance that caused the accident.

peter97

Gbriank:
How do you determine value of diminished value?

gbriank

Difference between what the car was worth before and after the accident. Check your state's law. California has one of the best law's regarding DV.

vp911

Sorry to hear that man. Insurance companies are awful. Hopefully his will take care of it without hassle. Keep us posted.

MeehowsBRZ

I pass by that intersection everyday on my way to and back from school. Im sure I saw the exact same accident there a couple of months ago. Sorry about the car but it could have been a lot worse.

zalypkin

I feel for you!!! If it was me in your shoes, i would probably rip the kids head off! If you are going to get it fixed, hav e the dealer work on the car. No one can do it like the dealer, or a very prestigous body shope. I had a CL typeS and was hit in the rear at 15 MPH, my car did sustain frame damage. Have the dealer look at it, and even maybe take it to a couple dealers for second opinion. I hope everything works out good for you.

zalypkin

LOL It must be true, or the people are just haiting. I got T-boned in my RL, the lady claimed she did not see me comming. ????!!!?? How can you not see a full size BLACK car at 2oclock in the afternoon, in clear sunny weather????

jftjr

Well, that's easy -- she didn't have her transparent navel installed.


(think about it..... )

RandyChicago

Just wanted to post a (late) follow-up. First off, I didn't pay a penny for the repairs -- I submitted all the photos I took of the accident to the other guy's insurance company, and they realized they had no case against me. They paid 100%! There is a lesson for everyone: ALWAYS KEEP A DISPOSIBLE CAMERA IN YOUR TRUNK!!! It could protect you for $1000s!

Anyway, I had all my work done after the accident, and 98% of people would not be able to tell the difference from a new car. The only visible difference is the fact that the new 3M ClearBra on the lower bumper is not yellowed at all, since it's new. The installer (who installed it all originally) told me I could come back in and get the older, yellowed hood section all replaced for free, so I'll be scheduling that soon.

Also, I discovered (through the 3M installer) a product called Plexus -- it's AMAZING stuff to use on your ClearBra, and the plastic and wood inside your RL. Since then, I've also been using it on my bathroom sink, my shower doors, kitchen counters, and stainless steel appliances....it's a miracle product! Just do NOT get it on your hardwood floors on accident (overspray)...it makes your floors SUPER slippery. I've taken myself out twice already!

Randy

RandyChicago

Here are the photos as submitted to insurance. I added text to illustrate further why he was at fault, and it worked!

Randy

VTEC Racer

He was probably pissed that his Lexus got so messed up and your Acura fairly intact.

Either way, glad you came out of it safe. As far as insurance goes, I've heard of people that have been able to get the other persons insurance company to pay for the cars loss of value due to the accident. Maybe you might be able to push for something like that.

bkw

Nicely done!

As for plexus, I love that stuff! On my 01 S2000 with it's rear plastic window, it works like a charm! 5 years and zero haze!

UW RL

Hey Randy, do you have A-spec suspention? Your RL looks lowered in the pictures

RandyChicago

Nope, everything on the car is stock, other than the:

Zaino
Clear Bra
Valentine 1
Window Tint
Trunk Tray
Wood Shift Knob
All-Season Floor Mats

With the potholes in Chicago as bad as they are, I think the A-spec set-up (or even just 18" wheels) would rattle my teeth out...

Randy

photos: http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slidesho...e&conn_speed=1

Ruserious

iTrader: (2)

Good job on the pictures!
It hurts to see a nice Rl in an accident. Good luck with everything Randy!

Randy...

Ernie Golfs

Randy,
I agree with you about the ride. My wife won't let me touch the suspension on our 05 RL. She really likes the factory ride and doesn't want it any stiffer. No A-Spec wheels either. She did make me put factory chrome wheels on when we bought it, she didn't like the stock wheel color. Your silver RL would look great with chrome wheels.

Great Pics!

phile

Side note: with all the comments about the RL's size (or lack of, rather) by its critics, that RL looks positively enormous compared to the Lexus in these pics.

synth19

Randy, great pics and glad everything worked out. I've never purchased a clear bra because of a fear that someone would tear it up while parallal parked or it getting damaged in an accident. What % tint do you have and where did you get it done?

RandyChicago

ClearBra was done by a guy named Tim Kirlen who runs his own business out of someone else's garage in Burr Ridge, IL, although he came to the Acura dealer for my initial install (day of purchase). He does an EXCELLENT job, and after my accident, even did my headlights and door edge guards for free. His cell number is 630-669-7033. He can be hard to reach since he's so busy, but his work and knowledge is worth it.

Anderson Glass Tinting did my windows, and I believe they are all at 18% (darker than I wanted, but now I love them). I was given their name through Tim Kirlen (who did the ClearBra). The whole car, including the sunroof was $250. The number for Anderson Glass Tinting is 847-471-1164. I believe they are out of Arlington Heights, IL.

Randy

GoHawks

I had a guy do mine out of my garage. The name is Tintworks, guy's name is Mike (224-558-3434). He used Llumar (Platinum?) which comes with the unlimited lifetime warranty.

He did 35% on the sides and 15% on the back. Charged me $200. Did an awesome job, even my my Acura dealer commented on his work and asked for his number.

synth19

ha. This guy is completely unreliable. I know him VERY well. I personally brought him 30+ cars within two months a few years ago. Too bad he never responds to calls and messages. For a guy who can make tons of money, he doesnt seem to really care.

GoHawks

Really? No complaints here. Promptly responded and showed up when he said he would and did top notch work. Also did my neighbor's kid's car.

synth19

How long ago was this? We tried to setup a group buy on my Z site again this summer, bad luck with him.

GoHawks

A couple months ago when I got the windowa tinted on my RL, and my neighbor had his son's Civic done this past spring.

You sure we're talking about the same guy?