2007AcuraRL

My car wasn't even 3 months old. Damn 19 year old in pickup plowed wrecklessly into the car behind me (a Jeep Wrangler), shoving him into my trunk, and then I tapped a car in front of me. The front only seems to have light damage to bumper cover, but obviously the rear is trashed. The girl was cited for unsafe speed and possession of alcohol by a minor. Her father arrived at the scene and told me she had wrecked another car just last month.

Problem for me now is twofold: if the damage isnt enough to total car, I'll end up with a repaired clunker out of this that will never have a perfect paint job, there will be overspray all over, and who knows what else. I'd even up selling it because I am meticulous about the cars I drive, and it would always really irk me.

On the other hand, if they do total it, I won't be able to buy another RL for now. I bought mine because it was end of year '07 at $3,500 below dealer invoice. Between the depreciation hit (car looses considerable "value" the moment its driven off dealer lot) plus the 5-6k more I'd have to spend now for an '08, I won't be able to swing it financially.

Looks like my time on these boards was short lived. I bid farewell for now but hope to be back around here sometime down the road.

-Mark

RL06tech

Trully sucks, glad you're Ok. Cross your fingers the car may be totalled. the primary structure might have suffered significant damage.

neuronbob

Oh. Hell. No.



That is painful to see.

At least the drunk girl who caused the accident was busted. Hopefully you live someplace where she will get more than a slap on the wrist as punishment. Drunk drivers should go to jail, end of story. Even if she doesn't, she'll have to pay lots of money for insurance.

From the fact you're posting, hopefully you're OK and the RL sacrificed itself for you.

henryr01

Mark, I am truly sorry to hear that you were involved in a wreck! Although you didn't mention it, I hope that everyone was OK!?

I'm not sure what to say. We'd really hate to see you lose your RL due to the careless actions of a teenager, but I can understand your feelings.

Bob...

RL06tech

Hey she's 19 and drunk maybe she's cute too! See if she is willing to "work off" the debt

bluefang08

Well its a good thing that no one was hurt. But I would bet they are going to total it out.

csmeance

good that your are not hurt. The RL will most likely be totaled as the rear fenders will need to be cut off and new ones re welded, at least 2K, then tail lights and fixing any other frame damage, it surely will be totaled out. I am sorry for your loss, this teenager needs to loose her license, and be thrown in jail for a week and her dad slapped for letting her drive drunk.

sleepinxlionhart

ouch... poor RL..glad that you're unhurt.

i hope that douche bag of a girl gets her ass thrown into jail.

AsianTL

Sorry that your car got rear ended.
I am glad that you are ok.

INSPIRE 32V

iTrader: (1)

glad your ok and in my experience i say the car is 95% totaled so don't worry

larrynimmo

Mark I am so sorry to hear of this accident. Odds are this drinking girl was text messaging on her cell. The level of pride that you have exhibited, makes me realize how much pleasure you have gotten owning a car as this...much the way I feel as do most of the owners on this forum.

I know you do realize there is 0% chance of totalling this car. In looking at the pictures, she could not have hit you with this much force (in any other location) and cause such low financial damage. If she hits you in the front, sides, or quarters the damage go way up. My guess is 13k or less. Do yourself a favor and don't get in your mind your going to sell it until after its fixed. Get it fixed right. Don't let the insurance adjuster tell you where to take the car. Talk to locals and find who does the best paint work. Let them know what your expectations are and it is entirely possible to get a factory quality paint job. Visit the body shop during the process so they realize this is your baby. Good body shops have no overspray.

In my day of doing some body work, white was one of the easiest paints to blend (plain white, no pearl) If the front of the car was damaged instead of the trunk, the likelyhood of a satisfactory repair goes down. Don't let them fool with your DVD unit. If you haven't done so yet, now is the time to put in the backup camera have the body shop put the hole in the trunk before its painted.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Wow...that sucks. Sorry to hear.

And I would venture to say that the car is totaled. The crush of that rear section means that they would have to replace entire sections of the unibody which is always going to be very expensive to to.

It is seeing pictures like this that I am glad that I lease and have gap insurance.

kirbyflorida

Can you sue her for the extra losses in small claims court?

kmcheney

Sorry to hear about your troubles and hope everyone is OK.

Looking at the pictures it appears the rear bumper absorbed some of the hit before the Jeep must have ridden up over the top of it. I'm not sure it's totaled. You can repair alot of damage for before you hit $35K or so.

SpicyMikey

Agree that's not totaled. It's not even close to totaled. Engine compart is untouched, cabin area is good. The car is probably still straight (no t-boning happened).

Looks like you'll have a decision to make since you are so meticulous about your cars. Don't write it off until after it gets repaired. Bring it to a good shop. They can do amazing things to put a car back together.

If it's still unacceptable after the rebuild, then you can consider selling it. But, as you said, this incident will be reported by the police and picked up by CarFAX. You will probably loose over $10k if you try and trade it in to a dealer or wholesaler. Your only hope would be to sell it yourself and hope the buyer doesn't check it's history.

2007AcuraRL

Thanks to you all for your words of thought and compassion. The highway patrol told me she was being arrested for the possession charge and will have to appear before the commissioner of motor vehicles to argue why her license shouldn't be suspended. At least it will get one lousy driver off the road. None of which changes the fact that now I dont have a car (at least I just chuckled as I wrote this because it reminds me of a line in Ferris Bueller's Day Off)

Actually the exact quote, as a young 16 year old Ferris is in the shower and talking to the camera (ie. audience) about the test he is going to miss in class when he cuts school today:

FERRIS
It's on European socialism. I mean,
really. What's the point? I'm not
European. I don't plan to be European.
So, who gives a shit if they're socialists?
They could be fascist anarchists and it
still wouldn't change the fact that I
don't own a car.

As far as repairing the car, CSMEANCE you are surely right about the sheet metal needing to be cut and pieced in. Lets not forgot that when the car was put together at the factory, the entire surfaces were primered against rust as an entire assembly. There's no way this would be done right now (a frame-off Chip Foose style repair isn't going to be in the cards). And of course the Acura rust-through warranty is completely voided. The fact is I'm sure the car could be pieced together, but should I have to accept such a remedy for this drastic damage? I mean the car is only 2 months old, and even if it were repaired its depreciated by at least 50% from having been in an accident.

I'm just sitting here at home this morning waiting for Enterprise Rentals to pick me up and bring me to their store for a car (their commericals are accurate as they really will pick you up). I'll let you guys know what the insurance outcome is in a few days.

Mike_TX

I'm completely with larrynimmo on this one - that car doesn't look like a total to me, Keep in mind for most insurance companies it would have to have damage costing more than 60% of its value to total it, and that would be like $20-25,000.

If they decide to repair it - and I bet they will - don't give up on it. Good body shops can do wonders these days. I recently had my RL sideswiped, and of course I was sick, but I took it to an Acura dealer with a good reputation, and they did an absolutely superb job on it. You can't tell it was ever touched, and it's tight as a drum. Paint matches perfectly.

So give it a chance. You might be surprised.

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LuvMyTSX

Her 2nd accident in a month?! I fear for all who live near this girl and others like her.... If I were her parents, her license would be taken away and she'd be hitching rides from family & friends for a while.

I hope things work out ok for you.

lumpulus

You look like your neck hurts...you should sue her.

gcook

But it doesn't look too bad. I doubt it is totaled. You could have it fixed. If you go to a descent body shop, then the paint job should be good. I know the feeling of losing the newness of the car, but you inevitably will get dents, dings, chips etc.. anyway but I can empathize with your feeling...It looks like it did its job and took all of the intensity in the rear. It doesn't "look" like it affected the frame though. Anyway I had a pretty bad crash that even affected the frame, in my previous CL, and they fixed it pretty nicely..

TOTALED would have to be a significant percentage of what the car is worth. If the damage is say, $15,000 and the car is worth $40,000, then it would NOT be totaled? I don't know about insurnace rules, but I understand basic economics.

gcook

TOTALED would have to be a significant percentage of what the car is worth. If the damage is say, $15,000 and the car is worth $40,000, then it would NOT be totaled? I don't know about insurnace rules, but I understand basic economics.

larrynimmo

the steel used in cars for the past 10 or more years is very rust resistant. It has a form of galvanizing on both sides one is paintable and one is not, but has a lot more zinc to it. The metal will be reattached by spot welds and those areas will be completely recoated by any decent shop. The right shop will fix this car up like new for you....don't be so quick to unload your baby. As painful as it would be for me, I would get it fixed first. It will be interesting to see your estimates.

Chas2

Glad to hear no one was hurt. This really sucks.

The car did its job though.

neuronbob

Classic. That is still one of my top ten favorite movies of all time.

More to the point, at least you are keeping your humor in this situation. Keep us posted!

Treblig

Ouch! Glad you're okay though.

Dr. Colorado

sorry to hear about the accident but glad that you're ok

wcimo

I wonder if they can rebuild it? Do they have the technology to make the Bionic RL?

Mike_TX

Yes, and it will be better, faster, stronger than before ...

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CL6

...yeah at a million dollars.

2007AcuraRL

Good point but don't forget there is also the diminished value of the vehicle which they are going to have to compensate me for. In other words, assuming the car was worth $34k before this happened, even after its repaired its not worth $34k anymore because of the lesser value that a car has after its been in an accident. Its probably lost $8-$10k value for this fact alone, making a $15k repair plus a $10k dimunition in value equal to a $25k total claim. I've contacted an Acura dealer to get their opinion on what the diminished value would be assuming the car was repaired.

Thanks again to all for your support and positive words.

larrynimmo

sad but i have never heard of an insurance company paying for dimminished value reimb. Accidents happen all the time and insurance companies generally will provide for a loaner car and some minor costs involved in your inconveince. ..If you have suffered an injury visable or not, they are usually more willing to compensate for your losses.

bigb252

Wow. I'm glad you're okay. I can't even imagine how pissed you are...Did you basically just lose 10k on your new car because of someone else's recklessness?


Your taillights got KNOCKED THE F*CK OUT (sorry, I thought it was funny). Drunk drivers cause WAYYY too much problems.

2007AcuraRL

There is no doubt that a car thats been in a serious accident is worth less than the same one that hasnt been. After all, this is the justification for companies like Carfax.

I am entitled to recover the financial losses caused by her recklessless (as well as compensation for bodily injuries); and its not just about getting a shiny new paintjob. I'm not obligated to deal with her insurance company, nor with my own for that matter. Ultimately the driver who caused the accident is on the hook for the liability. Now by contract, her insurance company undertook to indemnify her, so if I file suit they have to pay her defense costs, and any judgment awarded to me. If they dont compensate me for the full loss of value (which should be to total the car) I will file suit.

SpicyMikey

Interesting idea. I'm sure you'd have to file a separate civil law suit for that one. It would have nothing to do with the car insurance companies. Never heard of anyone doing that and/or winning. Do some research into precedent for such a case and let us know what you decide to do.

larrynimmo

About 10 years ago, my work truck was totaled by a Mazda 626 that pulled in front of me. Like your accident the vehicle sustained a lot of damage but not enough to total the vehicle. (its an absolute miracle that the driver survived) My truck (a Ford F-350 Dual Wheeled with enclosed utility body) due to complexity of specialty body parts was going to be out of service for 2 months. Nationwide insurances answer was they were going to give me a plain white delivery van (which couldn't begin to compensate me for my loss of a fully equiped work truck) I lost a lot of productive work time where I could have billed out a lot of service performed. It took me two days to more enough parts, tools & equipment into a substandard work vehicle that wasn't set up to be productive. I fought the battle with Nationwide and even with hiring a lawyer. the lawyer didn't feel that the value of the outcome of a trial was worth the effort. From the time of the accident to settlement took about 6 months. I paid for all repairs out of my pocket. When I finally collected, I got $15,000 with 12,000 of repairs. From the beginning, Nationwide was willing to pay $14,000.

I was so upset that Nationwide wouldn't give me a fair settlement, that I told my lawyer I was willing to pay for his services (win or lose) He discouraged me...maybe I should have looked for another lawyer. I hope you fair better than I did.

Mike_TX

Yeah, if I understand you, I have to agree with Mikey. Drawing on my 35 years in the insurance business, I'll have to say the courts wouldn't tend to award you more than the cost to restore the car to its original condition before the accident, i.e., what the insurance company would pay you anyway. In other words, you're not legally entitled to a "total" unless the car is actually totaled on the basis of usual industry standards.

On the matter of diminished value, though, you may well have a case if your state supports the concept. A few years ago, State Farm handed me a check for $5500 in addition to the repairs to my car for that very reason. Nowadays, though, insurance companies (and state laws governing such things) are often not so generous. They simply advise you that they will reopen the claim if you can show that the repairs did actually reduce the car's value. That means you would have to have written confirmation that the car is worth less, which I guess you might be able to get from a cooperative dealer or two at the time you trade.

I still say you shouldn't freak right now - let them do their thing and see how it comes out. If it doesn't look right the first time, tell them to re-do it. And keep re-doing it until it is perfect.

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TL.00.3.2

did u purchased "gap" insurance....>???? that would have saved u alot of dinero.

2007AcuraRL

MIKE: I'm in CT. Would you have an info for my state that supports my argument? I will definitely get a statement, possibly as an affidavit, from my dealer as to trade in value of a car that had been in a serious accident.

2007AcuraRL

I bought the car outright. Its not a leased vehicle.

AbovePrime.

If you have good insurance, they should cover the cost of the RL, MSRP, + whatever sales tax you paid, because you just bought it, and its not a year old, at least thats how progressive works.