Revanche

We'll know tomorrow what the insurance company says, and yes.. it hurt like hell.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/broken...bum?.dir=/9905

Revanche

Oh...and to keep the mood light... I am aware of the following:
1. Yes, I am still driving on Michelins.
2. Yes, I still have stock rims.
3. Yes, I would love to have my car windows tinted.
4. No, my car is dropped far enough as it is. :o)

BlackShadow

Not that bad of a damage considering the civic was going 50 mph. Props to Acura for designing a safe car (it's been proven time and time again).

phipark

that sucks. Good luck with the insurance.

t0ast

the insurance should call it totalled. The little damage in the front on both sides should do it since the little damage means the pieces need to be fixed. On the bright side, start looking for a new car.

PimPinTL-S

ya its definitly totaled

NYZGREATST

honestly, if my car looked like that i would want it to be considered totaled. if they fix it, it will never drive the same from the rims its a TL-P right? so go ahead and start looking at a type-s, sure glad your ok

optiq

gotta b totaled

Revanche

Personally, I would trust the repair shop that its at even if the car were a Ferrari or high-end Benz. They are incredibly reluctant to use any aftermarket parts in rebuilding the cars and take a lot of pride in the work that they do. The two problems I have with them doing it is first that its an aweful lot of work and estimates place it at 8-10 weeks to repair - and that is being conservative. The other problem is that even the most meticiulous repair shop can miss something, which could come back to cause problems later on. Yes, they stand behind their work but its still a hassle.

On the otherhand, I'm not sure about totalling the car. Say they assign a fair market value of about $16,500 to the car, that still falls short of the necessary amount required to get the car replaced with another 02 or 03 (we won't even talk about trying to finance an 04 or 05) when you add on things such as delivery, taxes and an extended warranty. I'd probably end up with even worse financing terms on the replacement car, which means there would be more interest to pay off from the loan. Sure, I could knock off about 20k on the millege - but its not as though we expect the TL to fall apart after 100k anyways.

FiftyFive

wow man glad your ok, looks pretty bad, hope everything works out in your favor

njzprettyboy

well, its much better that it was hit in the back than the front, thats for sure. this one is too close to call...

Nocturneaubergine

I would check local laws. My friend in MI got hit in his 1999 S500. He was stopped and a drunk was going 70. The car had about 23,000 in damage, but the Insurance wouldnt total it because the value of the car was 24,000. They rebuilt the majority of the car. The good thing in your situation is that the only thing that was damaged was the car, which is replacable. We are all glad that you are ok...

Gingerbreadman

dibs on the rims!!!!

just kidding. glad you are ok .

Revanche

From what I can count, I only have 2 good rims. The front right is shreaded from the curb, the back right is pretty well bent. Actually, I wonder what is in the trunk. Do they have a fullsize back there with rim? If so, that's probably bent too.

Jputt

Man good luck with the insurance company.

bmoreTLS

Man your car is probably totaled, just think of how bent up the frame of the car is. I got hit from the rear 9 days after I got my TL-S and the damage came a little short of 3 grand. Just looking at all that damage I'm glad that you're ok.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/brthr2...13.jpg&.src=ph
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/brthr2...=/8da6&.src=ph

Inspire

Damn... It's either that Civic is made out of Cheese, or that our TLs are Hard'n Heavy~

Revanche

It was a 98 Civic. The guy's airbags went off, the engine compartment destroyed. What made it worse was that the guy actually hit me hard enough and at such an angle that he flipped his car completely around and smacked my TL again with the backend.

Maybe I should just make an animation of this to demonstrate.

SQUEEZY83

My girlfriend did the same thing to my car. Luckily it wasnt her fault or she wouldnt be around any longer. Yeah im sorry to tell you it looks like a goner. My car wasnt nearly as bad and they still totaled it out. Maybe you can get a third gen. TL. Another thing i hope you dont owe more than the value of the car cause then you'll really be screwed unless you have gap insurance. But all and all im glad to hear your okay. sorry.

nayyarn

Dude glad you are ok. I would opt to have the car totaled even if the market value is close to the damage on the car. Like you said its not worth the hassle to have a messed up car you like. Plus this would go on the cars history report if you decide to sell or trade it in later. My cus you problems then. I totaled my Accord 5 years ago my damage was worse than yours. I opted to have the car totaled and bought my TL then. But, thank God I walked away fine from the accident. Just bye new or used car. If you are worried about interest rates join a credit union. You can always find good deals. Keep us posted on the out come.

Severin

Your paint still looks better than mine.

Revanche

Update from Insurance:

Hey Guys,
Again I appreciate all the help and support that has been offered. I spoke with the insurance company, and their position is that the want to repair the car by doing a rear clip and replacing bumper altogether. They are putting the costs at around $11,500 and expect it to take between 8-10 weeks to repair. During that time, I get a rental car for the first 30 days and then if I want to continue driving, I have to collect from the other party on my own. Unfortunately, insurance can only collect for what they pay out - and my individual rental coverage only goes so long.

Now, my argument for why the car should be totaled.

1. They want to cut off the backend of my car and replace it. Anyone else get a bit nervous about this premise? Yes, I trust the body shop - but still... Also how the car will do after the work is completed.

2. The dealerships I have talked to would typically offer about $13,500 for the car. With a major accident record showing up on Carfax, they said it would probably pull in about $9k-$10,500 at most. Illinois does not allow claims against other parties for diminished value of a vehicle due to an accident.

3. 8-10 weeks without the car.

Now, their argument as to why the car should not be totaled...

1. The valuation they are placing on the car is around $19,500. Yes, this is more than I paid for the car from the dealer almost two years ago. The book that they are using for expected market value (not the Blue Book but the one with the NATB - or something close) has a fairly inflated value. Right now I could get a replacement TL from a dealership for about $14,500 minus taxes, title, license, etc. This obviously puts the repair bill far from the 75-80% point they have for considering a total.

2. The adjuster believes all the body work can be done on the car in a week after they get the parts, so three weeks at most on any repairs.


Possible options...

1. Just get the repairs done on the car, wait out the next 8-10 weeks or however long it happens to be. Hope all the repairs go right.

2. Take the $11,500, subtract $500 deductible and then another $470 that has accumulated for storage and towing of the car, pay off the remaining loan amount on the car (~$10k) and hope that the dealership will give at least enough on the damaged car for a downpayment on a replacement.

3. Any other ideas?

disgookonfiya

not long after i bought my TL i got rear ended by an 18 wheeler, and i basically got a whole rear section of a TL welded on to my car and it looks fine, the only way you would know if it was in an accident is if you open the trunk and pull back some parts of the carpeting, and you can see some of the places where they welded in the new rear end. your insurance isn't going to give you enough money for your TL, and if they are going to pay for you to repair it, i'd repair it b/c you won't be able to buy another TL with the money

PeteTLS

I'm in the salvage parts business (not a body shop, though, and none of the Japanese brands), so I can tell you that it could go either way- you could get the repairs done and never have an issue, or it could be a nightmare. The fact is that it truly depends on the body shop and their conscientsciousness. There's no reason other than human error why the car can't be put back together right, with no surprises down the road to come back and bite you. The 3 weeks sounds right, 8-10 isn't even close!!!
That handles the near future, and getting you driving again...as for the future?? Your only option is to drive it til the wheels fall off, sinc the value will forever be diminished, and it sounds like you've got recourse to collect from the other driver. As time goes by and the values come down anyway, the difference between the value of your car and that of an undamged car will get smaller and smaller, but it will always be there to some degree....

EpiK

If you were planning on keeping the car for a while and the frame is OK, go ahead and get it repaired. Just don't let them stick you in an econo-box while you wait.

Remind them that the reason you are OK now is because your car was well built and you don't want to be driving around in something less safe while your car is being repaired. You shouldn't get too much argument from them on that point, especially if you let them know you are agreeing to drop the "totalled" request.

chill_dog

Damn! What kind of moron hits a parked car? Anyway, glad you're alright...might want to visit a doc and make sure everything's ok...that was quite an impact.

Looking at the damage, that car should be totaled...there's serious frame damage there. Plus, repairs/value is 59% (I think ins co's use 70% or so), but that's still a pretty high expense to value ratio, plus the type of damage done. Cut off the rear and reattach one? Are they nuts? I wouldn't go for that in a million years. Fight for the $19,500, pay off the loan, and get an 05. Plus, after a wreck like that, CarMax wouldn't even touch your car...you'd be lucky to get $10k for it anytime soon.

Good luck, whatever you do.

Tigerpee

Good luck with your car. I've personaly never dealth with this type of accident on a car with payments. Based on your 2 options, I would take 1 since it doesnt cost you a dime. The only part I dont like is compromising the structure of the car by cutting it. Yes, a good bodyshop can fix it but still.

If you take option 2, yes, u get 11.5k but your stuck with the additional 10k! and you dont even have the car!.

I would take option 2 if you could get most of your money back.

fiya

I'd repair and ride around in the rental in the time being. It shouldn't take them more than 3 weeks to put your car together providing they have all the parts. Then when you get the car back and if you feel it didn't perform as well as it did before the accident, trade it in. Glad to hear no one was hurt though.