I was hoping for my first post here to be a positive one in the "New Wheel/Tire Pics" thread after I bought my 23k mi, flawless 07 NBP Type-S this past October, but unfortunately I now need to seek help from the community.

In the middle of the night after my birthday (*sad trombone*) an unlicensed, uninsured, drunk driver slammed into my car while she was parked. The impact was at the left QP, and forced the left rear wheel forward and turned it in towards the center of the car as if I had rear wheel steering. It also pushed the car up over the sidewalk and onto the curb, where the front pass. door and sideview mirror scraped on a light pole. Three of four of my 1 month old Motegi MR121's with Michelin Alpin PA3 snow tires are likely trashed.

She's at a body shop right now and the damage is worse than I thought. The owner of the shop who seems to be a really nice, honest guy has been working on an estimate for me, and so far is at about $13k of damage. He said that there's evidence of buckling on the right side of the car at the C pillar and sunroof area, meaning the frame may be twisted. Lots of rear suspension bits will have to be replaced.

I feel like we're approaching the total loss line way too fast, and I'm really hoping State Farm won't declare it as such. They've been really good to us in the 2+ decades we've been with them.

I'm pretty depressed right now. This is just not right, a car so well taken care of throughout its life should not have to go like this. If they declare it a loss, should I fight them to repair it or replace it with another Type-S? Since it's so new, will they give me exactly what it's worth in this condition, what it was worth before, or what I paid for it? Should I even bother repairing if the frame is twisted at all?

Any other ideas and help are appreciated.

Most recent "before" pictures.








Current:

 

Sorry to see. It always seems to happen to people who take care of their cars, while there are so many vehicles on the road that need to be put out of their misery.... Hope it's not totaled.

 

So bummed for you bro. The problem with the insurance companies these days is they are so quick to total out a car and resell it to salvage repair companies. I hope all works out for you.

 

sorry to see this happen to you. let the body shop and state farm sort it out before you come up with all these possible 'what if' conclusions.

if the frame is bent in such a way that it'll compromise the car, you won't want it back any way. take the check they issue you and get another TL-S if, and only if, they declare it totaled. i'm not an insurance adjuster, so idk what they'll say...but if you are at $13k already, i'd call this a total loss. insurance companies are quick to total a car so that they can salvage it and get money from other repair/body shops.

again, sorry you're going through this. important thing is that you're ok, the car can and will be replaced. keep your head up.

 

Sorry to see. I feel like its a total loss. I would move onto another type s . I'm on mt phone but are those type s rims on the car? They seem different.


Best of luck.

 

maybe that car wont drive right any longer.
That rear left suspension looks bent like crazy. highly doubt it could be straightened out back to the way it was.

what happened with drunk driver?

 

That really sucks man. Think of it this way, at least you weren't in the car when it got hit. I don't know if i'd want to deal with it if the frame were bent, if it were me I'd have to take the check and look for a new type - s.

I'd also like to know what happened with the driver.

 

Thank you all for your support and tips. I hope SF is not so quick to total mine, she was such a fantastic car.

If they do I'm primarily concerned about the significant financial loss I'll have if they lowball me on the check and I'll have to fight them to bump it up closer to what I paid.

Aretardedorange, they're Motegi MR121 with snow tires all around. I literally just put them on last month before the snow started here.

Flyromeo, the left suspension would need full replacement, it's pretty bad. The drunk driver's car was inoperable so he tried to flee in a taxi. The police showed up soon and arrested him, then took him downtown for DUI processing.

Thank you all for your help.

 

Oh no I'm so sorry man. I can't see the pictures, but I can only imagine how good the car looked. I hope the insurance does right by you. So sad to such a young, beautiful car

I'm glad they are cracking down on drunk drivers though. It's really a shame the potential damage people can do when under the influence. Unfortunately, this is a perfect example.

 

Sorry to see

 

Tried to flee in a taxi? what kind of a terrible person does that? I hope they throw the book at him.

 

a drunk asshole.

 

Honestly, I wouldn't want that car back. If it were just body damage, it would have been fine. By looking at that rear wheel, I don't think it will ever drive the same way it did. Yeah it sucks to see a nice car totaled, but you can always replace with another.

 

sorry to see. ii hate seeing perfectly good cars victimized by complete idiots. personally i would not want the car back, if the frame is bent in such a way it's described as "twisted", it won't ever drive the same. let the insurance and the shop do what they do. i'm sure they will give you fair value for the vehicle if it's totaled.

if you end up hunting for another type-s...any chance you can avoid street parking at home?

 

Ya I'd get rid of it. Like everyone else has said, it will never drive the same and then down the road you'll end up spending more of your money on it and end up getting rid of it anyway!

 

It will never be the same! You should be rooting for them to total it out if u ask me

 

You know what sucks about a car being totaled? You lose money. Say you buy an 07' TLS NEW for $35,000, you put down $4,000 on the car & finance the rest. In 2012 you get T-boned and it gets totaled, the ins company writes you a check based on ACV (Actual cash value) which will be crap because of value depreciation and you lose no matter what. All the maintenence you spent on the car is gone too. Now your back to square one with a $15,000 check in your hand and have to finance another car. Don't forget you're already out a $4,000 down payment back in 2007. The system sucks & people who cause these accidents suck too. BTW my son got hit in his 04' WRX last year causing $3,000 in damage, other driver gave a insurance ID card and as it turns out his insurance expired months PRIOR to the accident because of non-payment, I still haven't gotten my $500 deductible back & he has since moved.

 

I agree with most people. You probably don't want it back...
Hope things work out though!

 

holy cow....sorry to see that bro...glad no one is hurt....

drunk driving FTL !!!

btw even if they total your car, you can buy her back and get her fixed for cheaper and pocket some $$$, no ?

my main worry wouldnt be around SF totaling your car, but around, you were lucky to not be in the car when this happened....

 

totalled? getting another TL?

 

Take the (ir)responsible drunk driver to small claims court. It shouldn't be too expensive on your part, and that's how you can bridge part of the financial gap mentioned. It does take time, and detailed documentation of the events, but usually you'll get some money to add to your insurance check. Good luck OP!

 

Ugh, so sorry.

Thank God you weren't in the car..

 

Sorry to hear about this OP. I wish you the best of luck on getting back your TL-S, or a new one.

 

damb that sucks looked like a clean car. but state farm is really fair with their pricing, and they will usualy pay top dollar on their total loss cars.

you'll just have to go out and look for another one. i can see you getting about 23k for it if it still has those low miles.

 

+1 Sorry to see it get totaled, but I'd rather have a different car from looks of how mangled it is.

 

That sucks.

 

Sorry to hear that man. Especially near your B~Day. I got rear ended on the first day of the year, I parked 3 rows away from the nearest car when I went to go watch the movies and came out with my rear bumper disrespected by some drunk bastard. I haven't even had my TL for 4 months yet. I hope you get your TL back bro, if not good luck on finding another one man keep your chin up!

 

that sucks man, sad to see another one down. i'm gonna have to go with the majority on this one and say, with that much suspension damage and possible frame damage, you don't want it back. Hopefully you can get another one.

 

Damn HP, that just hurts to see. Especially since it was parked.

 

I'm sorry for your loss
gluck with sf and as for frame damage; if it does have any, I would start looking for another NBP. Shit happens to the best of us and I hope you pull through on this one!

As for drunk drivers.. BURN IN HELL

 

suck to see another victim of drunk driver, I had similar experience too, my advice is yes let the insurance totaled then use that check looking for another TL-S or something else in your mind. The car won't be the same after the fix because some how there will be an imperfection.

Here are some pics of my RIP Legend (sorry to the thread hi jack)

before









after

 

If it were me I would rather have them total loss it then repair it. Specially if you have to repair the quarter panel. Replacing a quarter panels isn't like replacing a door or fender. There is going to be a lot cutting and spot welding seam sealing etc... The car will never have the same value no matter how good they repaired it. Would anyone want to but a car if it has been in an accident no matter who was at fault, specially a Type S?

I just went through a total lost with state farm a month ago i believe. This is how they will make an offer to you, and im speaking from my experience.
1. If the repair is around 75% or more, including rental fee, tow fee, storage fee etc.. they will total it
2. If totaled they will offer you NADA book value. Unless you can find a car similar to yours, (mileage, model navigation etc..) then they will make up the difference. You have 30 days even after they cut you the check to search around. But it has to be from a dealer, no private sellers.
3. They will also cover tags title and registration (included in the check, that's IL law, might be different in yours)
4. They will offer to sell you your car back

Again im speaking from my experience a month ago. Good Luck with everything

 

Sorry to see this, as others have said, it would probably be best to let them total it out, looks like some major repairs needed and I agree with the others that it will never drive the same

 

Echoing what everyone has been saying: sorry to see that - crappy situation all around. Glad you weren't in the car. I wouldn't want it back either. I really hope you get squared away with insurance and can get back in a TL-S soon without any financial hardship on your part. That seemed like a nice car.

 

i hope you did the my back and neck hurts routine.. make this guy pay for this.

 

Holy crap truong, sorry to hear about your Legend. I can tell by the condition that you took really great care of her! What are you in now?

 

Well I got an update folks, the body shop owner called me with an estimate and it's actually lower than we initially thought. State Farm is also covering the whole thing and I'm going ahead with the repairs.

I understand that the value will likely drop with the accident, and that it may never be the same again. Unfortunately at the moment I can't afford to take the kind of financial hit associated with a total loss and the expenses of buying another car, so I'm going with the repair. Luckily the shop uses a more modern frame machine (laser alignment) and the owner said it'll be right back to factory spec, so I'm hoping any future effects will be minimal.

As far as the drunk driver is concerned, I'm going to follow up with the police and try and find out when his DUI hearings are, and push the DA or SA to do what they can to make sure this doesn't happen again.

I'm also going to be talking to State Farm to try and convince them to leave my premium as is since my car was parked and there wasn't any negligence on my part.

 

Also I will have this song on repeat until I get her back in March

 

Things like this make my face RED! ALWAYS happens to us people who take care of our possessions and our LIVES. I hope the stupid girl get's what's coming to her...on the REAL I really hope someone gets her for what she did! The car looks sick, even with the damage..good looking TL. But I will say, if it's got a bent frame..wipe your hands of it, take a totaled out check and get you another TL-S. Not worth the hassle of them fixing it and it POSSIBLY not being 100%. Sorry this happened, hope some KARMA gets the bitc* who hit ya!

 

Glad to hear all of that! Make sure they don't hit your premium. This happened to me about 8 years ago with my Mazda, some old lady hit it while parked. They did NOT touch my premium. BUT I also know my SFARM agent and he knew better than to F me and my dad over like that, haha. Glad you're getting the TL back