I may have the dubious honor of having the first totaled 2004 tl...
My 20 year old cousin was visiting, and I was too busy to drive him around, so I just gave him the car.
To make the long story short, he found a tree he liked and made contact. The insurance appraiser called yesterday and told me it's toast.
If you guys have any experience, can you give me some pointers on not getting screwed by the insurance company.
As I understand it, the car is so new (5 months, 4K miles), that the price they give me is purely speculative. How do they arrive at this number?
Since the car is a lease, do they send a check to Honda?
I just paid the excise tax for the whole year, do I get a portion back?

Anyway, any help would be greatly appreciated.
(BTW, I will definitely get another TL)

 

Sorry to hear that about your car but....

 

You're incredibly lucky that the car is leased. AHFC includes GAP insurance. The insurance company will screw you but the GAP insurance will pay off the difference between what you owe and what you'll receive. AHFC and the insurance company will handle all the paperwork.

 

He's asking how to deal with the insurance company and not get screwed. How would pics help the post?

 

One more thing, you'll lose anything you put down as a cap cost reduction. That's why you should never put anything down on a leased car.

 

 

Yep, put nothing down. I will lose the inception fees, however. That will come out to $1200 or so.
On a side note, I am renting a 330xi to see if I like it. I don't.

I posted the pics on a friends site:
http://yankovski.com/misc/CarVsTree/

 

 

It will show us a picture of a totalled 2004 TL

 

how did your cousin find this lovely tree? and head on too. going a little fast and couldn't stop on the dime on the corner?

Hey are those bridgestone EL42s on the car?

 

Hey, Just want to know if all the airbags came out, if not which ones did?? I know a while ago I remeber two people who had front end collisions and no airbags came out!!

 

From the pics, it looks like both the front passenger dash and driver's steering column bags were deployed. It also looks as if a side airbag on the passenger side was deployed.

 

Well, his story (and I pretty much buy it) is this: He just got off a 20 hour flight, but didn't feel tired so he went to visit another relative of ours. He had a few beers, but wasn't drunk, just tired. He was on a small street in Newton, for those of you from Mass, and didn't see a stop sign. I didn't see it during the day, so I believe him. On the other side of the street there is a driveway that is the same with as the road. From a distance it looks like the road just continues on. Making it worse was the fact that he glanced down on the GPS to see where he was going. By the time he realized it's a driveway, and tried to swerve, it was too late.

Those are stock EL's. They are the worst tires I have ever seen.

Only the front airbags went off. They gave my cuz a nasty burn on the left arm. Other then that he is ok.

 

slowpoke, sorry to hear, I hope your cousin is okay. After seeing the picture I would assume he broke something, rib, ankle (nose after you hit him for wrecking it).

BTW I think you can buff it out.

 

Yeah, I am seeing if Acura will cover it under warranty.

 

Hey get those coke cans off the hood - might leave a ring! Otherwise it ain't so bad - from the rear I guess!


Hope all are OK...she looks like she got punched right in the nose! Damn.
Sorry man.

 

One the positive side, it looks like the front crumple zones did exactly what they were designed for.

The car's rear end is fine, but how about your cousin's...after you kicked it over and over again? Maybe it's just me, but I would NEVER drive someone else's brand new car after a few drinks...but especially not if I was tired on top of that.

Sorry for your loss. Hopefully, you won't have to wait too long for a replacement.

 

words to the wise... dont let anyone drive your car.

damn...

first bad wreckage ive seen that wasnt anthracite. but you probably arent the first totaled TL... there was a pic months ago of an anthracite TL who got T-boned, it looked much worse than the pics shown here.

still, sucks ass though

 

OMG. that sucks major major ass

 

What do dislike about the 330 xi? The interior is spartan compared to the TL but handling would be a totally different story. In addition to the 2005 TL I'm also contemplating a BMW 330 xi (BWM has a $2500 dealer incentive and 1.9% APR financing on 3 series as they will receive new revisions for mid-year 2005) or maybe, just maybe, a 2004 545i when the 2005's come out.

Once I come back from Japan in mid-September I will need to make my decision...

 

Well, I am not a professional rally driver, so I need more then just driveability. The BMW, 330 or 545 does not offer some of the things i use all the time, like in dash cd changer or Blue Tooth and XM. 330 is very small and slower then TL. 545 is almost $25K more. Basically, I could see no added value whatsoever.

 

sorry about your car, BarryH question why shouldnt anyone put anything down on a lease?
and what price differences are we lookin @ if dont put anything down,compared to putting down?

 

slowpoke,

Sorry to hear about your loss. I can tell from your pix that your car ended up at Acura of Boston. That's where I got mine. Anyway, Newton is a beautiful and affluent town for those who are not from the Mass area with roads that defy logic on occasion...a la Boston. I was in Newton just yesterday and only found my way with the GPS. You may have the first Boston totaled TL but definitely not the first totaled TL. I wish I could help with insurance but I have never been in that same situation as you. I would definitely make a point that the stop sign was not very visible and perhaps they would be more understanding. Unfortunately I get the feeling that your points may go up despite the fact your cousin drove it. I believe that that car owner assumes all responsibility when he loans his cars to others...except where it was used without your permission per MA law. Good luck and keep us all informed.

dsc888

 

If you're looking for AWD, I'd go with a Volvo S60R over a 330xi. The 3er can be equipped with Bluetooth and Sirius. You can also use the iPod connection (but not with Sirius). The interior isn't as stylish as the TL, but the materials, fit, and finish are much better. If size matters, the S60 and 3er have much smaller interiors, especially the back seat.

 

The whole purpose of a lease is to minimize cash outlay as the upside is you're only paying for the amount of car you're actually using. You'd be better off investing the cap reduction and drawing it down to cover the additional money due monthly. You've just seen an example of the biggest reason.

 

Thanks for the concern. You are not entirely correct, however. Since he is a guest driver on the vehicle, the points follow him, not me. The only way I would get the points, is if he was listed in the policy. Since they don't have the same surcharge system in TX, he gets no points at all. I will probably pay a deductable. I checked this with insurance company already.

 

:'( Man it hurt to look at that.

 

Man slowpoke,

I am guessing that he is now one of your least favorite cousins. JK. Family is family but DAMN, wrecking a TL is pushing it.



P.S. I say fu*k the bmw and get another TL. There is no bigger bang for your buck than a TL right now.

 

This acura tl, has been being posted on craigslist for about 3 weeks now...may have been before yours...

but read the info its pretty funny...hahaha

http://www.craigslist.org/eby/car/36163364.html

"The driver curtain air bag has deployed and so has the driver seat air bag. I personally don’t consider the curtain and seat airbags essential so it’s your choice to replace them or not. "

hahahaha also the first 5 times he listed it the title said something about "minor damage" haha

i think he took that out when people started leaving posts on there about how that is not minor.

 

That damage isn't that bad. I ran into the back of someone with my TL on a highway and my damage was about that bad. Ended up being $12k, no where near totaled.

http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79212

The pic and movie are about 1/3 of the way down the thread.

Joe

 

I totaled my Honda 2002 S2000. It was a lease and the insurance company paid the lease company which was Honda Finacial. It was all good for me and I got a 2004 TL. Now you can get the 2005 RL good luck.

 

Oh can you sue your cousin I would maybe you will get a Ferrari!!!!!!!!! Oh well hope everyone is OK..

 

your not the first one, there is one on ebay