Well guys my baby has been damaged. I was hit by a hit and run driver Friday morning. The bastard left half of his bumper at the scene and just took off. I'm ok but I was a little surprised to see that my side impact airbags didn't go off. Either way car is at the repair shop to see if it can be fixed or if it will have to be totaled. In a way I would hope that it's totaled but that would mean having to start all over. On the other hand if it's fixed then I have to deal with crap resale value when it comes time to trade it in. Anyway I'm OK but I just thought I would share. What do you guys think? Fixable or totaled

The last picture is the rear right tire bent after being pushed into the curb. Damn this just sucks.

 

I would say not totaled. Looks like 2 new doors and some other minor work. To be totaled I would guess since its a new car, you would need about 15-20k of damage. But your right about resale. Your hosed because any carfax will pick it up if there is a police report.

 

I had the same type of damage a few years ago in a Civic. I was driving in the center lane of an Expressway. An 18-wheeler didn't see me and switched into my lane. My entire passenger side was crushed. Front and back doors, bumper and fender had to be replaced at a cost of $6,000. It was a miracle I was able to drive the car back home to my Honda dealer. I got the guy's plate number and pulled over and flagged down a patrol car that happened to be passing by. The cop wrote up a report but when I asked him to radio ahead to stop the driver he didn't want to hear it. After 6 years GEICO is still trying to recover the cost of my claim from the other insurance company.

I hope no one was injured, that's the most important thing, but it sucks to see your car like that. From the pictures it looks like only the body is damaged so why would they have to total it?

 

Damn! That sucks. Sorry to see these pictures. I hope you'll get your baby back as new.

ABout airbags I wonder why they did not deploy? Does the TL sense if somebody is sitting (by weight sensors) on the seat?

 

LMAO! Your tax dollars at work

You know, I have the upmost respect for the job that police officers are supposed to do, but it drives me nuts as to how many power-hungry, would-have-been-criminals-had-they-not-been-cops are out there. God forbid if you had been injured... they may have had to do some real work.

That said, my hat is off to those who actually do their job the way it is supposed to be done... there's not enough of them.

As for the matter at hand... uhm, did anyone check the bumper left at the scene for a serial #? They've been matching them to certail model cars for quite a few years now.

On a related note, while people don't like the idea of cameras on traffic lights and at the local corner, it's an interesting fact that the number of traffic violations and hit-and-runs went down severely in those cities that have fully embraced the idea. While I prefer to keep my privacy, the actions of a certain side of society have made this kind of surveilance necessary. Sad, but if people simply acted a bit more honestly, these kind of things wouldn't have been dreamt up, let alone necessary.

 

I have to agree with you on the whole traffic camera thing. It has cut down on a number of intersection related crashes here in the city. Here in Illinois they have also passed a law that requires you to show proof of insurance every year that you register your car. At the very least they are trying to make sure that everyone behind a wheel has insurance. It won't stop hit and run cases but if you have insurance why run then. I'm also all for if your license is suspended your car should also be impounded so that you can't even get behind the wheel.

Anyway, I was the only one in the car and I'm fine. When I talked to the dealer about the airbags though, he said that there are too many variables with the sensors to know why they did on didn't go off. I was unable to get the drivers side door open after the impact. I had to climb over to the passanger side to get out. Anyway I hope to have the car back soon and driving again. I'm driving a VV passat rental right now and it's definetly not a TL. Anyway thanks guys.

 

Sorry to hear about your problems, but it doesn't look like the car was hit hard enough for the air bags to deploy. From the pictures you posted it looks like the car will be repaired. I can't see enough damage to warrant totaling a $34,000 plus or minus car. It sucks that people do things like that and take off. As a bit of advice for you and others it's best to claim your neck/back or something is hurt. The cops work a lot harder on hit and runs where injuries occured. Good luck with your fix and keep us posted as to the estimates vs actual costs to repair and your satisfaction with the repairs.

 

Man, I am SO sorry to hear and see of your calamity. I know how I would feel. While saying this could happen to anyone one of us at most any time, somehow that doesn't help much. I sincerely hope you hook up with a body shop that does excellent work to put your baby back whole again.

As for Yoda117's comments about traffic camera's he makes good points, though I still hate to see the use of them. As a staunch believer in the Original Intent of the Bill of Rights, I find such tools a serious infringement on my civil rights.

I'll tell you how stop light accidents could be reduced. Get rid of delayed greens. Before the advent of delayed green lights, it was VERY rate to see someone run a red light (other factors also contributed to this). But delayed green lights encourage people to run the red because they know that there is a several second "free for all time" built into the light.

 

Southern,

I agree and disagree with you at the same time... probably explains all the blackouts, lol!

Seriously... I am a fan of the bill of rights, and I don't like anything that infringes upon them. However, it appears that since we have so many monkeys in society who feel that they can do what they want, when they want, and that the only real crime is when they get caught... I'm willing to let big brother in more so than I normally would in order to keep me safe and sane.

As for the traffic lights... if you instituted that, people would still run them, because there are too many self-centered pricks out there to give a whoot about your safety, or their own.

Now the last time I got into a convo on this topic, someone came in and started screaming about the horrors of the Patriot Act (no idea why since traffic laws aren't covered by it). Figured that I'd toss in my $0.02 before we get there. Having read the act, I found it amusing as to the number of new laws created by the Patriot Act. Guess how many? Zero... and none of them are for hit-and-run drivers

 

Sounds like one of those Nassau county cowboys. They don't like to do too much work.

 

Yep - Exit 42 on the LIE. I avoid it like the plague now.

 

To Yoda117;

I respect your take and especially your manner of presentation. It's rather refreshing to see an opinion given without the ill-mannered and disrespectful followup.

But I have to say I value my civil rights more than a little temporary safety and refer to Benjamin Franklin's comments about this very thing in 1759 which I paraphrase; "The man who is willing to give up essential liberty for temporary safety, deserves neither liberty nor safety".

We could take the same approach with the Second Amendment and argue that in order to save "just one life", handguns should be outlawed and the ownership of all other firearms strictly regulated. But then we'd cease to be a free society.. the name for such a place is "Police State".

Oh well, a super topic for another forum, I suppose. Anyway, you did a fine job of presenting your argument.

 

Uh, I can't believe you'd come on this forum and suggest insurance fraud. Nice going , it's people like you who cause our insurance rates to go up.

 

A total on a car has to be about 80% of value. At least that is what my insurance company had to say. Even if you car had a value of 25,000 totaled the insurance companies would rather pay out 20k to fix it and save the 5 grand.

 

actually nfn... while I agree with you, batting_cleanup is correct. When it comes to accidents, the police only begin to do more than the minimum when either someone is injured, or the car is undrivable.

I do not recommend insurance fraud, but I do recommend calling the police in the event of any accidents just for sake of insurance purposes (people have a habit of lying to save thier skin). My personal experience is that a firm reminder to a police officer as to his obligations in the event of a traffic accident (folks, they have rules to follow to... good idea to learn them) usually does the trick.

Southern: Good comment, and excellent view from the other side of the coin. The rebuttal is the quote from an Israeli official a couple of decades back... something along the lines of a world of peace and freedom is a wonderful thing, but only if we are alive to be in it. Something like that I think. Anyway, great response, and we seriously should do this as another post in the OT forums and see what kind of response we get.

On a lighter note, I had someone go nuts in a graduate class on computer security because of the eavesdropping laws. He was big on the idea that the government should never ever under any circumstances snoop into another person's computer. I asked him his occupation to which "system administrator and some information security" was the response. I then asked "ever look into people's accounts?" to which "yes" was the answer. I have no issues with people being against big brother... but when you ARE big brother and have an issue with it I have to have a laugh. Guess it was only okay if he was doing the looking.

Sorry, just thought it was amusing... I'm back on-topic now

 

Freakin A!!! I feel for you man. That really sucks! If that ever happened to me, I'd go ape shit! I get pissed with even the smallest dings. Glad you're all right though.

 

Hit and Run, catch any info. Was the car still running after the impact? If i werent to shaken up and saw him leaving id go after him. If it was a car he was willing to run in chances are you could catch up. Risk: more damage to car. Some people.... Dont fake injuries, gets you in a big mess, they find out they could claim the entire accident was a set up. Sorry for your loss

 

with what crazymjb said I just want to reiterate to check the bumper that was left by the offending vehicle for it's serial... might, and I mean *might* be able to be traced back.

Caught a few folks out here using that...

 

After the hit I was unable to get out of the car. The drivers door wouldn't budge. The car was also undrivable after the hit because when he hit me he actually pushed me hitting the curb. That's why the back right wheel was bent.

I didn't even see the person after getting out of the car. A lady driving by told me they keep goign and went down the ally. I never saw the car after getting hit. I should find out tomorrow what will be the case with my car. The dealer was the one who told me that it may be totaled. That's why I asked what you guys thought. The dealer told me that the doors alone was going to cost 2K each. So with having to replace two doors we are looking at about 4K of damage with just that. Not sure if there was any twisting in the body at all though. The car was taken to a repair shop that the dealer recommends for damage. State Farm also uses them as well. I will keep you guys posted as to what the total cost of repair is on it. Thanks

 

Id go after someone who hit a fellow luxery car driver(or any car, but especially a luxery car). Doing that is just plain wrong.

 

Nowhere was I suggesting insurance fraud. There is only insurance fraud if you make a fraudulent claim against an insurance company. I suggested telling the officer your neck/back hurt so the police would treat it as a hit and run with injuries making them do more to find the culprit. You can always say the pain/stiffness went away after a couple days and never even go to the doctor. Do yourself a favor and don't read your own thoughts into other people's posts.

QUOTE=nfnsquared]Uh, I can't believe you'd come on this forum and suggest insurance fraud. Nice going , it's people like you who cause our insurance rates to go up.[/QUOTE]

 

crazy - word of advise - If you do get in an accident and the other driver leaves .. stay put ..

Try and get his tag # or at least a description and call the PD. You leave the scene of an accident, even if you were the one who was hit, and you just broke the law.

A friend's brother had a pristine GTO judge, stepped out of his house and what does he see ... BLAM .. a car skid around the corner, side-swiped his goat and kept going, he got in, went after him ...... long story short he went from no points to 3 years suspended license just to add to his wrecked car.

 

To Brewmaster;

Wouldn't this be dependent upon the state in which one lives? I don't think we have the same laws here in Virginia unless there is injury or property damage other than the involved vehicles (other cars, real property, etc.). I could be wrong about this, but both myself and other have left scenes when guilt was not obvious.

However, I would caution that if you are involved in an accident and guilt can clearly be established to be the fault of the other driver, you should request police assistance and wait for them to do a report.

 

Alright, got the estimate today. It's going to cost about $8000 to fix the car. It will take about 3 weeks to get it back to me. Repair shop said on the good side they will use new parts on everything. Anyway I just have to wait for it now.

 

it looks like the rear subframe or suspension is bent not the rim itself.... hope everything works out. keep us updated. and i hope they catch them....

 

 

I was wondering about leaving the scene of the accident thing the other day when i saw a fender bender. Did he catch the driver who hit him? I would probably be more likely to go after them if I were a witness to the accident, but still... I know some local cops(small community) and my dads a pretty good lawyer(which is why I am confused about him being so hesitent to get nice car, namely the TL).

 

Southern - you're right, I'm sure it varies from state to state. My note was to Crazy who was advocating "going after" the perpetrator of a hit and run ... my advise to him was get the info and let the cops do their job ...

I can almost guarantee that, regardless of the state, if one of the involved parties causes an accident and leaves without stopping to ensure that there was no personal injury, or to share their information with the other parties involved, it would be a crime.

You're going after them ... not a great idea, and depending on what you do to catch them and what you do to them once you get there .... probably illegal.

 

My dads car was envolved in a very minor hit and run today(or else its just from my mom borrowing the car the other day). Doesnt really matter cause the car is technically Totalled, a tranny repair would cost more then the value, still driveable though, not far, but runsish!!Faster this car craps out the faster we get the TL!!!

 

Oh, so you're saying it's OK to file a false official complaint with a law enforcement officer?

 

You are an argumentive dolt. If you get hit that hard there has to be some discomfort. Do you look for the worst in everyone? I just know that the cops will do virtually nothing unless there is something other than twisted metal involved. I am done with arguing with you because arguing with an idiot only brings you down to their level and then they beat you with experience.

 

No, I'm just calling you out to justify a statement you made. You've provided no justification whatsoever. My point is made. I hope in the future that you'll think a bit before posting a comment that would suggest that people should lie to a police officer.

 

Dont lie to the coppers, its best to have em on your side. Lying is lying, no such thing as a white lie.

 

I feel you my friend. And as for the guy who got hit by a truck on the express.. you know.. things like that just pisses me off. Cops only catch good taxpayers by giving them a speed ticket. Any cops here on this forum... I got two words for you

"low life"

 

I totally agreed. Here in the bay area, we see cops flashing their lights at a red light intersection, then stop flash after they passed. Caching the wrong innocent ppl who passed yellor lights but don't cacth the one who actually passed a red light.

 

You try being a cop, they deserve your respect. Maybe they occasionaly catch the wrong puerspm, they get there point accross. Lets take cops out of the picture, your car would be stolen in less then 24 hours. You are the real Low Lifes. Also, you can forget about ever catching that hit and run. If you looked over at their plates faking injury would not be neccasary. Cops have more important things to do, like keeping people from killing eachother. Next time you see a cop, why dont you call them a low life to their face instead of bitching to them in a semi-anonymous forum.

 

To Brewmaster;

Oh, I guess I missed the "going after" part. And Your second paragraph, about almost guaranteeing... I I'm pretty certain you have that right. The law here in Virginia takes a dim view of hit and runs. Two people who are involved in an accident where there is no injury and no other property damage and who just exchange information (insurance, etc.) and leave are not acting outside of the law. However, depending upon the amount of damage, accident conditions and possible fault, and some other things, they could have problems with their insurance companies so it is generally best to have an officer present for a report. As for going after someone in a hit and run, I would reserve that only for criminal situations and would seriously caution someone to only do that as far as getting a description of the vehicle, tag number, and occupants. Then stop the persuit.


To crazymjb;

You make good and decent points about law enforcement officers. First off, lying. I have a good policy on this having heard it from G.Gordon Liddy. If you never lie, you never have to remember what you told somebody. Great policy.

As for the police, most are hard working, good people who have a, sometimes, difficult and thankless, not to mention dangerous, job to do. The ones I don't like are the ones that somehow think that they're the boss. They seem to forget it's WE who are THEIR bosses. We hire them, pay their salary, and give them one heck of a lot of power to do the things we don't have the time, inclination, or desire to do. This same feeling of mine extends to ANY public official right up to and including the President of the United States. The lot of them are our employees but a good deal of them forgot a long time ago who they work for.

But virtually every police officer I see or come into contact with is fine in my book.

 

Hate to say this, but unless you are injured, the cops aren't really giving it any kind of priority.

The famous version of what you are suggesting ends like this (at least here in Philly): The offending vehicle is reported stolen just a few hours later. And SOMEhow manages to be located at the owner's residence... cops chalk it up to a joyride since it means less paperwork.

Gotta love it!