See the album/photo section for actual pictures. It was very rainy and the car lost control/stablity control worked poorly or not at all and hit traffic light pole.

When you see the pictures, you can see that I lost control but hit the car in one of the better places (the edge of the bumper). Not a ton of damage but the seatbelt tensioner broke and the it will need a new wheel, bumper, and airbags. I have been going back and forth whether this car will be totaled or not (Bluebook is around $9k). What do you think the chances are of this getting totaled? I am very picky (the car was in close to mint condition) so I would prefer it not to be totaled since it is a nice car but I also don't want it unless they fix it right...any advice appreciated.

 

Insurance will total it if the damage amount is near or higher then the value of the car.

Have you received any repair estimates yet?

 

^^ What he said.
...from the very limited photos you have...it looks borderline on being total loss.

 

i dont even think it has to be higher then the value of the car. they might total it if its like 75% value of the car.

 

The estimate of repair is going to come in on Thursday or Friday. I am not sure if it is going to be totaled or not. Based on what AZN said above, the car would need about $7,000 in damage to have it totaled. Do you think that it is going to be over $7,000 in damage for airbags, bumper, seatbelt tensioner, and dashboard? If there was any frame damage (which I don't think so but you never know), then it would probably be totaled.

 

Pretty sure most companies use like 70% of blue book value = total loss

 

No headlight, foglight, turn indicator, or hood, steering/suspension damage?

 

All that damage plus frame damage = likely totaled for sure.

Even if the frame is not totaled it's going to be close as those are expensive and labor intensive parts that need to be replaced. And if you factor in the items Moog mentioned, even more expensive.

Best bet is likely to wait for the estimate b/c we can guess all day long and not know for sure...

 

The glass of the headlight broke but the light still worked. I agree that it may be best to just wait to see if it is totaled or not...any chance that the dealership makes it just below the 70% mark to repair and does a schotty job at fixing it? That is my biggest fear!

 

Tough call here but the deployed airbags alone cost more then $2000 from the dealer so you could have a totaled vehicle. But honestly, the damage in the front doesn't look too bad, I guess it all depends on whether or not the cradle/frame was damaged.

 

The airbags can be had for MUCH less, even from an Acura dealer.

 

Total damage for car: 75.1% of car in good condition, 80.2% of car in excellent condition. This is the estimate so far.

Will this car be totaled? Also, any advice on whether I should recommend that they total it or not?

 

You have zero say about it being totalled. I have been through this twice. My insurance company was at 75% of blue book value. The last accident I had was $600 bucks shy of being totaled. I had no say.

It looks like to me that the damage is not that bad. If they do decide to fix the car. Do not take delivery of it until you give a thorough check. Take it for a drive before you sign any papers.

 

^ What he said.

You will have no say in the determination. It's all up to your insurance company now, and, as mentioned, if they decide to fix it, do a thorough inspection and test drive to make sure it's driving properly.