Hit going 65mph

I know TTIWWP, but for some reason my computer won't download the pics off my camera at the moment.

***Pics Below***

So I'm going down 35 in the middle lane, nobody around. I look in the rearview and here comes the Hyundai. I think she's going to hit me so I hit the gas, and she hit me anyway. I was doing 65 so she had to be doing 75 or so. The rear fender is kinked and the taillight is broken.

So what to do? This is my beater, but it's paid for and gets 35+mpg. I'm sure that they will total it, my body guy told me at least 1500 to fix it, but on the cheap, I can do it for about $250 and just not care about what it looks like. But then it gets a salvage title and I have to deal with.

I need a back seat, but don't want a car payment. Shouldn't I just keep it or let it go. It's got 208k, but I just did a new exhaust manifold, cat. converter, and shocks. It should be good for another 100k miles.

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Originally Posted by Sharpie

So I'm going down 35 in the middle lane, nobody around. I look in the rearview and here comes the Hyundai. I think she's going to hit me so I hit the gas, and she hit me anyway.

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So what was she doing that she missed seeing you up til she hit ya?? :confused:

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Originally Posted by POS Racing

So what was she doing that she missed seeing you up til she hit ya?? :confused:

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Well ... she is so "concentrated" at his rear end! :-)

Have the B*&^%$ pay you cash for the damage and don't turn it in to insurance. If it's too late for that, take the insurance money and keep the car, fixed or not (depends on your pride). If you already own the car, it's a beater, and mechanically sound, don't let it go. A replacement will cost you more than you'll get out of your current beater.




God, I hate stupid drivers, especially the ones so stupid that they wreck *other* peoples cars. ::Rant::

Sorry to hear about the wreck, Sharpie. Are you okay?

I'd say let them total it, buy it back, and fix it with the difference. It's a beater, so who cares about the salvage title? Just hold onto it and drive it into the ground.

get it fixed properly or buy another...whichever is cheapest.

Forgot about the new half shafts. Getting the estimate on Friday. This car doesn't look good enough to have it fixed right, you can't blend faded paint. I'll keep you posted.

I think the lady did something to her right side and her hands just followed. She called the insurance first and they called me before end of the day. She said she was looking back to change lanes, but there was no reason for that because she didn't need to exit, she passed me just south of the Lewisville lake bridge after we exchanged info.

My focus now is proving what a 97' Civic hatch is worth if I was to buy my car the minute before it got hit.

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Originally Posted by Sharpie

Forgot about the new half shafts. Getting the estimate on Friday. This car doesn't look good enough to have it fixed right, you can't blend faded paint. I'll keep you posted.

I think the lady did something to her right side and her hands just followed. She called the insurance first and they called me before end of the day. She said she was looking back to change lanes, but there was no reason for that because she didn't need to exit, she passed me just south of the Lewisville lake bridge after we exchanged info.

My focus now is proving what a 97' Civic hatch is worth if I was to buy my car the minute before it got hit.

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For reference, Progressive wrote me a check for $5250 (still waiting on my $250 deductible from the uninsured scum of the earth that hit it) for my '97 Civic, with an option to retain the car for $1425 less than that, but that was 3 months shy of 2 years ago, and mine only had 115k miles on it.

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Originally Posted by Sharpie

My focus now is proving what a 97' Civic hatch is worth if I was to buy my car the minute before it got hit.

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For what it's worth, KBB.com says the retail value on a DX hatch is $3,700. Sucks about the car... :punchout:

Good luck, and glad you're okay!

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Originally Posted by cwisenheimer

God, I hate stupid drivers, especially the ones so stupid that they wreck *other* peoples cars. ::Rant::

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AMEN!!! TO THAT!!!!



Sharpie, I'm glad you are okay - that could have been so bad.

My daughter was going down Greenville and a lady pulled out from a side street right in front of her...my daughter was going the posted speed of 45. The lady got out of her car and asked my daughter "why did you cut in front of me?" I've never wanted to knock the piss out of somebody so bad in my life!

My daughter paid cash for her loaded with everything imaginable, plus after market rims & tires, Maxima with life insurance money from her father who was murdered who always told her he wanted to buy her a really nice car. Then BAM! Just like that totalled by this stupid STUPID arrogant woman.

The ' c u next tuesday" that hit her still had the wax writing on her car from her previous accident. We should have sued her...but unless you have injuries there is not much you can do. Yeah I'm thankful everybody was okay - but my daughters car was totaled and this stupid (biting tongue) gets away with it AND has the nerve to try and blame my daughter.

Traffic going south on 75 was a pain in the butt this morning, but when I found out why, I was okay with it. Plano and Richardson were working with DART to crack down on HOV violators!! I hope they are out this afternoon as well, and they bust all those jackass's that think that opening near Park is legal passage to the HOV - well it is NOT and I hope they bust every one that thinks it is. An SUV came barrelling out of there just the other day and I had to slam on my brakes to avoid a collision.

Glad you are ok!!! As for the car, FIX IT ON THE CHEAP, unless you have the cash to buy. Do not get into debt, even if you make $1,000,000.00 a year. Per your comment about it being a beater, it seems as if the car did the job you wanted it to do. Repair it yourself and then have several of the dfwmiata.net over for beer and we can sand the car down, tape it off and find a really nice rattle can color and paint it. Then the car is fixed.:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by smartmx5

Repair it yourself and then have several of the dfwmiata.net over for beer and we can sand the car down, tape it off and find a really nice rattle can color and paint it. Then the car is fixed.:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

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I vote for "rattle-can potluck" where we each bring the color of our choosing. :D

Wow Sharpie, you must live right or something. Glad you're not hurt.

Name the time and I'll help with repairs too. I think you already know it's the most cost effective choice.

My 2 cents?

Take the cash (hopefully 4K?), let them total it, buy it back for 1K then take it to Honda and dump it as a clunker. 3K+4,500 credit=7,500 then buy a new Fit for $14,900 (or approx $16K OTD) minus the $7,500 or $8,500 total.

Option 1. Keep it since it will last you forever, is brand new and is a gas sipper for around $150 a month. Seems worth it to me. If you get bored you can always put a K20 in it and have some fun.

Option 2. Buy it, flip it quickly Ken o style for 14K brand new, pay off the 8,500 loan and buy a nice new beater with the remaining $5,500.

Yes I'm a cheap ass.

Hey Sharpie sorry about the car, but glad you are OK.

From experience this is what I would do.

First go to the doctor and get checked out. Let them know it was an auto accident so it is on record. This will help protect you if you experience any symptoms down the road. Even if you feel ok never tell them that and never sign any medical release until you are sure you are fine. I waited 1 year the last time I was in an accident.

Second start clipping adds for cars that are similar to yours to show current Market value. Insurance companies will try to low ball you, but they have to pay you fair market value for your car. You can try to show them receipts for the work that was done, but more than likely they will say that is normal maintenance.

Third don't give them the title or let them take possession of the car until you come to an agreeable number. If you choose to keep the car you will not receive a salvage title if you don’t release the title. I learned this from a friend and it worked for me on one of my cars. Most insurance companies don't care about issuing a salvage title unless the car is less than 5 years old. The car I did this with still has a clear title.

If you fix it do it on the cheep and then rattle can the whole car flat black and put those wheels I sold you on it. Rat Rod Civic!

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Originally Posted by CosmosMpower

My 2 cents?

Take the cash (hopefully 4K?), let them total it, buy it back for 1K then take it to Honda and dump it as a clunker. 3K+4,500 credit=7,500 then buy a new Fit for $14,900 (or approx $16K OTD) minus the $7,500 or $8,500 total.

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I thought to qualify as a clunker it had to get worse than 18mpg combined?

Thanks everyone. I'll know tomorrow. I need to do my research for what others are going for before, I let them do anything. If I was to sell the car right before it got hit I wouldn't take less than $3k, so I'm shooting north of that. We'll see.

It could've been very bad, but by hitting the gas I lessened the impact. I'll post pics tonight, (I hope).

Attachment 3268
Attachment 3269

There they are.

glad you are ok

It still sucks, but the damage isn't as bad as I expected.

I think I'd just put some red tape on the tail light and keep on rollin' man :). Glad you weren't hurt though. Crazy stupid people.

For what happened the damage isn't that bad, but if you look close you can see the dent just below the gas door and just in front of the rear tire. That's why I think they'll total it.

I can't see a total. Maybe though. That is something that can be repaired on the cheap. Also, the car is not in overall bad shape. Maybe a claybar and Zaino? Keep us posted.

I think it could have been much worse, but that don't look total bad.

Looking at the pics I doubt that would be a total, even on a $3,000 car. I was thinking the whole back corner was caved in or something. Glad you're ok, hope it gets worked out. Maybe try and squeeze enough money out of them to get a decent full paint job?

I hope you guys are right, let you know after lunch.

What a PITA this is going be. Their estimate is $1035, so I'm glad they didn't try to total it, but now I have to go around and get more estimates, because this is a lowball figure. No bumper cover replacement, $20 for a taillight. Cheapest I found on ebay was $35 and my body guy gets them for $80.
No, I'm not fixing it 100% but I should get an accurate number as the car has decreased in value. What do you guys think, should I just STFU and accept that I have to look at a dented quarter panel for $1000 bucks. ?????

They don't owe you $1035 - they owe you a fixed car. ::Rant::

Now, if you don't want it fixed, but would rather have the $, that's up to you - but they gotta get closer to reality on the number for sure. IMHO and all that...

Glad you're okay, though.

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Originally Posted by Sharpie

What a PITA this is going be. Their estimate is $1035, so I'm glad they didn't try to total it, but now I have to go around and get more estimates, because this is a lowball figure. No bumper cover replacement, $20 for a taillight. Cheapest I found on ebay was $35 and my body guy gets them for $80.
No, I'm not fixing it 100% but I should get an accurate number as the car has decreased in value. What do you guys think, should I just STFU and accept that I have to look at a dented quarter panel for $1000 bucks. ?????

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Just for future reference, who is your insurance company? (If you don't mind that is.)

My insurance is USAA, this lady has Progressive.

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Originally Posted by Sharpie

My insurance is USAA, this lady has Progressive.

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Tell them that it's BS, you're calling Jim Adler and your neck hurts, I bet they triple their estimate fast.

Don't think that hasn't crossed my mind......

The first thing to do is get 3 estimates...

The 2nd is to call your agent and tell him the bullshit you are experiencing.

I had hit a downed power line and the electric company tried to pull the "Act of God" crap because a storm rolled through. I had pics of everything (including the untrimmed trees all through the lines) and called my insurance agent. He was chomping at the bit to go after the other insurance company if they didn't take care of me on this.

If your insurance agent is worth the money you are paying him then he or she will help you with this.

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Originally Posted by channelmaniac

The 2nd is to call your agent and tell him the bullshit you are experiencing.

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+1

It actually might be the first thing I'd do at this point. USAA's good folks, in my experience....

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Originally Posted by Sharpie

What a PITA this is going be. Their estimate is $1035, so I'm glad they didn't try to total it, but now I have to go around and get more estimates, because this is a lowball figure. No bumper cover replacement, $20 for a taillight. Cheapest I found on ebay was $35 and my body guy gets them for $80.
No, I'm not fixing it 100% but I should get an accurate number as the car has decreased in value. What do you guys think, should I just STFU and accept that I have to look at a dented quarter panel for $1000 bucks. ?????

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Typical insurance tactic. They give you a lowball number and hope you will take the $$ and not fix the car. If you take the car to a good body shop they will know how to work with the insurance company once the total exceeds the estimate. My friend with a body shop has to do this all the time.

From what I remember the last time this happened to me, I had my choice of body shop. I took my car to a shop I had a connection to, and they handled it. The other guy's insurance was cheap and shitty at first, but in the end they relented. It was a touchy deal because it was a gray-market BMW, but it all worked out in the end. I think the original estimate was about $1500, but the final tab ended up being about $2500.

+1 for calling your agent to bird-dog the other party.

I have sent the USAA dogs on another company before and they not only got all their money back, but my deductible too

The body shop will get them to pay more if they need them too, but then they have to fix it. I'm not willing to drive a bashed up car for a grand. Reselling it wrecked plus the grand will never get me what I could've sold the car for 5 minutes before it was hit.

If I got it fixed I don't see the best painter in the world being able to blend faded paint. Not sure what my next move is at this point. I'll call USAA and get their opinion.

Eating my humble pie......

My body guy looked at the estimate and the car and said he could do it for their price, so excuse my rant. I'm not going to go for the full fix though, I'll probably just buy a taillight and then if the dent bugs me I'll have them pull it out and not paint it or anything for $160.

Sorry this happened Chris. Glad you are ok.

Insurance companies low ball their estimate hoping you'll cash the check rather than paying to fix it.

Get several estimates and make them bump their estimate up. If you don't want it totalled tell them that isn't an option. Get more money and then get Steven or your neighbor to fix it cheaper. Use the extra dollars for Miata upgrades!