Rule #1 when dealing with insurance companies: never accept their first offer.
Rear Ended!
So I was sitting at a stop light... and the light turned green... and the huge F150 behind me decided it was GO-TIME! And destroyed the rear end of my precious Miata. After he backed up... and let the rear tires fall to the ground..... as I was riding on his bumper.... I called the police... and him and I parked outside a bank... To which he gets out of his car... comes over to me... and says "THE LIGHT WAS GREEN DIDNT YA KNOW?!?" I about died laughing. He truly thinks that he isn't in the wrong. He told the police exactly what happened.... just as I told them... I didn't go when the light turned green... so I'm pretty confident this will be a straight forward insurance claim that I won't be charged against... But I was just absolutely astounded that this man thinks he didn't do anything wrong. Anyways... this thread will be the collection of all the repairs and what not I will be going through. Figured I'd start it now while I wait 1-4 days for a claims adjuster to come give an estimate on repairs. This is my first accident so I'm not 100 percent sure how it works.
Car still drives, it feels like the alignment is off... the car gently turns left and right, easily corrected, but possibly a major problem? Rear bumper has an inch gap on the left side, I'll post pictures soon. Both tail lights lens' broken, lights still work. Trunk is bent taco style, side panels are caved in, and my birthday present license plate holder from my little brother that says "Roadster" is broken. His heart will be broken over this!
The good news:
I am completely okay. The man is completely okay. His truck has no scratches or dents or any marks whatsoever! And we both have USAA so it should be a very easy first claim for me.
Update:
The guy took full responsibility for the accident and I will be getting a service call from a USAA rep who will assess the cost of damage on Monday.
Additionally, I was at a red light, the light turned green, and the guy who rear-ended me floored it.
Last edited by MiataProtege; 09-28-2011 at 01:01 PM.
Rule #1 when dealing with insurance companies: never accept their first offer.
Check underneath to see if one of the diff mounts is broken. Pretty common to see that on a rear-ended Miata.
...and +1 for what Rob said.
'94 Black & Black & Tan
'99 head swap, JR header, TDR intake & header blanket, MegaSquirt, RB hollow bar, Tein Flex, 15x8 6ULs, HD M2 Sport, FM cat, Borla cat-back, black '95M interior, MOMO Zebrano, IL Motorsport console...
Dyno Days
8/16/08 (bone stock): 103.1 hp/99.0 lb-ft - Dynojet
8/23/08 (Borla cat-back): 108.2 hp/104.1 lb-ft - Dynojet
8/13/11 (more stuff...): 126 hp/116 lb-ft - Mustang dyno
Roger Moore: the Danny White of James Bonds
He will probably tell the insurance company that you rolled backward or had the car in reverse.
1990 White NA - SOLD
1994 Black NA - SOLD
2006 Red NC - GT with limited slip, HIDs, all OEM.
If it's as bad as he's making it sound, his insurance will probably try to total it. If he bent both quarters in and folded the trunk, I could definitely see them trying to call it a loss, unless the car is immaculate. If he opens the trunk and sees some major wrinkling going on, he should all but officially kiss that car goodbye.
Hope everything works out with insurance.
If the light was green, why were you not moving ?
So, your experiment in driving stick lasted about 2-weeks? Might be a cosmic message in there...
Please consider a blog for your detailed restoration thread...
Polished Turd Racing
Mick wrote: "I think Jerrett is the best autocrosser I have ever seen naked."
I too dealt with my first serious accident back in December. Since you both have the same insurance company, it should be easier to deal with, but don't be surprised if you have to spend hours justifying the value of your car with documentation and similar cars.
The fact that the guy in the truck is dumbass and ran into you while you were stopped at the green light should, in no way, be seen as your fault, but why were you stopped at the green light?
Am I the only one that actually understands why he was "stopped" at a green light? From what I read, it was red. He was stopped. Guy in the truck was stopped behind him too. Light turned green. The guy behind him hit the gas before he did, apparently pretty hard. It's actually happened to me a few times, oddly enough (not in the Miata).
One time someone beeped at me the very instant the light turned green. I mean literally at the same exact time. I don't think I could have even pulled a reaction time drag racing nearly as fast as the guy expected. So I pulled my parking brake, got out, walked around and looked at all the tires, circled back to the driver's door, looked back at the ass that beeped and scratched my head. Then got back in the car and drove off just before the light turned red for him again. Some people are just too impatient for things like not jack-rabbit starts from a stop sign/streetlight.
Last edited by Rob®; 09-28-2011 at 01:00 PM.
I'm with Rob® on this on seems like a case of clueless pickup truck driver.Originally Posted by MiataProtege
Sorry for your troubles MiataProtege.
Once upon a time, while making a left hand turn... when the green arrow appeared, I stalled on the turn. Just as I restarted and proceeded with the turn, a truckload of what I suspect may have been undocumented "guests" blasted through what had to have been a red light for at least the past 5 - 10 seconds. Had I not choked on the clutch for some unknown reason that particular day at that particular light, I most certainly would have been T boned. Doesn't matter if the light is green or if you had the right of way or whatever.
I'd call USAA and tell them you need a rental car since yours is screwed up.
Also if it is as bad as you say it is that car will be more than likely be totaled by the insurance company. Get yourself ready for that possibility.
Just make sure you get a fair settlement on this deal. Don't sign anything until you are happy with the deal.
Repost? :)
PS: I'm dedicating the first start this weekend to you
Sorry I added you to my ignore list a while back.Repost? :)
PS: I'm dedicating the first start this weekend to you
Say hi to black roadster for me will ya!
I see how it isI'd ignore me if I was you too.
A HUGE F-150?
Here are the pictures.
Starting with his truck.... absolutely perfect condition after he hoisted me off the ground with the chrome part of his bumper. Incredible he has no scratches dents or paint chips.
My taco trunk.
Bumper falling off.
Bumper falling off even more so on the opposite side.
You can't see it well... but the bottom of this picture is a massive dent aswell as a single straight line scratch/dent. The grooves that look sort of like the patterns of finger prints were already there. Though anything that doesn't look like finger print patterns wasn't there before. Like the scrapes on the lip that go all the way down the length of the car.
And in my opinion the most upsetting of the pictures... the Mazda Icon obliterated.
After looking at it without being furious, it's not too overly bad. I'm hoping it will look brand new in a week or two. Currently, I plan on taking the car directly to Mazda to have it professionally fixed by the makers. Assuming USAA doesn't argue they are charging more then a USAA sponsor would charge.
Another thing... I was told if I have the trunk / rear bumper (clip?) replaced, the colors will always be slightly different. Is this true? Will it be noticeable? Should I try and get it mended and not replaced?
I hope this doesn't bother anyone; me recounting the events of my crash to insurance claims through forum posts.
Last edited by MiataProtege; 09-28-2011 at 01:36 PM.
Huge in comparison. That thing is a monster truck compared to my MiataA HUGE F-150?
Need pics of the quarter panels and inside the trunk - that is what will basically determine if they total it or not. Those pics make it look like nothing.
Good luck on getting it back from a shop in two weeks. From my experience (including working at/with a body shop), "two weeks" is a month.
Body panels will be painted if/when they are replaced. Ordered in the correct color or not, they will need to be paint matched. I can't imagine any but the most ghetto shops not doing that. I don't even think the insurance adjuster will assume it won't be painted/blended to match. I don't remember where you said you keep "hearing" things about vehicles, but at this point you should probably tell that source to stop: they are 0-2 from just what I can think of off the top of my head.
The "fingerprint lines" on the rear bumper are from a previous impact. Backing into something, someone tapping your car while they were parking, etc.
Did you just post something???I see how it is
The description of the carnage doesn't seem to exactly line up with the pictures. Or have they dramatically changed the design of a Taco since I last had one??
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