Got rear ended today....... Need Help

[Spencer]

Ok, well, I got rear ended today by a girl I know who drives a big ol suburban. I stopped for a yellow and she planned on running it but I got in the way of her plans.


Anyways, she fully totaled my trunk lid, and bumper. Those will be replaced without question. My question is, the huge panel that includes the roof, front pillars, rear pillars and the rear quarter panels was bent a little on both sides (crumpled)and the paint was chipped. This panel alone combined with the trunk lid, bumper and spoiler, is about half the car. If part of a panel is damaged, doesnt the whole thing need to be repainted? If so, this would require half my car to be repainted. Wouldnt this be grounds to demand a fully new paint job because of color matching problems, etc? Just wondering because I want to milk this as much as possible.

Also, my mozart exhaust tips got all bent and dented. Do you think they will just try to replace the tips or should I demand a fully new exhaust?

Thanks for the help....... I will post pics of the damage soon.

[mrclam]

hey bro....we have ALMOST the exact same problem...except i was at fault with mine. this happened at the socal meet a couple weeks ago at wheelpower, basically what happened was i went into a corner too fast(90degree at 30-50) and i lost the rear end and coulnd't oversteer in time to get it back, end result, badly damaged rear end, ran into a light pole backwards at 15-20mph.

so as for the damage, i did ride up on a curb so i messed up an axle and the rear right suspension, but as for body damage...here it comes.
i messed up everything you did, the bumper, trunk lid, and the part between the bumper and trunk lid was dented in. the body shop gave me an estimate of 9k and 3-4 weeks of time in the shop. they actually will not repaint your whole car, they'll sand it and blend the paint in with the rest of the car...so you won't have the car totally repainted =)

[C.Yang]

If I were you, I would just tell the insurance company what you want done. It is out of the driver's hands now so you are just dealin with the insurance company. Tell them what you want, and hopefully everything is done to your desire. Sorry to hear about your crash.

[FatBoyM]

If you haven't found a shop yet, check out Eurocal. They did some pretty good work on my car. Inevitably, the paint match isn't 100% perfect because the process BMW uses leaves an orange peel finish, while I think most shops will give you a smoother finish. Either that or someone pulled a fast one on me.

[mrclam]

i'm in socal and i'm using al's body shop in huntington park....it's the same shop nick alexander uses.

[AlphaKennyOne ///M3]

Man...just to let you know, I can scam BIG TIME to get whatever you want. Now first of off....paint will NEVER be 100% matched....even spraying the paint with a higher or lower pressure would make a paint look different....but anyways....DEMAND for a new paint job and bring up that half of your car would need to get painted anyways (when you get your car estimated by YOUR own shop....make sure to tell them that the insurance will be paying for it....once you tell them that, they know you don't care about the money issue and they will tell the insurance company that the cars needs to be REPAINTED all over again.....shop is happy with more money....you're happy with the new paint job....who cares about the insurance company getting dicked over). About the exhaust....I know the mozart isn't the best of exhaust for the M3....so now it's time for a NEW exhaust. Try to get a used receipt of a BETTER exhaust and tell the insurance company this was YOUR exhaust and it's damaged now (like they will know the difference from a mozzart to a B&B Triflo). Make sure to tell them that it's damaged and NOT just the tips are damaged. Well....I hope this helps!

Alan

WARNING!! I have NEVER done this before....this is just a suggestion. I am not liable for your responsibility of doing a false insurance scam (it really isn't except for the exhaust).

That was just like the disclaimer box you see on all modified parts. Hehe....but really, I'm not getting busted by no cops....so whatever you do is in YOUR hands

[GMat]

My family being in the insurance business, i would urge you not to try and pull one of the insurance company's eyes for a few reasons. The claims people know their shit. Theyre not stupid, they do this stuff for a living and youre are definitely not going to be the first person to try to get 'more' out of a claim. Theyre most likely going to know the fading on your A-pillar is not a result of the accident. =P Secondly, insurance fraud is big time stuff. You may not think it is a big deal to the insurance company, hell they handle tons of claims right? Most companies take every claim as serious as they would if it were their only account. If you do get caught trying to screw them, they are going to do something about it. And as to the 'who cares if the insurance company gets dicked over' comment... Where the hell do you think insurance companies get the money to repaint the car? Off the money tree in the backyard? No... Higher premiums for your insurance. Youre going to end up paying for it in the end anyways so its really not worth trying to cheat anyone. I also think dishonest people are about the lowest of the low. Get your car fixed how it was before the accident. Just my two cents i guess...

[AlphaKennyOne ///M3]

Originally posted by GMat
And as to the 'who cares if the insurance company gets dicked over' comment... Where the hell do you think insurance companies get the money to repaint the car? Off the money tree in the backyard? No... Higher premiums for your insurance. Youre going to end up paying for it in the end anyways so its really not worth trying to cheat anyone.

That is true....but if he hasn't got into any accidents before and has a clean driving record....none of this should effect his insurance going up....and also, he got rear ended so it's not his fault anyways. But GMat is right....be careful if you are going to try to pull a leg on the insurance company. I haven't actually seen your car yet so not sure if it's really a clean getaway.

Alan

[Spencer]

Well, this is a follow up to my post yesterday about getting rear ended by a suburban. I took the car into a very high end shop, and they are going to replace everything even touched by the accident. He did say there was probabily some minor frame damage. I know this devalues the car (i probabily wouldnt buy a car with frame damage) so is there any way to get the insureance company to compensate for the value lost on my car? I think it is only fair to get some compensation, but let me know if you guys think the insureance company will go for that (farmers insurance).

Also, anyone one know the retail value of an M3 bumper and diffuser? I need the price that BMW would charge me, not prices out of bekkers, etc. Thanks for the help.

Also, just wondering, as far as replacing things like the exhaust, and my spoiler, do I need receipts for them?
Also, GMat, since your family is in the business, how the claim process work? Farmers told me i could go where I want, so do I take it to the shop, and then the shop tells the insurence company how much money it is going to be? Or does a claims person from Farmers actually look at your car also? I am wondering because with my exhaust, the tips are the only thing really screwed up and I will get a new system no matter what but I just want to know if I am going to have to deal with an insurance guy telling me that the tips can just be replaced (the body shop guy said he could just get a full new system).

Also, I looked under the hood for the first time since the accident and the fuel rail plastic cover was cracked off (this must have happened from the accident). This must mean that the engine was moved around during the accident, is there anything I should look for that could have been damaged?

Thanks for the help guys.

[MattL]

I was rear-ended a little over a year ago. Unfortunately, I'm still finding little things wrong with the repair work Therefore, I happen to have the prices for some of the parts you're going to need right here

Fender R.RR. 377.00
Primed rear apron 542.00
Panel 116.00
Tail Pnl. 158.00
Carrier 224.00
Shock Absorber (2) 128.00 ea.
Taillight-R 184.00

Those are just the parts over $100.00. There were lots of things less that $100, most of which I can't describe (cover, support, insert, bracket).

I don't know what some of those part are, but you'll probably need them too



Good luck.
--
MattL

[Spencer]

Your car looks like mine right now. Thanks for the prices. Why did you have to replace the rear shocks? How did they get damaged? I think my rear shock mounts may have been broken but how would the whole shock get damaged? Just wondering, because I might check them out. Thanks

[GMat]

Well you take it to whatever shop you want, and the shop will be in touch with your insurance company. They'll send a claims guy out, they will look over the car and talk to the shop people about what they want to do to fhe car and it will move from there.

[frayed]

There's probably a bit of a difference b/t being dishonest and being silent.

Common practice would be to estimate the repair based on cost of OEM parts. Here, the bmw exhaust is clearly more expensive than the mozart. Just be sure to be able to look over the entire estimate before it gets sent to the adjuster.

Second, let the body shop know of your desire to have the whole car painted. Since that cost is mostly labor, the shop may have a way to handle it, such as folding the labor into other areas of repair within which they have a 'range' of estimated hours to fix, or giving you the extra paintwork for a side deal, at their cost. In essence, leverage the 10k worth of repairs to get extra work done for a good deal.

Last, there are always judgement calls as to replacement vs. fix. I was in a very similar accident with my 325i (12k in damage), and a slightly bent exhaust was replaced, no questions asked. I did not even request replacement.

Bottom line, work the deal through your repair shop; they are the most experienced, and probably know the adjuster personally.

[MattL]

Spencer,

The shock absorbers aren't the suspension shocks, but energy absorbers that attach the bumper to the frame somehow. They sacrifice themselves in a collision I'm not sure where they are, or if you can see them, but I bet you're going to get new ones too.

--
MattL

[Changster]

hey ... funny story ... my car got hit the other day REAL BAD while i was PARKED IN A PARKING LOT !! yea messed up ... the shop says 16k damage ... insurance is really being annoying about it though ... very annoying ... about how this and that is fine ... like my left front wheel got curb rash when i got hit .. but their like no its fine so they wouldnt replace it !! anything that wasnt in preaccident condition should get replaced ... right ?!

[frayed]

Yes. Replaced or repaired.

[mrclam]

jeez man sucks to hear that you got hit =(

[RS]

Changster... what in the hell would do that in a parking lot...did a dump truck forget to set his parking brake or something???

[North Florida]

Spencer, interesting topic you raise with your posting.

For example, GMat responded "I also think dishonest people are about the lowest of the low. ", yet he claims his family is in the insurance business. Now, if that's not calling the kettle black ? I mean, do you know of any other industry that has more dishonest people working as supposed professionals than the insurance business ? (OK, so there are the mortgage brokers and real estate brokers, but insurance people are clearly in the top five of dishonest professionals in the U.S.)

As an example, no one has suggested that (OK, here I am suggesting it) you look into the area of the law addressing insurance claims known as a "Dimunition of value" claim. Review of your insurance policy will most likely reference languange to the effect that your insurance company will make you whole again pursuant to a valid claim, meaning they will put you in a position you were in prior to the covered loss.

Well, lets take a hypothetical situation. Lets say I own an M3 with a fair market value of 30g and you agree to buy it for fair market value of 30g, and we agree to close on the deal next Thursday. Tonight, I get into an accident, considered a covered loss under my insurance policy. There is 5g in damage, and the body shop, the best in town, sez they can complete the work by next Tuesday. The body shop completes the work which is the best repair job anyone can do, considered perfect, and my insurance policy pays for the covered loss to the body shop as agreed.

Now it's Thursday and you come over to my house to close the deal on the M3 purchase. Since I am the honest one here (remember, I'm not in the insurance business)(nor am I a mortgage broker) I tell you how I wrecked the car last Thursday and it has been perfectly fixed, 5g worth of damage, show you all paperwork, and disclose all info to you.

QUESTION: Do you still believe the car is worth 30g ?

ANSWER: Of course not ! Once you establish how much of the cars value has been diminshed, that is the amount of the additional claim the policy holder still has against the insurance company. Referred to as a "Diminution of Value" claim. Remember, the policy promises to make you whole again, put you back into a position prior to the covered loss. That position, was that you owned a car with fair market value of 30g.

Now, lets get back to the supposedly HONEST insurance professionals. Go ahead, request your claims adjuster to file the additional claim on your behalf for the dimunition of value. Lets see how honest they really are ?

Your luck can only get worse if your insurance company is Allstate. Check out www.allstate.org (be careful not to confuse this URL with Allstate's home page at www.allstate.com). www.allstate.org is an Anti-Allstate site exposing dimunition of value claims in which policy holders sue their own insurance company for denying the dimunition of value claim.

I have found the same level of dishonesty runs the gamit from insurance company to insurance company. So, if you find an honest insurance company, lets us know who it is, cause we are all wondering where they are at.

When a policy holder has to hire an attorney to file a claim against their own insurance company, for example, for denying a dimunition of value claim, it is called a "Bad Faith Insurance Claim" Find attorney's in your area (through your local Bar association, it's easy) that specialize in Bad Faith Insurance Claims against insurace companies, and those supposedly honest insurance professionals will quiver in their feet.

So GMat, come clean and tell us what your family really thinks about claims against insurance companies by their own policy holders for bad faith and denial of dimunition of value claims ?

Anyway, good luck with your car and lets us all know how it turns out.

[GMat]

Did i ever say that all insurance people are upstanding individuals? Im sorry if youve had poor experiences with the insurance industry but come on. How dare you insinuate that my 'family' is dishonest? Simply because we are involved in insurance? Your broad generalizations make clear your lack of knowldege on the subject. First off you need to understand that everyone in the 'insurance business' is not an insurance 'broker'. The companies we have specialize in risk control, risk selection and some underwriting for specific industries like grocery and retail stores, wholesale distributorships and forestry . We have nothing to do nor we will ever have anything to do with personal coverage for auto or any other type of individual policy issuance. I guess i cant really comment on your issue of loss of value due to damage but I can say this: If you feel youve been wronged, take it to court. There are dishonest people in every line of work, thats just how the world turns. If you dont like your insurance company then find a new one! A generalization of "all insurance people are dishonest" is about as educated of a comment as "all politicians are corrupt".. give me a break. =P

p.s.
Oh and heres my favorite quote from your "pay per view website" gee.. I guess theyre there to make a profit just like allstate....

"Allstate will now and forever be watched, investigated, and reported like no other company in the history of America. It's time for Allstate to straighten up or shut down. As communities take action to remove drug dealers from neighborhoods, the Allstate Information Exchange, in dedication to the little lady from Long Island and others like her, promise the insurer and the insured a ceaseless effort to either slap Allstate into shape or its pocketbook out of shape."

How dramatic. sure brought a tear to my eye, i think ill send them my 50 dollars right now =P

p.s.s.

Actually i do have something to say about dimunition of value claims. When you get a policy for your vehicle the insurance company is covering all TANGIBLE losses from physical damage to the car. I.e. The repair it to how it was before the damage. Economic loss is NOT included, thats on you. In fact in every policy ive ever seen/had, economic loss has been SPECIFICALLY excluded from the policy and not covered. So if you think youre being ripped off maybe you should have just read the fine print in the first place.