My baby destroyed by a distracted driver

**Dan** · 05-06-2011, 11:23 AM

Well, I never thought I`d be posting up a totaled car thread, but it happened to me. I was going home, normal traffic. Slowing down at a very leisurely pace when I noticed an SUV barreling towards me. I watched the whole thing happen. I`m fine, stiff and sore but sad that a car I put so much time and work into was taken away by someone distracted with a cell phone. [=(]

Not only did I get rammed, she shoved me for 50 yards before I turned left to get out of her way, then she went another 200 yards before she figured out how to stop her POS. Best part is she claims she was pushing the brakes, um yeah right. A least she fessed up to being distracted with her cell phone to the cops, and they wrote her up for reckless driving.

Unibody is bent, doors don`t close right. Its a goner. The worst part is the car has $20-25k in mods, and I just blew $7k in the past year and about 200 hours of my own time. Not looking forward to the insurance hassles.

**Ben@3D** · 05-06-2011, 11:29 AM

NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unfortunately, that is not gonna polish out. :cry1:

Good luck with the Insurance Company and getting something comparable.

**C. Charles Hahn** · 05-06-2011, 11:55 AM

Oh MAN! I`m so sorry to hear about that. I hope that lady learned a lesson from all this, but I doubt it. Sad thing is her X5 looks like probably an easy fix

**Accumulator** · 05-06-2011, 12:02 PM

Yakky- Yikes, sorry to read about this! But I`m sure glad that you`re OK.

**gmblack3** · 05-06-2011, 12:21 PM

Glad that you are ok. Sorry about your car.

**tom p.** · 05-06-2011, 12:27 PM

yakky, that sux.

Make sure you remind them during every phone conversation how sore you are

`til they give you the right $$$ amount for you car. I can`t imagine they would propose repairing it. Good luck with it!

**Brad B** · 05-06-2011, 01:14 PM

That is horrible. Sooo sorry about your car. Be tough with negotiations with insurance. You have a beautiful car and can document it`s increased value and condition compared to other typical cars of the same age.

**RTexasF** · 05-06-2011, 04:47 PM

I am so sorry. May it all work out for you monetarily and medically. Ironic that in the 4th picture the guy next to her car is on the phone.

**GearHead_1** · 05-06-2011, 04:49 PM

Sorry to hear this. However in the end, it can be replaced and you cannot. Glad to hear you are OK.

**Bunky** · 05-06-2011, 05:20 PM

Holy crap..Let`s hope you can enjoy another ride...

**David Fermani** · 05-06-2011, 10:44 PM

Did the lady that hit you even appologize? What insurance company is she insured with?

I`m sure you don`t want to hear this, but it`s not that bad. The floor and frame rails don`t look too bad which is the largest cost in doing a rear body repair. It`s going to depend on what your car is worth for them to total or repair it. If you need help with your claim let me know.

**Dan** · 05-07-2011, 07:59 AM

She did not apologize. She kept claiming her brakes didn`t work. David, my concern is now all of the doors close funny. Lots of resistance on getting them closed. Also the rear window popping out was odd. I actually would be ok with it getting repaired if I could trust the car was not compromised but the door thing is freaking me out. I don`t have the insurance info yet, waiting on the police report. I might be sending you some PMs.

**Accumulator** · 05-07-2011, 10:22 AM

Yakky- I sure hope this turns out OK for you. When my wife`s `94 S4 got rear-ended they simply wouldn`t total it. As David said, it`s all a matter of how the numbers work out.

**GearHead_1** · 05-07-2011, 02:30 PM

What has been said is absolutely true. They will not total it just because we would rather they did. That said, I`ll tell you of a situation I made work to my advantage a while back. I had purchased a used Supra a number of years ago. The car was two years old at the time and clean as a whistle when I purchased it.

In turn I did my usual upgrades (exhaust, sound system and a couple of other minor mods) and took the car well beyond what an average person would consider to be clean. It had about 20,000 miles on it at the time. I had taken my fair share of pictures as I was proud of the way it was turning out. I had the car exactly 21 days when I was involved in a 15 car pile up in the fog while on the Interstate. I was struck in the rear and pushed into cars in front of me.

This car was damaged in the front, rear and both sides. The insurance company did not want to total the vehicle (it was within a couple of thousand dollars of the requirement) and I did not want it back. I fought them for a couple of weeks and realized I wasn`t getting anywhere. I took a folder with a few upgrade receipts, the bank note and a few pictures into the insurance company. I laid it out and simply told them they could see by the pictures and what had been done to the car it was near perfect. I told them I simply expected it to be in the same shape that it was in before the accident. I let them know I was an ASE Certified Master Technician, had a very critical eye and that I wouldn`t sign off on it unless it was every bit the car that it was prior to the wreck. Two days later they cut me a check for the entire amount I was into the car with the exception of the first payment I had already made.

The moral of the story is simply this. You can`t make the insurance company do anything. They do however, have an obligation to return your vehicle in the same condition, within reason as it was in prior to the accident. Having access to a friend or alignment equipment will help you determine if the frame has been appropriately repaired. Don`t be scared to have a trusted neutral party inspect the finished work. Get it on a lift and look at the body work from below.

Your car was obviously in remarkable condition and pictures are your friend. You obviously have a few pictures. Make sure they see this. Make sure the Insurance company fully realizes what your expectations are up front in order to sign off on the release. They may be more likely to write it off as a total loss should the numbers be close. I don`t envy your situation and wish you the very best of luck.

**Dan** · 05-07-2011, 05:48 PM

Originally Posted by GearHead_1

The moral of the story is simply this. You can`t make the insurance company do anything. They do however, have an obligation to return your vehicle in the same condition, within reason as it was in prior to the accident.

Thanks for the input, you do make a some valid points, I feel better knowing that you got what you were owed from your insurance company, luckily the at fault`s insurance company will be the one I`m going up against and I always have the option to take it to court if I don`t get what I want. Bolstering the deal is our state`s tradition of making the charges stick if the accident has not been settled by the time of the mandatory court data. I was the victim of reckless driving, and I`m not going to be a victim of the insurance company in this fiasco.