Wrecked NB question :(

Hi all... it's been a sad couple of days here! I decided to back out into the road and was promptly hit by a lovely Jeep Cherokee! The rear passenger quarter panel is blown to bits. The tire was busted... back 'bumper' is busted ... My hubby put the spare on then drove off to test it out. He said it is a mess!!! He said it may have "bent the frame". He described it as going sideways while driving straight! YIKES!

I know I'll have to have a body shop do an estimate and all. But I'm wondering if there's even any hope! She doesn't look like she's totaled, but will they be able to tell for sure and fix it properly??

I'm just wondering if anyone has had this experience?

Thanks!

Robin

Reply to
Terry Thompson
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Either a bent frame or at least the right rear suspension is bent enough to cause the car to not track straight.

Hopefully it's not a bent frame. If not, it's probably not totalled but still might have $ignificant damage. Remember that "totalled" means that past a certain point in terms of $$$ it makes little financial sense to fix for the insurance company and therefore "totalled" doesn't necessarily equate to "damaged beyond repair". If it costs $15K to fix a car worth $18K, then it's probably "totalled" even if those $15K repairs are physically possible to perform. Good luck!

Reply to
Matt B.

Reply to
Rob Guenther

That's true. If this NB is that badly damaged, you might actually want to hope that it is found to be totalled.

Reply to
Matt B.

i've been driving repaired written off cars ("totalled") for years. as long as the car has been properly repaired by someone who is competant and experienced, it is perfectly safe.

Reply to
Nathan Lucas

Not according to most people I've talked to in the auto industry, they will tell you it only looks safe. Most will tell you the safety cage itself has absorbed so much energy in the first crash that it won't hold up properly in the next one.

Reply to
Rob Guenther

one that's been pulled straight, then i'd agree, but the one i've got (sorry, had - it kinda met it's death last week - conrod thru the block) was "medium" drivers side corner, and had the inner wing and suspension turret and chassis rail completely replaced. then jigged. it will have been in exactly the same state after the repair as when it left the factory. definately safer than some of the rotboxes you see on the road!

Reply to
Nathan Lucas

Most likely yes. As long as the passenger cage is fine, you are probably fine.

I know of a shop that specializes in resorting beyond repair cars - the result looks fantastic, but some of these frankensteins are actually two cars (never the lower parts; but like roof,doors,pillars of one car/lower body of the other... both accident cars, so the good parts are made into one car).... One example is a GTI "337" looks like a mint condition GTI, drives straight etc etc... blown to 300+ HP at the wheels... I'd never sit in it after he told me what happened to the original two donor cars... His next big project like this is an Audi A6 wagon that was slid into a pole at over

60kph+ on the side of the car (B Pillar caved in)
Reply to
Rob Guenther

Did the air bags go off? I've found out that for vehicles over 3 years old (or not a high-value car) that if the air bags go off the insurance people routinely write off the car. In the case of a Dodge that I wrecked, the air bag damage was over $6000 on its own.

As is pointed out, you don't have a frame on that car. It is a "unibody" like 90% of the cars on the market (100% of compact cars). It's basically a metal box with tires and a motor. If they can make it "square" again they you're all set.

One can fix any car, no matter how bad the damage. However, the value of your car will probably be eclipsed by the repair costs, and therefore it will be written off.

Tim Wohlford

Reply to
Tim Wohlford

Write-off is currently around 80%-85% of vehicle's residual value for most insurance companies. If the repair costs are getting close to the write-off value, some insurance companies will thankfully de-value the car a little to make sure its gets totalled by the numbers. On a new car, 80-85% is alot of damage....

Reply to
Biz

The post did not say there was collision insurance on the car, so that may not matter.

Reply to
Tom's VR6

the main thing i don't get with some of these is the amount of hassle people go to! not so long back i watched a guy remove the entire side fom a ford focus in a breakers yard. he carefully drilled out every single spot weld after stripping all the interior and removeable body panels. he paid £700 for the panel. if you add up what all his time would be worth, the cost of the panel, and spraying the car afterwards, he could just go to a 2nd hand dealer and buy one of the same age for similar money!

Reply to
Nathan Lucas

Reply to
Rob Guenther

I experienced a total loss collision on a 2001 Passat at the end of 2003 (much different scenario...mine was a front end impact, and once the air bags deploy, you are rapidly on the way to a total loss).

My insurance company declared it a total loss once the estimated cost of repairs reached 75% of the current value of the car (insurance companies use their own value standard....I found it surprisingly generous --to my benefit-- compared to the values I found in the usual places, like KBB).

At the time this happened, I had a student in a class I teach who worked in an auto body shop. The bottom line is that airbags and crumple zones are wonderful for people...but have pretty much created what his industry refers to "disposable cars".

Obviously every situation is different. Assuming you were still carrying collision, you WANT a total loss (unless, of course, your loan balance is more than your car is worth). Because even if it can be repaired, it will never, ever be the same. And if you try to sell it and the buyer spends the $20 for a Carfax report...the VIN of your major collision repair will show up, and either deter the seller or give them great leverage for a discount.

Total loss is your freind!

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Reply to
ropeyarn

No they are not going to total it if your "hubby" (sic) could test drive it...

Lots and lots. Check the body shops after a nice snow fall.

Reply to
Peter Parker

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