My poor V

[Vgirl84]

I haven't even had my V for two full weeks - barely 500 miles on her, and BAM I get rear-ended yesterday. I'm still crying inside...

Basically, idiot on a bicycle decided to try to cross in front of us just as we got the green light. I saw him just as I started and then stopped. Just as i took my foot off the brake again a van came up behind me, didn't even brake, and slammed into me. From the way I was jerked from the impact, I'm gonna guess they were doing 45-50 when they hit me. Knocked me into the intersection. I can't get good pics of it, but the bottom of the bumper is bent around the exhaust. Both lights are dislocated and one is broken. Whole bumper will probably have to be replaced. As I said... Still crying inside. Not sure what's more painful - my incredible whiplash pain today or the thought of my damaged car before I have even gotten a tag or made a payment. .

I have to say though... I am extremely impressed with how my car looks after the impact. I feel like it at least looks like little damage for the impact it took. Maybe it's because I didn't have my brake on at that exact moment, so there was less resistance, but still. My old scion would have been crushed.


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[Wireguy]

It makes me sad to see a fellow white V get damaged -- any other color, not so much.

That being said, so long as nothing was structurally damaged underneath it looks like you got off easy.

Glad to hear you are O.K.

[Vgirl84]

Thanks. Yeah, pretty sure the damage is mostly cosmetic. My dad looked at the exhaust and said it looked bent but I don't know. Even still. Not like it's the frame.


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[trooplewis]

If a van going 45-50 mph hit you while you were stationary, you would need a lot more than an exhaust and rear bumper, your car would most likely be totaled, and your airbags would have gone off.

Check and make sure that all the door-to-fender gaps line up correctly on the FRONT side of the doors, to make sure you have not crushed any impact zones farther up the vehicle cage. Sounds like you may have gotten off with just a bumper replacement and a little exhaust work.

[kimtyson]

That sucks that you got hit already but sure glad you are OK. The car can be fixed, good as new. Good luck.

[Vgirl84]

So I FINALLY got in touch with the insurance agent of the people that hit me and my V is in the shop getting repaired. They told me it may take longer than usual because the car is so new - they may have to pull parts off the assembly. Wow...

Is anyone here familiar with how insurance companies calculate the "diminished value" compensation? I want to make sure I get a fair amount. My car only had 564 miles on it when I got hit.


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[navymn78]

The exact same thing happened to me back in March. Judging by the pics you posted the damage looks to be pretty much the same as well. If my problems were only from the accident then it would have only taken about three weeks to get my car back. But things happened while it was in the shop and it ended up taking two months. Long story. It is all posted here on the forum. I was able to make a diminished value due to the shops mess up. I am uncertain as to how the amount is calculated but I do know that it is not your insurance company that comes up with the value. It is actually a third party company that will do the estimate based on the repairs and value of the car. Keep in mind that others on this forum havent had a lot of luck claiming diminished value from just an accident. It seems insurance companies dont like the headache. I was able to get about $1200 but again that wasnt from the accident that put my car in the shop. It was from what the shop did to my car. Best of luck to you and I am sorry to hear about your car.

[Vgirl84]

Wow. I hope I left my car in good hands after hearing about yours... :| thanks for the info. The insurance adjuster said I would get reimbursed for the diminished value, but obviously didn't give me an idea of how much. I just want to make sure I'm not screwed over. I was hit in my old tC several years ago, and I was written a check for about $250. It did $11k worth of damage. Didn't seem right to me...


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[navymn78]

The total damage that the shop did to my car came to just under $1,500. Like I said before I got a check for $1,200. It does sound like you got ripped off a little bit. Hope it works out for you.

[smellypanda]

i forget the total cost on this, it was somewhere around $3800-$4500

[jkt1954]

Have to say this does look really good after a direct hit! But the bounce back materials might disguise what happened to the metal beneath. Hopefully parts are more available now and you won't have to wait all that long -- but that is a relative term. Soon might be 3 or 4 weeks. You don't want a rush job, you want it to look like new. Just remember this does go on record as a car in a accident and can hurt resale value -- that's where the diminished value comes in. Check with your dealership and see if the GAP (if you took it) can help. Probably not, but it costs nothing to ask.

[VitaminCNoT]

Well, sadly I now get to join the "my poor V" club.

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[ghostndragon]

Awww. What happened? And cripes! Those gouges in your wheels are HUGE.

[AtlantaVeloster]

Sadly, I became part of the "Poor V Club" back in July. All fixed now to the tune of just north of $8k.
I lost control when I took a freeway exit during a downpour and hit a 10-15 inch high curb. It took out the entire bottom of the front end. This happened one day after I had installed my LED DRLs. Luckily the insurance company paid to replace those as well. She's as good as new now. Here is a link to some pics I took the very next day and while in the shop.

https://picasaweb.google.com/1133298...eat=directlink

[VitaminCNoT]

Lady was pulling onto a highway from a side street and couldn't see me because her windows were fogged up. I had the wheel checked out it has no cracks and is still safe to drive on. It looks like hell but it will get fixed.

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[brianc]

Hope you sustained no injuries. Did the airbags go off?

Sadly, I became part of the "Poor V Club" back in July. All fixed now to the tune of just north of $8k.
I lost control when I took a freeway exit during a downpour and hit a 10-15 inch high curb. It took out the entire bottom of the front end. This happened one day after I had installed my LED DRLs. Luckily the insurance company paid to replace those as well. She's as good as new now. Here is a link to some pics I took the very next day and while in the shop.

https://picasaweb.google.com/1133298...eat=directlink

[gt800]

Well, sadly I now get to join the "my poor V" club.

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Yikes she did a number on the wheel. Oh well perfect opportunity for some noce wheels.

[c230lover]

I am so sorry. Having been rear ended myself, I know how much your body can hurt. It took about 2 days for the pain to go away. Your beautiful car may look as if it has not sustained much damaged, but you don't really find out until the shop starts taking the damaged area apart. I thought my Acura TSX had done a great job of absorbing the impact and then I opened the trunk to discover it was pushed up. The insurance appraiser would not make a final estimate until pieces of the car were removed. It ended up costing over $10,000 to have it fixed. I had owned the car for about 6 months when it happened. I was crying on the inside too. These are machines and they can be fixed. Where as people do not always do so well. Take care.

[Vgirl84]

Wow those additional V injuries suck - especially AtlantaVeloster's. We're you taking an exit on 285? I HATE driving on 285 when it's raining. It just puddles up so bad.

I ended up with about $3200 of damage. The collision place said the car did exactly what it was supposed to do as far as the crumple zone goes. Whole bumper, both lights, and some sheet metal in the trunk and floor of the rear of the car had to be replaced. Good as new now but still hurts my feelings.

Now, I'm just waiting to get my medical bills reimbursed from the at fault insurance company. My neck was jacked up pretty bad, but its all better now. Yay! I asked the doctor why my neck was so messed up when my car didn't really sustain that much damage. Apparently, your neck can sometimes be injured more at low speeds than at higher speed impacts because the car doesn't absorb as much on low speed impact. Huh. Did not know that.


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[PB3]

Mine took a hit on a freeway on ramp yesterday. I was in the middle lane, mini van merged on to the highway and cut across two lanes; crunched my passenger side fender. Pulled off the road, got out of the car, and as soon as I got my phone out to call the cops, she took off. No injuries thankfully, but I'm super-pissed about having to spend a few hundred bucks on my deductible. Didn't even get a plate number.