Got Rear-Ended this morning.

[s0urce]

God damnit, I hate LA. I was driving on Fountain Ave this morning and some bitch was too busy primping her hair to hit the brakes. I got slammed into at a good 10-15mph -- I was at a dead stop. The impact was hard enough to toss the hat from my head straight into the windshield. It came from NO-WHERE. Obviously, like most accidents it was completely unexpected. One second I see the lady in my rear view at a more than safe distance, and 5 seconds later I'm putting the hat back on my head. It was an INSANELY SOLID hit. Thats the only way i know to describe it. There was no mash or crunch from my car. How could such a low MPH accident give me and my car such a jolt?

I get out of my car expecting the WORST. At first glance, it appeared as if the car only sufferred scrapes and scuffs. While trying to catch my breath, the bitch was hounding me with questions and insisting that there was very little damage. She couldnt have said anything worse to me at the time. If only she knew how much I love my car. "I've got to go to work!!" she kept saying. Meanwhile im sitting here thinking 'no shit bitch, where the fuck do you think I was going' -- as if, I WAS PUTTING HER OUT.

So I get back to looking for damage as she's grabbing her insurance info and I discover where the damage was dealt.

She had a low white POS escort and when she hit me her front bumper slid under my rear bumper and went straight for the rear valance. She pushed the valance all the way in to the spare tire well and put a solid dent in the tire well too. So thats where all the energy was transferred to. Hince the INSANE amount of force.

I'm taking the car in to get an estimate soon. I've got a feeling this was one of those accidents thats going to just keep causing more problems over time. Has this kind of low-body impact happened to anyone else? I'm suspecting theres more underlying damage than I can see. Maybe even frame damage considering the body suffered such a hit.

Thoughts?

EDIT: pics added

[karzrtoyz]

Hey Chris,

Sorry to hear that shit man!@ I cringe everytime I am in that area. I got rear ended 2x in the same week on the 10 freeway. Nice thing was, that I was in my 4x4 and the other guy ate shit.
Her ins co will more than likely total your car. They will hit you with a low number first, so be ready to counter them with prices and facts. hopefully you should clear about $5000 or so- and they will offer you the salvage buy out as well- a few hundred bucks

[chriskb3]

wow, that sucks man. the same thing happened to my girl friend not too long ago, except it was a hit and run driver. still havnt found the person that did it... anyways, hope everything gets sorted out and the bitch pays up.

[delatlanta1281]

Sorry man that sux. Hope you get compensated in the end. do not give in, take them for as much as you can.

[s0urce]

She told me she wants to pay it out of pocket first if possible. I understand where she's coming from on that. She said, if the costs excede 2000$ she'll have her insurance cover it.

Looking at the car, from above it doesnt look bad at all. Like I said, its that rear under valance and the spare tire area that took the worst hit. Do you think an insurance company will really total it? Also do you guys think the frame/subframes are going to be bent? I also forgot to mention the exaust received some damage as well. The tips are both bent up pretty badly.

I'm stuck in the office right now and havent really had time to inspect it myself again since the accident. Off the top of my head I can assume the following needs to be done:

New or repainted rear bumper
New bumper trim all around
New exaust tips or muffler
Remove dent from spare tire body
Rear valance re-shaping (Can this even be fixed? Its part of the body correct?)
Repaint of the rear valance.

Honestly, the time factor kills me the most here. Should I waste my time getting an estimate myself, or should i just go straight to her insurance company assuming its over 2k? I'm willing to work with the girl here, but I cant exactly be car-less either.

I know the girl is thinking to herself "oh its an old car". Honestly my car is dirty as hell right now and probably does look like a POS. The truth is, I do want every little thing damaged replaced or compensated for. Even if it means getting a new exhaust from the cat back! Am i expecting too much?

I've never been in this position to be honest. I'm expecting the worst at this point.

Thanks for the input guys.

[arsevader]

I know the girl is thinking to herself "oh its an old car". Honestly my car is dirty as hell right now and probably does look like a POS. The truth is, I do want every little thing damaged replaced or compensated for. Even if it means getting a new exhaust from the cat back! Am i expecting too much?

I've never been in this position to be honest. I'm expecting the worst at this point.

Thanks for the input guys.

That's blows. Sorry to say it, I've seen cars totaled for less.

[BimmerToad]

I had a similar rear end at a stop light last may. Lowered 318is vs a Honda CR-V at about 10-15mph.

Initially the Honda chick wanted to pay out of pocket, until I got estimates ~4k for repairs. She was absolutely blown away that a POS BMW would cost so much to repair ... but hey, it's still BMW parts regardless of the age of the car. So she called in her insurance, who wanted to declare my car a total loss for a few bashed in tail lights and panels (read: no frame damage)

So I fought back by showing the insurance adjuster318is ads in Roundel which averaged around 5-6k, for a stock pristine runner. To make me happy in a 'comparable' car, they had to fix my car, and I'm happy to say they did a good job with the repairs.

Ironically my car was almost totaled at a stop light the day after a track event!

Hope you get things settled. Worst comes to worst, find a 'new' e30. I was considering finding a new car, but I liked the paint on mine, and didn't want to swap over the 5 lug, roll bar, suspension, diff, etc.

[e30vert]

First off , very saddended to see some other worthless self absorbed bitch not give a rats ass and slam into your e30. I hear of this happening all too often. I would be infuriated with any bitch that hit me and then acted like thier life was impacted and they were being "put out" by having to deal with a serious issue like an accident.

Also, be aware that many,many ,many people that are involved in a traffic accident / altercation try to flee the scene. I monitor the traffic incidences in the Bay area on my PC and frequently see the acronym for Hit and Run accident. Always be on guard and ready to drive after the person if your vehicle is mobile and operable still after the accident.

Get 3 estimates from reputable shops. I take my work to the most exotic and proficient body repair technicians and then all the estimates come out pretty high. Submit them to her insurance company if more than 2000 $ (pretty likely) they will take the middle cost estimate and compensate for that. If the damage is greater than the value of the vehicle then cross that bridge when you get to it.

Bitches... I swear!

[nando]

whatever you do, do NOT tell the shop that you are paying with insurance money if you don't have to. they will charge you to the PENNY of what the insurance payout was, regardless of the amount of work they do to your car.

[s0urce]

whatever you do, do NOT tell the shop that you are paying with insurance money if you don't have to. they will charge you to the PENNY of what the insurance payout was, regardless of the amount of work they do to your car.

Why? I want the highest quotes possible when im getting my car looked at. I'm sure i'll need every penny i can get to fix everything that was damaged. When the money is actually in hand then I'll go to a different shop of my choice to actually have the repairs done. This is about getting the $$ at this point right?

I guess the trade off would be highest payout without totaling the car? I could be wrong, someone feel free to correct me.

[s0urce]

Got a camera phone pic on here from this morning. It doesnt look bad at all....which is why im so concerned at this point. Anyone know how much force it takes roughly, to damage the spare tire well like it did. Im wondering if the spare tire actually took some of the force as well.

From above: Doesnt look THAT bad despite the bumper being crooked and the scratches, and paint on the exhaust tips.


Down low: Pics really make this look like nothing. I'll get some hi-res when i leave work today.


Boy am i happy my euro trim is still in my trunk - the MtechII spoiler is safe at home.

[german g]

I think the law states that you get to take it to the shop of your choice..

[DEV0 E30]

"You know how when you get into a car accident, the person always comes out, looking at you like it's your fault? ... 'Why did you stop at a legal red light, and let me hit you doing eighty?!?! Why did you stop AT A LEGAL RED LIGHT, and let me hit you doing EIGHTY?!!!!?!"

[robert325is]

"You know how when you get into a car accident, the person always comes out, looking at you like it's your fault? ... 'Why did you stop at a legal red light, and let me hit you doing eighty?!?! Why did you stop AT A LEGAL RED LIGHT, and let me hit you doing EIGHTY?!!!!?!"

Dane Cook, he is a BAMF.

I thought of that when I was loading up concrete trucks today. Hilarious.

[DEV0 E30]

Don't let her get any freebies dude, come out ahead from this. She should have been worrying more about the road, than her makeup or getting ready for work in her car.