Got Rear-Ended this morning.

[parkerbink]

Most of the time LAPD will not respond to a non injury accident. I was hit and run and had to sit there (1 freaking block from my house) for three freaking hours to get a police report.

[der affe]

ok i am a body man and we work on mostly high end dealership cars (i am the porsche tech... lucky me,i hate cayannes!) anyways tp help you out with the insurance company see if they can do a prelim. electronic measurement with somekind of sonic measurement system (True-point is who we have at work). this will give you ammo when they try to tell you that you "old car" is totaled because of frame damage or that they don't think that the damage is that bad. remember that the insurance co's job is to fuck you over. DO NOT go to a DRP shop (stands for direct repair pro's ) these guys actually work for the ins. co and will screw you to keep the ins. co happy and sending them business. from the pics, you will prob need a trunk floor, among other things. they will tell you that you will get a LKQ rear clip more than likeky (LKQ =like kind and quality= used rear clip), this is not really a bad thing , but just letting you know. despite what many people think, a GOOD bodyshop is you advocate AGAINST the insurance company and they are working for your best interest, which also gets them money, by fixing every little thing that happened. try to find a shop that pays their employes on salery insted of flat rate, you will generally get a better repair, and they will not cut corners to get to the next job and make more hours. sadly good bodymen are a dying breed because of the pay structure imposed by the insurance co (in az they only pay $45 an flat rate hour and not all of that can go to the bodyman, so you have to be fast to make $). this means you get alot of young inexperenced bodymen or hacks (both willing to take lesser pay). (end of rant) Next see if they are going to do frame repair if they have a CELLETE/SEVENNE or autobench, these are european based car benching systems very similar to what they actually build the cars on as they go down the line at the factory and it is nearly impossable to do the repair any way but exactly right! also get alot of prices from roundell ect for similar cars to show current market value and replacement costs for the car (more to use against the insurance company when they will try to total your car) we used to use several of the PCA publications to show the value of porsches when things got shitty with the insurance co.'s. above all remember that SHE hit YOU. it is HER fault, there is no need to let yourself get run over by HER ins. co. if you have full coverage and don't like what is happening then try using your ins. co. they will fix the car right then go after her ins. to be reimbersed for the costs.
hpoe this helps,
greg

[s0urce]

Thanks for the reply der affe.

Heres a little more info to go with:
-The lady that hit me has Mercury insurance.
-The Bodyshop i was recommended to is Glendale Auto Body.
-I was recommended to this bodyshop by Avus Autosport. I was told that these guys do exceptional work on BMWs. After speaking with Mike from Glendale Auto Body, he gave me his background and some info. Mike sounded like an awesome guy and he laid out his extensive knowledge of BMW's which included many years as an instructor to train various BMW dealerships and repair facilities across the nation on specific body and frame repairing techniques including the use of Cellete
-Turns out Glendale Autobody is a DRP to mercury insurance.
-Glendale Autobody has 4 Cellete Benches in house.

Given the facts, what would some of you guys suggest? The fact that I was recommended to the shop by Avus Autosport was a huge plus to me. After speaking with Mike (the BMW trainer guy) I now know why I was sent here. On the other hand, I was trying to avoid a DRP--more specifically, one that works with Mercrury.

I was reassured by Mike that I would be well taken care of, and I do honestly believe him. I'm just really concerned about the repairs being done in my best interest and not the Insurance company's. DRP's are dirty, I'm quite aware - My next move is to request a copy of the agreement between GlendaleAB and Mercury insurance.

This is such a royal pain in the ass. Buying rede30's car is beginning to look very tempting.

[der affe]

mercury are a bunch of FUCKERS! that said; voice your concerns to mike that they are a DRP shop for Mercury and you know what goes on between the DRP shops and bodyshops. being that your car is older and not a 2006 7 series you might not fair that bad. Mercury is new to AZ and the three cars that i have done with them have all been a fight to get the proper parts (but this was also for high end cars less than 5 years old, so they tend to crap their pants when one of their insured in a $4k or less car hits a $40k-$50k car). you will most likely end up with LKQ parts (used rear clip prob with bumper) that is not all bad, since the body man will want the best clip he can get to minimise the extra work he will have to put in to ready the parts for your car. request that they use the CELLETTE if it needs to be pulled. call and check on the cars progress, and ask them if you can come by and see the car. when they take you out to look at the car, ask questions about the repair. if you can, BRIEFLY , ask the tech about what he has done (remember that when he stops to talk to you he is no longer making $-flat rate- so keep it brief and don't expect a super long conversation). i have never had a problem telling the customer what i have done to their as long as it is intellegent questions and they are not sponging up my time. make sure that they do a 4 wheel alignment also (mercury will not really like this, but it is justifiable in this kind of a hit) and tell them you want to see the alignment spec sheet (this makes sure that they really did the work). ask them to notify you if they find anything that is questionable that is not covered by the insurance co. things like bushings etc you may want to pay to have fixed while the rear suspension is out (most likely it will have to come out to be benched on the CELLETTE with that rear end hit) they will usually cut you a deal on the labor. this will make them try to get the insurance co to cover the extra stuff with a supplement and get you a better repair. like i just got a 2004 porsche turbo c-4 that went driving beyond it's drivers ability, ran down a curb the legnth of the passengers side pushed up the floor and cracked the pass side turbo. when i pulled the front facia off the front rad (pass side also) was leaking and had been for some time. i took picks we called the ins. co. they said just do it even though it was really not related to the accident just to cover their asses. i also found a METH pipe under the carpet when i pulled it up to fix the floor...hmmm could be why he crashed???? BTW the rad was $850!!. anyways just stay in contact with them while the repair is being done w/o being a pain in the ass, and you should be ok. make sure that they write it for blend adjoining panels also. because the car is single stage white the Mercury will try to cut corners by panel painting the repair.
hope this helps out,
greg

[der affe]

how's the car comming?

[s0urce]

of course no one works on weekends. I'll have updates on monday.

[blueapplesoda]

which roundel magazine?

[Digitalwave]

Her exact words were: "Well you know, i was hoping it was going to be more like 1000$".

This infuriates me. Keep us updated and I hope things work out well for you in the end.

[s0urce]

PAIN IN THE ASS. Thats all i know to say right now. I'll keep everyone updated.

[s0urce]

Not looking good guys, looks like im going back to the e36 route.

[der affe]

now that you have learned your lession ( i know it sucks!) get full coverage on you e36 WITH full replacement value. so when some dumb fuck hits you again and their ins company tries to screw you around you can just turn it over to your ins company, get it fixed right, and let them go after the oth guys ins co to get reimbersed for the costs.
greg

[parkerbink]

What do you mean? They refuse to pay for the damage?

[s0urce]

Turned out great, got cut a nice check and get to keep my car. Looks like I'll be parting it out though and going the benz route instead of e36. Time for something different clk430 ftw.

A couple things to note that are going to be for sale:

1. MtechII rear spoiler.
2. Euro Smiliey's
3. 5000k Prolumen HID's
4. Brand new Front Valence.

God damn, my car is in near perfect shape if anyone needs any parts let me know.

[2002maniac]

You are parting it out because of that? That shouldnt be an expensive fix.

[german g]

Turned out great, got cut a nice check and get to keep my car. Looks like I'll be parting it out though and going the benz route instead of e36. Time for something different clk430 ftw.

A couple things to note that are going to be for sale:

1. MtechII rear spoiler.
2. Euro Smiliey's
3. 5000k Prolumen HID's
4. Brand new Front Valence.

God damn, my car is in near perfect shape if anyone needs any parts let me know.

How much for all that??:-)