BRZ accident advice
 

I'm sad to report that a couple days ago my BRZ was involved in a pretty major accident. A car traveling the opposite direction made a left turn about 15ft in front of me as I approached at ~45mph. Needless to say I could not stop in time and t-boned the guy.

My BRZ is brand new.... literally has ~350mi on it. So far insurance companies are looking at this as 0% my fault as the other driver crossed into my side of the road without adequete clearance.

Anyhow looking for some advice on how to work with the insurance company. Looks like initial appraisal is >17k in damage, which includes unibody damage, entire front end re-paneling, and a bunch of new radiator and electrical components among other things.

I'm worried no matter how well they fix the vehicle i'm faced with a case of Diminished Value as the frame repairs and a major accident will surely show up on car reports like carfax. I'm afraid the unibody will always be slightly degraded and there will be a bunch of nagging issues down the road due to mis-alignments and issues that just were not caught.

Anyone have a similar experience to this with a new car? Any way to fight this with the insurance companies. In my opinion unless it's replaced with a new car they have not returned it to it's previous state considering the work that needs to be done. Perhaps I just need to suck it up. The situation stinks :mad0259:

Here's some recent read on the topic from another forum. It's not gonna be easy, but it's worth a try.

thats gonna suk if they decide to fix that car
atleast ur ok

Glad you are ok!! Good luck, but I would think should be totaled

Every state has different laws regarding Diminished Value. You need to research what they are in your state.

Rather than trying to get DV, I would find out what the magic number is for the insurance company to total the car, find a GOOD shop that you would want the car repaired at, have them begin the tear-down to see if they can hit the magic number because there WILL be more damage than the initial estimate, hope that your insurance company will total the car, and if they don't, at least you have a competent shop that won't half-ass the repair. Also, don't bother going to a dealership's body shop because they tend to half-ass EVERYTHING.

where in San diego this happen?:confused0068: man that sucks glad your ok.. looks like youll miss the 86FEST if you were going... time to get a FRS 10 series....

Any frame damaged you get a mark on the title that makes the car worth half. Fight for totaled and most insurance fist year they replace it

I'll be honest, I had a wreck with a brand new tC not even 3 months into its life about half a decade ago. I had it towed to the same dealership that I bought it from and within 24 hours they called saying that it was a total loss and that the insurance company would buy it out i.e. pay off the rest of my loan and cut me a check for the amount I paid off on the car. This is with full coverage of course. Lost a little bit of money due to deductibles and the appraisal of the car at that time, but we're talking less than $1000.

Try to get it totaled. It won't be the same for sure.

I believe totaling has to be like 70-80% damaged or something of the value

Was this a Limited or Premium model? I think you will have a really hard time getting a Limited totaled if the estimated damage is under $19K.

But worth a try. Definitely look into diminished value.

DO NOT FIX. Unibody damage? That alone should total the car in California. I know motorcycles get totaled when there is frame damage. The unibody of a car is basically the frame and this car is designed to distribute crash stress to the entire car in an accident. Just because they found SOME of the damage doesn't mean they're able to see hidden dents and crumple zones elsewhere. When my wife was involved in a similar accident (her doing 60 and the other person turning at ~35), the area above the hatch of our Civic Si was crumpled, along with areas on the side of the car which were never touched by the other vehicle.

Probably a bit late now, but you should always take it to a dealer's body shop if you can after a major accident like that.

A body shop has a vested interest in NOT totalling that car. They want to fix it. They don't get squat if they total it.

A dealership has a vested interest in totalling it because they want to sell you ANOTHER new car. Two for the price of 1. Plus they're just more expensive anyways.

Right now, if you're not already, get your insurance fighting for you. Hopefully you're not dealing with the other drivers insurance at all -- let your insurance company fight that for you, that's what you pay them for. Tell them that you won't accept anything less than a total. That you simply won't feel satisifed with that car any longer and you won't be able to sell it for anything close to the value that they're using as a determinator of totalling it or not.

I would also call some salvage yards or maybe even shops that rebuild cars, and see what they'd offer you for it. It may be worth talking the insurer up to $20K, taking the cash instead of fixing the car, and selling the scrapped car to a salvage guy for a few grand. Depending on what you owe, you may only end up 'upside-down' a couple grand. I'd probably suck that up versus getting a car with that level of repairs done to it.

Also, make sure the body shop quoted AUTHENTIC parts. They almost never do. However your insurance contract states that they will return your car to its before-accident state. Putting in knock-off Chinese parts is NOT the condition it was in previously. You usually have to fight for this; but it's never that difficult of an argument to win. Insurers know you're right, they just hope you won't notice. Hopefully since your insurer isn't ultimately paying, they didn't get the quote with non-OEM parts, but you never know. And I really hope you didn't take the car where the other driver's insurance wanted it taken. OEM parts can make a huge difference in the quote.

And lastly... you could always take a bat to a couple undamaged panels in the middle of the night...

Totaled for sure if repairs > 60% of the value of the car, which is definitely the case with the $17k estimate you mentioned.

As long as you're ok, don't sweat it. Your only obstacles now are finding another BRZ and dealing with a premium increase on the insurance...regardless of fault :(

Really hope you put down a nice chunk of change when you bought the car, or have Gap insurance...

Good luck man. Hope it all works out.

Yeah my car had about 15K worth of damage done and I was praying for them to totaled my car but they fixed it..

Try to get your car totaled that way you can get another BRZ haha

Also depends if the air bags went off. Most insurance companies wont deal with the car if the air bags got deployed. To big of a liability issue if they fail the second time.

Noooooo...no no no nooooooo..... (peter griffin's voice).

First, I'm surprised with a Unibody damage of any kind they are not outright declaring it Total Loss.

I totaled my S4 in 2005, and the car looked okay from outside, very similar situation like yours. Anyways, when they actually inspected the car they told me the unibody had suffered some damage and that alone granted the case to be a total loss.

What a poster above said is 100% accurate. Take it to the dealership (it's your right), they will do an appraisal and I guarantee you they will come up with numbers that make a good case for a Total Loss. You can actually hint them what you are considering (buying a car from them). They will do it.

If you let the insurance handle the case, they are not interested in totaling your car right away, specially if you have GAP. Their bodyshop/repair shop is interested in making as much money as then can, they know the tricks if they work with them. So...all in all, you are dealing with 2 parties that are not interested financially in totaling your car, not a good place to be.

I would even considering taking the case to a lawyer, at least to pressure your insurance company. You do not want a car with that kind of damage.

Thanks for all the advice everyone. To answer a few questions:

It's a BRZ limited so right now damages are ~60% of the total value.

Driver side airbag did deploy.

I did choose on of the best shops in San Diego and i'm sure they would do great work. But I had similar thoughts as the posts above, the shops #1 interest is getting the price just below the total loss and getting a nice pay day. The shop actually called me right after the appraiser left and said they are already ordering parts and ready to go, just need my signature. I politely asked them to wait until I can further negotiate with the adjuster.

Overall I found the appraisal process a bit suspect. It seems they fully expect the price to increase as they tear it down. However, if they submit a lower price now and get the work going, the insurance company won't back out half way to total it. They seem very very very eager to start the work, thankfully they can't without my approval.

Well here's hoping tomorrow brings better luck if I can get ahold of the adjuster and start pleading my case.

Claims adjuster here!

For my insurance company, 70% is the line where we total a car. If a car made a left in front of you, then the other party is at fault (may vary depending on your story and points of impact). You can talk to the other insurance carrier about diminished value. Unfortunately, your own insurance company won't work on diminished value with you (probably a clause some where in your policy).

As far as the shop goes, yeah every shop would rather work on your car. See if you can get your insurance company to approve a tear down before the shop repairing anything. The shop would get paid for the labor hours/storage fees during the tear down so it shouldn't be too bad for them.

Good luck, I would want my car totaled our for a accident that major.

I've heard some great suggestions. My 2 cents is that a car never really quite drives the same after being in a major accident, even if the repair is done right. Fight as best as you can to get it totaled or to get a significant diminished value compensation.

IF you have a Limited that only equates to about 60% damage; I hope they total it so you can get another one.

A) Get a sledgehammer
B) Find your car
C) Make sure it's totaled

i went through this with my STI last summer. i'm also a law school student so here is some words of advice and what i went through.

first and formost ARE YOU OKAY? forget the car, how are you feeling? did you go to the hospital, it sounds like pretty gnarly impact. make sure to get yourself checked out. and if anyhting go to physical therapy.

second, what kind of insurance does he have. the guy that rear ended my STI had minimal state required coverage, so my insurance had to cover the entire fix. and tehn basically my insurance is going after his. (also i was hit buy a drunk, very very drunk driver .32 BAC). if you haven't done so already, lawyer up. can't stress this enough.

now, as for the car. i cannot stress enough to take it to a body shop that YOU are comfortable with. honestly, i ddn't do that with my sti because of a few reasons but looking back i wish i took it to the body shop i wanted. when its at hte shop you need to make it clear to the adjuster AND the shop that you only want OEM parts. the insurance company will try to sell you and make a statement with oem replacement parts...decline at all costs. first of all oem parts are more expensive, so in case you want it totalled that can help you cross the threshhold. secondly oem parts will fit better. period.

as far as people saying the car will never drive the same, that is neither here nor there. it all depends on how it's fixed. my sti drove the same....i was standing still and was blasted at 65mph in the rear (no homo) and it was repaired and drove perfectly fine...however the paint wasn't the same and some of hte body panels werne't perfect so i traded the car in.

anyway right now i'm going through arbitration with his insurance for a UIM ( Under insured motorist) claim.

your car however, i would want totalled. especailly since an airbag went off, and the car is so small you'd need to replace so much to get back to OEM spec, and you dont know if any of hte driveline is damaged for sure. who knows what could have been done to the motor....did the adjuster come and appraise it all? does he know if hte car runs?

i know this sounds bad...but make sure the gets totalled. yes its a new car, and value is quite high but this is not something you want to get back and not be at 100%...

here is what my STI looked like...

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...159652&page=14

Since a few people asked I am OK. I immediately went to the hospital to get checked out. Other than some whiplash I came out pretty unharmed.

The appraiser and body shop already list some frame damage but I think it could be worse. If you notice in the picture below all of the bottom panels have popped off the car, front to rear. This tells me the entire unibody was flexed and stressed.

Since a picture speaks a 1000 words, here she is:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/pictu...pictureid=5769

glad you're okay. you in a rental car now? i had 3 rentals when i was getting the sti fixed...teh reapir took almost 4 months. in that time i killed 2 rental cars and the third one was struggling :lol: neutral bombs and e-brake drifts FTMFW

Have it trucked to a dealership and tell them you'd like to get a new BRZ 'if it turns out your car has to be totaled'. It's amazing how estimates skyrocket when you mention that. Having a car repaired only saves the insurance company money because they don't have to pay the full value of the vehicle.

You get to choose where your car gets repaired, not the insurance company. Don't let them jerk you around.

I can't see anything in your post. Make sure your pic posted.

If you have $17k in damage its going to be a total loss. Supplements will definitely bring that over.

The car did not go to the dealer, it went to the shop that I selected. My concern was that if the damage was only superficial I didn't want the dealer doing body work.

I've since chatted with the appraiser and the adjuster. Both are saying it does not meet their 75-80% damage requirement for total loss. I asked the appraiser if the supplements brought it over the 75% mark would they total it even after repairs start... he said no.

The adjuster on the other hand said that at anytime if the repairs exceed the total loss mark they will stop, even if they are only days away from completion. I don't buy this for a second, maybe I can get that in writing =)

Take it to the dealer. Their estimate will be a lot higher and if its frame damage your tile will be marked with a word I forget and the car value is cut in half. I went through this with my 09 tc. Luckily not my fault and guy had heartford and they said anytime its frame damage we total it since the car isn't worth fixing

My sister was involved in an accident very similar to yours. Some douche made a left turn on a red light as she entered the intersection. She t-boned the car as well. The car she was driving was a less than a year old Subaru Impreza. She ended up getting a completely new car in a different color.

Good luck.

if this is a body shop you trust...go there and make sure the car wont start.

Taking the car to the dealership won't do anything. Everyone knows they charge way too much and insurance companies rarely honor their labor rates.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk 2.

In this situation I starting to agree. The insurance company sent their own inspector the next day. The inspector asked the body shop I selected to tear down the car before he arrived so he could really assess the damage. The inspector prepaired the quote rather than the body shop.

Short of hiring a lawyer to take this to arbitration I'm not sure I have much negotiating room here.

It's weird saying this, but I'm sorry it wasn't totaled. Same thing happened to my last car. I was $500 under it being deemed totaled. I was able to drive it another 5-6 years but due to some frame damage it needed to be aligned almost every 6-8 months. Sorry dude.

Funny story actually, my BRZ was just involved in a hit-and-run yesterday also in the San Diego area. I talked with the police and my insurance company yesterday and this morning, and I am taking the car back to the LA area (where I'm from) to get it appraised there and so I can switch out the car for another one.

BostonJohn, if possible, I would like to talk to you more about the damage to your vehicle and how you handled everything so I can get the most out of my accident and hopefully get a new BRZ.

Don't forget to go after the other company for diminished value of the car and the factory warranty. I've used these guys in the past: http://www.autoloss.com/

The insurance adjuster will write their own estimate. Also have the body shop write one. IF you see any "*" next to labor/prie it mean it is an adjusted value (be it more or less.) A lot if insurance will cut labor costs to save them money. IT also will vary depending on which program/books they use.

According to Mitchell program my shop uses around $13941.00 is about a 60% loss on a base FRS/BRZ.

Will my own insurance company cover the DV costs? Since my accident was a hit-and-run (luckily I was able to jot the down license plate number of the other vehicle) I'm afraid that if I got the license plate number wrong or if the other party doesn't have insurance then I won't be able to claim DV on the car.

If you are not at fault, they should.