Accident and a question. Ugh.
 

So I was rear ended today while stopped by a new Acura RDX. The bumper absorbed most of the damage like a champ, but as you can see the guy hit me so hard that it buckled the rear quarter panel in a few spots (even as far as next to the quarter window if you look closely).


Question, does anyone know how they go about fixing this section of the body? I would presume since the area behind the tail lights is one piece with the quarter panel, there would be some strange stuff going on when they go to install new tail lights and line everything up (?..maybe). It's not like it's just a dent on the side of the car that can be popped out, it's been pushed and crumpled from the rear impact.


Anyhow, any help would be appreciated. I just want to make sure the repair is done properly.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8642/...f90144bd_o.jpgIMG_1827 by Burrcold, on Flickr


https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7517/...b5332857_o.jpgIMG_1824 by Burrcold, on Flickr

UPDATE: Got the car back after 6 weeks and I couldn't be happier (given the circumstances). Just as I thought they would, the shop I brought it to did a fantastic job with the repairs. Almost dead on perfect paint match, in fact the rear bumper and spoiler are probably better matched to the rest of the body than from the factory.

No filler was used at all which is great, and the only welding they had to do was a tiny spot weld on the wheel arch where there was a split in the sheet metal. The rest was pulled and brought back to spec. My rear quarter actually lines up better with the rear bumper than it did before, and my exhaust is PERFECTLY even on both sides now (passenger side tip was 1/4 inch further out before but I never bothered trying to fix it). Rear quarter windows were also leak tested 4-5 times during it's stay to ensure a tight seal.

I know it's lost value but maybe it'll just force me to keep it a bit longer than I have my previous 17-18 other cars lol :D


https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8568/...bd5aa54e_o.jpgRear after by Burrcold, on Flickr


https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8640/...8443770e_o.jpgQuarter after by Burrcold, on Flickr

Depending on the skill of the bodyshop - that quarter panel looks to be able to be banged out and straightened and that whole quarter piece can be refinished. Some shops can blend, some shops will just repaint the whole thing.

Trunk and hinges look like they can be re-aligned. Bumper will be replaced.

The only small issue is that it looks like the seal between the rear side window and the quarter has been damaged.

Nooooo!!! Sucks to see, you always took really good care of it.

My condolences.

Pray for a total from the insurance company.

Think of the hit that your head and neck absorbed, then realize that much worse went down the drivetrain to every thrust surface in the rear end, gearbox and engine that was not designed to take that hit. Nothing had to move far, and probably bounced back, but you can be sure there was a lot of stress sent down the pipeline.

At a minimum, I would be working on the diminished value claim that I would file. If it goes on a carfax report, you lose when you sell and the insurance company has to make that up to you. Mention your sore neck while disusing the option of diminished value.

I know! I was always so careful with the car and kept it looking very OEM and brand new even after 2+ years of driving. Hopefully my OCD doesn't get the best of me after the repair :(

I doubt it'll be a total loss. I'd say maybe $6k in damages? Total guess though. My neck and shoulders are hurting and very stiff already but I sort of expected that. Tomorrow will probably be worse.

I didn't think we had deminished value in Ontario. I know a lot of states in the US do but I've never heard of it here. It really does suck from a resale perspective because to be perfectly honest I probably would be looking to trade in the next two years (love the car I just have car ADD).

First, hire an attorney and go see a doctor, unless you want to give up a large chunk of change and possibly be hurting for a while with no recourse if it gets worse later on.

Second, that does not look like just 6k of damage. The bumper beam looks like it was impacted, and from what I remember, there's nothing absorbing bumper beam impact other than a crumple zone. The rear qtr panel can't simply be banged out, and they'll likely need to order a new rear qtr for you. Also, your color is notoriously hard to blend... you'll end up w/ a car that's a different shade of white in that corner if it's re-sprayed.

Even if it is just 6k, how much is your BRZ worth now? Provided it really is only 6k of damage, add on the diminished value, and you could be looking at insurance payout of over 10k... most likely they will total it. Trust me, you want it totaled since they should pay you what it costs to replace it (generally highest dealer asking price for similar car in your area).

Also, if it was hit hard enough to buckle those quarters, the trunk floor is toast and may have to come out and have a replacement welded back in. The plastic bumpers on these things like to pop back out and make the damage look a lot better than it is. I would be very surprised if that's a $6K repair.

Oh believe me I would love if it was totalled. I definitely know it's going to be a lot of work, but again I'm pretty sure we don't have deminished value in Canada (in the province of Ontario at least) so I would have to rely on the repair costs only to deem it a total loss. That's where I doubt it will happen.

I hate it because it's not like my bumper had been previously scratched or something like that where I could find a silver lining in getting repairs done.

I'm no expert but the buckling of the C (B?, D?) pillar would suggest unibody damage. Crash structure definitely did its job though. It'll be a lot of cutting and welding to get it back in shape.

Noooooo!!!! I hate your life. :( I've been in similar, hit from behind and my car was totaled. Definitely good to have a doctor check up on you to have it documented that you did see a doctor. Then see if you can have your auto insurance cover the TOM'S taillights and other things back there.

That white color will be a PITA to match. It's the most expensive Subaru color to deal with and pretty much NEVER looks right.

I'm sorry that happened to you. It's one of my biggest fears to be hit like that again.

That's my concern. It's one big welded piece. I hate the idea of any "reconstruction". :(

I've been hit from behind before as well but not from someone that was doing that high of speed and no attempt to brake. In fact, I bought a G35 Coupe new back in 2004 when they first came out and someone rear ended me on my first drive to work! And it happened 3 times in the 1st year of owning that car! Most were fairly minor though (broken bumper with the notorious plate screw indents on my bumper lol).

Man that's such a shame. I'd be losing so much more than just a car if that happened to me, I'd be losing my best friend :cry:

It does look like a write off....there is a lot of possible hidden damage there. I have had good luck at Michael and Michael in Toronto........they are down on Eastern. great, great guys, and they have had mine apart twice.......don't ask.....

Damn! Sorry man. Post some more pics if you can tomorrow and let us know how it goes..

Former insurance adjuster. The buckle in the rear quarter means that they will have to put your on a rack ("frame alignment device") measure where everything is at currently and then apply force to pull everything back into spec. Once they've done that they can assess if the rear quarter can be repaired or if it would need to be replaced. If it needs to be replaced they will cut it off the car and weld a new quarter panel in.

Getting it "pulled" by a good shop is going to be the key here. If the shop doesn't do a good job, the trunk won't align properly and you could end up with a leaky trunk. Check the trunk with a hose while at the shop,after repairs.

Sorry about the accident! Sucks when you put in the work to take care of your car over the years, and then one day some careless SUV driver barrels into the rear of your car. Glad to see you weren't serious hurt though.

Any airbags go off?

In order for that quarter to buckle, the frame had to give. Frames are designed to give...once. Pulling it back in position does not reset the strenght of the frame member.

If there is any damage to the DS quarter, the entire car is going to need painting.

In my case, front fender, new door, and full paint on DS to avoid blending was 4k. This was for a 5 mph bump with no structural damage.

Diminished value most often takes the form of a civil claim, eithe small claims or via one of the many shyster legal firms that specialize in the claim. If you are not planning to file any medical claims (I would not dismiss the option) then mention that unless they make you whole in good faith, you will consider filling such a claim; it will end up costing them more in response effort than you are looking for.

No airbags went off.

I just got off the phone with the repair shop and the insurance adjuster. They haven't finished pulling the car apart yet, so I have no idea about costs right now. I did ask about the "uni-body and/or frame" damage and the shop explained that there very well could be frame damage, but the buckling seen on the exterior rear quarter panel doesn't always indicate frame damage. He said given the angle of the hit, the frame could be perfectly intact but the sheet metal buckles if there was enough force at the fender/bumper connection point.

He did say that if this was the case, they would typically "pull" the sheet metal to see if they can get back in spec or replace the entire quarter panel and re-weld (shitty in either case). He also mentioned that I would be VERY surprised how quickly the cost can add up with this type of repair, but not to get my hopes up of it being a write off. To be deemed a total loss in Ontario, the repair costs would need to be over 75% of the current replacement value of the vehicle. So I'm guessing that there would need to be $15k+ worth of damages to be written off...?

Also, the insurance adjuster echoed exactly what you just said about diminished value. We don't have that here in Ontario like many US states do (totally sucks). If I wanted to go after any depreciation due to the accident, I would have to take the guy to court and try and recover that way. Which I'm sure would cost me more in legal/time/aggravation than what I would receive in compensation (if anything at all).

Bah this sucks.

oh man so sorry to see that, i can echo that repairs to these kinds of accidents built up very fast. my last car had similar damage and my buddy is an adjuster, at quick glance i thought about 6k, he figured 8, once they started tearing into the car it jumped up to 13k and they hadn't even started looking to ensure the frame hadn't been damaged and totaled my car (it was worth 16k).

shit...accident happens. i am glad you're ok. that matters most and car can be replaced.
anyway GL with repair.

I've been through two wrecks in the last few years (not with the BRZ, knock on wood), and I got fed so much bullshit by both the adjusters and their "preferred" repair shops that I would take anything these people are telling you with a handful of salt. I didn't get anything close to a straight answer on my Jeep until I took it to an independent shop.

Once you get the adjuster's estimate, I would suggest that you take it to another shop to get an independent estimate, not only of the damage but also of the value of the car against which the damage will be compared to determine whether it's totaled. Actually, it's better to do that before the insurance adjuster looks at it, so that you're armed with better information.

As as much as adjusters hate this and just assume it's fraud, if you have any pains at all, go get checked out by a doctor and file an injury claim also. On my first wreck, I was sore but didn't bother going to the doctor. On the other, I had learned my lesson and went. The difference in how the adjusters dealt with the claims was simply amazing.

This is actually my preferred shop it just so happens that they are on State Farm's approved repair facilities list. I've know this shop and owner for almost 10 years. I do trust them.

Won't cost you that much money for the diminished value claim. Just use a company here in the states. They can do all the research and give you a value.

Take the guy to small claims court, and present your evidence. If the court rules in your favor, he easy part will be done. Getting them to pay what they owe you...might not be so easy.

They will need pics of the vehicle showing the damage and the complete repair bill showing all repairs and supplemental repairs.

The shop was right to tell you that this type of repair can cost a lot. It can. When I saw the pics of the damage to your car I was thinking between $8-11k easy.

@Burrcold

I had a similar accident 16 years ago (when I was still in college) and the intermittent neck/back pain is still with me. Keep in mind I was perfectly healthy and as strong as a mini-ox when the accident happened. I only had a bad headache and some shoulder/neck stiffness for the first couple of days...then the real pain started shortly after that.

Get checked out thoroughly by a good doctor and don't settle for the first lameduck settlement the insurance company will throw at you...you will have pain that will be with you forever.

Luckily I can deal directly with my own doctor and his referral for a chiropractor or whatever other specialist I need to see. Even the bodily injury claims adjuster from State Farm told me today to get my neck and back looked at for the exact reason you mentioned. He also said I can make an injury claim up to 10 years after the accident (obviously only if they can relate any pain to the prior accident). Neck and shoulders are definitely VERY tight today but I presume that's to be expected.

If I were you, I would choose to get the quarter panel cut out and have a new piece weld on, new bumper, spoiler, trunk, possible defuser too. then repaint. Get a good shop to do it, you wouldn't be able to tell a difference, would look new and better condition than delivery at dealer!
if no frame was damaged i figure it would cost around 7K for the repair.

I'm hoping you'll be okay...and don't get anything even near what I have in terms of pain/injury...:cheers:

Thanks man! Lingering injuries are the worst. I've got a few from playing rugby and a f'ed up knee and ankle due to a dumb drunken skateboarding accident back when I was in university and dumb.

I think we all have one of those injuries lol. The stiffness will go away. After I was rear-ended on the 401 a few years ago, I found days 3-5 were the worst for stiffness and pain. Glad you went to the doc though.

God, I'm so sorry to see this. Recently it seems like there's been so many accidents with the twins in the GTA. If this ever happens to me, I know I could never feel the same way about my car again.. Panel reweld jobs have never worked out too well for me in the past. I hope you get what you deserve from the insurance company.

Thanks. Yeah if they do end up repairing everything, unless it's damn near perfect I'll probably lose a bit of my obsession with it (maybe that's a good thing). Hah

Story time

Lol I was walking home from a bar with friends (obviously pretty drunk) and I saw a skateboard on the sidewalk about 100 feet up ahead. So I did the most logical thing at the time and ran as fast as I could to jump on it. I landed on it but it flew out from under my feet...ended up tearing my ACL and MCL, broke my ankle and tore my achilles. Totally awesome. :)

UPDATE: So the car is going to be repaired. Most of the damage was taken by the crash beam in the rear, so obviously all of that has to be changed. Surprisingly, there was no frame damage at all. The guy missed the frame rail by an inch!

So the bumper, trunk, tail lights, spoiler, rear diffuser (being replaced with an OEM one...silver lining? lol), and obviously they are going to repair the quarter panel (it's just sheet metal damage that they are 110% confident that will look perfect after).

The owner of the shop knows how anal I am about the car and repairs and he's been a long time friend so I trust his judgment on this one. There was $10k in damage but that's obviously far under the write-off amount, so I'll just have to live with it. I will be out of my car for 6 weeks, but I don't mind as the miles aren't being put on it and it's eating into the winter months.

So I'm hoping that everything is okay and maybe this will encourage me to keep the car longer since the trade in value will definitely take a hit. Meh. Fuck. Meh lol

:eyebulge: HOLY SHIT MAN, that's just too much to deal with in one shot.

THIS! There is definately unibody frame damage. There is probably unseen damage to the rear drivetrain. This can be fixed, but it takes a talented body shop. Then you have to match the paint. BTW: This is what my dad did for a living. I saw him chain the cars to the frame rack and do his thing. Usually ... he would have to pull the affected frame the opposite direction to get it aligned. Very difficult to do properly.

As for you. Go see a doctor immediately .... even if you feel fine. Document your bills. Just in case. Skip the attorney unless you get screwed by the ins co.

Good luck and thank god you weren't hurt.

It was quite the ordeal to say the least. Put a "limp" in my year from a partying perspective for sure. I was probably lucky though in that I was drunk enough to not completely realize how much pain I should have been in (considering my foot was fully facing in the opposite direction and that I didn't know it until I tried to stand up). :barf: