Accident! Seems to be cosmetic only.

[darksnyder]

So a guy coming the wrong way almost hit me head on. Swerved at the last minute but unluckily couldn't avoid him. Made contact where the front fender meets the door. Then he scraped all the way to the rear fender. Damn!

Dropped it off with the garage recommended by the insurance company. Initially they said they will try to repair the panels. However, once I submitted the police report and dropped the car at the garage finally, they said they'll try to replace the door panel only especially if they can find one in the scrap yard.

Paint job is required in any case, front fender, door and rear fender.

As its the other parties fault, atleast i dont have to pay anything out of my pocket. However, just trying to get over the guilt of crashing within first year of ownership and the fear of how the car will come out.

[Ernest72]

Yeah that sucks. Better than a head on though. Good luck.

[Brink]

At least you drive with your side mirror folded in so that didn't get clipped off.

[humfrz]

Well, that's too bad -

I'm glad you weren't hurt.

Your car will fix up good.


humfrz

[Ultramaroon]

Yikes! Really fortunate that it wasn't worse. Glad you're ok.


Sounds like a nimble little car in hands with quick reflexes saved the day.

[stevesnj]

Recently had similar but worse damage from a sideswipe. Picking it up tomorrow and will post my experience with all that happened. Damage was over $5,000 all on the other drivers insurance. Repaired it a Toyota Certified Collision Center (my choice), didn't even knew they existed. But all OEM parts with VIN tag even matched on the panels. Good luck and glad you weren't injured.

[darksnyder]

Originally Posted by Brink

At least you drive with your side mirror folded in so that didn't get clipped off.

Hahaha who needs side mirrors when people are intent on coming the wrong way! Luckily the cops not only failed to notice folded side mirrors, they missed the fact I was driving with the sunshade on the windscreen as well
Actually the impact folded it in, glad it didn't clip off. The remaining pics are from the parking lot after accident.

[darksnyder]

Originally Posted by stevesnj

Recently had similar but worse damage from a sideswipe. Picking it up tomorrow and will post my experience with all that happened. Damage was over $5,000 all on the other drivers insurance. Repaired it a Toyota Certified Collision Center (my choice), didn't even knew they existed. But all OEM parts with VIN tag even matched on the panels. Good luck and glad you weren't injured.

Ouch, that's bad! Hope there were no injuries. Wish I could also get mine done at the agency / certified dealer, but here the insurance only covers that for new cars up to 2 years old only and you have to pay additional premium. Else, its just local garages.

[Grady]

Insist on genuine new parts! If they will not, take it to a shop that will. As you are not at fault they have no choice to to return your car back to original. If the insurance company wants to be A holes get it repaired under yours and let them get the money from the other insurance company. This may cost you your deductible up front buy you will get it back.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Grady

Insist on genuine new parts! If they will not, take it to a shop that will. As you are not at fault they have no choice to to return your car back to original. If the insurance company wants to be A holes get it repaired under yours and let them get the money from the other insurance company. This may cost you your deductible up front buy you will get it back.

You do realize the dude is in Dubai right? The insurance companies may have all the choice in the world there. What works in the US does not work worldwide. Even Canada has radically different rules. Hell, even Ontario has different rules than the rest of Canada that would make most of your suggestions impossible.

[darksnyder]

Agreed with @Tcoat Insurance companies and policies can be vastly different in various parts of the world. Here in Dubai, we have a concept of "Agency Repairs" whereby it will be repaired at the authorized dealer and is only covered via additional premium for the first 2 years from the date of manufacturing. Mine, being 2013, did not fall under this category. So the only option is to accept their authorized repair shops.

Secondly, the insurance policy also states that "the vehicle will be repaired to the original state as it was BEFORE the accident". This means being a 2013 model, all my parts were 5 years old, so technically my vehicle and the panel that was damaged was also 5 years old before the accident. Hence, I cannot demand new parts.

Thirdly, I do have the option to request new parts (but I will have to pay 30% of the amount) or request cash alternative. However, they have terms and conditions mentioned somewhere in tiny text which makes it very difficult to get the insurance company to acknowledge these requests, especially the cash payout. They usually only honor these request if they have difficulty finding or repairing parts, etc.

[darksnyder]

Update as of now is, I dropped it off at the body shop last week. They called in today that they tried finding replacement fender and door panel (probably from other totalled 86) but no luck. They will try contacting Toyota and inform me after the weekend. Lets see.


In the meanwhile, they have started work on the rear fender. If they get that done before the panels arrive, I would be able to get a preview on their quality of work.

[Grady]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

You do realize the dude is in Dubai right? The insurance companies may have all the choice in the world there. What works in the US does not work worldwide. Even Canada has radically different rules. Hell, even Ontario has different rules than the rest of Canada that would make most of your suggestions impossible.

Yes I forgot to look at the location. Shit it totaled throw it away and buy a new one.

[stevesnj]

Originally Posted by Grady

Yes I forgot to look at the location. Shit it totaled throw it away and buy a new one.