Car Totalled From A Fender Bender?!

[RobertPaulson]

after looking at the damage picture i can certainly see how there might be some frame damage. the front quarter panel buckled. you also need a new bumper, headlight and hood so that alone is more than 3k in damages.

i'd make sure to get as much detail from the shop/insurance adjuster and get a second or third opinion before making any decisions on what to do next.

[bandit0289]

There are a lot of scams going around with insurance companies and repair shops. They will total a car in a min, cut you or lean holder a check for value of the car, then turn around and part it out. Makes it worth their while to not spend the time to fix something they will make minimal money on. It happens more than you think. You can use any body shop you want to get estimates. You have the right to get as many estimates you want before the insurance company makes a decision. If you love that beauty like I love mine, get numerous quotes and fight for her.

[ntron1]

even @ $16K of damage I fail to see how it would be totaled...

[DJCarbine]

Fusebox damage is no joke, had an electrical fire in my old BMW due to previous owner installing higher rated fuses and some knockoff HID kit.

Burned up the engine harness, had to buy a used harness from a totalled car and splice it in with waterproof solder connectors. Shops wanted to replace the entire fusebox/harness, and of course the parts were year specific in my case.

I can believe that the fusebox needs to be replaced as well as any harness coming out of it, it would be the "best" way to do it.

Can you get an itemized list of damages/repair costs for the car?

[Poodles]

Even at $16K, it's not totaled... Get the repair done and enjoy the car. Oh, and nail his ass with a diminished value claim.


Also, the price of the wiring harness is probably the issue here on top of the labor (and I doubt the dash has to come out as they usually separate the harnesses near the firewall). Removing the interior on a new car shouldn't introduce any issues, it's when it's done on an old car and things break being removed that you generally have issues.

[themadscientist]

I haven't looked at mine, but the fuse box on every car I've ever worked on that I really checked was a permanent part of the harness. I don't think Subaru would just sell the fuse box itself.

[Brndn704]

Originally Posted by Poodles

Even at $16K, it's not totaled... Get the repair done and enjoy the car. Oh, and nail his ass with a diminished value claim.


Also, the price of the wiring harness is probably the issue here on top of the labor (and I doubt the dash has to come out as they usually separate the harnesses near the firewall). Removing the interior on a new car shouldn't introduce any issues, it's when it's done on an old car and things break being removed that you generally have issues.

Most insurance companies total a car out if it exceeds 75% of the value of the car at the time of the wreck. We'll say his car is worth $21K, which is on the high side (special series doesn't add that much worth, sadly.) that right there is 76% which would in this case total the car. Realistically anything close to 70% they will total a car out with approval from the owner.

[Catchpole]

Originally Posted by bandit0289

There are a lot of scams going around with insurance companies and repair shops. They will total a car in a min, cut you or lean holder a check for value of the car, then turn around and part it out. Makes it worth their while to not spend the time to fix something they will make minimal money on. It happens more than you think. You can use any body shop you want to get estimates. You have the right to get as many estimates you want before the insurance company makes a decision. If you love that beauty like I love mine, get numerous quotes and fight for her.

I love the car, but I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't be worried if I got it back....new harness, bumper, hood, fender, and God knows what else in addition to so much of it having to be taken apart. I just imagine there are so many potential points of error.

Originally Posted by DJCarbine

Fusebox damage is no joke, had an electrical fire in my old BMW due to previous owner installing higher rated fuses and some knockoff HID kit.

Burned up the engine harness, had to buy a used harness from a totalled car and splice it in with waterproof solder connectors. Shops wanted to replace the entire fusebox/harness, and of course the parts were year specific in my case.

I can believe that the fusebox needs to be replaced as well as any harness coming out of it, it would be the "best" way to do it.

Can you get an itemized list of damages/repair costs for the car?

Your story is scary.
I'm supposed to be getting an itemized list here shortly.

Originally Posted by Brndn704

Most insurance companies total a car out if it exceeds 75% of the value of the car at the time of the wreck. We'll say his car is worth $21K, which is on the high side (special series doesn't add that much worth, sadly.) that right there is 76% which would in this case total the car. Realistically anything close to 70% they will total a car out with approval from the owner.

That's about where I'm at, the adjuster seemed to think it will be damn close too.

[V3rtigo]

If you can buy it back from insurance you might be able to part it out and make some $$$ that way. The reason they total it at 75% of the value is they can take the car then and sell it to a place that is going to part it out for greater than the 25% of the value.

[dmarkey]

@Eski: Complete wire harness replacements are very expensive repairs. Body shop labor rates are generally 1/3 of what you stated, but a complicated repair like that will be outsourced to a dealership with proper tools and training. At that point you're probably looking at $100/hour or more, and there are lots of hours needed to replace a harness. Installing a harness in a car at the factory is no problem, but disassembling a car to install it is a very different thing. Plus, the harness isn't going to be cheap. You're probably looking at a few thousand dollars for that part alone. Now figure in the likelyhood that Subaru won't have a harness available, so you're looking at a chance of weeks or even months in a rental car waiting to do repairs. Then when the new harness is in you may find additional problems that you couldn't know about until doing those repairs... You can see how it adds up to $16k or more pretty quickly when you factor all of that in.

I agree, it looks like a minor hit to total a car, but it's not that unheard of. The costs add up very quickly with wire harness related work. This isn't the first car that has a weak spot like this. The 2001 body style BMW 7-series housed a ton of electronics in the d/s rear quarter panel. Imagine buying an $80k new car and having it totalled from a minor bump like this when it's only a few months old!

Sorry to see the OP losing the car over such a small hit, but as others have said, you're better off to walk away and move into a new car at this point.

[Catchpole]

The adjuster just called, the car isn't totaled. I'm pretty unhappy about it at this point. The car was valued at ~$25,900 and the total for repairs was only about $11,000. Looks like I'll probably be stuck in this car for ages to come.

[x1UP]

Originally Posted by Catchpole

The adjuster just called, the car isn't totaled. I'm pretty unhappy about it at this point. The car was valued at ~$25,900 and the total for repairs was only about $11,000. Looks like I'll probably be stuck in this car for ages to come.

Well, at least you can continue buying parts for your car, if that's what you were doing before.

[Eski]

There is no way that this repair is half the price of the car. 16k for that is not right. i work in a parts warehouse and i can tell you that the harness costs less than $1,000. unless you take it to a shop where they have one guy who works part time theres no way your paying for 100 hours of labor. the only way i see this repair costing half the retail price of this car is if the frame has damage, which is unlikely due to the minor damage in the picture. im guessing the bill comes back at half that price when all is said and done.

[Agent 86]

Originally Posted by Catchpole

The adjuster just called, the car isn't totaled. I'm pretty unhappy about it at this point. The car was valued at ~$25,900 and the total for repairs was only about $11,000. Looks like I'll probably be stuck in this car for ages to come.

Sorry things didn't work out the way you hoped. At least you weren't injured (were you?).

I recommend that you take it to the best repair facility you can find, maybe even a Subaru dealership. Make certain only Subaru parts are used. Once it's done, inspect it thoroughly, maybe even dealer inspection. If done properly, it can be restored to like new.