got into an accident

[IlllI]

basically someone rear-ended me. i'd guess the person was going 35mph, 40max. speed limit was 35. i was wearing my seat belt, so i didnt get hurt. i do feel sore in my neck and torso but i figure thats mild whiplash and will go away in a day or two.


my car is 12yrs old (97 civic) 90,000 miles and i've no experience with accidents. it was a good, reliable car. the accident happened just a few blocks from where i live, so i was able to drive it back to my apt, but i dont trust going anywhere with it. my airbags didnt deploy(the ones in the other vehicle did however), which makes me wonder if mine actually even work anymore due to age.

my entire bumper got ripped off, part of my muffler broke and my trunk door is bent and doesnt close right. last night i looked inside my trunk and it looks like a giant indention/crumpled area where my spare sits. that worried me greatly if there could be more internal damage elsewhere.

so today i get a call from the ins people. i think they gave me two options:

have someone come and give an estimate on the damage and give me a check,
or bring it in and have an estimate and send it to them.

i chose the first option but i wonder if i should have done something else.


i tried looking online for tips etc but the only thing i've found worth writing down and asking about "diminished value compensation". also i'm worried that even if it gets fixed that something will probably break down the road, or some damage was missed when evaluating it.

i also dont want to be lowballed. i know the ins company just wants to write me a check and wash their hands of it.. but i'm worried about the future of my vehicle after this accident, and potential future problems.

finally i dont know if its worth even trying to fix. 12 years is a long time. is it legal to just take whatever they give me and use that towards the purchase of a new vehicle? also if i do that then.. what do i do with my old, broken car?

sorry for all these questions, i'm a complete noob and cant seem to find these answers anywhere

 

[blahblah99]

Originally posted by: IlllI
basically someone rear-ended me. i'd guess the person was going 35mph, 40max. speed limit was 35. i was wearing my seat belt, so i didnt get hurt. i do feel sore in my neck and torso but i figure thats mild whiplash and will go away in a day or two.


my car is 12yrs old (97 civic) 90,000 miles and i've no experience with accidents. it was a good, reliable car. the accident happened just a few blocks from where i live, so i was able to drive it back to my apt, but i dont trust going anywhere with it. my airbags didnt deploy(the ones in the other vehicle did however), which makes me wonder if mine actually even work anymore due to age.

my entire bumper got ripped off, part of my muffler broke and my trunk door is bent and doesnt close right. last night i looked inside my trunk and it looks like a giant indention/crumpled area where my spare sits. that worried me greatly if there could be more internal damage elsewhere.

so today i get a call from the ins people. i think they gave me two options:

have someone come and give an estimate on the damage and give me a check,
or bring it in and have an estimate and send it to them.

i chose the first option but i wonder if i should have done something else.


i tried looking online for tips etc but the only thing i've found worth writing down and asking about "diminished value compensation". also i'm worried that even if it gets fixed that something will probably break down the road, or some damage was missed when evaluating it.

i also dont want to be lowballed. i know the ins company just wants to write me a check and wash their hands of it.. but i'm worried about the future of my vehicle after this accident, and potential future problems.

finally i dont know if its worth even trying to fix. 12 years is a long time. is it legal to just take whatever they give me and use that towards the purchase of a new vehicle? also if i do that then.. what do i do with my old, broken car?

sorry for all these questions, i'm a complete noob and cant seem to find these answers anywhere

Never have a claims adjuster come out and cut you a check. They will low ball.

If you care about fixing your car, take it to a body shop of your choice.

Otherwise get an estimate from three different shops and give the highest to the insurance company.

 

[bruceb]

I agree. Get a couple of estimates. They are free. As to fixing that car, it would not be worth the cost. A rear end damaged like that will easily run about $4K or so in repair costs. You need to have a look at the rear quarter panels. If they are buckled, or if any of the car's doors do not open or close properly, get rid of the car as it will have major frame damage. Air bags do not go off in a rear end hit, unless the front of your car hits something. And even then, it has to be above a certain speed or a high rate of deceleration before they will deploy.

 

[IlllI]

it makes an awful racket with part of my muffler broken though.. kind of embarrassed to drive it actually lol but i guess i'll take it to a few places. the ins estimator guy was scheduled to come here in the next few days but i'll tell him to hold off.
both the driver door and passenger doors seem to be ok (its just a two door). but the trunk..its not right.

 

[amdhunter]

I dunno about the claims adjusters being out to lowball. I've been in 3 rear-end accidents, and each time the adjuster seemed to make some awfully high estimates on damage.

For example, when my car got hit last time, I got 2 estimates for roughly $4-500. The Geico adjuster estimated the damage to be 1200. They even recommended that I take it to a VW dealership to be fixed.

 

[ponyo]

they will not fix it. your car is totaled. they will likely give you lowball total figure. research what comparable 12 yr old civics with similar miles are going for and counteroffer.

 

[Vetterin]

Be careful whatever you do. I had my front bumper hit 2 years ago and needed replacement plus some repairs. Well I drove to my (then) Allstate claims center and they estimated my damage at $2200 and gave me a few places that they recommended to do the work. Well, I picked one of them and dropped off my car. As they kept removing parts off the front they kept finding more parts that were damaged. To make a long story short, the final bill came out to just over $3800. They did do an excellent and thorough job and I was not at fault so did not have to pay but the lesson here is don't short change yourself.

 

[ElFenix]

your car is totaled. have you called your insurance company yet?

 

[rdp6]

USAA has been good to me. Even when I was at fault. I expected to get hosed on my totalled 98 S-10, but the adjustor was honest and reported the truck as otherwise basically perfect (this was in 2007). When I got word that it was totalled, I expected maybe $3K payout. They payed $6500, and I bought the salvage for $500. I guess I totally misread how they use bluebook. Maybe someone could shed some light on this?

 

[bruceb]

State Farm in Nov 2007 my car also rear ended 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix .. like above trunk lid and floor and bumper cap. No quarter panel damage and they wanted to total it for like $4K. But I had just put a new tranny in it and had the bill. So they upped the totaled payout to $5500 after I paid the $200 buyback cost. And I got back my $500 deductible and $500 rental costs. Fixed the car for the $4K & was able to put all new struts in and still had cash left over.

 

[IlllI]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
your car is totaled. have you called your insurance company yet?

yes. i called their ins yesterday. set up an appointment to have some claim adjuster person come over (this was before i asked about it here). just got a call and he'll be here in less than 30min. i guess i could refuse his offer and always say i'd like a second opinion etc

edit: ok, just got finished talking with him. basically you guys were right, its totaled. he estimated the repair would be over $5000, and thats just looking on the outside.

anyways, i asked him what i'm to do with it, and he said basically i could sign it over to them and they would pick it up, and try to sell it at a salvage place(they would keep the $ of course). i told him yes, b/c it seemed complicated procedure. i'm only going to get $4400 for it. i'm wondering if i could try to sell it myself or if its too much of a hassle and not worth the time or trouble. the front end and interior is still in good condition.