Well, it finally happened to me. I was on my way home when I stopped behind a car that was waiting to make a left turn into a school parking lot. Just as they were making their turn, I glance at my rearview mirror and see a truck headed right for me! He didn't even attempt to stop, and hit hard. I was shaking so much that it took a couple of minutes before I was able to move to the curb. Turns out it was an 18 year old with NO license. Plus, he took the truck without his parents permission! Fortunately, no one was hurt.

I called the cops and got an accident report. They said it definitely was his fault. It didn't help that he tried to lie to the cops about his mom being with him in the car. (She lived close by and walked to the accident site before the police arrived.)

I'm just so upset. This was my first ever new car that I purchased. I've only had it 18 months. It looks pretty bad to me. The rear door won't open at all.









What do you think? I know everyone says that it's better if it's totaled so you don't have to worry about diminished value and future problems, but I'll never be able to replace the color and I really love this car.

 

Sorry to read. At least you are ok, cars can be replaced.

I think insurance will total it. Since the rear doors don't open it means the frame is damaged, there's the rear quarter panels, the entire rear tailgate section, etc -- I wouldn't be surprised if the estimate for parts and labor was over $10,000.

Best of luck trying to find another blue raspberry Fit.

 

That really stinks. Just glad that you are ok.

I agree that it will likely be totaled. The good news is that there are some out there for sale. When I was shopping late last year, the first one I looked at was this color. It was a Base and I was looking for a Sport though.

 

Ouch, but good thing you're ok. Is it drivable or are the rear quarter panels pushed up against the tires? Oh, and that uncontrollable shaking lingers for awhile doesn't it?

 

it is better that the car was totalled; haven't you talked to your insurance company? even though the driver was unlicensed the truck was owned by his mother who surely had insurance.
if your insurance company is a good one they will work with you getting a replacement car. as far as color is concerned whatever year it was there should be other cars from that year and color.
I would also have expected a number of lawyers who read the accident report would be lining up to help you get a replacement car, color and all.
first, talk to your insurance company for advice and assistance.
good luck.

 

Here's my advice for your situation:
1. Take your car to a reputable body shop. Have them give you an itemized estimate for repairing the car. If they say it can't possibly be fixed, then you'll have to make sure the other car's insurer totals it in step 2.
2. The other car's insurer will have an adjuster look at your car and they will estimate damages as well. If their number is about what your body shop's number is, all is well; take their check. If not, fight their damage estimate to get more money. If they want to total your car, but the estimate at your mechanic leads you to believe you could have the car fixed, first see if they would be willing to not total your car and just give you a big check (probably slightly less than full value of the car) and let you keep the car. If they do total it, it's possible you could buy it back from them, but you would need to repair it and get a salvage inspection so it's probably not worth your time. Let them total it; take the money and get another car.
3. If the car is not totaled, source as many salvage parts for the job as you can. Maybe you can find an 09-13 salvage Fit bumper and hatch in your color that won't need to be painted. Also see if you can find a cheaper body shop to do the work.
4. Get the work done as cheaply as possible; at the original shop, at the alternate shop, by yourself or friends even. Any savings at this point go in your pocket. Maybe your shop can even bang out the existing hatch so it works and you can live with the ugliness. You might be able to pocket a few thousand dollars on the situation. This is perfectly legal since the other drivers insurance IS responsible to pay you for your damage, however you are not legally obligated to get it fixed by any specific shop or in any specific way. It's your car. Fix it how you want. You want it fixed at your own personal preferred ratio of good/fast/cheap.

 

Hi all. Thank you for all of your well wishes and advice. Today, I found out that the other driver was excluded from his parents' insurance (he didn't have a license), so they won't be paying. Fortunately, my Uninsured Motorist coverage will take care of it, and I won't have to pay a deductible. Unfortunately, it doesn't cover a rental car. My agent recommended a collision repair shop he knows that provides rentals, but their reviews aren't so great. I'm checking around to see if friends know of a good place.

One of the panels is pushed up against a tire. I drove it home since I was around the corner, and it made horrible noises the entire time!

I know! The adrenaline left me feeling like crap all day.

Unfortunately, I don't think it'll be so easy for me. I checked Craigslist last night just to see what was out there. I only found 3 and they were all salvaged titles. :/

Thanks again everyone. I appreciate all of your help.

 

If you have Costco, use their website for car rentals price check and rentals, it's heavily discounted. I typically go with Enterprise or Avis.

Have you tried Autotrader.com and Carmax.com ? The more research you have on how hard of a color to find that Fit in and prices around you, the more money you will get through insurance, otherwise they will try to give you bottom dollar.

 

I'm sorry about your car.

Looking at the pics and your description of the accident, I recommend you start icing your neck immediately. It's very possible that you suffered some trauma to your neck muscles, joints, and ligaments. The sooner you get ice on it, the more pain and suffering you'll potentially save yourself later.

I'm not an accident analyst by trade, but it looks like the driver did hit the brakes at some point because the front end of his truck ended up hitting the low side of your rear. If he didn't, I'd expect more damage going straight through your rear hatch.

 

Well did you company say it was a total or not?

From your posting it looks like they are going to cover your loss so you are down to if it is going to be fixed or totaled.

They are going to pay you based on an clear title car value, so I would not be looking at replacement salvage / repaired vehicles. Salvage/repaired vvehiles are devalued 15% to 40%.

The insurance company should put your policy on suspension while you are without a car. Then when you get a replacement, your policy will kick in again. (you will save a few bux this way.) Also if it is totaled they should include sales tax and plate fees on the replacement vehicle.

Yours is a beautiful blue and I hope that you find another one like it in that color.

 

It's only been a day and a half, so I haven't been able to get it to a shop yet. I spent yesterday talking to the insurance companies and getting my claim started. My claims rep will probably get it towed to a shop today.

I wasn't looking at salvaged titles. I was just pointing out that they were all that was available in my area, so replacing with a clean title Blue Raspberry will probably be next to impossible. If it is totaled, I'll probably have to settle for a different color 2013, or just get a new 2015.

Thanks for the advice about the sales tax and plate fees. I'll keep that in mind.

 

Hey. There are a few raspberries posted on Craigslist in la. We also have some in az for sale so dont give up just yet. But if you decide to sell the spoiler id be happy to take it

 

Total that thing. Glad you're okay.

 

Not sure how fast he was going but I thought the damage was not bad for a hard hit by a pickup truck, considering that the Fits get bad ratings on crash tests from the rear.

But it's still likely going to be considered totaled, one unlikely option if it still drives right is to take to your local body shop mechanic and see if he can fix it then you take the ins check and get it fixed yourself possibly pocketing a few hunnit, probably not though.

 

It's at the body shop now. They said they may have an estimate for me by tomorrow. As far as totaling it, the estimator told me that Farmers (my insurance) will only total a car if the repairs are at least 100% of the car's current value. So unless something super expensive and/or labor intensive is busted, it'll most likely just be repaired. As long as they do good work though, I won't really mind. I was planning to keep this car for at least 10 years anyway.

 

The assessor doesn't just take the value of the repair and the insured value into consideration. When they pay out for total loss, they take possession of the car, so they also take into account the market value of the car at auction as a damaged vehicle. So it doesn't have to exceed your sum insured. It just has to exceed a percentage of that. It's like, insured value less potential resale value is the consideration.

One of my friends had an M3 rear-ended. Looked fairly okay, but the frame was bent. So even for that reasonably new car, because resale for parts was taken into consideration, it was a total loss and they paid out the total sum insured.

 

Where in SoCal are you in? My bud got into an accident too and they repaired his car in two weeks but that's because he wanted a full jdm front conversion plus complete repaint.

Let me know if you want the location of the place.

 

Riverside, but I wasn't interested in getting any conversions done. Thanks for the offer though!

 

Oh no, I was just saying that he got a conversion but they do a lot of other body works as well.

 

Thanks for the info. I'm still divided on whether or not I want it totaled though. Blue Raspberry is hard to find, and I'm not looking forward to repeating the buying process. Hopefully, I'll find out which way it's gonna go by tomorrow. *fingers crossed*