Touche technicality

If the the unibody is not damaged......

From the damage it looks to be cosmetic only, thanks for resizing the pictures.

 

My guess is, its going to be pretty expensive to fix, but it's not totaled.

 

Hahaha...you're welcome!

 

Thanks! Nice touch with red by the way.

 

Most likelly the radiator cracked. It'll be an expensive fix, but not over the $15k the fit is probably worth.

Ex. My 5 year old fit with 104k on the odometer had $5k worth of repair done to it (cosmetic and labor) I was hoping it would be totaled so I could put it on another car but nope...the dark side of these cars keeping their value.

At this point I would consider driving it till the wheels fell off...I also agree that cars are never the same after the accident.

On a plus side most reputable body shops that have strong relationships with the insurance company give warranties on their work and your car still has it 6ok warranty in case any component werent visably damaged.

try to get them to go in on the car...

 

Sorry to hear about the accident, count your blessings you came out intact. Anyway, like others have said work through your insurance, you will get nowhere with the other person's insurance company. Also try to be patient and i'm not saying you are but don't come across as pushy, you will get better results. Let the process run its course (from what I read, its only been a few days) and for the time being if you need a car to use temporarily you should be able to get a loaner car and get renter's reimbursement from your insurance company while the Fit is being repaired.

Secondly, do you have a checkered driving history? My friend is a claims adjuster and from what I get sometimes they look deeper into accidents involving people with sketchy driving records. If you've got a history of speeding tickets or prior accidents, that may come into play. From what I understand, they are supposed to treat each case individually but sometimes your past driving history comes into play.

Hope it works out.

 

Huh?

....

 

Call your agent and tell him/her that you aren't feeling well and want to open a medpay on your claim because you think you need to go to the doctor and get checked out. Call the other company and tell them that you are going to the doctor and will probably have to miss work to do it. Tell them you may need to go to several doctors for tests. Tell the other company that you are renting a car until they get yours to a body shop and get it fixed.

It sounds like you are feeling worse every day. Who knows what all might be wrong. Getting rear-ended can really hurt after a few days.

Normally these companies want to get the car fixed as soon as possible and put a claim behind them. Certainly your company has no reason to drag its feet. You can always invest in a couple hours of attorney time and get everyone jacked up pdq.

Cheers.

 

I have one previous accident, which I was not at fault. Other then that my driving record has been clean. When I have contacted my insurance I have been polite and respectful.

 

You're "totaled" is in red font on my page. I just assumed you did it.

 

This thread that I am putting a link for is a similar hit to the back as mine. They ended up totaling theirs because of buckling under the seats. https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/1st-generation-gd-01-08/58810-bye-gd3.html

 

Sucks that your near new car has been damaged like this, I definitely don't think it's totaled and would be confident that they could replace the damaged parts and your car could be back to new soon.

 

OP, you may want to start using email for future communications with insurance company. That creates a documented trail on the conversations, dates, and who said what. Also, you only need to deal with your own insurance company, it is their job to deal with the other parties. Since they likely have more than your case to deal with, unfortunately it does take some time for things to work thru. However, if you have collision insurance, they should be getting your car fixed and take their own time to determine who is a fault. Based on your description, I would suggest you switch when your policy is up for renewal.

 

I was in an accident four months after I got my Fit, the fault was mine. I was coming off a side street, did not see the oncoming traffic (newbie driver mistake), in time, slammed on my brakes right before the lady hit my driver's side. Had I tried to floor it she would have hit my door or my passenger door and I might not be here talking about it. She was an elderly lady in a tank. Her front grill came off. I got the brunt of the damage to the tune of $6,000. I wish I'd taken pictures, but I was so out of it after the accident that it didn't even occur to me to do it.

TL;dr, I don't think your car is totaled (yea!) I'm not playing a "my damage was worse than yours" game, but my damage was fairly extensive. I have the list of what they had to DO to get my baby back into working order somewhere. Pages of stuff that would make you guys cry.

I would just sit back and let the insurance companies sort it out. I would NOT personally contact her insurance. Let your insurance company do that. That's what you're paying them for. And yes, Geico sucks. I was with them before I got my license and I think they were THE driving force for me to get the license. They're still begging me to come back! HA!

 

I think most insurance companies determine total loss based on the cost of repair + the salvage value of the car involved. If these two figures exceed the value of the car it will be totaled, the car will be sold as salvage. You will have to assign the title to the insurance company or their designated salvage company. The car may then go to a auction and eventually end up being repaired and sold. In some cases the title may be washed and sold as a non-salvage vehicle (illegal I know, but it happens).

Consequently, we cannot tell if a car will be salvaged since the repair damage does not have to equal the value of the car before the accident. Let's say you have damages on a 2011 fit worth 15k. If damages are estimated to be 10K and the salvage value is 7.5k the insurance company would come out by buying your car and sell it in the salvage market. The insurance company will probably not offer you the original value of the car.

I used to go to lots of auctions and was always amazed at the sale prices of newer model salvaged cars.

If your car has a lien the lien holder will have first call on the pay off, you get what's left. If the amount owed exceeds the pay off, you get a bill for the remainder.

Clifton

 

I had a car total once. I was out with a few friends at a bar lucky someone called me over to talk to me as I was leaving when I did come out of the bar I found my car up on the sidewalk the rear end up in the back seats. A drunk driver ran into it and took off a few seconds before I had left the bar. If I had left earlier I would probably been walking across the street and may of been the victim not the car. Needless to say the police did not do much to catch the driver since no one was hurt.

The biggest problem was the car was seven years old and I took real good care of it. But, because of the mileage 133k the value was not enough to get a car in the same condition.

Needless to say you run into problems when you have a new car and a loan you need gap insurance and if you have a older car that you take care or in great condition, cash. Seems insurance is good only for repairs. My current insurance comes with ful replacement value in the first two years. I also deal with a Allstate agent found carriers like Geico were really not as cheap as they advertise.

Also let your insurance company know of any aftermarket parts.

Good luck.

 

After reviewing those other pictures you put up, car does not seem to be totalled. As long as the frame is okay it appears that you are dealing with some bumper issues, hatch issue, driver side fender looks fine, front bumper, maybe hood, and maybe driver side headlight from what I saw. Those would most likely be the parts needed to be replaced. The cost of repairing those damages outweighs the insurance writing off your car.

 

The rear bumper, tailgate, lights, rear body panel and right rear rail probably need replacing. The front bumper, radiator support, rad and condenser probably need replacing. I would say the total repair bill will come to between 5-8000.

I would tell the adjuster that you want it totaled out and then take the money to put a downpayment on a new Honda Fit. Your Honda Fit right now has been used and eventually there will be parts and maintenance which need to be done. Just get a new Fit.

If they dont total it, and I dont think they will, oh well, but I would certainly tell the adjuster you want it totaled. The adjuster sometimes has that discretion to throw it over the line.

As for the shop to bring it to, I would bring it to a certified Honda repair facility:

Body Shop Locator

Dont take it to Geico's shop and dont take it to just any Honda dealerships shop. Only take it to the shops listed in the link above. Some Honda body shops are not certified as Honda collision shops. Whats the difference? Honda certified shops work on your type of car all the time and so they know the ins and outs of the car. The certified shops have met Hondas standards for repair.

 

Thank you. This is really helpful information. I've heard horror stories about Geico certified shops. I am glad I had mine moved out before they worked on it.

 

I wanted to add this...lets say you want to sell the car one day. They will all run the Carfax and this will show up. However, if you tell someone that you had it repaired in Honda's Certified shop and have all the paperwork that fact might make the car more salable.