I hate for this to be my first post, but here goes.

So, I recently bought a brand new Honda Fit. I got the base and exhausted every resource financially so that I could just buy it straight up.

I've only just had it for a few weeks, literally got my registration stickers in the mail yesterday, and last night got in a really bad wreck in an intersection.

The whole front end is crushed. Airbags deployed and fluids everywhere.

I didn't have collision coverage. I had just got the car and was planning on upgrading the insurance ASAP, but that was not early enough I guess.

I'm depressed beyond belief as I loved this car more than any car ever before. The worst part is I was about to start a new job that I needed the car for, so now am most likely gonna be unemployed again and stuck with my car.

Can I bounce back from this? What kind of salvage money could I get for a car that was sitting brand new on a lot in early November? The guy that towed back to my parking spot said it would probably cost like ten thousand to repair it.

I'm just so very sad about this...

 

Oh man that sucks. I don't even know what to tell you other than call local salvage yards and get some offers on the car. I'm not even going to go into the what should've and could'ves man, i'm sure you already know and don't need to hear it.

Take whatever salvage money you get and buy a cheap commuter. Take the loss as a lesson learned.

A little while back at an apartment complex I saw a girl drive into the parking lot with her new Lexus she literally just drove home from the dealership in and was promptly rear-ended by a 93 Camry at speed. She was crying.

Good luck.

 

were you at fault?

 

interesting that they let you off the lot without full coverage, maybe different laws in PA as NY dealerships wouldn't let me take me car without full coverage. at least you're able to walk away from the accident.

 

Didn't he said he bought it outright? If so, it's not financed and full coverage is not mandated. It would solely be his risk.

 

$10,000 does not sound like a total to me.

You need to get some repair estimates to make sure what you are working with there.

Totaled cars are usually sent to the auction and rebuilders buy them. If it is really totaled then contact these people at the closest location to you and ask if a private party can put a car through their auction.

Copart Facilities - locations for auction auto salvage near you

Yours would be worth more at auction because it has not been insurance company owned and in most states would have a clean title after it is repaired.

Do NOT take it to a salvage yard. You will not get much for it there.

Who was at fault?
You may be able to get the other party's insurance to pay for your damages.

I wish you had some pictures so we can see the extent of the damages.

 

Thanks so far for the ideas. Here are some pics I took before it was hauled off to the body shop. It had less than 200 miles on it. I'm so upset it is beyond words.



http://imageshack.com/i/0kujsfj
http://imageshack.com/i/npajdrj
I have more pics but am to out of it to upload more. The horror, oh the horror.

 

Great, the images are just giving the stupid blue question mark. Whatever, sorry. And stupid imageshack wont allow the option to see the images in a larger size.

 

An insurance adjuster would total it. Looks like more than 50% of the value of the car to repair it ($10K isn't far off, I think).

Totalled is an insurance term though. Whether it's economical for you to repair it is another question. Whether the repair is safe and performs normally is another.

If it were me I'd try to sell it to a salvage yard for more than junk price. Shop it around and see what they'll give you for it. Ask your insurance agent if they know what it would sell for to a salvage yard and if they know of any in the area.

Use this as the down payment on another car, finance it, and feel good the Fit helped keep you safe.

Your pic from one of the image shack share direct link:

 

If you don't have the workspace, tools and skills to tackle such a project, I'd recommend posting on Craig'sList and see if you get any offers. If you decide to try to repair it, take it to get an alignment check to see the extent, if any, that it has been tweaked and to get a view from under the car.

 

The engine has been pushed back. Even if it's not damaged past using (most of the peripheral components will be), the entire front structure is compromised.

 

What happened? Did someone run a red in front of you or did you fail to stop?

Sounds like the other guy is not at fault.

 

I didn't start this thread to have people tell me I'm a fuck up. The other driver didn't have a driver's license and went to the hospital, and their stupid tank of a car was able to drive away from the accident.

 

Anyone would be ill advised to admit fault in a public forum. Let this be an unfortunate reminder for everyone to check their insurance coverage as there are a lot of uninsured/underinsured drivers on the road.

 

I was just asking. If the other guy was at fault maybe your loss would not be as bad. Anyhow I am sorry you lost your car. It has to really hurt.

 

I does hurt. I'm not sure I will ever recover from this. I have a masters degree and have been offered, at best, a fuckin part time job that pays 8 dollars an hour, etc...blah blah blah. This car was not only the first new car I ever bought, but the one car I had been dreaming of owning for years. I've been a Honda fanatic ever since I was a little boy and finally got the car of my dreams to watch it go away in the blink of an eye because some ass hat was on the road when he was not even licensed to be behind the wheel, period. He should have not even been there! As I mentioned, the car was supposed to be for a job. Has any one even looked at the job market out there? If you don't have a car, go be a janitor. Welcome to the American Dream!

 

just curious, but a masters in what?

 

You will recover from this and things could have been plenty worse, like either driver suffering a debilitating injury or even a death.

Sorry for your loss and best of luck in the future.

 

Urban Studies. Useless perhaps to those that don't know the scope of what the degree entails, but the majority of the earths population dwell in urban environments. I'm an expert in a wide scope of fields, but this is off topic. Anyway, I'll know more about my options next week when I can finally get a copy of the police report. As stated before, the other driver had no DL, so while I'll be getting a citation in the mail that will be under a hundred bucks, that guy was carted off to the hospital and subsequently arrested for driving without a DL. My small victory in all this.

 

I did not ask who was at fault to degrade you. I have wrecked several cars in my life and I also have been in other accidents that were the other party's fault. I took out three cars one time an two were totaled. It was all my fault. So a lot of us have had accidents that were our fault. My Daughter slip a 2 year old Hyundai in half one time. It was her fault.

If the other party is at fault, you can put in a claim direct to his insurance company.
If he was unlicensed and the vehicle had insurance on it you can still put in a claim.

Fault is usually determined by the insurance companies after looking at the accident reports and taking statements from the parties involved. The fact that he is unlicensed is a plus in your case and his company may be more inclined to settle with you.

Your insurance company, even though you only had liability, does not want you to be claimed at fault. If you are, then they are on the hook for his damages and injuries. So talk to them also and see what they think about determining fault.

Go for a claim against the other party. you have nothing to loose and might get your car paid for.

Looking at the pictures, I do not think it is totaled because it was a brand new vehicle. You need to get a couple of estimates from body shops to find out what numbers you are working with.

From the pictures, I'm guessing that car will bring at $6,000 to $8,000 at auction.