Even if you get the car fully repaired, it will never look or drive the same again. Also, it's trade-in/resale value is greatly diminished.

I've had 3 cars in the past that were in major collisions.
For all 3, I found ADDITIONAL problems after all the repairs were done. These are some of the issues I encountered:

• One car (a Civic LX sedan) had frame damage that permanently ruined how the car drove and the alignment. Tires wore out in 1/3 the time!
• My Tacoma truck never handled right after the repairs. It ended up causing me to have another accident that was almost a 10 car pileup on the freeway. Luckily I didn't get hurt, but got rid of the Tacoma shortly after.
• My Altima had additional electrical components under the hood damaged (cables, oxygen sensor) that were discovered after I got it back from the body shop. The right door never fit properly again and resulted in water leaks and rust.

All 3 were still relatively new at the time of the accident. Afterwards I hated driving them and couldn't wait to get rid of them.

I got much less for my trade-ins/resales because of the accidents.

 

jrlnk: if you have a tendancy to get into accidents, you should only lease cars. that way you don't have to worry about loss of value later on.

 

man that sucks...

 

That really sucks and I'm sorry to hear about it. I know it's cliche and doesn't mean so much when you're in the other shoes, but at least you're alright. After the VW dealership got in a wreck in my car while they were test driving it (was in for a CEL) I had them buy the car back for silghtly more than trade value.

I would inquire about new car replacement with your insurance. They may not have it, but some insurance companies will replace a car if it's wrecked beyond a certain amount of damage within 3 model years.

The salvage idea doesn't seem bad either, that another poster brought up. See what you could sell the car for with a salvage title, and then take the money from the insurance. At least it's something to look into.

 

I went to a boneyard with a buddy who has reclaimed a vehicle from the same place, jumped thru' the PA hoops for a 'salvage' car...
First, it was a mystery why some of the cars were declared as totaled, as the damage seemed fairly minor in many cases. Others had damage that God himself would have trouble fixing, and they were considered totaled but repairable.
My buddy was of the opinion that some of it was a game between the crash shop and the insurance company, but he didn't have it all figured out.
For whatever comfort the OP may take, my '99 Cherokee was wrecked twice in one day (neither was my fault) when it was about six months old. It is still on the road; it built a camp, taught my daughter to drive, and she has it down at college with 95k on it. They fix 'em pretty good.
As regards the license-free motorist, as they tell another buddy who works at the welfare office....'hell, you don't need a license to drive; you just gotta know how...'
Moon

 

Sorry to hear that ...
Last summer some lady from louisiana hit me, in my passenger side. And yea she was ghetto trash as well. My door was caved in. The idiot had no liscene on her or insurance. This was in a mall parking lot, the bullsht security was no help. All i got was her phone number and address, but after she just completly disappeared...

Anyway, i really hope you get all this settled. Good luck

 

one habit i've developed is to always be extra alert at intersections, and look both ways at an intersection even if the light is green.

ive seen more cars blow lights in the last couple years.... you simply cant assume all drivers are sane or paying attention.

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Ok here we go ladies and gentlemen. I got my car back today. Got off to a bit of a strange start, though. A piece of cowl trim flew off the bottom passenger side of the windshield when i got going down the highway. I turned around and went right back to the repair shop. They have to order a new piece and snap it on monday. Other than that, i think it will be ok.

 

You should be good man, sounds like mostly moving suspension parts that were severely damaged.. I'm sure they were able to make it good as new.

 

aww man sorry about that.. shoulda broke one of your motor mounts and they might total it.. cuss when i got into a accident the side was mess up like yours and the right suspension was mess up they were gonna fix it but when they found out about the motor the total it so i think if you woulda did somethign to the motor then the insurance would of paid it off =/ btw your MR fit is soo nice =)

 

Ugh... #2

FBIC Ranks Insurers Payment Of Claims Records And Bad Faith Practices