My heart and spirit has been broken... The love of my life has been hurt...

What happen you say?

...well I'm at a stop light and some guy wasn't paying attention and rear-ended me. Damage is to the back left. The help that I need is information... I do NOT want to get screwed over by the Ins. Company. What are my options?

Hatch has been damaged, it also looks like either the hinge or roof has been compromised, the left rear panel has been compromised, the driver side door no doesn't close without minor scraping due to the rear having been pushed forward and obviously the rear lights, bumper, center lights and spoiler have been damaged... the spoiler has minor scrapes from what I can tell.

I have not opened the hatch, cause I'm at work and I'm afraid that I'll never be able to close it again.

Here are the pictures. Please let me know what are / will be problems areas etc. Those who have gone through something similar to this I would love to hear from you.

























Any thoughts, comments?

 

Man that sucks, sorry to hear about that. What was it he hit you with? I got rear ended by a lady who was rubbernecking at an existing accident and caused a 5 car pileup in the same exact spot. The damage was similar to yours but on a different car.

The good news is that all those parts are replaceable. The bad news is if it's significantly damaged, to properly repair the rear quarter that is buckled due to the impact, it probably has to be completely cut out and a new one welded in. I can't see really what the extent of the damage to the rear quarter is, but if it extends all the way to the door like you say it either needs to be worked out or replaced. The new panels are available from Mazda, but with that much work you're looking at a complete paint job for at least three sides of the car -- might as well make it the full car. I'm no expert but I'm going to guess if the damage is limited to the bumper cover, bumper support, taillights, hatch and the driver side rear quarter, plus welding a new panel and painting 3/4 or 100% of the car it's going to be something like $8-10k worth of work. Don't let them stiff you out of your aftermarket upgrades either.

 

 

A 2007 Chevy Silverado (the guy only had it for less then a month) rear ended me at a stop light. He thought that I had gone through and just nailed me. I'll take some better pictures of the quater when I get home and of the hatch.

That's the thing, how do I keep them from stiff'n me on the aftermarket stuff AND from just through some bondo on the car and saying it's done?

 

Well start off by soliciting information from locals on what the best/most reputable repair shop is and insist that your car is appraised and repaired there. I don't know jack about how insurance companies function but I think you should at least be able to dictate these terms. In all likelihood the insurance company of the guy who rear ended you won't give in quietly, but they're going to be liable for all the costs. If you have any questions, calling up your own insurance company right away and letting them know what happened and getting them to help you with the other guy's company can sometimes be helpful.

 

I've already called my Ins. Agent. But I've heard horror stories about people getting shafted by Ins. Companies especially by State Farm on getting their Rx-7's fixed...

 

the way it works is the insurance company look at the value of the car in general. unless you listed in your own policy about the upgrades and added value of the car, they wont protect you...

your best bet would probably have to be going through outside the insurance if you want everything fixed but with that much damage, i doubt the guy has cash to just fork over to you to make the repairs... at the same time, his insurance will surely double or triple after this accident.

if you are going through the insurance company, i hope you called the cops for a accident report. the only problem with this and again going through the insurance company is that, now if you pull up a carfax on your car, its going to list that it HAS been in an accident. i dont know if you care for such things but i generally dont like something like that on my reports.

regardless, i would try to settle it outside the insurance companies but because the damage is a bit extensive, you might just have too.

 

First of all, if you can void, don't get your insurance company involved... Pending how well you know your agent, it might be more of a hassle then you might think..

Second, is the SUV a company car or individual. If individual, find out their ins company and give them a call and get an report made. Company car, YOU ARE IN LUCK!! They tend to have much higher policy and they are always afraid you are going to sue them for something else.. they want to settle and move on!

3rd, take your car to the MOST expensive shop! Get 2-4 quotes.. DO NOT EVER get a cheap quote!!!! And make sure they put all the damaged parts and such they can see!!
And send only top two quotes!!

4th, Get your invoices of parts you've purchased or cost of each parts you have and which vendors that carries it.. Get those ready as they will surely ask for it!.. Or when they decide to total your car because the damage is greater than the cost.. Which happened to me back in 1997.. I faxed them 10K worth of mods and they fixed it instead of totalling it.

5th, if your car never experienced an accident, and you feel that the car is now worth less, you need an appraiser to get you an diminished value of the car. Since FD's are actually going up in price and becoming a collectors, this could be high. You need a reputable company or Mazda Dealership to do this..

6th, Be patient and do everything by email or by writing.. Those ******* insurance adjusters are ******!!! They will lie to you and said they told you something else.. If you can, tell them you are recording your conversation.. and do it if you have the means.

Good luck! I had a hell of a time with insurance companies over past 10 years.. Last one with with my wife's MX-5.. and Now with my wife's MX-5 because someone backed in to the driverside door.

 

I am sorry to hear this. Other suggestions might work but I found the best way is to hire a lawyer and sue. Before you balk at the idea and the cost involved, just remember, if the accident is not your fault meaning you'll win the case, the other party is responsible for your lawyer fees. Plus if you did suffer actual injuries, you get to see a doctory/specialist for free. The lawyer will also make sure you are entitled to your aftermarket parts.

I went this route in my previous car and i got everything back.

Good luck!

 

ah the almighty lawsuit... the american dream. =)

 

Well he called the LIOs before he even got out of the car. So insurance information was already exchanged and a report was filed. So... I guess that option is off the table. =\

I do have invoices for everything that I've put on the car. I can also call and get copies of them so that's not a problem. In fact I already started that process.

As far as the Carfax Reports; yes, having a blemished record on the vehicle does matter to me and that IS upsetting me greatly!!!

 

Some body shops actually work directly with insurance companies, so the body shop will take the pics of the car and send them in to the company that is going to pay for it, instead of having a representative come out and take pictures. Most body shops in my area do this, and I would advise you to get the same done. When body shops work directly with insurance companies, the insurance company almost always accepts the quote that the body shop gives.

Another thing is that it is only necessary to file a claim with your insurance company to facilitate the process of getting your car fixed faster. Since it was not your fault, your insurance company will just be used to help communicate to the other party's insarance.

good luck with getting everything straightened out.

randy

 

sucks man...i know exactly how you feel!! my e-brake tensioner cut loose and my fd went 200ft down a hill and slammed into a tree...i didnt eat or sleep for days.

i just got a quote from my insurance adjuster and it totaled $7,000...i am still waiting to here more as to the repairs...

i will try to post pictures..they havnt been working
Attachment 264760
Attachment 264761
Attachment 264762

 

^
sorry, i couldnt get the pictures any bigger...how did you get yers so big?

 

how big are the pictures on your computer? in your attempt to downsize them, you prob resized them to much.

 

^

ouch.

to the OP, they are most likely going to cut out the rear panel and weld on a new one. Since the rear is almost like a unibody, they will have to replace a large portion of it by cutting. Looks like you'll need a new hatch, taillight assembly, possibly spoiler, bumper, and reverse signal lamps, but you probably already knew that.

I don't know what the insurance/body shop will do about the JDM spoiler and taillights.

 

at least that beautiful greddy Ti doesnt look damaged.

 

it says the forum can only hold photos 100kb and smaller...these are 88kb, i dont know wats up?

 

you can prob change the size of picture by lowering its quality by compressing it but still keeping its original size. i know the picture manager that comes with office does this.

 

Dude thats fucked up. That's really all I can say.

 

yeah...definitely not the best things of things to happen...
dont worry though. anytime anything happens to my car i feel just as bad cause it just costs that much more.

 

Man, that really sucks.

Hope everything works out!

 

Not true. The body shop that repairs the vehicle reports to carfax. My local bodyshop told me that CarFax actually gives the repair shops a "bonus" for reporting it. My wife wrecked her car 3 times in one month and it still has a clean Carfax.

 

sorry to tell you but if the damage exceeds the value of the car they arent going to fix it they'll just give you a check for its value. which usually won't cover the repair cost. ie they will total it out and keep it thn if you want it thy subtract out the salvage value. good luck hope it works out for you.

 

ouch! sorry to hear that man. hope everything will work out for you.