Rear ended the other day

[911Brian]

Well.. the dreaded moment happened. I was sitting at a stop light when I was rear ended by a minivan. I am guessing she was going around 30. If I remember correctly, I was just about to pull forward when she hit. Right after the hit, I pressed on the brakes to keep hitting my wife in front of me. I have a little back a neck pain but ok.

Here are some pics. What do you guys think? I have an adjustor coming over during lunch to take a look. Any advice? I have already contacted sombody local regarding the value of the car and any body shops that have done work on pcars in the past.

I attempted to show how much the metal has protruded into the engine comp. about 1/4 to 1/2 inch.

Thanks.

[Paulporsche]

Brian,
I feel your pain. I had the same thing happen about 2 yr ago w/ my car. Since the car was appraised @ $26000 CDN the body shop put it on a frame machine and $10000 later (paid by other's insurance) the car is as good as new. Good luck and let us know what you are doing.

[JeremyD]

Time for a duck! - Sorry to hear - go to the Dr too. You never know if you will have any lingering injuries - and sometimes they don't show till later. I feel/felt your pain - I lost a 911 to a rear end crash - only the cab was doing around 50mph

[Jim Richards]

Ouch! Brian, the best body shop in the area is EuroPro in the MD suburbs. Karosserie in Fairfax is also highy regarded. I know these places are a hike for you but I'd consider them when you are selecting a body shop. I hope you get everything sorted out to your satisfaction.

[911Brian]

Originally posted by Jeremy964
Time for a duck! - Sorry to hear - go to the Dr too. You never know if you will have any lingering injuries - and sometimes they don't show till later. I feel/felt your pain - I lost a 911 to a rear end crash - only the cab was doing around 50mph

I have thought about a duck.. hehe. I was actually carted off by an ambulance so I have documentation. If I am not better by next week, I plan on going to see my personal Phys.

I have heard nothing but bad stories about these types of things. The ins co low balling the estimated value etc.

We will see.

[911Brian]

Originally posted by Jim Richards
Ouch! Brian, the best body shop in the area is EuroPro in the MD suburbs. Karosserie in Fairfax is also highy regarded. I know these places are a hike for you but I'd consider them when you are selecting a body shop. I hope you get everything sorted out to your satisfaction.

Thanks for the info. I don't know how I would get the car up there unless it is towed. The car does drive but I don't think the tail lights work I would not want to get hit again.

[Zeke]

Definately take care of your self first. You should have a neck brace on and not just for insurance purposes. Well, I'm not a doc, but I just want you to see one for some x-rays.

AFA the car goes, I think that might be called a lucky hit. If there are no ripples, you may have dodged a bullit. Looks like Everything is a bolt on to fix it. The one bent panel is behind the reflector.

That's all I can see from here. Of course, look carefully at the rear fenders and roof.

Hope you are OK.

[911Brian]

Originally posted by Zeke
Definately take care of your self first. You should have a neck brace on and not just for insurance purposes. Well, I'm not a doc, but I just want you to see one for some x-rays.

AFA the car goes, I think that might be called a lucky hit. If there are no ripples, you may have dodged a bullit. Looks like Everything is a bolt on to fix it. The one bent panel is behind the reflector.

That's all I can see from here. Of course, look carefully at the rear fenders and roof.

Hope you are OK.

Thanks! It looks like a lucky hit. I do see a little warpage on the inside of the fenders close to the brake lights where the deck lid meets. Other than that, I have not seen any sign of bent metal on/around the rear quarter panels or anywhere else. Of course I am unable to look under the car right now for obvious reasons.

It is the damage I can't see that I am worried about. Bent frame somewhere else....

[JeremyD]

OK, this is what I did:

#1 I bought my 1990 C2 Targa for $22500. Two years later I got hit from behind and settled with my insurance company for $23500.

After the settlement, my insurance company subrogated against the cab’s insurance company. My rates were not affected.

I started getting the same song and dance - your car is only worth XX

So, I started doing a search of autotrader.com, Cars.com, and carbuyer.com. I also looked on aicauto.com and park place and some of the higher end Porsche sales sites. I put it together sort of like a comparative market analysis you would receive from a realtor.

I then gave them, in writing a list of cars that I thought were comparable to mine (similar condition, records, etc) and gave them a valuation on what I thought my car was worth.

After that they (USAA Insurance) came back and said – we don’t think your car is worth that much - we think XX car in Atlanta is more in line ($2000 less). I said fine - buy the car for me – but I have the right to refuse it if it’s up to par.

We went back and forward a couple of times – including me threatening to go to PCA for one of their insurance valuations and they finally agreed to my valuation.

Your mileage my vary - but it worked for me... Oh - get your self taken care of first…

[911Brian]

Jeremy,

The persons insurance company just happens to be USAA.... At leas it worked out for you. Hopefully everything will work out for me as well.

[Paulporsche]

Guys,

If you're driving an older one, get your local PCA appraiser (or someone equally knowledgeable) to do the appraisal and get it in to your insurer so you have an agreed upon value. Do it before an accident.

[IROC]

I was hit in the same manner by a woman in a minivan (what's the deal with minivans!??!) a few years ago. Police estimated she was going at least 35mph. My car appeared to be damaged worse than yours.

Check the longitudinals that run fore/aft in the engine compartment - this is where alot of the energy ends up getting absorbed. If these have any deformation, you're possibly looking at having to pull the car back into shape. Also check your door gaps (especially at the rear of the doors) as this kind of impact can actually scrunch things up in that area also.

FWIW, this ended up being about $7000 worth of damage to my '76...

Good luck,

Mike

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I was hit in the same way, but with an SUV. She just started driving up the back of my car like it was a monster truck rally. Of course she was on a cell phone.

Not too much damage, cross member was crushed but no new geometry. It was definitely a great time to go duck.

I like my GT-Racing, but MA Shaw makes good ones too.

[face-ache]

Originally posted by Paulporsche
Guys,

If you're driving an older one, get your local PCA appraiser (or someone equally knowledgeable) to do the appraisal and get it in to your insurer so you have an agreed upon value. Do it before an accident.

Keep in mind, this only comes into play if the veh is a total loss,
this appears repairable. its still a good thing to have if the ins co offers it though.

[GeorgeM]

Give Phil at Eurofinish in Va Beach a call, (757) 491-2310. He does superb work.

He's kind of a one man show, so if he's not too busy, he may be able to fit you in.

[911Brian]

Well

The appraiser came by earlier and estimated about $7200. He went on the high end. He also put in allowance for the rack to straighten out anything if needed. Now lets see what the claims worker has to say about this and the "value" of the car. It could be totalled if they low ball the value.

[azasadny]

Brian,

I'm truly sorry!! I hope this works out well for you...

[911Brian]

The insurance company has totalled my car based on their value. I know it is not totalled. What are my options? Lawyer, documentation......

[Neilk]

You need to present them with a list of comparable cars to establish your fair market value.

As my restorer, who hates insurance companies, says, the insurance companies are out to MINIMIZE their costs. So they will lowball you whenever they can. If that doesn't work they will try to wear you out so that you accept whatever they offer you. You have to fight them every step of the way.

There are some good posts here on your problem. Try doing a search for the words total and insurance. Good luck.

[911Brian]

Originally posted by Neilk
You need to present them with a list of comparable cars to establish your fair market value.

As my restorer, who hates insurance companies, says, the insurance companies are out to MINIMIZE their costs. So they will lowball you whenever they can. If that doesn't work they will try to wear you out so that you accept whatever they offer you. You have to fight them every step of the way.

There are some good posts here on your problem. Try doing a search for the words total and insurance. Good luck.

Thanks... I don't plan on giving up at all, unless of course they offer something very reasonable. like the value of my car!