Car Accident in my brand new 535!

Hey there fellow Bimmerfesters, I'm in need of some opinions so please help!

My wife and I ordered our custom built 2012 535i M sport earlier this year and couldn't have been happier. With a few light mods to our Alpine white beauty such as: color matched carbon fiber trunk spoiler, black vinyl wrapped roof, black powdercoated wheels, black kidney grilles, clear bra all around and tinted windows; I couldn't stop staring at her everyday. Then it happened...

Last night on our way out to the city for the evening, in bumper to bumper traffic I came to a complete stop. Seconds later a huge impact and our beautiful 5 was ruined. Some careless geriatric who shouldn't even be driving, accidentally accelerated instead of applying his brakes. He drove a Honda Pilot SUV, so needless to say a sedan loses. My entire rear bumper and trunk was smashed in. I'll spare the confrontation that happened after that, but let's just say he had been drinking and CHP provided me with assistance.

Anyway, my insurance company is waiving my deductible because I was found 100% not at fault. All repairs will soon be underway and she'll be good as new...well, sorta. I'm not sure how I feel now with an accident on her previously unblemished record. What should I do? I know BMW resale values are already not the greatest, but with this accident (not a total of course), it should be even worse!

What would any of you guys do in my shoes? Keep her and move on? Attempt to trade in for a new one or something else? What would be a practical option since I financed the car? Call Greg Poland for an ED?! LOL

Thanks for the feedback in advance!

Sorry to hear about the accident.

If there is no damage to the drivetrain or suspension, the repairs should return it to good as new. I would think the accident will hurt your resale more now than if you drove it for a few years more and let the overall value of the car drop due to miles and age.

Originally Posted by dunderhi

Sorry to hear about the accident.

If there is no damage to the drivetrain or suspension, the repairs should return it to good as new. I would think the accident will hurt your resale more now than if you drove it for a few years more and let the overall value of the car drop due to miles and age.

Yeah, it sucks...we're still so devastated.

Yeah, the body shop was impressed with how well the rest fo the car took the impact. Heh, German engineering at it's best! So the frame, drivetrain and suspension are all good. So you think it would be a bit irrational and impractical to try to get rid of it?

Originally Posted by Die Wolfe

Yeah, it sucks...we're still so devastated.

Yeah, the body shop was impressed with how well the rest fo the car took the impact. Heh, German engineering at it's best! So the frame, drivetrain and suspension are all good. So you think it would be a bit irrational and impractical to try to get rid of it?

Yup totally irrational and impractical, but we Festers are an irrational and impractical group of guys when if comes to our cars.

Originally Posted by dunderhi

Yup totally irrational and impractical, but we Festers are an irrational and impractical group of guys when if comes to our cars.

Very true...my wife thinks I'm crazy when it comes to cars haha. Thanks for the input!

Originally Posted by dunderhi

Sorry to hear about the accident.

If there is no damage to the drivetrain or suspension, the repairs should return it to good as new. I would think the accident will hurt your resale more now than if you drove it for a few years more and let the overall value of the car drop due to miles and age.

You want to find out more before setting on any particular option. I would imagine you will get rental car coverage when the 535 is in the shop (not the greatest but at least you will have a vechicle). So may be the best thing is to wait to see how good a job your shop can fix your car. The resale value will suck since the accident will go on carfax. So if the shop do a good enough repair job, keeping it may be the most economical solution. A long shot is to retain an attorney to see if you can recover the drop in resale value. Different state has different rule on this kind of lawsuit. But if the guy is drunk and cause you loss in property value, I think you may have a good case of recovering it in court. If the value is below your state small claim court limit, it may be another option. But it really depend on how much you value your time and the aggravation to fight through the court systems. Good luck.

Can someone explain something to me please? I too know a person who was hit, the car was repaired, but needless to say, she will lose money come resale time for NONE of her own fault.

How can stuff like this legally take place in today's world? Why would a person who was found completely not at-fault need to bear any loss (that person is already bearing a loss in the form of high inconvenience, but let's forget that for a second)? Isn't that precisely why we have insurance for???? So in this day and age where the insurance companies' fraud in broad daylight (increasing drivers' premiums for speeding tickets, for example) is racking up gigantic profits to those crooks, wouldn't it only be natural that the other person's insurance company pay out a CASH AMOUNT equivalent to the value of the loss to the person who was not at-fault???

What am I missing here??




....

I've bought some cars and leased some cars.

When it comes to new, expensive cars I'm going to lease from now on. Think of it as a three-year put. When the lease is up, any repair that was made through the dealer is a perfect repair as far as the lease contract is concerned. The leasing company gets a perfectly repaired car with a carfax that is hosed. It's a cost of doing business for the leasing company and they certainly charge for it, but some things are worth paying for. You can always buy the car at the end if you love it and it's in perfect condition.

Originally Posted by yogi799

Can someone explain something to me please? I too know a person who was hit, the car was repaired, but needless to say, she will lose money come resale time for NONE of her own fault.

How can stuff like this legally take place in today's world? Why would a person who was found completely not at-fault need to bear any loss (that person is already bearing a loss in the form of high inconvenience, but let's forget that for a second)? Isn't that precisely why we have insurance for???? So in this day and age where the insurance companies' fraud in broad daylight (increasing drivers' premiums for speeding tickets, for example) is racking up gigantic profits to those crooks, wouldn't it only be natural that the other person's insurance company pay out a CASH AMOUNT equivalent to the value of the loss to the person who was not at-fault???

What am I missing here??




....

Life is not fair

Originally Posted by Emilner

Life is not fair

So true. And the legal system is even less fair.

I am glad no one was hurt. Anytime all parties can walk away from a traffic collision it is a good thing. A geriatric who was under the influence and driving is a lethal combination.

If I were in your shoes, I would take some photos of the car and gather all of the paperwork related to the accident and put it in an envelope. When it comes time to sell you have something to show prospective buyers. You can show it was cosmetic damage. Getting diminished value compensation from insurance companies is difficult.

Or, you can look at this as being fate that is guiding you toward an ED of a new M5!

Originally Posted by Emilner

Life is not fair

lol ain't that the truth.

Originally Posted by Emilner

Life is not fair

Originally Posted by yogi799

Can someone explain something to me please? I too know a person who was hit, the car was repaired, but needless to say, she will lose money come resale time for NONE of her own fault.

How can stuff like this legally take place in today's world? Why would a person who was found completely not at-fault need to bear any loss (that person is already bearing a loss in the form of high inconvenience, but let's forget that for a second)? Isn't that precisely why we have insurance for???? So in this day and age where the insurance companies' fraud in broad daylight (increasing drivers' premiums for speeding tickets, for example) is racking up gigantic profits to those crooks, wouldn't it only be natural that the other person's insurance company pay out a CASH AMOUNT equivalent to the value of the loss to the person who was not at-fault???

What am I missing here??




....

At least two points.

1. Other poster talked about "diminished value." Some states allow that; some do not.
In Texas, the avg diminished value was about $400 approx 5 years ago.

2. In plain words:

a. Life sucks.
b. Life is tough.
c. Life is unfair.
d. Nothing lasts forever.
e. Define your priorities.
f. etc.

(Whoops; looks like 10 other people talked about life being unfair.)

Originally Posted by Die Wolfe

Hey there fellow Bimmerfesters, I'm in need of some opinions so please help!

My wife and I ordered our custom built 2012 535i M sport earlier this year and couldn't have been happier. With a few light mods to our Alpine white beauty such as: color matched carbon fiber trunk spoiler, black vinyl wrapped roof, black powdercoated wheels, black kidney grilles, clear bra all around and tinted windows; I couldn't stop staring at her everyday. Then it happened...

Last night on our way out to the city for the evening, in bumper to bumper traffic I came to a complete stop. Seconds later a huge impact and our beautiful 5 was ruined. Some careless geriatric who shouldn't even be driving, accidentally accelerated instead of applying his brakes. He drove a Honda Pilot SUV, so needless to say a sedan loses. My entire rear bumper and trunk was smashed in. I'll spare the confrontation that happened after that, but let's just say he had been drinking and CHP provided me with assistance.

Anyway, my insurance company is waiving my deductible because I was found 100% not at fault. All repairs will soon be underway and she'll be good as new...well, sorta. I'm not sure how I feel now with an accident on her previously unblemished record. What should I do? I know BMW resale values are already not the greatest, but with this accident (not a total of course), it should be even worse!

What would any of you guys do in my shoes? Keep her and move on? Attempt to trade in for a new one or something else? What would be a practical option since I financed the car? Call Greg Poland for an ED?! LOL

Thanks for the feedback in advance!

I am confused as to why your insurance company would be waiving anything if its the other guys fault your insurance doesn't pay. Did the other fella not have any insurance? I don't know what the laws are in Cali but there is such a thing as diminished value.

Thank you all for the replies so far...nope, life is definitely not fair and I've grown to accept that. I'm not sure if I really want to go the route of getting an attorney and going through that whole circus of a court system for money thing.

At least we'll have a rental for now and we have an awesome body shop to do the work. Still, it's depressing.

I'm gonna be honest, I secretly wanted to hear an irrational option such a trading in and throwing down some extra cash for an ///M5! Lol

Well I think you should just trade it and throw down some money for an M5.

The point of insurance is to "make you whole," which means getting you back into the car in the same condition it was before the accident. If you can prove that the car is now worth less because of the accident history, you can file a claim for "diminished value." This claim will be affected by you states insurance laws and your insurer's policies. You will probably have to push it a little, but you should get a check to compensate for the loss in value due to the accident.

Originally Posted by SuperSnoop

The point of insurance is to "make you whole," which means getting you back into the car in the same condition it was before the accident. If you can prove that the car is now worth less because of the accident history, you can file a claim for "diminished value." This claim will be affected by you states insurance laws and your insurer's policies. You will probably have to push it a little, but you should get a check to compensate for the loss in value due to the accident.

I haven't heard of that, pretty good advice, thanks man. I use USAA insurance so I'll ask about that. Thanks again!

Originally Posted by DJHomie

Well I think you should just trade it and throw down some money for an M5.

Hahahaha! Now THAT'S more like it! Lol

Originally Posted by Chuck W.

So true. And the legal system is even less fair.

I am glad no one was hurt. Anytime all parties can walk away from a traffic collision it is a good thing. A geriatric who was under the influence and driving is a lethal combination.

If I were in your shoes, I would take some photos of the car and gather all of the paperwork related to the accident and put it in an envelope. When it comes time to sell you have something to show prospective buyers. You can show it was cosmetic damage. Getting diminished value compensation from insurance companies is difficult.

Or, you can look at this as being fate that is guiding you toward an ED of a new M5!

Yeah, I should be more thankful that my wife and I weren't physically injured. But that diminished value thing is definitely worth looking into...but I love the M5 idea more! Lol, just not sure if my wife will buy that idea...

Originally Posted by Die Wolfe

Yeah, I should be more thankful that my wife and I weren't physically injured. But that diminished value thing is definitely worth looking into...but I love the M5 idea more! Lol, just not sure if my wife will buy that idea...

A nice dinner at her favorite restaurant should do the trick..

Exactly what happened with my car my wife was driving 2 days ago to work. Got hit from behind by Ford SUV. Surprisingly, the only damage is to the headrest, it was deployed to prevent the whiplash. The thing is, though, once it is deployed, the car sensor prevents the car from being restarted, so she was stuck in the middle of highway during rush hour. Police and others couldn't believe the car with virtually no damage couldn't be moved off highway. There are also some scratches on the bumper.

Originally Posted by DJHomie

A nice dinner at her favorite restaurant should do the trick..

Haha! A nice dinner AND Christian Louboutin shoes would do the trick in my case lol

Originally Posted by DXK

Exactly what happened with my car my wife was driving 2 days ago to work. Got hit from behind by Ford SUV. Surprisingly, the only damage is to the headrest, it was deployed to prevent the whiplash. The thing is, though, once it is deployed, the car sensor prevents the car from being restarted, so she was stuck in the middle of highway during rush hour. Police and others couldn't believe the car with virtually no damage couldn't be moved off highway. There are also some scratches on the bumper.

Lucky her, glad your wife is ok. Our headrests deployed too and the car was immobilized as well. I pushed it of the freeway and steered at the same time...but after about 10 minutes it restarts.

Sad about the accident.. but life moves on..
Glad that you and your better half are unhurt.

M5 is going to get the LCI facelift next year (square headlights, mirror indicators).
so maybe you can postpone M5 idea for now.
I agree with dunderhi - its all going to be ok. i hope that your body shop does a fantastic job and that you will be glad to see how undetectable the accident is.
Performance of the car is untouched by the accident, so I am sure you will forget abt the incident soon after that.

Next time around you should lease. Most of us aren't one car families so mileage isn't really an issue, and you can always go 15k/year and add more if needed.

These cars aren't cheap, and a dirty carfax will be a major hit to your resale. I'd keep the car till the wheels fall off if I were in your shoes. Pay it off, and keep it for as long as you can to try and recoup that loss in resale.