Worst day ever.... Never thought i would ever get in to accident with my DreamCar

Glad you are A-OK.
My retired E60 was hit pretty bad and spun into traffice to the point that the entire drivers side had some damage as well as both bunpers. BUT the hit was just light enough to not cause the airbags to go off and there was no frame damage. There was extensive damage to the rear suspension. The car was two years old at the time (2010) and damage was $14,125 and took two weeks to repair. When I traded the E60 this July for my F10, the loss of value was estimated at $6,000-$8,000.
In my case the car was repaired by a BMW approved auto body (not dealer) and was flawless. The car was absolutely perfect. Paint was perfect and it drove exactly as it had before with no squeaks or rattles. The auto body was packed with BMWs and MBs and even an Aston Martin. I was allowed to visit anytime and took lots of pics along the way.
The thing that surprised me the most was that my wife and I were totally unaffected by the crash which occured at 65 mph. It looks like the F10 is just as safe.

GL

Originally Posted by DreamCar

thanks for all the kind words guys...

It seems damage is to the entire left side of the body .. right now the appraiser is estimating the damage as 49K ... If they decide to fix it then i will be royally screwed

They will total it then.

Originally Posted by DreamCar

thanks for all the kind words guys...

It seems damage is to the entire left side of the body .. right now the appraiser is estimating the damage as 49K ... If they decide to fix it then i will be royally screwed

At 49k it doesn't make sense to repair. But insurance companies are not always sensible, let's hope your's is. Keep us posted.

Remember that the insurance adjuster will tailor the first offer based on their assessment of how willing you will be to settle.

Not suggesting you start saber rattling but being firm and expecting to be made whole will work to your advantage. The first offer shouldn't be the best and final.

well he didn't confirm anything yet ... he said the superficial damage is around 20K and there will be open items that may come up once they take things a part for another 19K

Originally Posted by DreamCar

well he didn't confirm anything yet ... he said the superficial damage is around 20K and there will be open items that may come up once they take things a part for another 19K

That's $39k. Borderline.

Originally Posted by DreamCar

thanks for all the kind words guys...

It seems damage is to the entire left side of the body .. right now the appraiser is estimating the damage as 49K ... If they decide to fix it then i will be royally screwed

I'm glad you are okay.

I think that will probably be totalled. If repair>80% of value then they tend to total it.

Let's say your car is worth 65k, then the insurance company needs to recover more than 16k from the salvage vehicle to break even. I reckon they could get 20k for that wrecked car.

Yikes!! Glad you're okay....

Wow - so is it 39k or 49k? I would think that would be totalled either way, especially since there is bound to be more cost uncovered as it is fixed. Any idea what the book value would be for the car?

OP, glad to hear that you were not harmed. BMW makes a safe car and all the countless hours of engineering shows in situations like this.

A quick chat with my local Geico appraiser a couple months ago, he said that they usually total out cars that have been t-boned, even if they fall under the "total threshold," mostly because of future liabilities.

That being said, if they DON'T total it out, take it to the best shop in your area.

Originally Posted by Stealth.Pilot

I'm glad you are okay.

I think that will probably be totalled. If repair>80% of value then they tend to total it.

Let's say your car is worth 65k, then the insurance company needs to recover more than 16k from the salvage vehicle to break even. I reckon they could get 20k for that wrecked car.

I hate to say it but i really hope it will be totaled.

Glad you are OK. I think you should push to total it. I had a 3 car t-boned a number of years ago and no matter what they did, the car felt loose and unstable on wet roads and snow. It wasn't the tires, it was the suspension/axle, etc.

The last thing you now need is the hassle of getting your car repaired to YOUR standards, which are not necessarily those of your insurance company. It is a path I would never again go down if I had any sort of a choice at all. Be forewarned.....

Originally Posted by skohler

Wow - so is it 39k or 49k? I would think that would be totalled either way, especially since there is bound to be more cost uncovered as it is fixed. Any idea what the book value would be for the car?

even i am waiting on that confirmation the appraiser doesn't have prices for some parts yet

Good thing you are okay, I would suggest to trade in the car, totalled or not.
After such an impact the needed repairs will not give you the car you owned before the accident.

Originally Posted by AutoUnion

OP, glad to hear that you were not harmed. BMW makes a safe car and all the countless hours of engineering shows in situations like this.

A quick chat with my local Geico appraiser a couple months ago, he said that they usually total out cars that have been t-boned, even if they fall under the "total threshold," mostly because of future liabilities.

That being said, if they DON'T total it out, take it to the best shop in your area.

I was a pretty bad hit ... entire body frame moved in... I wouldn't be more safer in any other car

Originally Posted by fplanner2000

Glad you are OK. I think you should push to total it. I had a 3 car t-boned a number of years ago and no matter what they did, the car felt loose and unstable on wet roads and snow. It wasn't the tires, it was the suspension/axle, etc.

The last thing you now need is the hassle of getting your car repaired to YOUR standards, which are not necessarily those of your insurance company. It is a path I would never again go down if I had any sort of a choice at all. Be forewarned.....

thats what i am afraid ..no matter how good is the shop is, they cannot fix it to the original condition...

So what are you going to get now?

Dream,

I'm sorry to hear the bad news, but I'm glad you are okay. I did a little homework for you and NADA shows your car is worth $55-60k (depending mileage and options).

Automobile insurance policies in NJ generally do not cover "deminished value" claims. Rather, the standard policy language usually states that the liability carrier will pay either the ACV (acutal cash value of vehicle) or the cost to repair, whichever is less. The standard policy language does not provide for an additional payment for the loss of the car's value as a result of being damaged. You might be able to sue the individual who hit you for it, but the insurance carrier is not responsible for the payment. (It is not easy to collect a judgment for damages not covered by an insurance policy.) Given the substantial damage depicted in the pictures, I would push for a total loss. I do not think that you would want that vehicle back after the repair. You need to get your body shop involved to obtain an opinion on the real total cost for the repair. It might be in your interest to have the dealership's body shop do this because an independent body shop (that does not sell cars as part of its business) has no incentive to convince the carrier to total the car. Finally, looks like you were in a bad accident and the driver's side where you were sitting took the brunt of the impact. Even though you think that you are o.k., I would get checked out by a doctor as a precautionary measure. Good luck and I am glad that everything seems to be o.k.

Originally Posted by Stealth.Pilot

So what are you going to get now?

Honestly Speaking i am pretty shaked up as it is my first time getting in to accident .... i am back to my Accord i will be staying there for some time.... All i am worried abt right now is to get it totaled.

Originally Posted by dunderhi

Dream,

I'm sorry to hear the bad news, but I'm glad you are okay. I did a little homework for you and NADA shows your car is worth $55-60k (depending mileage and options).

fingers crossed i have to wait till tomorrow. appreciate the help

I had my wifes 328 repaired at BMW body shop in Allentown PA, excellent work if you need a place.

Originally Posted by GHOST PROTOCOL

Automobile insurance policies in NJ generally do not cover "deminished value" claims. Rather, the standard policy language usually states that the liability carrier will pay either the ACV (acutal cash value of vehicle) or the cost to repair, whichever is less. The standard policy language does not provide for an additional payment for the loss of the car's value as a result of being damaged. You might be able to sue the individual who hit you for it, but the insurance carrier is not responsible for the payment. (It is not easy to collect a judgment for damages not covered by an insurance policy.) Given the substantial damage depicted in the pictures, I would push for a total loss. I do not think that you would want that vehicle back after the repair. You need to get your body shop involved to obtain an opinion on the real total cost for the repair. It might be in your interest to have the dealership's body shop do this because an independent body shop (that does not sell cars as part of its business) has no incentive to convince the carrier to total the car. Finally, looks like you were in a bad accident and the driver's side where you were sitting took the brunt of the impact. Even though you think that you are o.k., I would get checked out by a doctor as a precautionary measure. Good luck and I am glad that everything seems to be o.k.

Thanks for the info and heads up.

Dreamcar, Do you have the option to take the cash if they dont total the car? Either way, I would sell that car, it will never be the same. Glad you are ok, its only a car, it can be replace.

Not sure about the options yet... waiting for their call