[Chineywhale]

I was driving down a ramp to merge onto a highway from another highway and two cars got into an accident in front of me. I slammed on my brakes but the car behind be didn't. He had to be gong atleast 40mph. The guy was driving a Fusion. The impact was hard enough to push me into the car in front of me. I didn't have much damage in the front b/c I stopped far enough away. The Fusion was completely obliterated ( I was on a freeway still so I didn't want to get out and start snapping a bunch of pics. The impact was pretty hard. My airbag light is on and an error message says the front passenger restraint system is damaged even though no one was in the passenger seat at the time. Maybe the seatbelt tensioner? Below are the pics. How much damage do you think? I saw other ppl who got rear ended and it seems they had a lot less damage and repairs still crested the $10k mark. Kinda has me worried. Sorry about the pictures being side ways did this with only 3% battery left on my computer so didn't have the time.

 

[acoste]

It's just a guess since I can't see behind the bumper, but I think, it will need some bodywork ~$700, rear bumper cover, carrier and misc plastics ~$1400, trunk lid $1600, exhaust ~$1100, painting all these ~$2000 plus whatever airbag errors you have.

So yes, might be over $7k

 

[1bad540]

dont forget the fenders are part of the bumper so if you damaged the fr bumper a bit you may need 2 new fenders. If so id say your above 10k.

 

[Nulevel]

Dam.

 

[acoste]

dont forget the fenders are part of the bumper so if you damaged the fr bumper a bit you may need 2 new fenders. If so id say your above 10k.

fender? it is the quarter panel that is part of the chassis. That corner of the chassis is likely damaged, that's what I meant under bodywork. The plastic part you see on the side is part of the bumper cover.

EDIT: sorry I didn't realize you are talking about the front

 

[thecushion]

My X5 was barley clipped in the rear corner. Needed a new bumper cover, tail light,little plastic piece under the tail light and the little reflective plastic piece on bumper. Only thing needed painted was little piece under tail light. Grand total $1,986.56

 

[ard]

OUCH

that muffler alone is 1200 at the dealer.

Youve got 4-5k in paint front and rear, plus labor to R+R damaged parts; straighten, etc...

could get over 10k

yes, prolly the belt tensioners went off

 

[ard]

. Needed a new bumper cover

Only thing needed painted was little piece under tail light.

The 'bumper cover' doesnt come painted.....

 

[thecushion]

My bumper cover did not need to be painted it was the rubber color from the factory.

 

[Flying Ace]

...

 

[Flying Ace]

oh this is easily over $10k of repairs, with the muffler damage and sorting out the airbag code and everything... I had a minor scuff on the bumper which only required a respray and no actual repairs and it cost like $3k.

Make sure you take it to a shop that'll do it right. You don't have to go to the shop your insurance or their insurance provide "suggests".

Pro tip: since the shop will have the rear bumper off, you should ask them for a rate to install a hitch for you while they're at it...my shop offered to install the hitch for me for free if it required no modification of the rear bumper. I didn't inquire about the coding and harness install though...they likely would have installed the harness for free, but coding I would have had to take it to a dealer to finish.

 

[Chineywhale]

Even though the damage doesn't look that bad..it was a hard impact...if you look under your X5 and see how far in that muffler is you'd be able to imagine how much deformation the front of the fusion endured for the bumper to get far enough in to hit the muffler. I think the frame took most of the impact, so i'm pretty sure there's some frame.... I'm surprised the passenger tensioner went off and not the driver one b/c no one was in the passenger seat.

 

[Chineywhale]

oh this is easily over $10k of repairs, with the muffler damage and sorting out the airbag code and everything... I had a minor scuff on the bumper which only required a respray and no actual repairs and it cost like $3k.

Make sure you take it to a shop that'll do it right. You don't have to go to the shop your insurance or their insurance provide "suggests".

Pro tip: since the shop will have the rear bumper off, you should ask them for a rate to install a hitch for you while they're at it...my shop offered to install the hitch for me for free if it required no modification of the rear bumper. I didn't inquire about the coding and harness install though...they likely would have installed the harness for free, but coding I would have had to take it to a dealer to finish.

I actually just got the invisihitch installed for $1400 a month ago. I'm not sure what the bumper beam looks like the behind the bumper but the trailer light plug in part is damaged pretty badly.

 

[Chineywhale]

So I looked at the damage some more. Both hatches actually open. I opened up the cargo area compartment on the driver side and noticed the floor was dented...but maybe the Fusion missed most of the frame being so low?

 

[Flying Ace]

I actually just got the invisihitch installed for $1400 a month ago. I'm not sure what the bumper beam looks like the behind the bumper but the trailer light plug in part is damaged pretty badly.

make sure your insurance takes that into account and gets a new hitch installed, if it's damaged...$1400 isn't chump change.

 

[FredoinSF]

That will ruin your day.
Good news is the X5 did its job and you were well enough to take pictures of the damage.
Bad news is multi fold:
- There is damage to structural parts.
- MI has no fault insurance still (99% sure on that.)
That means you have to go through your insurance (always a good idea anyway) but they'll steer you towards one of their network shop. If there is a BMW certified shop on that list that would be my first choice given structural damage. If not you really need to do some homework and pick the right shop weighing the pros and cons of in vs. out of network.

It's little long, but here is a video one of our collision repair education business partners produced on what can happen if you don't:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DhX9-Qy4Go

SPOILER ALERT AHEAD

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER Alert coming

It's alluded to at end of video, but I can confirm the car ended up being totalled.

 

[Chineywhale]

That will ruin your day.
Good news is the X5 did its job and you were well enough to take pictures of the damage.
Bad news is multi fold:
- There is damage to structural parts.
- MI has no fault insurance still (99% sure on that.)
That means you have to go through your insurance (always a good idea anyway) but they'll steer you towards one of their network shop. If there is a BMW certified shop on that list that would be my first choice given structural damage. If not you really need to do some homework and pick the right shop weighing the pros and cons of in vs. out of network.

It's little long, but here is a video one of our collision repair education business partners produced on what can happen if you don't:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DhX9-Qy4Go

Yes, MI is a no fault state. However, I just relocated to Atlanta, GA. I was just up here wrapping up my move. My insurance agent ( and my research) confirmed that No fault only applies to medical and wage losses....property damaged is covered by the other person's liability coverage. So my insurance company told me to go through their insurance company. The "no fault" thing confuses me a little.

 

[FredoinSF]

Yes, MI is a no fault state. However, I just relocated to Atlanta, GA. I was just up here wrapping up my move. My insurance agent ( and my research) confirmed that No fault only applies to medical and wage losses....property damaged is covered by the other person's liability coverage. So my insurance company told me to go through their insurance company. The "no fault" thing confuses me a little.

Maybe I was not clear on the most important point. You have structural part damage. What you should be doing right now is finding the best possible place to have this car repaired the proper way.
It's not quite as important for damage limited to bolt on panels but I think at minimum you have rear body panel and floor pan damage - all structural parts. For any structural work you need a shop that follows the proper OE guidelines and has the right tools for the job or else you could end up with a rolling total with compromised safety - like the owner of the VW in the video did. Your car can be repaired and it can be safe, but the main factor in achieving that result is you doing some homework to find a shop that will fix it correctly.

On a lighter note, GA is a DV state so you have a check coming if it does get repaired.

 

[ard]

You are getting advice from an expert. Take it.

Most consumers dont know what to do, other than 'call their insurnace'...as a result they tend to follow instructions. These instructions do not have your best interests at heart. No need to automatically be a dick, or whatever with the insurer. Just be cautious and check each step. Good advvice here, good advice elsewhere. Just recognize that a list of top google hits are insurers and their 'content partners' telling you what they want you to hear.

 

[Chineywhale]

I really appreciate the info and I know for a fact that there's frame damage. I will def follows your guys advce and keep you posted.