[VTVWGTi]

Friday I was making a left hand turn into a gas station, the lady behind wasn't paying attention and smashed into the both driver's side doors as I turned left. Police report said it was her fault so her company will pay for it. My car is brand new with 2k on the odometer. My biggest concern is that it be the frame of the car may be bent. When the driver's side doors are open, you can see the B pillar is dented at the bottom. Does this mean the car is beyond fixable? Also, how screwed will be be if the car is totaled considering I've had this car just over a month? I'm pretty pissed and I'm worried that some lady's screw up will cost me my car and bunch of money. Advice is very much appreciated.

 

[glennk]

Make sure you get compensated for loss in value. I can only see damage to the front and rear doors. Is there any on the rear quarter panel?

 

[Njaneer]

Friday I was making a left hand turn into a gas station, the lady behind wasn't paying attention and smashed into the both driver's side doors as I turned left. Police report said it was her fault so her company will pay for it. My car is brand new with 2k on the odometer. My biggest concern is that it be the frame of the car may be bent. When the driver's side doors are open, you can see the B pillar is dented at the bottom. Does this mean the car is beyond fixable? Also, how screwed will be be if the car is totaled considering I've had this car just over a month? I'm pretty pissed and I'm worried that some lady's screw up will cost me my car and bunch of money. Advice is very much appreciated.

Wow that just sucks! Sorry to see this, but I have been in a similar accident years ago, got T-boned in a parking lot, but a little harder. They did not total my car and fixed it, but it was never right to be honest.

Keep in mind there is no frame, these are unibody cars, so the damage is different. Appears the airbags did not go off, so maybe just new doors and a little straightening, but it looks like the rockers got some damage but it's hard to see, post some pics with the doors open.

Does not look like a car that would be totaled though, are you financing or leasing? Do you have GAP protection?

If you get it repaired, make sure you request OEM parts, my last VW got damaged in a hurricane, and the insurance company had non-oem parts quoted, I specified OEM and got it and the cost was big. Make sure to pick a good body shop, that's imperative, I used on and they got overspray and paint residue all over my steering wheel, also make sure you get a warranty on their work.

Best of luck, at least you were not hurt.

 

[Doug3]

I can recommend a great auto body that does A+ work. PM me if interested.

 

[VTVWGTi]

Wow that just sucks! Sorry to see this, but I have been in a similar accident years ago, got T-boned in a parking lot, but a little harder. They did not total my car and fixed it, but it was never right to be honest.

Keep in mind there is no frame, these are unibody cars, so the damage is different. Appears the airbags did not go off, so maybe just new doors and a little straightening, but it looks like the rockers got some damage but it's hard to see, post some pics with the doors open.

Does not look like a car that would be totaled though, are you financing or leasing? Do you have GAP protection?

If you get it repaired, make sure you request OEM parts, my last VW got damaged in a hurricane, and the insurance company had non-oem parts quoted, I specified OEM and got it and the cost was big. Make sure to pick a good body shop, that's imperative, I used on and they got overspray and paint residue all over my steering wheel, also make sure you get a warranty on their work.

Best of luck, at least you were not hurt.

Yeah I wasn't hurt and no airbags so that was lucky. The front and rear quarter panels are okay. As for the damage to the B pillar, you can see its bent and I'd would like to know if that's repairable?
I don't have GAP protection so I'm worried about this damage:

I financed it and haven't even made the first payment yet.. :banghead:

I can recommend a great auto body that does A+ work. PM me if interested.

Thanks man, I'll drop you a PM soon.

 

[papaTDI]

Ouch! I hope all goes in your favour!

 

[nastybags]

I have no idea how they are gonna fix the inside of that one! Plus hey have to paint all the inside metal which means a huge mask job to the interior caused the doors have to remain open and stay open for drying. I would totally get a lawyer involved mainly because the car is so new and it's not your fault. Not saying to go for blood but more protection for down the line. Plus the car fax is gonna hurt resale value with the amount of panel repair

 

[child_in_time]

That really sucks, good thing no injuries.
If it's totalled you'll get your car market value, most likely not a value of a brand new GTI, it sucks, but you'r out couple of grands for sure.
If it gets fixed you'll end up with a car that has accident on the record and it will have impact on its value too. Hopefully you can make a claim on this.
Out of these two options I'd still hope for totalled.

 

[Njaneer]

Yeah I wasn't hurt and no airbags so that was lucky. The front and rear quarter panels are okay. As for the damage to the B pillar, you can see its bent and I'd would like to know if that's repairable?
I don't have GAP protection so I'm worried about this damage:

I financed it and haven't even made the first payment yet.. :banghead:




Thanks man, I'll drop you a PM soon.

Not sure how it works in MA, I think you are a partial no fault state right? Here if someone hits me, and it's just collision damage, no injuries, I still have to fork out the deductible whatever that may be before it kicks in. If it wasn't my fault the insurance company can go back after the other person's insurance company to get that money back, depending if they do or do not, it's out of your pocket at that point and you can only go to small claims court to fight for it, often though it's not worth it.

I don't think by these latest pics they are going to total it, but I'm no expert. If they do and you don't have GAP insurance, your basically out of luck as they won't pay off your loan, I would not worry about it though, doesn't look as bad. I just hope the other drive wasn't uninsured?

 

[Doug3]

Thanks man, I'll drop you a PM soon.

http://dba-autobody.com/ (they can arrange a low cost loaner from Enterprise if needed.)

 

[Njaneer]

I have no idea how they are gonna fix the inside of that one! Plus hey have to paint all the inside metal which means a huge mask job to the interior caused the doors have to remain open and stay open for drying. I would totally get a lawyer involved mainly because the car is so new and it's not your fault. Not saying to go for blood but more protection for down the line. Plus the car fax is gonna hurt resale value with the amount of panel repair

The damage does not appear to go past the weather stripping which is a good sign because that's where it get's hard to fix. If a good shop is used, they may be able to mask up to the weatherstrip flange, that's how my vehicle was done which was worse than this. The biggest thing is is making sure the door(s) open and close properly and you don't have sealing issues which often can be a issue, along with making sure all the electrical components are replaced if damaged.

Since the glass didn't break, looks like interior panels survived? When I was hit, all those parts pushed inward and pin my knee against the steering wheel, could not even open the drivers door. Repair job was over $4K

 

[matt_337]

Sorry for your misfortune. I am at 2500 miles and I would be pissed too. That doesn't look totaled so another bummer. Make sure to file to get the diminished value thingy so you get compensated now for when you go and sell the car later with the ding on its record.


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[VTVWGTi]

http://dba-autobody.com/ (they can arrange a low cost loaner from Enterprise if needed.)

This guys look legit, thanks for the recommendation. If my poor car isn't totaled, I'll send it to these guys, they're pretty close to my work.

 

[tagsvags]

Man that sucks. Hope that your insurance co. goes after her and her insurance and they make it right for you.

 

[btitus]

Friday I was making a left hand turn into a gas station, the lady behind wasn't paying attention and smashed into the both driver's side doors as I turned left. Police report said it was her fault so her company will pay for it. My car is brand new with 2k on the odometer. My biggest concern is that it be the frame of the car may be bent. When the driver's side doors are open, you can see the B pillar is dented at the bottom. Does this mean the car is beyond fixable? Also, how screwed will be be if the car is totaled considering I've had this car just over a month? I'm pretty pissed and I'm worried that some lady's screw up will cost me my car and bunch of money. Advice is very much appreciated.

Trying to picture what happened here. I assume you weren't turning from the right lane, so if she was behind you did she try to go around and then smash you? It seems like she would have had to move into the oncoming lane in order to hit you. Any way to know if texting/phone fiddling was involved?

 

[Midwesterner]

Demand diminished value money. Their insurance company will deny it up and down but if you are serious and threaten legal action (and are willing to go to small claims court), they will pay up right away if you have proof in the form up multiple appraisals. You can get those from your local dealer, KBB (same car with and without accident damage), and places like http://www.diminishedvalueassessment.com or http://www.autoloss.com/.

Went through this a couple years ago and got almost $6,000 from the person's insurance that hit me (Farmers). Our car was just a few days off the lot.

Diminished value is real, there is legal precedent for it in every single state, and should be part of the claim process. The loss is now (time of accident), not when its time to sell the car because the value of the car goes down immediately.

The accident WILL show up on the Carfax (car's credit record basically) and will result in you loosing money come trade-in time or they may even refuse to accept the trade-in. Even with a private party sale the Carfax history will result in lower values. Carfax is a permanent record so even if you keep the car 10 years you will have a loss.

Insurance companies all hope you've never heard of it and/or aren't willing to pursue it. They will insist up and down that it doesn't exist but will immediately pay up when presented with a serious claim. Some states even require it be part of the claim by law.

 

[child_in_time]

Demand diminished value money. Their insurance company will deny it up and down but if you are serious and threaten legal action (and are willing to go to small claims court), they will pay up right away if you have proof in the form up multiple appraisals. You can get those from your local dealer, KBB (same car with and without accident damage), and places like http://www.diminishedvalueassessment.com or http://www.autoloss.com/.

Went through this a couple years ago and got almost $6,000 from the person's insurance that hit me (Farmers). Our car was just a few days off the lot.

Diminished value is real, there is legal precedent for it in every single state, and should be part of the claim process. The loss is now (time of accident), not when its time to sell the car because the value of the car goes down immediately.

The accident WILL show up on the Carfax (car's credit record basically) and will result in you loosing money come trade-in time or they may even refuse to accept the trade-in. Even with a private party sale the Carfax history will result in lower values. Carfax is a permanent record so even if you keep the car 10 years you will have a loss.

Insurance companies all hope you've never heard of it and/or aren't willing to pursue it. They will insist up and down that it doesn't exist but will immediately pay up when presented with a serious claim. Some states even require it be part of the claim by law.

I had a car with an accident on record and it was a pain in the ass to sell or trade in. Private buyers would simply run away as soon as they saw "accident reported" and dealers offered me way under trade-in values. Eventually I found a dealer 3 hours away who sort of met me half way so I traded it in.
So make sure you claim diminished value, in case your car gets fixed. It will be tainted with the accident on the record.

 

[Njaneer]

I had a MK4 that got damaged in a Hurricane, barrel tiles landed on it, smashed the window, hood, and etc. I filed a claim with my insurance company, over $3k total, had the work done, traded the car in and the Carfax showed no history of the damage.

 

[boywonder82]

The technical legal term is diminution in value. Either get it from the insurance company or go after the driver.

 

[VTVWGTi]

Trying to picture what happened here. I assume you weren't turning from the right lane, so if she was behind you did she try to go around and then smash you? It seems like she would have had to move into the oncoming lane in order to hit you. Any way to know if texting/phone fiddling was involved?

Yeah I was shocked I got hit on the left side. As I was turning left, she must not have been paying attention, she looked up, saw my brake lights/blinker and swerved left trying to avoid me. I know its stereotyping but the driver was an 18 year old girl in a car with her friends, so I suspect she was playing with her phone. I would've noticed if she was tailgating me, so she had plenty of time to react to my turn signal/brakes if she was paying attention.