My Good-Bad Car Week

[Rinspeed]

That sucks about the car Eric but I'm glad you didn't really get jacked up.     

[astepup]

First off, very glad to hear you're semi-ok. Things could have been SO much worse. Hell you could be in a bed paralyzed for the rest of your life. Like others have said I hope you fully mend and that the inattentive anus that hit you has insurance to cover not only the car but your medical and personal expenses. You should tack on a little "pain and suffering" as well. Keep us updated on both yourself and the car!

[Eric]

This just gets better and better. I found out today that the guy who hit me definitely does not have insurance. This ******* idiot's irresponsible actions have cost me several thousand dollars and there isn't a damned thing I can do about it. I am so angry that I can't see straight.

[PNWguy]

Oh, ****....

[tous]

Best wishes, amigo.

I shall reserve any snarky remarks about uninsured motorists for later.

Just don't paint the repaired automobile orange.

[crockett]

51 minutes ago, Eric said:

This just gets better and better. I found out today that the guy who hit me definitely does not have insurance. This ******* idiot's irresponsible actions have cost me several thousand dollars and there isn't a damned thing I can do about it. I am so angry that I can't see straight.

 

That really sucks!

I had a very comparable situation a few years back. Found an awesome deal on a white Jetta TDI Sportwagen for only $8k. About $4k below market, one owner, low miles, clean carfax, not a single scratch or paint chip on it.

One day I woke up with massive pain in my back. Soon I realized that I was dealing with kidney stones. I was aware that the pain will only increase, so in order to save me the $500 co-payment for an ambulance ride, I hopped into my Jetta and got on my way to the ER. I also couldn't see straight when the cramps kicked in every other minute or so.

Then I was sitting at a red light, and this black chick rear-ends me out of nowhere. She still had her ******* phone in the hand when I got out and walked up to her. 99% sure she was texting. I was in huge pain from the kidney stones, but asked her if she was alright. Only days later I realized that she never cared to ask me. Heck, she didn't even get out of the car.

Police showed up, I got the report with her insurance information, and then I kept driving to the ER even though the cop tried really hard to get me into an ambulance.

Days later I get a call from her insurance, letting me know that her policy was canceled due to none payment. Then the insurance rep continues to explain to me, that this is quite common in Florida. People sign up for coverage, pay the first installment, get their ID cards in case they get pulled over, and never pay any further monthly bills.

So I called her and sent her the bill for the repairs. Not as bad as yours, but still $1k. She promised to take care of it, but I never heard back. I pulled her useless ass up on FaceBook and found out that her banger is currently jailed, for another 15 years, and read a bunch of "I'm waiting for you" BS.

It took me a few more hours and I found out everything relevant. She's a ******* hoodrat with no income, no assets, no job, and the car wasn't hers either. There was absolutely nothing to recover. At best, her criminal BF would have sent some scum to my house, since she had my address from the report.

I hope you will have more luck in recovering your expenses.

 

Sold the TDI back to VW a year later when VW was forced by EPA settlement to make offers to every owner due to the huge diesel emissions scandal. Got $16k out of it, but that was just me being lucky for a change. I wish you some, and I'm sure you will find some soon. Hang in there.

I still miss that little wagon.

 

 

Edited December 28, 2018 by crockett

[Huaco Kid]

56 minutes ago, Eric said:

 and there isn't a damned thing I can do about it.

[Borg warner]

On ‎12‎/‎24‎/‎2018 at 3:34 PM, RS_Rider said:

Glad you weren't hurt too bad. If the insurance company totals it I'd seriously consider buying it back and putting a few bucks towards fixing it. It will be a PITA going through the salvage title process but dollar for dollar you'll still end up with a better car than starting the used car search all over again. 

I agree 100% with repairing the car. I doubt that the frame is bent or that there is any serious damage. I would estimate a couple of thousand dollars in repairs, but if you saved money on the original purchase your net loss may not be that much, I still think that car is worth keeping considering how few miles it has on it an dhow well it's been cared for.

Find a body shop that will give you the best price on a repair and make it cl4eat to them that you'd be paying out of pocket.

I hope you heal up fast and don't have any lingering difficuties.

[Moeman]

2 hours ago, Eric said:

This just gets better and better. I found out today that the guy who hit me definitely does not have insurance. This ****ing idiot's irresponsible actions have cost me several thousand dollars and there isn't a damned thing I can do about it. I am so angry that I can't see straight.

I’d be angry too. If I lived near you I would show up at his door with you baseball bat in hand. I hate takers. Have an estate sale rip off dude that I’m giving my wife a little time before I lay the Italian pimp hand on him. For example  he sold a vehicle for $13k and not a penny. Bonded? Well stated bonded company said he is over the limit. Even if we don’t get our money, I want him to stop being a thief. Forever.

Edited December 29, 2018 by Moeman

[PNWguy]

46 minutes ago, Borg warner said:

I would estimate a couple of thousand dollars in repairs...

I would gladly take that bet.  I've looked at thousands of damaged vehicles and reviewed the estimates.  $2k is a bit low.  Maybe $2k in parts...

[Duluth]

I'd be livid. I'm sorry you're in that situation and glad you weren't more seriously injured. Unfortunately I think $2k is low as well. 

[Borg warner]

2 hours ago, PNWguy said:

I would gladly take that bet.  I've looked at thousands of damaged vehicles and reviewed the estimates.  $2k is a bit low.  Maybe $2k in parts...

Who's betting? If you read my post, you'll see that I advised that he get an estimate from a body shop.

Edited December 29, 2018 by Borg warner

[crockett]

Side impact like that can easy twist the frame = totaled in many cases.

[Eric]

2 hours ago, crockett said:

Side impact like that can easy twist the frame = totaled in many cases.

 

It looks like a side impact, but it was a glancing rear impact, at fairly high speed. I’ve been looking things over and it seems like I was lucky enough to have escaped any frame damage. Small wonders. 

[Borg warner]

4 hours ago, Eric said:

This just gets better and better. I found out today that the guy who hit me definitely does not have insurance. This ****ing idiot's irresponsible actions have cost me several thousand dollars and there isn't a damned thing I can do about it. I am so angry that I can't see straight.

Eric, don't you have uninsured motorist coverage with your insurance policy?

[Brown Hawk]

6 minutes ago, Eric said:

 

‘It looks like a side impact, but it was a glancing rear impact, at fairly high speed. I’ve been looking things over and it seems like I was lucky enough to have escaped any frame damage. Small wonders. 

Please don’t forget to check that the unibody didn’t get screwed up.  I had that happen to a good car.  Looked okay, but the wheels were going four different directions.  

Hawk

[Eric]

I’ve been stressed out and pissed about this all week. When I found out that the guy did not have insurance, I just about blew a gasket. 

I’ve been thinking a lot about things today and I have to just let the anger go. What has happened, has happened. I am not going to put another $3k or $4k into this car, but I’ll put some sweat equity into it. I can fix most of the damage myself. I’ll get the paintwork done somewhere.

I spent some time this evening looking over the damage thoroughly. I was able to bend the trunk hinges enough to get the trunk to shut & latch reliably. Once it was shut, I was able to see that the trunk opening isn’t racked or distorted. The trunk gasket mates up with the trunk lid almost perfectly. This means that the body & chassis in the back isn’t racked or bent badly. It means that the damage was mostly isolated to that rear quarter. This is very good news.

I’ll use a come-along and a small hydraulic ram to pull out most of the damage. Then, I’ll drill out the spot welds that hold the fender in place and spot weld in a new one. Then it is just a matter of a bumper cover and the myriad assembly of fasteners that hold it all together. It will be almost as good as almost new, after some fresh paint.

This has been a hell of a week. I hope that kid that hit me gets his head out of his ass and starts taking responsibility for his actions. 

[crockett]

6 minutes ago, Eric said:

I’ve been stressed out and pissed about this all week. When I found out that the guy did not have insurance, I just about blew a gasket. 

I’ve been thinking a lot about things today and I have to just let the anger go. What has happened, has happened. I am not going to put another $3k or $4k into this car, but I’ll put some sweat equity into it. I can fix most of the damage myself. I’ll get the paintwork done somewhere.

I spent some time this evening looking over the damage thoroughly. I was able to bend the trunk the trunk hinges enough to get the trunk to shut reliably. Once it was shut, I was able to see that the trunk opening isn’t racked or distorted. The trunk gasket mates up with the trunk lid almost perfectly. This means that the body & chassis in the back isn’t racked or bent badly. It means that the damage was mostly isolated to that rear quarter. This is very good news.

I’ll use a come-along and a small hydraulic ram to pull out most of the damage. Then, I’ll drill out the spot welds that hold the fender in place and spot weld in a new one. Then it is just a matter of a bumper cover and the myriad assembly of fasteners that hold it all together. It will be almost as good as almost new, after some fresh paint.

this has been a hell of a week. I hope that kid that hit me gets his head out of his ass and starts taking responsibility for his actions. 

 

That's really a great way to deal with it. I'll need a slice of that as well. Anger makes things only worse, to the point that nothing else matters anymore. Which is a total waste of time and energy in almost all cases.

 

PS: I'd come over and help if I would live close by.

Edited December 29, 2018 by crockett

[Eric]

9 minutes ago, Brown Hawk said:

Please don’t forget to check that the unibody didn’t get screwed up.  I had that happen to a good car.  Looked okay, but the wheels were going four different directions.  

Hawk

The car drives and tracks perfectly. The impact was behind the rear wheels and was a glancing blow. I’ll put it on an alignment machine before I’m done, but I think that it is straight.

[Duluth]

51 minutes ago, Borg warner said:

Eric, don't you have uninsured motorist coverage with your insurance policy?

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist:

$100,000 each person $300,000 each accident

$8.00

 

I was thinking the same thing. $8.00 every six months.

[Eric]

4 minutes ago, Duluth said:

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist:

$100,000 each person $300,000 each accident

$8.00

 

I was thinking the same thing. $8.00 every six months.

I added this car to an existing policy and dialed back the coverage to the legal minimums on both, so that the premiums wouldn’t go up much. I only planned on doing this until I sold the other car. It was a really stupid decision and I have been kicking myself all week. It is not a mistake that I will ever make again. The world is full of assholes and apparently a lot of those assholes are uninsured assholes. 

FWIW, the uninsured motorist coverage was way more than $8 every six months, even though I have a perfect driving record. 

[janice6]

In my state uninsured motorist and no-fault is a requirement.   At least, it's better than nothing.  The only way I found out who was determined to be at fault when my last car was totaled, was when I didn't have a deductible to pay.  The Insurance companies work out the details between themselves.

Edited December 29, 2018 by janice6

[Rinspeed]

Very sorry Eric that the asshat didn't have insurance.  NY is very tough on dipshits like this and I can see why, let your coverage lapse and the penalty is like $8 or 10 a day.  Don't want to pay it you just have to wait as many days to get your registration reinstated.  All the insurance companies are very linked with the DMV as well.  I remember when I lived in AZ it was very common to come across people that didn't have insurance on their vehicles.   

[crockett]

On 12/28/2018 at 11:15 PM, Duluth said:

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist:

$100,000 each person $300,000 each accident

$8.00

 

I was thinking the same thing. $8.00 every six months.

 

I think that only accounts for bodily injuries and not your vehicle. Collision coverage should be kicking in for damages to the vehicle.

I pay $83 every 6 months for "Uninsured Motorist - Nonstacked $50,000 each person/$100,000 each accident".

Here the definition:

Uninsured Motorist
With Uninsured Motorist coverage, we pay for medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering resulting from bodily injuries when you're in an accident caused by a driver who either doesn't have enough or doesn't have any liability coverage.

[Duluth]

25 minutes ago, crockett said:

 

I think that only accounts for bodily injuries and not your vehicle. Collision coverage should be kicking in for damages to the vehicle.

I pay $83 every 6 months for "Uninsured Motorist - Nonstacked $50,000 each person/$100,000 each accident".

Here the definition:

Uninsured Motorist
With Uninsured Motorist coverage, we pay for medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering resulting from bodily injuries when you're in an accident caused by a driver who either doesn't have enough or doesn't have any liability coverage.

Got it. You're correct.

Bodily Injury & Property Damage Liability:	$100,000 each person $300,000 each accident $100,000 each accident	$111.00
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist:	$100,000 each person $300,000 each accident	$8.00
Personal Injury Protection:	$20k Medical expenses $20k Economic limits	$20.00
Comprehensive:	$500 deductible with $0 Glass deductible	$36.00
Collision:	$500 deductible	$79.00
Rental Reimbursement:	$40 each day maximum 30 days	$9.00