Got into my first accident last night, hooray

[nitrous9200]

tl;dr Careless driver hits my car (caught on dashcam). Although I anticipated a nightmare, her insurance pays for the repair without any argument. I get my repaired car back looking better than when I first got it. All is well with the world.

I knew it would happen sooner or later. A girl pulling out of a gas station thought I was turning in, then she pulled out as I drove past.
I swerved out of the way, but got smashed in the rear passenger door area, then slammed into the curb (possibly even went over the curb). Luckily no one was in the left lane!
Of course, her car only has a slightly scuffed front bumper, but I wasn't so lucky. Plus, I knew my dash cam would came in handy some day

Cosmetically, both passenger wheels are scuffed, airbox and front right fender liner are destroyed, rear passenger door and dogleg are wrecked, and the edge of the rear bumper is chewed up a bit.
It's hard to tell from the photo, but the dogleg and door are caved in quite a bit. The door still opens/closes OK.

I was able to drive home, but the steering wheel doesn't point straight. Assuming at least a bent tie rod end, maybe a control arm. The car also felt a little funny going over bumps. The front right corner of the subframe got scuffed, but I think it's cosmetic only.

My question is, since this is a first for me, what happens with insurance?

The other driver was totally at fault and was given a warning.

I just want to get my car fixed, as I like it, I think the damage is mostly cosmetic, and insurance payout would be peanuts as the car is worthless (2003 Saab 9-5 with 150k+ miles). Is this possible? Please enlighten me.

On the bright side, I'd wanted to have that side of the car repaired properly (you can see the mountains of body filler in the picture from a prior bodged repair job, and the paint job was horrible) so maybe that will finally happen

Side note: I thought the police officer said Connecticut was a no-fault state, but some googling seems to say otherwise. What does that mean?

 

[Zivic]

it looks totaled to me. NADA is about 4k on that car. easily 4 grand worth of repairs.

 

[Sid59]

Bummer about your accident, hope you're fine.

Here's All State's information on No-Fault - https://www.allstate.com/tools-and-resources/car-insurance/no-fault-insurance-cover.aspx i didn't see Connecticut on the list, but you'll want to contact your insurance for more details.

The insurance payout - you'll be sent to an adjustor who will assess the damage. If the cost to fix your car is more than the value of your car .. they'll "total/salvage" your car and cut you check for the value of your vehicle. Oppositely, if the cost to fix it is less than the value of your car, they'll pay for it.

In California, I had to deal with insurance a few months ago, when i was rear-ended. I contacted my insurance but they didn't offer much help or advice. My options were:

1. Get the car fixed at my own cost and if the insurance was successful in getting the other insurance to pay out, they'd reimburse me.
2. Contact the other party's insurance and work with them.

I ended up contacting the other party's insurance with the full details (time of day, location, person's name and insurance ID number). They verified with the other driver if the accident happened as i reported .. a week late, i get a check for the value of the damage.

Good luck.

 

[olds]

... Plus, I knew my dash cam would came in handy some day ...

Where's the video?

 

[jlee]

Bummer about your accident, hope you're fine.

Here's All State's information on No-Fault - https://www.allstate.com/tools-and-resources/car-insurance/no-fault-insurance-cover.aspx i didn't see Connecticut on the list, but you'll want to contact your insurance for more details.

The insurance payout - you'll be sent to an adjustor who will assess the damage. If the cost to fix your car is more than the value of your car .. they'll "total/salvage" your car and cut you check for the value of your vehicle. Oppositely, if the cost to fix it is less than the value of your car, they'll pay for it.

In California, I had to deal with insurance a few months ago, when i was rear-ended. I contacted my insurance but they didn't offer much help or advice. My options were:

1. Get the car fixed at my own cost and if the insurance was successful in getting the other insurance to pay out, they'd reimburse me.
2. Contact the other party's insurance and work with them.

I ended up contacting the other party's insurance with the full details (time of day, location, person's name and insurance ID number). They verified with the other driver if the accident happened as i reported .. a week late, i get a check for the value of the damage.

Good luck.

I'd be looking for another insurance company...they should handle everything for you.

 

[SearchMaster]

Almost certainly totaled unfortunately. I think the damage only has to exceed half the value for the insurance company to total it and with the frame/suspension damage, the cost will add up quickly. Keep in mind that when calculating damage, they will most likely diminish the value of your car for the previously botched repairs so the value will be based on fair or poor condition. You're realistically looking at $1000-$2000 value best case scenario.

Now on the bright side, if you are capable of doing at least the critical repairs yourself, you might be able to purchase the car from the insurance company for a few hundred dollars after they pay you the value. Then you buy the parts from a junkyard preferably (if you can find them, that's an uncommon car) and fix it yourself. If the paint issues are bothering you as well, you can buy spray cans of matching paint and do a moderate job of making it look okay if you're willing to put the time in.

I wouldn't personally bother though because I just don't have the time to revive a car worth that little with that many miles (or the expertise, really).

I don't think CT is no-fault from quick Googling. I assume you don't have comprehensive insurance on a car that old so you may have to work with the other party's insurance company and file a claim against them. If you have comprehensive and are willing to file a claim with your own insurer, then they would go after the other driver's insurance company for the reimbursement.

 

[nitrous9200]

Where's the video?

Only because you asked! It's not exactly exciting viewing, but there are sparks flying.
I haven't needed the video (yet) but I'm glad I have it just in case. The b*%^h told me that she saw my turn signal on and thought I was turning into the gas station, even though it was off before I rounded the corner.

Almost certainly totaled unfortunately. [...]

Now on the bright side, if you are capable of doing at least the critical repairs yourself, you might be able to purchase the car from the insurance company for a few hundred dollars after they pay you the value. Then you buy the parts from a junkyard preferably (if you can find them, that's an uncommon car) and fix it yourself. If the paint issues are bothering you as well, you can buy spray cans of matching paint and do a moderate job of making it look okay if you're willing to put the time in.

I wouldn't personally bother though because I just don't have the time to revive a car worth that little with that many miles (or the expertise, really).

I assumed it would be totaled as I know that the age/mileage/condition/brand resale value were all not in my favor. While it would be nice to fix the cosmetics, I'll be happy enough if I can get enough to fix the mechanicals. I'm no master mechanic, but handy enough with wrenching and spare parts are not terribly hard to come by (thank god for brand specific forums!)

 

[WoodButcher]

Light hit, can't imagine frame damage. Probably bent a steering part or damaged rack.
If they total it take the check, buy back the car and fix the steering if you like the car that much. Body work and paint on the door and quarter would be more than the cost of the car alone.

 

[Billb2]

Did you get her insurance information?
You need to call her insurance company and report the accident in case she's a flake that will try to stiff you. Be proactive here!

As for damages, I'd assume it will be totaled. You'll have two options:
Takle the money and surrender the car. But you'll have to replace it with something.
Keep the car and decline a settlement. Repairing the car to the point that it's serviceable (though cosmetically damaged) may be cheaper than replacing it.

As for the amount of the settlement, if you can document that the car is worth more then the standard "Blue Book" value with recent repair receipts or maybe photos of it's better than average condition before the accident you may be able to negotiate a higher settlement.

Good luck!

 

[fr]

Good video.

 

[FeuerFrei]

I had a similar situation once, just after turning a corner. Except the lady pulled out of the parking lot, into my lane and stopped crosswise in front of me, waiting for opposite side traffic to clear. I rammed her driver door, imparting minimal damage to a front corner. Door is always a great spot to aim for, damagewise. I never saw her pull out. I probably could have avoided collision if I hadn't been studying my rearview mirror. Her fault though. I had right of way. Her insurance got me new front bumper, lights and hood. Entire front of my car got painted. Yay.

Nowhere near totaling though.

 

[SearchMaster]

Nowhere near totaling though.

What was the car though? The OP's problem is that his car isn't worth very much (trade-in value of <$600 and private party value of $1000, in poor condition which is appropriate given previous damage). If the cost of repair + salvage value exceeds $600-$1000, it will almost certainly be totaled. That's not a lot of money when it comes to fixing a car

 

[Insomniator]

What the hell, was your signal on or something? Not that that would be an excuse... but she literally just turned right in front of you. Wasn't even high speed... like... not even looking as she makes the turn? Looking in the wrong direction? Its like she waited for you to get closer.

Should be ~5 year bans on licenses for obvious at fault accidents like this.

 

[Sheep221]

You had 3 seconds to stop, why didn't you? It's not like you were not yielded on highway. She started to move at 09 sec, you should know by then that you won't be yielded.
Btw check the car if frame or axles etc are not damaged, if no then don't bother to repair the body work, not worth the hassle.

 

[nitrous9200]

What was the car though? The OP's problem is that his car isn't worth very much (trade-in value of <$600 and private party value of $1000, in poor condition which is appropriate given previous damage). If the cost of repair + salvage value exceeds $600-$1000, it will almost certainly be totaled. That's not a lot of money when it comes to fixing a car

I'm completely expecting it to be totaled - I only paid $2500 for it four years ago.
If I can get the steering fixed cheaply (but properly) and the frame's not bent, I'll buy it back and be on my merry way. Hell, I'd be doing the insurance company a favor by not sending this thing to auction (I bet they'd end up spending more to crush it).

What the hell, was your signal on or something? Not that that would be an excuse... but she literally just turned right in front of you. Wasn't even high speed... like... not even looking as she makes the turn? Looking in the wrong direction? Its like she waited for you to get closer.

Should be ~5 year bans on licenses for obvious at fault accidents like this.

That was the line of BS she fed me when I first spoke to her. I believed it at the time, but of course the video shows differently.
I knew she was a waste of space as soon as I saw her, but I googled her name and her father's name (or whoever holds the insurance policy) and they are both a bunch of lowlife criminal scumbags - some amusing cases in the local police blotter.
The trunk and rear bumper of her car were also smashed in pretty good, and she had a Bernie bumper sticker to boot. (interpret that as you wish!)

You had 3 seconds to stop, why didn't you? It's not like you were not yielded on highway. She started to move at 09 sec, you should know by then that you won't be yielded.
Btw check the car if frame or axles etc are not damaged, if no then don't bother to repair the body work, not worth the hassle.

I was waiting for a comment like this.

I shouldn't even reply, but I'm already at it - she started creeping forward slightly at about 10.5-11 seconds, which drivers often do when they're preparing to make a left turn and there's a gap in the traffic. As there was no car in the left lane, I moved to the left thinking she was doing that. The impact occurred at 12 seconds. So, I couldn't react and bring my car to a stop from 30-35 mph in one second (speed limit on that road is 35).
Had I tried to stop, I probably would have slammed into the driver's side of her car and caused a lot more damage to my own, or had I slowed down before she hit the passenger's side of my car, I might have slammed into that telephone pole instead.

 

[OverVolt]

What I've learned from accident experience is just apply the brakes. No swerving. Probably caused way more tire/suspension damage running up the curb than you would have sustained just hitting her.

 

[Sheep221]

I'm completely expecting it to be totaled - I only paid $2500 for it four years ago.
If I can get the steering fixed cheaply (but properly) and the frame's not bent, I'll buy it back and be on my merry way. Hell, I'd be doing the insurance company a favor by not sending this thing to auction (I bet they'd end up spending more to crush it).



That was the line of BS she fed me when I first spoke to her. I believed it at the time, but of course the video shows differently.
I knew she was a waste of space as soon as I saw her, but I googled her name and her father's name (or whoever holds the insurance policy) and they are both a bunch of lowlife criminal scumbags - some amusing cases in the local police blotter.
The trunk and rear bumper of her car were also smashed in pretty good, and she had a Bernie bumper sticker to boot. (interpret that as you wish!)



I was waiting for a comment like this.

I shouldn't even reply, but I'm already at it - she started creeping forward slightly at about 10.5-11 seconds, which drivers often do when they're preparing to make a left turn and there's a gap in the traffic. As there was no car in the left lane, I moved to the left thinking she was doing that. The impact occurred at 12 seconds. So, I couldn't react and bring my car to a stop from 30-35 mph in one second (speed limit on that road is 35).
Had I tried to stop, I probably would have slammed into the driver's side of her car and caused a lot more damage to my own, or had I slowed down before she hit the passenger's side of my car, I might have slammed into that telephone pole instead.

It seems you drive much slower. That's why I asked.

 

[SKORPI0]

Nice video. Seeing a car about to pull out of the gas station would have made me automatically slow down and step my brakes and let the car pass,
regardless if they didn't have the right of way.

 

[postmortemIA]

Nice video. Seeing a car about to pull out of the gas station would have made me automatically slow down and step my brakes and let the car pass,
regardless if they didn't have the right of way.

That's not what happened. I would do the same if that was the case, but the other car was totally stopped and then decided to start and hit OP.

 

[Bubbleawsome]

You guys forget the rules of road cams. The wide FOV makes thing look farther away, and also gives you a wider viewing range than the driver. Chances are the car was totally stopped, OP (rightfully) shifted his attention to other parts of the road, and then the car pulled out fairly close to OP.

 

[mike8675309]

So easy to see what happened. The girl was looking to the left watching traffic. She saw the car that passed the OP coming and then started looking right. She felt that when a car passed her line of vision from the left it would be clear from that direction. She saw the left was clear and kept looking left until the car she saw before cleared her vision, then the car started rolling.
She never saw the OP pull off the side street onto the lane until the very last moment when she had already started moving and looked left to enter the far lane.

She failed to check that the road was clear, and drove into the side of the OP's car. If you look close the one car didn't start moving until the OP was near a tall pole. The OP had about 2 seconds to react.

Using Data here:
http://www.visualexpert.com/Resources/reactiontime.html
Assume a road speed of 25mph or 36.6667ft/sec.
Assume a reaction time of 1.5 seconds being the time to notice a problem, lift the foot off the accelerator, and place it on the brake pedal. 55 ft
Add the time it takes to apply the brake 24.2ft
And the time it takes to actually stop the car 26.134ft
For a total stopping distance of 105.3341 feet.
I don't feel there was enough room to stop.

 

[nitrous9200]

You guys forget the rules of road cams. The wide FOV makes thing look farther away, and also gives you a wider viewing range than the driver. Chances are the car was totally stopped, OP (rightfully) shifted his attention to other parts of the road, and then the car pulled out fairly close to OP.

This is spot on. It's only about 100 feet from the gas station entrance to the exit where she was pulling out, and accelerating to ~35mph meant I was right up next to her car when she started moving into the street.

So easy to see what happened.
[snip]
I don't feel there was enough room to stop.

Likewise, this is a good post. Given that I was moving faster than 25mph (my dashcam doesn't have GPS) there was no way I could stop in time.

Good news for me - the insurance company decided to fix the car. $3000 for a rear bumper and door, to refurbish both wheels, and paint the entire passenger's side.
I was surprised, but the car will come back looking better than when I got it, so I'm not complaining.

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

What the hell, was your signal on or something? Not that that would be an excuse... but she literally just turned right in front of you. Wasn't even high speed... like... not even looking as she makes the turn? Looking in the wrong direction? Its like she waited for you to get closer.

Should be ~5 year bans on licenses for obvious at fault accidents like this.

Well to be fair to her, the last time she would have been looking in the OP's direction his signal light may have still been blinking, so I can understand her interpretation of his intent to turn into the gas station. She is still completely at fault for not double checking, but I can understand her position. To take her licence away for FIVE YEARS though... jesus... sure hope you never ever do anything ever wrong in your lifetime. Its why they are called "accidents".

They ought be able to pull that dog leg out without too much issue. My main concern would be if any suspension pieces are bent because you nabbed the curb like that.

 

[nitrous9200]

I finally got the car back this week. It took a while, but then again, there was a lot of work that needed to be done! (plus waiting for the adjuster and the check, etc)

The body work outlined in my previous post was done, plus I also paid to have some previous damage fixed (front bumper painted, new trim pieces installed and painted, plus other small dents repaired).
No frame or suspension damage was done when I hit the curb, but an alignment was needed to correct the steering.
I did have to supply some parts myself which were omitted from the estimate to keep the cost down and prevent the car from being totaled, which cost me about ~$300. No big deal.

The only issue was that the body shop mixed up the connectors for the front right turn signal and the MAF when re-assembling the car. The shop owner only told me that the light wasn't working and they couldn't figure it out, although I also noticed the CEL was on (because he'd been driving around with the MAF disconnected, essentially).
Luckily I was able to figure this out when I got home.

All in all, the car looks great now and I'm really happy with it.

A few photos from the body shop plus the finished product:
http://imgur.com/a/tTlem

 

[SKORPI0]

Nice, car looks good !!!