So . . . crap. (Warning: twisted metal content)

[Crickett]

This was not how I envisioned returning from a 6-week TDY yesterday:

http://tcholo.net/images/bmw/accident/leftFront.jpg

http://tcholo.net/images/bmw/accident/frontLeft.jpg

http://tcholo.net/images/bmw/accident/towFront.jpg

http://tcholo.net/images/bmw/accident/tow.jpg

Short version (long version to come later): traffic came to a (literal) screeching halt, car behind me lost it, flipped, tagged my front corner & squarely nailed the rear of the Grand Marquis in front of me. No injuries (amazingly) & the damage to my front corner seems to be the extent of it (for me, anyways). The at-fault driver's insurance has already contacted me & will be paying for the damages. The adjuster should be taking a look at it on Monday, so I'll have more info (& a better idea of the damage) then. :fingerscrossed

[Alphatek45]

DAYUM! Glad your okay. Let us know what they say about the damages/repair.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Glad to hear you're OK, Travis.

[Hornung418]

Jeebus...No fun man!

So the car literally flipped over?! That's nuts!

Looks like you could get some goodies out of this ;)

[kayger12]

Glad you're ok.

Sux!

Droid X. Tapatalk. Use it.

[Johal E32]

im glad you are okay buddy!

i hope the insurance will take of your car

[Oli77]

Twisted metal is awful but walking away from it is the most important.
Glad you are OK.

[danewilson77]

Glad all is well. It did do some suspension and wheel damage, correct?

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[echo46]

Had a minor heart palpitation when I saw that rumpled up front end.

[mimalmo]

:(

[gr330zhp]

Damnnn that sucks :( glad you're okay! Hopefully the insurance starts on it asap

Sent from my HTC Desire, Like a BOSS!

[Mike V]

Yikes, good to hear you're ok but sorry for the car. I drove through that area a couple months ago and was amazed how horrible the drivers are down there.

[Newjack]

I hate seeing threads like this :(

Glad to hear your okay. Hope everything works out.

[ZSP-Mafia]

Ouch! Glad you're ok.

[ranger]

Glad you are ok. Every day I drive in Atlanta I cringe waiting for someone to hit me!

[webster]

:(

happy to know that you weren't injured, sorry for the car. hopefully she's back on the road asap

[static667]

When I saw the pic, I died a little on the inside. Sorry to hear about that, but I'm glad you are safe.

Sent from my rooted Fascinate using Tapatalk.

[Stu]

Damn man, I'm sorry to hear that :( That's awful. I hate seeing these threads, it's sad. Glad you are okay, though. Hypothetical question: if it ends up being totaled, which I severely hope it is not, can I have your tires?

[Go Horns!]

This happen is SA? I am from there, that is why I ask. Traffic does crazy things there. Glad to hear you are okay.

[webster]

This happen is SA? I am from there, that is why I ask. Traffic does crazy things there. Glad to hear you are okay.

what part of town? i too am from SA, also went to college there (Trinity)

[billschusteriv]

Sorry to hear this... glad you are okay. Keep us posted.

[Rustyh]

That hurts. I'm still trying to picture how the car behind you literally flipped. Even if the car was moving at 100mph I'm thinking I don't want to own one of them.

I'd just add that you want to look into how diminshed value works wherever you are. I really have no idea if it varies state to state or not. But at least investigate it. I've received compensation for that in three accidents (technically me twice, Kim once) where another driver was at fault and of course, the amount is in addition to repair costs. It's for what it says it is, diminished value. And for sheet metal damage like that, the resale value is definitely going to drop for more than a simple repaint.

Glad you escaped.
Rusty

[Go Horns!]

FWIW - In Texas you can't get diminished value from your own insurance policy (as opposed to Georgia where you can and insurance costs twice as much). As for what you get from the other guy, they are paying you to not sue so it is all about what you can negotiate.

[Rustyh]

FWIW - In Texas you can't get diminished value from your own insurance policy (as opposed to Georgia where you can and insurance costs twice as much).

In Georgia, you can be the one at fault and still ask for diminished value to fix your own car? I'm suprised their state insurance board allows that, but maybe that's one of the perks for paying outrageous premiums.

We really do have cheap auto/motorycle insurance rates here. And no state taxes.

Only bummer really is that our Horns go into the season ranked like 24th. lol (doesn't mean we have to finish there, but I don't have that warm fuzzy feeling this year)

Rusty

[webster]

curious to see how the offense will function with new QB and OC...


hook em!

[Crickett]

Thanks for all of the support & concern, everyone; that's what I love about all yous guys!


So the car literally flipped over?! That's nuts!


I'm still trying to picture how the car behind you literally flipped. Even if the car was moving at 100mph I'm thinking I don't want to own one of them.

I think the Galant ended up on its roof by over-correcting as it hit grass / dirt & getting a wheel dug in.

http://tcholo.net/images/bmw/accident/Galant.jpg


im glad you are okay buddy!

i hope the insurance will take of your car

The insurance adjuster hasn't inspected my car yet, but – at DW's advice – I'm going to make sure that that I'm there to help ensure a fair assessment of what a ZHP costs to repair!


Glad all is well. It did do some suspension and wheel damage, correct?

Yup, snapped the left tie rod; the steering wheel in the picture is turned straight ahead. I think the wheel itself might just need refinishing; I don't remember it looking out-of-shape at all . . .


Damn man, I'm sorry to hear that :( That's awful. I hate seeing these threads, it's sad. Glad you are okay, though. Hypothetical question: if it ends up being totaled, which I severely hope it is not, can I have your tires?

Hypothetically, maybe. :shifty


This happen is SA? I am from there, that is why I ask. Traffic does crazy things there. Glad to hear you are okay.


what part of town? i too am from SA, also went to college there (Trinity)

Yup, southbound on 1604 at the Nagodoches Rd. exit. Do either of you know of any good body shops? (Or any bad ones to avoid?)

[webster]

sorry, never had any body work done in SA...only accident i ever had there totaled the car :/

[Crickett]

So, I'm wanting to move my car from the body shop it's currently at to another that's closer (& better reviewed); is a $200 "administrative fee" pretty standard? That's on top of the normal towing cost & $20/day storage fee. The towing & storage fees I get, but I can't help but think that's pretty excessive . . .

[danewilson77]

Never heard of that fee.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[tripod06]

wow man! a Galant too of all things! that is the car i had before i got the ZHP! i'm so glad you are okay. i am so sorry about your car. i really hope the best for your car. more glad that you are uninjured.

[Go Horns!]

So, I'm wanting to move my car from the body shop it's currently at to another that's closer (& better reviewed); is a $200 "administrative fee" pretty standard? That's on top of the normal towing cost & $20/day storage fee. The towing & storage fees I get, but I can't help but think that's pretty excessive . . .

That sounds like B.S. But they use the fees to fleece the insurance company. Check your PM.

[Kudos]

It is really the insurances responsibility to cover all costs. One accident i had, the car was in the shop for 4 months because the insurance company could not find the paperwork that i was insured. I had to call both insurance companies, all hassles and stuff, but they paid for the rental car and storage at the shop.

[Crickett]

Well, I decided to leave the car at the current shop (the owner has, so far, gone out of his way to calm any of my fears of poor-quality work from his shop) & met the insurance inspector today; first (pre-teardown) estimate is ~$3k for the wheel, tie rod, & body work. I made sure both the insurance agent & shop owner knew it's a ZHP & what all that'd entail (LCAs, M-Tech II, M135s, etc.), so I have high hopes of the repair getting done right the first time. They'll be adjusting the estimate in the next couple days after the shop removes the busted panels & gets the car up in the air to see what else is broken. :fingerscrossed

[danewilson77]

Get payout, and take to indy...unless you really wanna pay $115/hr labor.....or DIY all but bodywork.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[webster]

$3k seems low for that much work but even if you tack on another $1k it's still not too bad...good luck w/ the repairs!

[Crickett]

She's back!!

http://tcholo.net/images/bmw/ZHPfixed.jpg

Took the shop just over eight weeks (ugh!) to finally get her all straightened out, repaired, & repainted. My front left corner has never looked so good! It really highlights how poor the opposite corner looks . . . I desperately need a new right headlight lens!

The only issues I have with the work is that:
1) They got the wheel from a company that refinishes wheels (my original one was structurally unsound), so I'm not 100% sure it's an OEM,
2) The whole suspension assembly (strut mount, strut, spring, hub, etc.) was pulled from a "recycled" E46, so I'm not 100% sure that they're sport suspension pieces,
3) The driver's door was removed & doesn't look like it was reinstalled correctly (too much panel gap at the front), &
4) The alignment results sheet they provided to me shows that it was aligned to standard suspension specs, not sport.

Other than those (relatively minor) items, my girl seems to still be her old, smile-inducing, tail-happy self!

[kayger12]

Good deal, Crickett.

Glad she's back and looking good.

[danewilson77]

Awesomeness. Love TiAg. Looks beautiful.

Demand....alignment be done to proper specs, and have them fix door. By new coilovers > Drawp = :drool

[Crickett]

Awesomeness. Love TiAg. Looks beautiful.

Demand....alignment be done to proper specs, and have them fix door. By new coilovers > Drawp = :drool
She's silbergrau, but thanks. ;)

Yeah, I've been working with the shop guys to get her correctly aligned, but I haven't mentioned anything about the door yet. I'm assuming I can adjust it myself (the TIS instructions don't seem that difficult) & be as anal as I want to be.

And yeah . . . I've been contemplating coilovers, or at least an H&R kit :drool

[danewilson77]

OK...my bad. Love the color.....

[Hermes]

Nice, if you wanna check the wheel pull it off. It should be stamped BMW on the inside of the spokes

Also (gotta agree) you should demand the shop fix your alignment and door. They should have done it right the first time.

[zj96sc]

Quite frankly these aren't things you need to be working on yourself. I think the shop needs to step up to the plate and do the work properly.

I know it means more time without your baby, but the shop is paid to do the work correctly, not mostly correct.

Bugs the crap out of me when its obvious they cut corners everywhere they could. Typical.

Glad she's 90%, good luck getting it the rest of the way there.

[webster]

Glad to hear she's running again, good luck getting her to 100%!

[johnrando]

Glad it's back!

[Ryans323i]

Car looks great. Bet you're glad to have her back!

[jayjay_dee]

looks good, glad it's back...