is she totaled? god damn asshole doing 40MPH rear ended me at a dead stop

[theblackspeed]

minding my own business on the highway in a dead stop the bastard behind me driving his yaris is on his phone slams on his brakes and boom! on the way to the hospital with back and neck pain on a stretcher.

damage: bumper ripped in two, rear door smashed in, right tail lights broken, the wheel well guards and with my mud flaps ripped out, right rear panel over the fender to the bumper and gas door bent to s***, the fuel system (tank, plunger hole for gas, and tubing) is probably damaged as well, i smelled some gas. finally sigh near where the bumper was ripped in half the crash bar/frame is a bit twisted out of shape from what i can see.in the last pic the right rear panel doesn't even look like it lines up anymore.

she's been hit in that rear right corner before with a hit and run while the MS3 was parked. progressive claim adjuster coming tomorrow, think she's totaled?

 

[Josue6WGN]

I don't think so. It doesn't really look that bad, but pictures can be deceiving. lol

 

[theblackspeed]

That bad? lol

 

[destineal]

I bet there is frame damage. Hope you are ok

 

[Josue6WGN]

Average joe's see a bent up hood, broken headlight, and ripped bumper on their car, and they jump off the deep end. ZOMGMAICARISTOTALEDWATDOIDOOOO????? When it reality, it's only a $2000 or $3000 hit, as long as it's an average car and not a Benz or BMW. lol

I've been a body man for almost 10 years now, so I know exactly what it takes to fix these cars up. There are also a few different variables involved. Availability of new parts vs. used for one. I would save the insurance company money to go with used parts, but if there are none available (Mazda3 Hatches aren't very common in yards) and they have to buy all brand new, it might push it over the edge. Depending on the value of your car of course, and also, the limit your (or their) insurance company totals at. Some will only go up to 70% of the value of the car before it's totaled, others 85%, or 90%.

Speed3's should still be worth some money though.

 

[theblackspeed]

13.2k for fair value, she's been pretty beat before i purchased her and mazda did over 7k of work. good to hear from an experienced body worker as yourself josue6wgn I'm going to demand all new parts i mean i JUST got her back from the shop for motor issues the day prior to this accident, and I'm making sure its going to mazda not some 2nd rate shop some insurance companies use.

sad to say but she's been BAD luck since i purchased her.

 

[theblackspeed]

destineal thanks for your concern, i got shifted vertebrae or something along those lines according the doctor in my lower back and neck.

 

[Josue6WGN]

13.2k for fair value, she's been pretty beat before i purchased her and mazda did over 7k of work. good to hear from an experienced body worker as yourself josue6wgn I'm going to demand all new parts i mean i JUST got her back from the shop for motor issues the day prior to this accident, and I'm making sure its going to mazda not some 2nd rate shop some insurance companies use.

sad to say but she's been BAD luck since i purchased her.

Sorry to hear of the troubles. We pay a LOT of money for cars nowadays...it's terrible when we can't rely on them!

I think you'll be good though, as long as it's not UBER messed up behind the bumper. For the sake of discussion, 80% of that value is $10,500, and I don't see $10,500 worth of damage there.

Definitely look into getting new parts instead of used/aftermarket. Some insurance companies force that junk on you (fine print in the policy) so you might not have a choice. Since you'd be the claimant though, that should give you pull. It's not YOUR fault you got hit, so why should YOUR car be put back together with non-OEM parts or junk used parts? Also, using the shops the insurance companies recommend is usually a safe bet. When you do, not only do you get a warranty from the shop (most reputable shops will warranty their work for the time you own the car) but you also get one from the insurance company as well. Even if the shop does bad work, and you have problems down the road, by using this program, the insurance company will take it to another shop and have them fix it right, at no cost to you (they charge the original shop)

It's usually safe to use these shops though, like...99% of the time. We HAVE been in situations where we're fixing other shops' repairs that are on the same insurance program, but it's very very rare. Shops don't get on these programs by doing bad work. lol Another thing is length of repair. When a shop is on the insurance company's program, any supplement/hidden damage they find, can be fixed right away so you get your car back sooner, since the insurance company trusts the shop. If a shop isn't on this program, they'll have to send an adjuster out to inspect and approve the damage to make sure the shop isn't trying to screw them over, and that can take a few days sometimes.

 

[Josue6WGN]

Here's a thread I made while I repaired a Mazda3 sedan, just to give you somewhat of an idea of what you're in for.


http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123807930-Mazda-3-collision-repair-(lots-o-pics)

 

[theblackspeed]

that frankenstein-ing scares the s*** out of me, especially since that right panel/ door frame has been fixed & replaced before from the previous owners body damage. i would assume it would put the overall shell in even a more fragile state with two repairs in the same area.

how much if you don't mind me asking did the mazda 3 and neon job run approx? seems like people in south florida love charging a bit more based on the model, mazdaspeed 3s are one of these models. ive been to a few shops for the previous parked hit and run, great state to live in ಠ_ಠ

PS: damn you have some CLEAN work my friend, very impressed.

 

[Josue6WGN]

Thanks! Gotta take pride in what you do.

Two repairs in the same area doesn't have to weaken the shell, IF done properly. There are so many hack shops out there though, it's essential to have the job done correctly to retain factory strengths and crash characteristics.

The neon was a few years ago, but the 3 was a few months ago. I usually don't pay attention to the numbers, I just fix 'em. lol I'd say it was probably around $3000-$3500 though.

 

[MikeHTally]

I bet there is frame damage. Hope you are ok

There is no frame. These cars (like most) are unibody. Nowhere near totaled. There's no real structural damage there.

 

[Timshadi]

Sorry this happened to you. Unfortunately I had a similar experience a few months back. I was involved in a three car wreck where I was hit near the left rear wheel. At first it didn't look to bad, but wound up being at the body shop for two months and had roughly $10,000 worth of damage. There was severe body and suspension damage as well as some frame damage. I was pissed! thought the insurance would just total it out but thankfully they did not. Got everything fixed and you can't tell it was even in a wreck. Judging from your pics looks like yours isn't as bad mainly some cosmetic work. Good luck my friend