It's been a little while now, but I want to share the story of my accident. 4/16/2013 I was rear ended on my way to work. Big full size Chevy one ton (with a full bed, and a roof rack overloaded to boot) couldn't slow down in time. We were on the freeway, all cars slowing down (it was rush hour), but this Chevy couldn't stop fast enough. I watched it all happen. People sometimes say that accidents happen so fast that they don't know what hit them, but for me it was like slow motion. Problem was that there was nowhere for me to go to avoid being hit. I was boxed in by the other cars. At the last moment I cut my wheel left and rolled forward a bit so the impact wouldn't sandwich me between the Chevy and the other full size truck in front of me. So, he hit me in the right rear corner, and pushed my front left corner into another car. Here's the damage:
I was glad I turned my car away in the manner I did, it definitely lessened the impact and damage. No injuries to any of the passengers in any of the 3 cars, so things could've been a lot worse. Almost one month later, and I should finally have my car back on Monday. Been hating my rental car (Ford Edge). I called my dealership and asked where they get body work done, and so that's where I ended up taking my car. Was pretty excited to see some elite cars there being worked on like a Ferrari, a couple Porsches, a GTR, and a few others. I feel Iike they've been slow as molasses, but I'm crossing my fingers that they were thorough and did everything right. Luckily the other guys' insurance is covering everything. The quote they gave me was almost $8k. Wish me luck on Monday! I'm gonna cry if it doesn't feel as good as it was before!

 

Oh man sorry to hear about your accident. Thankfully nobody was hurt and his insurance paid for it. I know you can't wait to get your baby back and I'm pretty sure they did a good job on getting her back riding and looking good. Good luck bro!

 

Good luck indeed. Glad to hear everyone was safe (and that the max isn't a total loss!).

 

Bummer.

I don't see anything that should affect your tires, wheels, alignment, etc ,so your car should ride exactly the same as before.. The trunk lid still lines up nicely with the rear window and the side panel.

Be sure to check every single electrical function on both the front left and right right. High beam, low beam, fogs, turn signals, brake lights (including the high mounted one), parking lights, etc.

Open and close the hood and trunk several times, making sure they work exactly right, and are in perfect alignment. Check the right rear and driver's doors carefully. Look at the alignment between the bottom edge of the trunk lid and the top of the rear bumper. This has been a problem area for several here who had repairs made.

Make sure all dash warning lights work properly at startup, and all go off fairly quickly.

Pick the car up on a bright day, in order to confirm all paintwork is smooth and even and matches exactly.

You may end up with a car just as good as you had before the accident.

 

Thanks guys. Light--there were some marks on the front left rim that weren't there before, so I'm having them check the alignment to be sure it's ok. And thanks for the list of areas to pay special attention to.

I would've been even more upset if I had plans to trade cars anytime soon since the accident will surely lower the cars value, but I'll certainly own this car for at least 6 or 7 more years.

So, having never been in an accident like this before, can someone give me some pointers about picking my car up from the body shop? I plan to inspect every detail, but am I going to be out of luck if I miss something and have to point it out a few days later? Is the insurance going to close the claim the moment I accept delivery or the repaired vehicle? Should the body shop then be responsible for additional repairs (if necessary)?

 

Man that sucks! Hate to hear when something like that happens. Glad to hear there were no injuries though. Prolly a good thing you maneuvered your car to lessen the impact.

And to reiterate what Light said, double/ triple/ quadruple check the work when you get the car back. You'd hate to find something not quite right months down the road.

Good luck !

 

thats sucks bro. I was in a somewhat similar accident after only having my car for two months back in 09. Im headed to jury duty of all places and about two blocks from the courthouse this stupid woman in a civic slams on her brakes to to make the right turn into the gas station (because you know there werent 3 other entrances to the gas station for her to enter in. Long story short I stop on a dime but the heavily loaded Cargo van behind me couldnt.









None of us were hurt but there was about 11k in damage all in all. Good thing was the chassis was fine plus I got my rocking drivers seat fixed again. Bad thing was that because the car was so new the body shop couldnt get parts. It took them two months to do the repairs. Man that sucked. But they did a hell of a job and the car looks and drives perfectly.

 

I'm glad everyone came out ok.

Lightonthehill got it right. Make sure you check everything & make sure you pick it up during the day. Hopefully a nice sunny day. Imperfections will be easier to spot in bright sunlight. Take someone with you if you can. Another set of eyes that are on your side may be able to pick up things that you may miss. Look at the car from different angles. Don't rush either, take your time.

 

Serpent - Once you sign all the papers agreeing the car has been fixed to your satisfaction (which you must do before they will let you have the car), things can become a little stickier. A reputable shop will correct unfixed problems that are clearly tied to the accident if you bring it to their attention within a few days after you pick up the car.

When you go to pick up the car, tell the shop manager the repair looks great, but there is no way you can know if everything was fixed correctly without test driving with a friend and extensively checking every function potentially affected by the damage. And you will need a friend to help you determine if all the lights work correctly, or if the car 'crabs' as it rolls down the road. Tell him you will work quickly to determine if there are problems with the repair.

If you run into difficulty with the repair shop, tell them that you don't want to have to go back through the insurance company of the party that hit you, but that, within reason, your car must be completely fixed.

If it becomes necessary, you can contact the insurance company of the vehicle that hit you and let them know that, since picking up the car, you have found something that was caused by the accident, but was not properly fixed. They generally agree to handle such things, especially if the Better Business Bureau might get involved.

But everything works so much smoother when any problems with the repair are found before you pick up the car.

 

Sorry that this happened to you Serpent, I am glad you are okay though!

 

Picked the car up today. I've been pretty pessimistic about the whole situation, but I have to admit, I can't find one thing to complain about with the repair. I still need to REALLY check it out, but so far I'm pleased. The shop offers a great warranty, and I believe they'll stand behind their work.

After all was said and done, the total job came to $8950. That's a lot of parts/labor! Glad the other guys' insurance paid for everything.

Now I wonder how long it'll take me to relax a little about the cars in my rearview not slowing down fast enough for my liking...

 

Good it came out good, as far as the rear view mirror thingy you probably won't ever get over that. After my 01 was totalled years back and I was messed up for a good bit, every since when I'm at light or stop sign I'm constantly looking back.

 

If things were truly fixed correctly, then you should notice no difference whatsoever in the drivability of the car. Sounds like you may have found a good body shop. You should keep them in mind whenever you decide on mods that would require body work.

My son has had vehicles plow into him from behind twice within the last year. The first was while he was stopped waiting for traffic to clear so he could turn left into his subdivision, which resulted in around $4K damage to the rear of his Accura TL Type 'S'.

The second was while he was sitting at a stop light in his restored '92 Ranger extended cab pickup with special paint job and hi-tech side panels. The bed ended up folded up toward the cab. Totalled. He had put thousands of bucks into that truck, every part was in perfect order, and every working part had been upgraded. It was a real 'eyecatcher.' He did not get near the amount he had in that truck from the insurance company, and that is not including the hundreds of hours of 'love labor.'

He has always had bad luck with his vehicles. He had a restored candy apple red '67 Camaro convertible T-boned by a Volvo that ran a stop sign back in the 1970s, and a restored orange '69 Camaro SS totalled by a driver who turned around to check her noisy kids, causing her to cross the centerline and hit my son's car in the 1980s.

Let us know if you find anything less than perfect while checking your baby.

 

I know that feeling.
It's not at all unusual for people to even experience some form of PTSD after a bad accident.
After I was T-boned 6 years ago with my car spinning down the road more than 100 feet I wasn't quite right for awhile. Time helps with the mental healing just like the physical.
Glad you and your car is back on the road again!