My car got hit today, rear quarter and tranny damage.

[astronut1885]

Hey guys. I got hit in the rear passenger quarter today as I was turning onto an exit. I was initially hit in the rear wheel, then the lady plowed right through me, taking out my sideskirt, taillight, fender, and rear bumper. The fender is dented in, the paint is gouged, the wheel is all scratched up, the fiberglass sideskirt is all torn, and my rear bumper is torn and scratched. She also smashed the corner of my LX taillight. I already went to the insurance, and they have me going to an adjuster. Thing is, my tranny has gone straight down hill. I'd been having problems with it a little bit, but now it won't shift for beans. I told them about it, they said that they'd look into it. Hopefully they'll be fixing it all once I see the adjuster. They told me they'd be cutting me a check, so instead of a new stock rear valence, I'm gonna do a Cobra probably, and if the whole car is going to need paint, then I'll get a cowl hood and stalker front bumper too. Hopefully this will all be resolved soon, as I'm kinda pissed that my car is banged up. I'm gonna go snap some pics of the damage, I'll post a few up.

 

[iwashmycar]

Man...sorry to hear all that

 

[astronut1885]

here's a few pics of it, it looks worse in person, as the dents don't really show. Best thing is, I was turning onto an onramp that was under construction, so I was going slow. A state police cruiser was coming onto the same ramp from the other direction with his strobes on, so I slowed down, and blam, she nailed me. She got out of the van, came over to me while I was getting out, and said "what's your *****ing rush?" I was like "what???" There was a town cop doing a detail there, he saw the whole thing, so he came over and he told me that she hit me as I was entering the onramp. He called another cruiser who swapped our info. I'm gonna go tomorrow to get a copy of the report. She didn't get cited, even though she was speeding through a construction zone and she hit me. This sucks.

 

[dustang90]

first off I am an automotive painter and know what can cause what damage. Unless the insurance adjuster is an idiot, there is no way that can harm your tranny. And since the damage is on the right quarter and bumper, the insurance company is NOT going to paint the whole car. What they will do is right up an estimate for the quarter to be straightened, skirt and bumper to be replaced and possibly blend the right door. So that you are not dissappointed they are not going to be painting the whole car, sorry. You can try and haggle them, but believe me, they are some cheap m*ther f*&kers and they are going to try and save the company money. So what you can do is take that check and cash it and hold the money for when you want to have the entire car painted or just have that part of the car taken car of.

 

[Qwk88LX]

here's a few pics of it, it looks worse in person, as the dents don't really show. Best thing is, I was turning onto an onramp that was under construction, so I was going slow. A state police cruiser was coming onto the same ramp from the other direction with his strobes on, so I slowed down, and blam, she nailed me. She got out of the van, came over to me while I was getting out, and said "what's your *****ing rush?" I was like "what???" There was a town cop doing a detail there, he saw the whole thing, so he came over and he told me that she hit me as I was entering the onramp. He called another cruiser who swapped our info. I'm gonna go tomorrow to get a copy of the report. She didn't get cited, even though she was speeding through a construction zone and she hit me. This sucks.

That sucks man! Hope it works out good for you..Cant believe she said that to you Guess she figured since you were in a stang she could flip the story around..good thing the cop saw it. Good luck.

 

[MrKwik]

Not that it helps much but I have that tail light for sale. Wanna buy a tail light

 

[MadMatt5oh]

She should have been cited. Had it been the other way around............

 

[CManT1914]

That stinks, mine got hit in the parking lot where I work! It was about a month ago, and I'm STILL trying to get the cheap crappy insurance company to give me money. My driver door got side-swiped and the whole panel has to be replaced. I feel your pain man.

 

[UMDSmith]

If you want to get an insurance company to pay, its very simple. Pay a lawyer a few bucks to draft a certified letter demanding payment. If they fail to comply to that, sue them. It is against the law for your rates to go up if you sue them. Normally a lawyer will scare insurance companies enough to make them pay.

-Joe

 

[dustang90]

he isn't going to have to have a lawyer to get the insurance company to since it is in the police report that it was her fault. Even though she didn't get a citation from the cop she is still going to be held liable for it. What I stated was that the insurance company isn't going to pay for the tranny to be fixed or the whole car to be painted.

 

[astronut1885]

Well, they said unless I get a mechanic to tear down the tranny and find damage from the accident, they won't cover it. I asked if my personal mechanic could do it, they said yes, and my mechanic is willing to do it. I know that the thing has gotten worse since I got whacked, but I'm not sure what they want as proof of damage. They won't paint the whole car, but they said I can go where ever I want to get repairs, and that I can put on whatever parts I want. I spoke to a friend who's brother owns a body shop, and I'll be going there. If the price is right, I'll probably add a stalker front bumper, a saleen wing, and a 3" cowl hood or Stormin Norman hood on and just paint the whole car. I'll probably have to refinance my personal loan, but i can't see just doing part of the car when I planned on hitting the paint booth next year anyway.

 

[astronut1885]

Ok guys- I have a few ?s. I want a stalker style front bumper, but only Cervini's and Age Classic Design sell them. ACD's is only 279 vs. Cervini's 400.00, but is it a good piece? Then I got to thinking--- Stalker front, saleen wing, cowl hood, and stock rear bumper so I can run dumps on my flows...I love loudness, the more the better, and with a stock rear I don't need to worry about tailpipes...hmm..what do you think?

Stallion (stalker front)-279.00 from ACD
Saleen wing- 159.00 from ACD
Stock rear bumper-154.00 (if I don't get one from a JY for cheap, which I can because my mechanic manages the biggest JY in my area.) from ACD
3" cowl hood- 325 from ACD

I'll probably drop the "boss" style theme I have going and revert back to a nice monotone deep red color. That way the car can look really clean, which is always nice.

 

[10HoleLX]

first off I am an automotive painter and know what can cause what damage. Unless the insurance adjuster is an idiot, there is no way that can harm your tranny. And since the damage is on the right quarter and bumper, the insurance company is NOT going to paint the whole car. What they will do is right up an estimate for the quarter to be straightened, skirt and bumper to be replaced and possibly blend the right door. So that you are not dissappointed they are not going to be painting the whole car, sorry. You can try and haggle them, but believe me, they are some cheap m*ther f*&kers and they are going to try and save the company money. So what you can do is take that check and cash it and hold the money for when you want to have the entire car painted or just have that part of the car taken car of.

My Insurance company are NOT cheap bastards!
ALLSTATE is awsome!
I had a fender bender with a caddy back in 1997 in my LX.
Had a couple of holes in my bumper cover, cracked left headlamp and turn signal.
They went ahead and replaced the cover and painted the entire front end just so it would match the fresh paint on bumper.

They buffed and polished the rest of car too.
They even asked ME if I wanted OEM or aftermarket parts and who I wanted the paint to be performed by!!!
Of course I requested FORD parts and FORD painters

 

[astronut1885]

well, they have to request where you prefer parts and labor, that stops them from running a raquet with a specific shop and controling prices and quality.

 

[ka0tyk]

i still dont understand how that could EVER cause transmission damage... you didnt even bend the axle, and the rim doesnt even look scuffed...

 

[astronut1885]

uh, what do you call the black stuff all over my rim? I didn't really take a good shot of it. And actually, I am getting a sound from the rear that resembles brakes dragging, so God knows if I did damage that. I'm going to see my mechanic today to check it out completely.

 

[Michael Yount]

Sorry about the damage astro - but hang in there - all can be repaired. Dustang is right - don't get your hopes up; . And I've seen/dealt with a bunch of damage over a few years - can't imagine that what happened there did anything at all to the driveline - rear end, brakes or tranny. You might have them check the wheel to be sure it's straight, but I can't believe it hurt anything that wasn't already hurt. The damage just isn't that extensive ( I know it's your baby - don't take the comment personally). Mine got really nailed in the quarter -- side swipe that did $5000 worth of damage requiring both quarters to be replaced. No driveline damage at all, although it did tear up a tire.

UMD - lawyers don't scare insurance companies. Had it occurred to you that insurance companies have their own lawyers? Most problems requiring a lawyer actually occur when you're trying to get your own insurance company to resolve something. The vast majority of the time, when the other party is clearly at fault, their insurance company wants to make things right in a reasonable way. You can get a lawyer involved to help you resolve things, but there's a cost associated with that. They usually have to be trying to screw you over pretty good to justify getting the lawyer involved.

 

[SmockDoiley]

If your tranny was already weak and an outside force forced your car to move faster or slower than what the tranny had planned then I could see some damage happening, but it would be more tailored to if say your car was parked and the impact moved your car front or back a foot or two. Also, hitting a rim could cause damage to the brakes, slightly bend the axle, mess up the bearings. The fact is if you had an accident and the car is driving differently or making strange noises get it checked out. Beware though, your car cant be worth more than $5000 to your insurance company and depending on the company they usually junk a car with damage that is more than 50-75% of the value of the car. And labor and parts for a tranny rebuild is over $1000 plus the body work which is never cheap. I'm just warning you. If they wont pay for the tranny but your tranny is toast, you may just be better off taking the money and replacing the tranny like you were talking about. Then fix the body later.

 

[SmockDoiley]

Just to let you know the Kelley Blue Book on your car is $2500. They will raise the value some with your mods, but dont expect much. They usually find fair market value for a car in your region with similar mods and mileage. So if GTs in your area with simple bolt ons are selling for $3000-4000 thats what yours is worth. But remember you have to show receipts, and even then they usually give you used value for everything, not replacement value. So try to keep damages under $2000.

 

[Gravel]

Its punks like you, trying to take advantage of the system that causes my rates to be higher!!

There is not an honest mechanic in the world that is going to tell you that the fender bender that you were involved in caused damage to your transmission!!