No Need for Words!

[Kaya]

I can't even talk about it.

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I was waiting to turn left, the hit and run driver rear ended the Camaro at about 50 mph and pushed her up under the F250 she lifted his rear tires off the ground and pushed him into the Jeep, the Jeep hit me.

The damage is about 30K, the hatch, bumper, passenger rear quarter and the tub are all cracked. The only usable piece from the rear is the drivers rear quarter. We have debated selling wrecked and taking the insurance and the salvage and buying an 08, my husband is a Dodge employee and there is 20k off sticker for 08's.

But I want GTS blue or Venom green if I replace it and I want a coupe.

The car is worth 63k book and only 30k damage....they won't total that.

We also talked to a friend with a very small body shop, where people won't have access to mess with the car and we can let him take hi time and fix it right.

The sad thing is, I have a great car, I have road and drag raced it and I drive it at least 50% of the time as a daily driver. I LOVE my car! and if it can be fixed RIGHT, I would like to keep it. We didn't plan to sell it ever, anyway.

We will see what the insurance says...the guy who caused the accident left the scene, so we will be claiming on our insurance.

The real kicker is that in 2006 a drunk bunch of illegals with no insuance basically totalled my husband's truck, the for Gustav we had a 10 Thousand dollar deductible, so that was in September 2008, and I spent 12 K to get the house back to normal.

Now, I have to spend some more in deductibles....I am worn out, frustrated and ready to just give up....

 

[Sellshomesdrivesviper]

Most important, we are all glad you are okay.
I am sorry to hear about this unfortunate incident, and the scumbag that left the scene.
I hope things work out well for you, no matter which course of action you choose to take.
Good luck, Steve

 

[bluesrt]

dont look to bad.its definatly a keeper to fix,looks like all the fit and finish lines are still there.

 

[Mopar Boy]

Oh man! I am sorry sorry!

Will keep you in our prayers.

Robert

 

[eucharistos]

sad news

make sure you collect for diminished value, may have to fight for it but you are owed it and it may cover much of your deductible (heard JonB has been helpful in cases like yours)

hang in there

 

[JonB]

GLAD you are apparently OK.... after-accident stiffness can occur a ways out.

E-Z fix........Does NOT look like a slam-dunk total at first blush. Plus diminished value in your pocket. We have all the new OE parts in stock at 50% or less of MSRP. Your body shop can get em from PartsRack at WAAAY less than his normal 25% or 30% off, so even your deductible (and more!) can go away.

If you try for a total anyway, D.V. WILL play a role. Do the 08 replacement car, (GREAT OPTION) I can help there with the valuation of your old car, and maybe buy your Organ Donor.

Call to discuss........

Sorry for your loss and stress

 

[VENOMAHOLIC]

Sorry to hear about your horrible day. I would think that the Jeep that hit you stopped too close behind you in the first place so their insurance should cover you. Best of luck to get rolling ASAP.

 

[rcl4668]

Very sorry to hear about the damage.

/Rich

 

[eucharistos]

I would think that the Jeep that hit you stopped too close behind you in the first place so their insurance should cover you. Best of luck to get rolling ASAP.

i think that's how it would work in Texas too

 

[wallbanger]

diminished value is not easy to collect... After making a claim for $10.000 with the proper documentation i was offered $700 by the at fault insurance...Currently in the hands of an attorney

i am amazed that the "hit and run" car was drivable after hitting the camaro

 

[Kaya]

The police are blaming every thing on the hit and run and the dude in the Jeep has minimal coverage...

So diminished value is a pipe dream...Allstate isn't gonna pay for that.

I am going to wait and see what the adjuster says...my husband was an Allstate Reresented claims and and auto adjuster for many years, so we are good with the insurance stuff.

I have UM coverage also....and I refused to settle the injury stuff until everything is on the table.

It just ****** me off! In my adult life...I have never caused an accident and every accident I have been in has been some one else's fault and absolutely none of those accidents have had an insured vehicle.

So we keep getting hit and we keep paying

 

[wallbanger]

maybe it's time to leave louisiana

 

[Warfang]

The police are blaming every thing on the hit and run and the dude in the Jeep has minimal coverage...

So diminished value is a pipe dream...Allstate isn't gonna pay for that.

I am going to wait and see what the adjuster says...my husband was an Allstate Reresented claims and and auto adjuster for many years, so we are good with the insurance stuff.

I have UM coverage also....and I refused to settle the injury stuff until everything is on the table.

It just ****** me off! In my adult life...I have never caused an accident and every accident I have been in has been some one else's fault and absolutely none of those accidents have had an insured vehicle.

So we keep getting hit and we keep paying

So sorry to hear.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

I was waiting to turn left, the hit and run driver rear ended the Camaro at about 50 mph and pushed her up under the F250 she lifted his rear tires off the ground and pushed him into the Jeep, the Jeep hit me.

This is exactly why I leave plenty of space between me and the car in front of me. I can't do anything about the cars behind but I can minimize damage if there is enough space between me and the car in front of me. General rule is enough room to see the rear tire contact patch of the car in front of you. Just a PSA, I don't mean to imply that you didn't leave enough space in front of you. But after being involved in one domino crash and witnessing two others I started giving myself plenty of room and keeping an eye on the rearview, it has saved me at least once.

Definitely go for the diminished value. My diminished was 15K and the judge awarded it. Unfortunately collecting from a deadbeat hasn't been so easy. Collecting from an insurance company will be much easier believe it or not.

 

[Darbgnik]

GLAD you are apparently OK.... after-accident stiffness can occur a ways out.

E-Z fix........Does NOT look like a slam-dunk total at first blush. Plus diminished value in your pocket. We have all the new OE parts in stock at 50% or less of MSRP. Your body shop can get em from PartsRack at WAAAY less than his normal 25% or 30% off, so even your deductible (and more!) can go away.

If you try for a total anyway, D.V. WILL play a role. Do the 08 replacement car, (GREAT OPTION) I can help there with the valuation of your old car, and maybe buy your Organ Donor.

Call to discuss........

Sorry for your loss and stress

Jon, you're my hero!
Oh, and thanks for the toy car in my colors.

 

[Kevan]

That *****, Kaya.
Sorry to hear the news, but at least you're intact.
The little bit of good news is that I see you have a GN to take over daily driving duties!


If it helps at all, I'm willing to buy your old 3rd brake light.

 

[TexasSnake]

Sorry to hear about your streak of bad luck and this accident but I'm glad to hear you seem to be physically okay. By the looks of the Camaro, I can't imagine the at-fault vehicle being in shape to evade. No doubt that vehicle will have major damage and if I was a betting man (and I am), I would bet that they find the idiot that ran. Damage that conspicuous isn't easy to hide and people talk. Good luck and keep your head up.

 

[ivanrho]

Sorry to see that. I can feel the pain and it's horrible, but you're ok, which is the most important thing of all.

 

[Denny Wagner]

Kaya.....here is a quick FYI for you.

Just because the INITIAL damage estimate was $30K...don't think that the FINAL repair bill will be $30K. I own 47 collision repair centers on the east coast, and have been settling insurance claims for a LONG time...so believe me, I know what I'm talking about.

The average insurance claim in the industry winds up with a 24-28% SUPPLIMENT bill (for addition hidden damage not included or visible on the original estimate)

Hence...your $30,000 repair now costs close to $40,000 when you pick up the car at the repair facility. This is the reason that no one will pay you ACV (actual cash value) or "book price"....minus the insurance estimate, to buy your car as-is.

Plus....now your pristine car will have a dirty CarFax report following it for the rest of it's life, and it will be worth MUCH less and will be MUCH harder to sell when the time comes...no matter how good a repair job was done So, be sure to hede the advice posted above by uchharistos and JonB regarding diminished value!! Fight for it now...or lose it later.

Good luck to ya!! Den


True2Form Collision Repair Centers

 

[Sellshomesdrivesviper]

Kaya.....here is a quick FYI for you.

Just because the INITIAL damage estimate was $30K...don't think that the FINAL repair bill will be $30K. I own 47 collision repair centers on the east coast, and have been settling insurance claims for a LONG time...so believe me, I know what I'm talking about.

The average insurance claim in the industry winds up with a 24-28% SUPPLIMENT bill (for addition hidden damage not included or visible on the original estimate)

Hence...your $30,000 repair now costs close to $40,000 when you pick up the car at the repair facility. This is the reason that no one will pay you ACV (actual cash value) or "book price"....minus the insurance estimate, to buy your car as-is.

Plus....now your pristine car will have a dirty CarFax report following it for the rest of it's life, and it will be worth MUCH less and will be MUCH harder to sell when the time comes...no matter how good a repair job was done So, be sure to hede the advice posted above by uchharistos and JonB regarding diminished value!! Fight for it now...or lose it later.

Good luck to ya!! Den


True2Form Collision Repair Centers

Yep, I agree unfortunately.

 

[compcoupe21]

Sorry about your circumstances but here is a thought that may or may not be of help. In a hypothetical world what is the possibility that you get as much as you can from insurance and sell the car "as is" to someone who can do the work themselves their fore the cost to him might be very low (relatively speaking) and you can put the proceeds towards a new or very late model low mileage car. The previous post is correct in saying that now even with your car fixed has been tremendously devalued not to mention the psychological damage to you every time you drive that car. With the cost of Viper's very low right now you might come out okay economically. Just a thought...best of luck! Dan

 

[2snakes4us]

This is exactly why I leave plenty of space between me and the car in front of me. I can't do anything about the cars behind but I can minimize damage if there is enough space between me and the car in front of me .

I dont think i have ever driven the Viper and have came to a stop without someone getting right up on my tail drooliing over the car. I will creep foward to make more room (having left room in front) but they creep up with me.

Im sorry about your Viper Kaya, I hope thing go better for you.

 

[Steve 00RT/10]

Sorry for your loss and great that you're OK. Good luck with however this works out. If I'm reading this right, the lesson to take from this is never let traffic pile up behind you while waiting to make a left turn on a 2 lane busy road. It doesn't really matter if you're completely in the right. I aways look at the first car coming up behind me to see them slowing down. If there's more traffic coming behind them and I see I'm not going to be able to turn right away, I move up the road, turn right and then go back so I'm making a right turn.

Steve

 

[Cop Magnet]

Sorry, Kaya, but glad you are OK!
I agree with the diminished value angle...it could get you in an '08.
A also want to suggest, although I know he's a friend, that you not use a "small body shop" if you do repair it. It should go to someone VERY familiar with Viper's. A cracked tub and that level of damage is more than meets the eye. A knowledgeable Viper body shop will know what to look for and repair it propoerly. Plus, their initial estimate may be much more accurate than anyone else's. And accurate means higher (never took a car in and had it cost less!).
This gets you full circle to the total vs. repair decision point.

 

[Marv S]

Kaya,

Best to you, don't give up - keep the faith. Lots of good advice and insights given. Best is that you are not injured.

 

[JonB]

...... If I'm reading this right, the lesson to take from this is never let traffic pile up behind you while waiting to make a left turn on a 2 lane busy road. It doesn't really matter if you're completely in the right. I aways look at the first car coming up behind me to see them slowing down. If there's more traffic coming behind them and I see I'm not going to be able to turn right away, I move up the road, turn right and then go back so I'm making a right turn. Steve

100% my thought as well. A LOW PROFILE Sports car, with no wide-outer turnsignals visible rearward past the first car, is a SITTING DUCK. You MUST be attentive and alert to traffic on your 6. They all have WORSE brakes than you. PLAN AHEAD!

If you plan a 2-lane-left in thru traffic, you MUST signal EARLY and slow EARLY and above all GUAGE YOUR ONCOMING OPPOSING TRAFFIC hoping to exit WITHOUT STOPPING. "Plan to hit a traffic gap." If im feeling vulnerable I sometimes also use my LEFT ARM OUT signal (rare these days, dorky, it gets noticed) or I ABORT the left turn and look for a better, safer left or double-right ASAP.

Sitting Ducks can become Dead Ducks. LIke my pa told me: Right.... Dead Right.

 

[Venomiss]

Sorry to hear about the accident and glad you walked away-the most important thing.
Sent you a PM with some ideas and let us know what happens for you.

 

[ViperGal]

So sorry to hear about the incident. Made me almost cry. Glad you are 'okay'.

Hey, I was reading about your pending decision so I have to direct you to http://forums.viperclub.org/srt10-srt10-coupe-discussions/622017-drove-my-new-08-first-time.html .... food for thought.

 

[dave6666]

So sorry to hear about the incident. Made me almost cry. Glad you are 'okay'

We handle things differently here don't we...?



All I can do is toast one for you.





No...





Uh-oh...





More like spillin' here.





Like was said. Glad you're OK.

I'm watching Rambo and Terminator to make up just in case others have left off in their thoughts!

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

I dont think i have ever driven the Viper and have came to a stop without someone getting right up on my tail drooliing over the car. I will creep foward to make more room (having left room in front) but they creep up with me.

So true. I keep my eye on the rearview at least until there are three cars lined up behind me. I figure that gives me a bit of a cushing and maybe enough time to creep up if somebody slams into the last car.

It's also good to have that room in case you need to get out of the way of an emergency vehicle or if somebody tries to carjack you.