peanut93

Long story short my car got hit while parked. The at-fault driver may have been going about 40 mph. My driver's side rear bumper was swiped and my wheel was pushed and bent/titled in towards my car. My car was pushed into the curb and the impact caused my car to hit the parked car (honda) in front of mine, however, I purposefully parked far from the honda so my front didn't get as much damage. His insurance (geico) believes my car is repairable but I'm worried it may have some frame damage. My tow truck driver said my car was driving crooked. He said he wasn't sure if it was due to the tilted wheel or because the impact caused the car frame to shift. Not too familiar with this so any advice would be much appreciated! I am meeting with the adjuster and body shop to review an estimate for repairs on Monday and want to make sure I know what I'm looking at and should be looking for before going in.

Ispeedca

It will really depend if the frame is twisted, from what I can see the car seems ok but look for gaps between components that are not straight like doors fenders skirt etc, that will give you a good idea if anything moved. Only the estimator will know if its scrap. Unfortunately it's a big job as they will have to solder a new back part and the black book value of your car vs repairing it will probably make them repair it instead of buying you another car...

peanut93

They will have to replace my rims/tires etc too because they were all damaged from the wreck. The at-fault car was flipped to the side. That's how serious the accident was. Do you happen to have and estimate $ amount for soldering a new back part?

peanut93

Is there any possibility for me to have the repair shop fix it and if it doesn't drive straight, I can have geico take it and total it out? If repairable, I will repair at a lexus certified body shop which also happens to be a geico preferred body shop.

ClubLUser

iTrader: (1)

No, insurance is only going to pay once. Its on the repair facility to get it back to normal, so if it doesn't drive properly you bring it back to the repair shop and keep fighting with them.

Also, i don't think you really have a choice what the insurance company will choose.
Since they will choose the cheaper option as well as a threshold mark for totaled a car. Something like if repairs costs more than what they can sell it to scrapyard for salvage. Which is probably 15k or so.

specONE

iTrader: (3)

Current mileage of car and year of the car will play a factor if it's totaled or repairable.

If you want to total it, I'd talk to the body shop and see how close it is and they can work out estimate to be higher to report to insurance to agree to total lost it.
I would get your insurance in on this you help you figure for what you want. Be it repaired it totaled lost. Your deductible will not come into play if you are not at fault

ClubLUser

iTrader: (1)

Pretty sure that's like insurance fraud. I'm sure he can get it totalled by going to a lexus authorized repair facility in which everything will be inflated, but that's if the insurance company lets him take it there. Insurance companies have a pool of authorized repair facilities and the one he chooses might not be it.

EZZ

In California where the poster is, you can take it to ANY repair center by law. They will send their adjuster to that facility to also inspect the car and then both will determine what the costs will be.

ClubLUser

iTrader: (1)

Ah, forgot that detail. In my experience it was how i said it... in Ontario, Canada. Assumed it was the same..

Ispeedca

I can't say, It all depends what moved and up to where. I was in the bodyshops business for 15 years and everytime i saw a car to was closed to be a total loss according to me i had estimators ask us to fix it. It really depends on who looks at it and if he think car will be cheaper to repair or scrap. The welding price will also depends on parts availability in your area and who does it. Don't worry about a thing, insurances are scared of frame damages because it can cost them more down the line then to just scrap it and all repairs done to your car are under warranty for life in most places. For example, i bought a 3000miles rsx that had 24000$ in damages according to insurance and even with oem acura parts it ended up costing 3500$ to bring it back to new condition.

peanut93

So are you saying instead of using the at-fault driver's insurance to use mine for a higher chance of it being totaled? My car is a 2014 IS F Sport with 60k miles, kept in pristine condition prior to the accident.

peanut93

Kitabel - unfortunately I've already taken my car to a lexus authorized body shop which also happens to be a geico authorized body shop as well (found this out after i chose the body shop). They have already seen the damage.

ClubLUser - The body shop my IS is at is Lexus authorized and geico authorized. I don't know if that changes the inflation of prices or not. They started disassembling my car on Friday to look for any further damage. Should be meeting with them tomorrow for inspection and estimate of repairs. I'll post the estimate on here once I receive it.

specONE

iTrader: (3)

Yes maybe/it depends, if At-fault insurance is trying to fix it with aftermarket items instead of OEM.
If your insurance company only uses OEM parts, the estimate to repair will obviously be higher then even if labor rate stays the same. your insurance will foot the bill to the repair shop and then chase after the other insurance company to recoup the money back.

What is Blue Book value of your car for your area?

I see a $20k at least of damage estimate repair cost from the pics.

peanut93

I told the adjuster that I want OEM only. And he estimated 10k in damages by just looking at it. Before I authorize any repairs being done, I will look at the estimate to make sure they are using OEM and fixing all that needs to be. $20k of damage is very close to the threshold of totaling my car.

Blue book value of my car is about 26k-28k.

dchar

Like specONE said...use your own insurance and they will go after at-fault insurance. This will speed up the process and ensure you will get your car fixed without shortcuts and with new OEM parts. Now if you need a rental car, hopefully you bought that coverage on your insurance or you’ll have to go after the insurance yourself for a rental car.

On the back half, I see at least $10-15K in damages...so with front damage, axel, frame, suspension, and wheel issues...probably looking at at least $20-30K in total damages. They will probably end up repainting almost your whole car in order for the paint to match, and that will cost quite a bit. Hopefully your insurance will consider it totaled...it’ll never feel the same.