Fiesta met an S10 today, not in a good way. Carnage pictures inside.

[TheStig]

Well my rental car is a Dodge Dart SXT which is kinda nice, i have a soft spot for these cars for some odd reason or another. The claims guy at the collision center gave me a rough idea of about 4k in parts alone then labor for 2-3 weeks plus misc costs for body filler paint etc.

After he looked at it more and noticed the rear wheel cocked slightly, he thinks the twist beam may be bent and need replaced too. He said he is confident that it can be fixed and not totaled, then he looked it over more and made the remark that he may be wrong. Also depends heavily on the value of the car salvaged and what they sell for at a dealer, not KBB but current used FiST's at the dealer.

Got a bad feeling ill be in a pseudo two-tone Fiesta ST that has been repaired for another 5 years.

My quick math from OEM parts prices online came up with anywhere between 3,500-5,500$ in parts and misc items. Then add on labor and she can get pricey.

 

[TheStig]

Further update. After a phone interview with his insurance. They are putting me 100% at fault, so basically whatever i said did not matter that he never attempted to brake or take evasive action.

 

[me32]

This is gonna suck. Getting a car fixed in a wreck is never the same no matter what anyone says.

 

[johnlopez624]

Glad youre okay. Thats gonna be a hefty bill at the repair shop... need quiet a few brand new parts.

 

[TheStig]

This is gonna suck. Getting a car fixed in a wreck is never the same no matter what anyone says.

Thats what I am deathly afraid of, plus "blending" my factory paint with their fresh coat of Molten Orange in that area. Its kind of best of they just put her out to pasture and give it a lead funeral (AKA Total it)

Glad youre okay. Thats gonna be a hefty bill at the repair shop... need quiet a few brand new parts.

Yeah estimate of 4k parts alone just by eyeballing it. Should know the full total tomorrow or Thursday, plus 2-3 weeks labor also.

His insurance puts me 100% at fault, my insurance says its 70% my fault 30% his which will go to arbitration. He did concede that he never hit the brakes or tried to avoid me, did not admit he was moving above reasonable and prudent speed.

So they should go from here with settling it and see what happens. Not excited about this insurance hike either.

 

[me32]

Thats what I am deathly afraid of, plus "blending" my factory paint with their fresh coat of Molten Orange in that area. Its kind of best of they just put her out to pasture and give it a lead funeral (AKA Total it)

you are right about that.

 

[TheStig]

I literally cannot find another Fiesta ST with significant damage (for sale at least) to compare to. Best i found was this one with a good amount of front end damage that did get totaled, although im not sure the specifics. I would love to know though.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-Fiesta...tr=true&hash=item3aa75329d4&item=251915348436

 

[RAAMaudio]

Do not roll over on this one, I would push for all I could to get it totaled as it has structural damage they cannot fix completely no matter what they say.

The chassis is tweaked and the mounting point for one or both sides of the axle are possible bent as well which would highly likely result in the car never handling as it did before.

If they insist on repairing it I would get an independent shop to look it over, maybe two or three estimates, etc....

If they will not work this out with you then you may end up with a car you no longer like and then take a loss on it if you replace it.

Just looking out, been around this stuff for a very long time.

Rick

 

[TheStig]

Do not roll over on this one, I would push for all I could to get it totaled as it has structural damage they cannot fix completely no matter what they say.

The chassis is tweaked and the mounting point for one or both sides of the axle are possible bent as well which would highly likely result in the car never handling as it did before.

If they insist on repairing it I would get an independent shop to look it over, maybe two or three estimates, etc....

If they will not work this out with you then you may end up with a car you no longer like and then take a loss on it if you replace it.

Just looking out, been around this stuff for a very long time.

Rick

Im searching right now for another qualified shop that may be more thorough in case these guys do not total it. Im waiting patiently by the phone as we speak hoping for good news but bracing for bad. I will get at least a 2nd opinion if they decline to total it out, and fight my insurance about it.

As said before this car repaired will immensely drop the value. I cannot drive around a 10k car that was 19k prior to an accident that i in fact owe 29k on.

 

[TheStig]

Car was barely being taken apart yesterday to get a full estimate done, so i wont know until maybe Friday.

 

[RAAMaudio]

Edit out everything you have posted anywhere saying you may or expect to be found at fault.

Do not agree to anything.

Was there any witnesses that heard you say anything to him, if not then it does not matter what you said.

Ignor the threats, that is all they are for now and pretty meaningless.

Ask the body shops to state what they feel would of taking at the angle of impact to cause that much damage, what the speed would of been, etc.....get it in the estimate.

Your best defense is a strong offense, might be a cliche but true.

 

[jfdana]

A few thoughts:

1. As suggested, don't say or write anything except what you already have to your ins. co.

2. I'm not sure how insurance works in your state, but you could ask your ins. co. to clarify. Usually ins covers everything except the deductible. Worst case, you would have to pay his deductible; the two insurance carriers would cover the balance. Same for you.

3. Always better not to say anything at the scene, but you were in shock from a violent accident, so whatever you may have said (and the fact that your memory is impaired is consistent with the shock of the accident) isn't all that reliable and wouldn't necessarily carry all that much weight.

4. Sounds as if you didn't see him (that's why it's called an accident).

5. Whether or not he saw you, had time to respond, wasn't paying attention, talking on the phone, etc., are all interesting questions.

6. Insurance adjusters are experts at this, and, although they may not always have your best interests at heart, the 70/30 split sounds like a reasoned opinion that should carry some weight.

7. Wait and see what happens, and keep in contact with your ins co.

8. If it gets really weird, your ins co will provide you with an attorney (one of the significant, and often overlooked, benefits of insurance).

 

[RAAMaudio]

Added to and improved upon advice, thanks for posting it

 

[TheStig]

My claims agent got back with me yesterday evening, he is going to call the guy and tell him to back off and everything goes through my agent. Thats what he is there for. He also said that what was said on the scene is irrelevant as he takes both of our statements and makes his liability determination then. Just this other person is trying to strong-arm us and he will not have any of it.

So that makes me feel better, if he calls me again threatening lawsuit i will record the conversation then block the number.

 

[RAAMaudio]

If he calls again tell him you are recording the call, important that you do so and it will make him settle down a bit unless a real nut case and may go off on you, cool, let him, record it!

 

[TheStig]

If he calls again tell him you are recording the call, important that you do so and it will make him settle down a bit unless a real nut case and may go off on you, cool, let him, record it!

Yeah and i know legally if anything happens he has to be aware i was in fact recording him. Also i spoke to another well known collision center in Phoenix and they mentioned some fun facts. The first being getting a "Second Opinion" is basically useless, everyone uses 1 of 2 estimating programs (probably set up by insurance companies) that spits out a cost. That cost will be almost identical across the spectrum so that one shop cannot show it costing more than the other.

This is bad but to make it somewhat worse I signed documents that bind me to this collision center i already have the car at, if it is repairable they will do the repairs no matter what. If its totaled then thats another road we head down. This whole accident since the start has been a comedy of errors on my part being my first and not knowing everything others may have, but im learning, that is FOR SURE.

I doubt the repairs will equal what needs to total it. It would need to be around 9-12k in repairs I estimate to combine with the salvage value to conclude is as a total loss.

FYI im an Estimator myself in construction so im running numbers all day, including for my car now lol

 

[TheStig]

Collision center finally called me. Damage total is $7,195 which is 60% threshold and as far as he knows the insurance will repair it. Just as i thought its right near total apparently but not close enough for them to do so.

So ill probably be driving a repaired low value Fiesta ST within a few weeks unless insurance decides otherwise.

 

[rodmoe]

Well glad it is moving forward also ask for your INS to lower the premiums as the car will now be on carfax so you should get something for that I would think..

 

[RAAMaudio]

I am a bit shocked at the low repair cost as it seems far more structural damage could be there, sure looks like it.

If my car I would demand to see it when on the frame rack and ensure they make sure the alignment will go back to the stock settings and not some barely on the edge never going to drive straights specs I have seen other cars come out of body shops with.

Really feel for you buddy, don't give up, they are already taking a ton of time to get this far, maybe to wear you down a bit.


Sincerely,
Rick

 

[dyn085]

I wouldn't waste my time. The day it came out of the repair shop I would take it straight to a dealership and trade it. I understand that's not an option for everyone, but still-I would rather not deal with post-accident related problems.