Car Crash, need some input

[Seminole]

No, not my car, thank God. But my girlfriend's mom was rear ended at a stop sign by a drunk going approximately 30-40mph according to police estimates. She had the car towed to one of her insurance company's approved body shops. Anyways her insurance company USAA estimated the value of the car at $14,100 and the damage at $9,200 last count. They'll only total it if the damage is at or over 80% of the value. They called her up today and said they are going to repair the car and that there is no frame damage. Therein lies my question. If I'm not mistaken, cars are unibody right? In the attached picture you can see the area just below the trunklid is all bent and twisted to hell. I thought that is part of the unibody. So wouldn't that be "frame" damage? Plus, the point where the exhaust is sticking out to used to be flush with the rear bumper cover. Anyways, I don't see how there couldn't possibly be frame damage.

So my questions are based off the limited picture I can provide (I'm 200 miles away so I couldn't take my own) does it appear that the car does have unibody damage? And if so, what type of options does she have to get the car re-evaluated?

I know these posts can be annoying with the lack of information and each situation being unique, but I appreciate the help.

[radix]

Wow. More pics would be helpful, but I'd fight to get it totaled.

['Cane]

My 2007 335i Coupe suffered $30,000 in damage (in November 2008) and State Farm did not total it. The insurance companies will do whatever they want.

[Noc57]

Sorry to see this OP, I was rear ended on my 09 335 a couple months ago. Yes, cars today are unibody and there is most definitely unibody damage on this car.

Frame damage these days, doesn't quite mean what it used to. Today we have state of the art equipment and factory machinery that can put a car within a few specs back to factory standards. Just make sure you go to a quality shop, (hence BMW certified in my case.)

She wasn't hurt was she? The thing about BMW's is after taking a nasty hit in the rear I barely felt a thing. Sure, I was a little sore for the rest of the day but I didn't have to go to the hospital or anything.

The lady cop told me she was surprised because people are usually taken out by stretchers with my kind of hit. The guy that hit me turned out to be a State Farm Agent, nonetheless (talk about ironic)...but I was in pretty good hands and he was actually a decent guy.

Car was in the shop for about a month, got her back and she's perfect.

Here's another important thing to consider. You might want to tell her to look into a "Diminished Value" claim as well. If the car had never been wrecked, and clearly this drunk was at fault, you are liable to claim your full economic loss. Although I hate to admit it, because it's a wrecked car you will lose some value, regardless of how well the repairs were made...that's where Diminished Value kicks in.

Of course if she's hurt bad and this guy/gal was obviously intoxicated I'd sue their ass.

Then again, you can't get blood out of a turnip, hopefully this asshole has insurance.

[Noc57]

Originally Posted by 'Cane

My 2007 335i Coupe suffered $30,000 in damage (in November 2008) and State Farm did not total it. The insurance companies will do whatever they want.

My 09's suffered around $30K in damage as well. The thing is the more expensive the car, the harder it is to total. For a list price of 52-$53K it takes quite a bit of damage to total these cars.

Insurance companies will usually total a car if the damages exceeds 75-80% of the vehicles value.

It really is bullshit, especially if some asshole smashes into you....but what can you do

It's crazy I saw an Alpina B7 in the shop when my car was getting repaired. The thing had a collapsed roof and was stripped down to bare metal (no seats, interior, trim, etc...) Basically, just the metal frame.

I asked the guy at the body shop, and he said the car was not totalled. How the hell is that possible? I wouldn't want it back. The car goes for $130K, I guess there was about $50K worth of damage.

[Seminole]

Originally Posted by Noc57

Here's another important thing to consider. You might want to tell her to look into a "Diminished Value" claim as well. If the car had never been wrecked, and clearly this drunk was at fault, you are liable to claim your full economic loss. Although I hate to admit it, because it's a wrecked car you will lose some value, regardless of how well the repairs were made...that's where Diminished Value kicks in.

Of course if she's hurt bad and this guy/gal was obviously intoxicated I'd sue their ass.

I just talked to her tonight about the diminished value, and she is going to call her agent tomorrow to discuss it. I'm just worried about them not fixing it correctly. What seemed odd to me was that the body shop said there was no frame damage, which based off the picture was hard to believe.

I had my friend that works for the state pull the guys DMV record. Apparently he has had a couple DUI related arrests in the past.

As far as injuries, there was nothing major, but she still was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. She has neck and back pain that the doctor has prescribed medicine and physical therapy for. She should be back to normal in a month or two according to the doctor. I think she is looking into a PI attorney as well.

[Noc57]

Originally Posted by Seminole

I just talked to her tonight about the diminished value, and she is going to call her agent tomorrow to discuss it. I'm just worried about them not fixing it correctly. What seemed odd to me was that the body shop said there was no frame damage, which based off the picture was hard to believe.

I had my friend that works for the state pull the guys DMV record. Apparently he has had a couple DUI related arrests in the past.

As far as injuries, there was nothing major, but she still was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. She has neck and back pain that the doctor has prescribed medicine and physical therapy for. She should be back to normal in a month or two according to the doctor. I think she is looking into a PI attorney as well.

Sounds like she's making the right steps to getting this resolved. That guy is toast with his record, serves him right. Looks like she's going to be alright though.

As far as fixing it correctly, do some research on the shop. If they aren't sitting well with you/her don't hesitate to take it somewhere else. You don't want to have your repairs done at "Bobs Automotive."

Also for dimished value you might want to hire a consultant as I did. You pay up front typically, but it all goes into part of your claim.

The good thing about these guys is they go out and take pictures of your car, and the repair process. If the body shop has a diminished value consultant peering over their ass, they're more likely to do a professional job.

After you get your car back I'd also have a post repair inspection done to make sure everything was repaired correctly. When it comes to your safety I wouldn't take any chances.


...Btw noticed your user name, Nole fan eh? Good man.

Florida State!, Florida State!, Florida State!, Whoooo!

[Seminole]

Originally Posted by Noc57

Florida State!, Florida State!, Florida State!, Whoooo!

Got my undergrad degree in April and currently working on my Masters. You an alum?

[Noc57]

Originally Posted by Seminole

Got my undergrad degree in April and currently working on my Masters. You an alum?

Yes sir.

Still need to finish up my Masters though.

Actually thinking about taking a trip up there this weekend, Halloween was always fun.

I'm 23 btw, girls were the bomb up there.

BEST YEARS EVER!!

Damn, real world sucks...

[Heinzftw]

Through my job, I work with insurance companies and body shops daily. Fact of the matter is that even if there is body damage, make sure the car is put through a body shop is diamond certified through the insurance agency. Often top of the line body shops have a farmers insurance agency on their premises. Best of luck with the repairs, sue that asshat!