Came out from lunch to find this...
 

Some old asshole let his RV roll into the side of my car.

Awesomeness.

http://www.msprotege.com/members/turbolife/hit%202.jpg

http://www.msprotege.com/members/turbolife/hit%201.jpg

Nice Wheels!


Did you catch the guy, or hit and run?

get his info?

If I ever get a terminal disease I'm going to start executing people who are this dumb and careless.

I've already told myself that if that happens, I'm going to buy a fucking barge, some big old Delta88 or Impala, and go around driving on the offensive. I will mind the rules of the road, but will not brake for dumbfucks that jump out in front of me, will let blinkerless vehicles change lanes right into me, and all the other stuff that won't get me a ticket, but will get them on the phone with their insurance company explaining that they're a dumbass and have to pay a deductible.

Thanks guys, yes, the guy was nice enough to call the police, he was waiting as I came out.

Just put some Flexes on the other week too, can't even enjoy them now!

Trepidatious so to see what the damage tally comes to.

At least my insurance is going to subjugate him for the deductible, at least they are going to push for that. We shall see.

This may be something that varies from state to state, but on each of the three occasions that I've been hit (once in FL, twice in OH), I've not even bothered contacting my own insurance company. I've simply gone through the insurance company of the other driver, submitted a repair estimate from the shop of my choosing, and received a check.

+1 on not calling your own insurance

There is no reason for them to be involved unless the other driver doesn't have insurance. If that were the case I'd take them to small claims and pay out of pocket until I saw something from them.

Dont call your insurance, its all on his insurance now.

Look at the bright side, after a new fender, new door skin, popped rear quarter and full respray your car is gonna be mint.

Too late, already called.

Wasn't sure what to do, never been in this situation before. The officer suggested calling my insurance with the other parties info so they can hash it out.

Hopefully I didn't screw myself.


Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd, it has a fresh respray already :(

Damn, that's probably going to be close to a total the way insurance companies value our cars. I'd guess it will be close to $2K with the damage to the rear quarter when you get an actual estimate from a body shop. No easy fix and you will have body filler. Bummer.

As long as you dont claim with your insurance you are fine. You just have to make sure your insurance calls his insurance and gets money from them.

If you pay a deductible to your insurance company and they write you a check, your insurance premium will go up.

Then I am good.

The guy I spoke to at my agent was actually the guy that runs it.

The other parties insurance is covering it, and they are going to subjugate the guy to pay any deductible that he has too, so none of it is covered out of my pocket.

Stein - I am also worried about them trying to total it.

Yeah, all the other parts are bolt-ons, but that rear quarter is gonna take some effort to get right.

If it were me, I'd at least have a conversation with the shop about cutting out and welding in a donor section, rather than trying to pull it out and reshape it with body filler. Check with a place that does restoration work with older cars rather than a typical Maaco-type place that does nothing but insurance work.

And I will say it again...our cars are too small and they get lost behind larger cars in parking lots.

Got to park away from everyone else.

I'd be suprised if it wasn't a total loss.

A VW Golf is a compact car.

it'll be close, but that rear quarter panel doesn't look that bad. They should be able to pull it out with a stud welder/puller to get it pretty close, then fill with a skim of filler. A good shop should be able to do that with very little filler.

New door, new fender, respray, and you're golden.

Agreed. Any more, most body shops are R&R shops as they can get the most $ per hour. Things that need real body work are tougher to find a good shop for. That may also influence some shops estimates. They throw a bunch of money at hoping that they can either A: not get the work, B: get enough to make it worth their while or C: farm that part out and still make a margin.

If it is close to "totaled", and you feel confident in doing so, ask about a split repair. You replace the fender, door and quarter on your own, and then the body shop does the respray.

You should be able to find good panels for low $$$ and with a couple hours of your own effort, seriously cut the cost of the repair.

- L

Unless the OP has a TIG welder (and a lot of experience doing thin sheet metal) replacing the rear quarter is going to be a job for the pros. It's not a bolt-on item.

The front fender and door would still be good ones to procure separately and hand over to the shop. If they're different colors, I'd suggest bringing them over separately, as it'll be far easier to re-spray them in the proper color if they're not attached to the car.

I'm pretty sure that rear quarter is spot welded in. Don't think a TIG is needed for that :)

Good point- I was thinking along the lines of cutting out just the damaged section. But I suppose you just just drill out all the spot welds and take the whole piece.

Re-installing it onto the car would still require a welder of some kind. I've no idea if the gun-type spot-welding attachments you sometimes see are adequate for this sort of work or now.

I'd be damn tempted to try and automotive panel adhesive if you end up replacing the quarter. Wouldn't have to worry about damaging the existing paint or any warping either. Have the 1/4 panel painted off the car, then glue the bitch back on.

Quarter panel isn't structural? I would have thought if it's welded it adds to the structure of the unibody.

I am perfectly comfy getting a painted fender or door to fit properly, helped assemble a few friend's classic cars (most of my friend's are Chevy/Ford guys), but damned if I am confident enough to deal with the rear quarter.

Plan is to take it to a local shop a friend had his car done at, they did great work and do tons of restorations and higher end stuff.

We shall see what the future holds, I am most worried about the insurance trying to write it off and dealing with that hassle.

It took awhle to find a chassis w/no rust, and nice paint...I don't want to have to start over.

<Thread Jack>
Question, my car is salvaged. If this would of happened to me, how would the insurance value the repair on the car?
</Thead Jack>

I'm so scared of someone hitting my car :(

I am going to start bringing some road cones and some police tape and surrounding my car with it everywhere I park.

A good shop can work miracles. I was reended by a frined when I was stopped and he was going 35-40. Frame rail crumpled. Quarter panel folded. Trunk wouldn't open/close. Whole rear end was twisted. It was bad. for 5800 it came out like new. Insurance claimed the car's value to be 6000. It was a close one. Don't worry though, that doesn't look so bad at all.

Here is what mine looked like after the accident.

Yes, I looked at the frame diagrams, the rear quarter panels are structural, you don't replace them.

Got an estimate today, $2044.88 in damages.

Check was already cut, she'll be back.

Now to decide if I buy some over fenders while its in paint...

Wow, I guessed that within $45. Glad to hear it's going to work out for you.

What are you talking about? The quarter panel is absolutely replaceable. Call a Mazda Dealer and get the part number. Is it bolt on? No, but that doesn't mean it can't be replaced. A body shop can and will replace it for you.

Having looked at it, I don't think it is. The inner structure that the 1/4 panel attaches too is, but the outer is just spot welded on.

Seriously, good call man!

Buuuut, they forgot to put in the damaged mirror and mirror glass, so you were a biiiit more off. Damn close though man!

Good call.

From the NA collision guide:

http://img29.picoodle.com/img/img29/...rm_3acc102.png

could have been alot worse he could have just left .