CabDriver Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 (edited) My wife’s Apple Watch messaged me on my drive home (!) and told me she was involved in an accident - and she called me right after…it also called the police and an ambulance for her too! All ok, a kid in a Fusion blew through a light and took her out - he had his hood on his hooded sweatshirt up and said he didn’t see her OR the light 🙄 I told the officer I bet that little Civic probably would start up and get itself out of everyone’s way if he wanted me to try, but he didn’t - they already had a tow truck coming Lucky it wasn’t more serious - she’s 100% fine, just shaken. Curious if the insurance company will total it now, or if we’ll get it back? That thing will probably be good for another 100k miles if they think it’s worth repairing… Edited February 23, 2023 by CabDriver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 The Lovely Mrs. Snake was in a fender-bender similar to this about a month ago. Completely destroyed the right front fender and headlight bucket (and a very small dent in the right side of the hood) but--and I'm not sure how--left the front bumper and grille completely intact. The bill was over 6K (2015 Honda Civic). No talk of totaling it. The local Honda shop did an excellent job of fixing it and I think it now runs better than ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted February 23, 2023 Author Share Posted February 23, 2023 36 minutes ago, Snake45 said: The Lovely Mrs. Snake was in a fender-bender similar to this about a month ago. Completely destroyed the right front fender and headlight bucket (and a very small dent in the right side of the hood) but--and I'm not sure how--left the front bumper and grille completely intact. The bill was over 6K (2015 Honda Civic). No talk of totaling it. The local Honda shop did an excellent job of fixing it and I think it now runs better than ever. Interesting! I wouldn’t be totally disappointed if they DIDN’T total it - it’s been a great reliable car, and I did a bunch of maintenance on it last year to take care of some of the little jobs it was due to have done (valve train maintenance, coolant system flush, brakes, tires, new battery, trans fluid, oil change and so on…). I doubt we’d get enough back from the insurance company to get another one as good. I wonder if, being a 2010 model they may err on the side of it not being worth a bunch of work - the radiator puked all over the floor, definitely needs a hood, headlamp, bumper, driver’s door, new steering wheel (the airbag deployed), and the muffler was dragging on the ground as they towed it, plus it looks like it’ll need some work on the front suspension given the new ‘stanced’ camber angle on just one corner. Guess we’ll see! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 (edited) 1) Really glad your wife's OK. If she'd been punched in the door that hard, it would be another story. 2) It'll total. There's almost certainly heavy structural damage when there's that much suspension damage. I look at this stuff every day, and I'm 99.98273% sure it's a goner. (The "total" dollar threshold is typically around 70% of the market value of the car; when the estimated repair cost goes over that, you're done.) 3) I'd be pretty mad about the mindless destruction of a perfectly good little car. Edited February 23, 2023 by Ace-Garageguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted February 23, 2023 Author Share Posted February 23, 2023 19 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said: 1) Really glad your wife's OK. If she'd been punched in the door that hard, it would be another story. 2) It'll total. There's almost certainly heavy structural damage when there's that much suspension damage. I look at this stuff every day, and I'm 99.98273% sure it's a goner. 3) I'd be pretty mad about the mindless destruction of a perfectly good little car. Thank you! I’m not sure how hard of a hit it was, but it was enough to push her all the way across the intersection and into the curb on the other side where she ended up (and where the bumper ended up in the pics there). Apparently the airbag tripped as she hit that curb suddenly rather than at the time of the impact, and it looked like the front wheel has been pushed back towards the drivers door a coupla three inches. Although the windshield was intact and in-place, the A pillar had a noticeable ripple in it or a little tweak which I’m sure wouldn’t be the easiest to fix…I guess if they were determined enough, about everything else COULD just be bolted on. Poor little thing - it just passed 175,000 miles and ran like a champ in all seasons - I’d bet on it being good for another 100,000 if some idiot didn’t manage to not see an entire car blocking the piece of road they were trying to get to… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 (edited) I can tell both frame rails are "swung" to the right just from the position of the bumper reinforcement. The LH apron is toast too (that's what the suspension strut hangs on), the "core support" (supports the radiator, AC condenser, hood, lights, etc) is history, and on and on. You can't just "pull" the structural damage out. You pull it first, then drill out dozens of spot-welds, remove the damaged parts, and build the structure back up from new parts, all spot-welded back together like the factory did it (which it never really is). It's major surgery, and has to be done right, or the car's occupant safety "crush" impact energy management won't be there if it gets hit again. Edited February 23, 2023 by Ace-Garageguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted February 23, 2023 Author Share Posted February 23, 2023 11 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said: I can tell both frame rails are "swung" to the right just from the position of the bumper reinforcement. The LH apron is toast too (that's what the suspension strut hangs on), the "core support" (supports the radiator, AC condenser, hood, lights, etc) is history, and on and on. You can't just "pull" the structural damage out. You pull it first, then drill out dozens of spot-welds, remove the damaged parts, and build the structure back up from new parts, all spot-welded back together like the factory did it (which it never really is). It's major surgery, and has to be done right, or the car's occupant safety "crush" impact energy management won't be there if it gets hit again. As always, your insight and experience are appreciated Bill - always thankful to hear from someone with your knowledge and expertise! That car even made a good snowplow one time when we got hit with a foot of snow between me getting to work and me (belatedly) deciding I ought get out of there before it got REALLY bad…this is on the HIGHWAY right by where I work, and I successfully made it home in that hardly little Honda that day even if I did get it stuck once…didn’t even have snow tires on, at the time! If I was smarter I would’ve slept at the shop that night, but it wasn’t quite this bad until I was too far committed to turn back and surrender 🤪 A great car! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 Yup, they're great little cars. If I was looking for something quick and reliable for reasonable money, that's one that would top my list. It really makes me sad to see it wrecked, and to know it's a write-off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 Parts availability can figure into it also. I have heard and read about instances where a car was totalled because some of the needed parts weren't readily available, and the insurance company didn't want to pay for a rental car in the interim. My niece had the opposite happen some years back. Her couple of years old Cavalier got smacked pretty much like the Honda pictured. It should have been totalled, the collision shop doing the estimate understated it so they wouldn't lose the repair job. Once they tore into it, they "found" "additional damage" that, had it been reported along with the original damage, would have resulted in a total loss. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyK Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 Glad your wife is ok. Gotta be shaken after an event like this and I always feel bad when an innocent person has to go through this because of some idiot. As you point out, the loss of a car that you really like and all the hassle you now have to go through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamsuperdan Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 Well that sucks. Glad it was just the car damaged and that wifey is okay. I agree with the others, that is unfortunately a write off. Even without frame damage, there's enough body damage there, and the reality is, an older Civic just isn't valued highly. No matter how clean the car is/was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Nunes Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 Glad to see that your wife is all right after this accident. A senseless accident that could have been much worse. Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 What did the other car look like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 Just make sure the other drivers insurance company gives you full retail value for your car if it's totaled. You shouldn't have to pay any deductible since it was the other driver's fault. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 As others have said, the main thing is that the wife is ok.Sometimes you do get aches and pains a day or two later. It happened to my wife years ago. She was in a 2 year old Mercury Villager and was struck while stopped by a Ford Explorer going 40. Guy never tried to stop. She was fine. A day or 2 later lots of aches and pains. Count your blessings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbdolfans Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 Hi, I saw your post and got to thinking. Boy, is that dangerous !! I was in a wreck that totaled my 1994 Crown Vic. A friend of mine said I could buy back the car from the other insurance company. I don't know if that is feasible or not. Might be worth looking into if you still want the car. George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoke Wagon Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 4 hours ago, Zen said: What did the other car look like? Before the wreck, probably neglected and unwashed, trash strewn across the dash. One of those folks you see on the road who make you wonder if the DMV gave them a license out of pity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted February 24, 2023 Author Share Posted February 24, 2023 Thanks for all the nice comments everyone!! We’re struggling to get a claim started properly with the insurance company because the local PD didn’t supply an incident number yet…guess I’m gonna be doing some additional driving this week until we get a loaner. The other car didn’t look quite as bad as ours…but not too good either: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted February 24, 2023 Share Posted February 24, 2023 1 hour ago, CabDriver said: The other car didn’t look quite as bad as ours…but not too good either... His mommy is going to ground him for at least a week for that, and maybe cut his allowance. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackSheep214 Posted February 24, 2023 Share Posted February 24, 2023 The lid had his hood up and didn't see her or the light? Sounds like there's more to it. Wouldn't be surprised if he was texting as well. I sometimes wear my hood up on my hoodie sweatshirt while driving but never to block my vision. Then again... teen drivers especially when they finally get their first driver's license are inexperienced. Glad to hear she's ok. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted February 24, 2023 Author Share Posted February 24, 2023 8 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said: His mommy is going to ground him for at least a week for that, and maybe cut his allowance. 1 hour ago, BlackSheep214 said: The lid had his hood up and didn't see her or the light? Sounds like there's more to it. Wouldn't be surprised if he was texting as well. I sometimes wear my hood up on my hoodie sweatshirt while driving but never to block my vision. Then again... teen drivers especially when they finally get their first driver's license are inexperienced. Glad to hear she's ok. You can just see him and his young lady friend in the background in that pic of the Fusion, sauntering over to Baskin Robbins for some ice cream whilst the police and the tow truck sort out that nasty mess they made - thank God they were close to somewhere where they could get a snack and a coffee after all that ghastly business 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted February 24, 2023 Share Posted February 24, 2023 52 minutes ago, CabDriver said: You can just see him and his young lady friend in the background in that pic of the Fusion, sauntering over to Baskin Robbins for some ice cream whilst the police and the tow truck sort out that nasty mess they made - thank God they were close to somewhere where they could get a snack and a coffee after all that ghastly business 😁 Had to get out of the weather, get warm, calm his PTSD symptoms, then call mom to tell her "the car wrecked", after which she called the family lawyer to sue the companies that made and sold the hoodie. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webestang Posted February 24, 2023 Share Posted February 24, 2023 So glad your wife is OK. Good luck with the insurance. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobthehobbyguy Posted February 24, 2023 Share Posted February 24, 2023 Glad your wife is OK. The unfortunate thing is every time you get in your car these days you have to run a gauntlet of stupid people. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted February 24, 2023 Author Share Posted February 24, 2023 2 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said: Had to get out of the weather, get warm, calm his PTSD symptoms, then call mom to tell her "the car wrecked", after which she called the family lawyer to sue the companies that made and sold the hoodie. Oh, I'm absolutely waiting to hear that he'll find a way to blame my wife somehow and have his insurance company play hardball...I made a specific point of getting contact details for both of the officers on the scene and written confirmation from them that they considered him to be 100% at fault, with no blame attributable to my wife. I had someone rear end me at a stop sign a few years back...I was waiting my turn, and a guy was texting and failed to see me, OR the stop sign, or the 4-lane highway he would've blown onto, blind, if he hadn't met the back of my little Yaris that I had at the time. Cops estimated he was probably going 50 or so, he didn't even attempt to brake...he told his insurance company after the event that I "rolled back into him" and hit HIM. I did a good job of it too - totaled both our cars and smashed his windshield from the inside when his iPhone flew out of his hand and hit it 🤔 Being honest and honorable seems increasingly be a lost personality trait... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.