REAR ENDED!!! (again)

[gbishop]

Would you believe, 2nd time in two months, rearended while stopped at a red light.
THIS TIME I was pushed into the truck in front of me-a MINI sandwich .
AARGH!!!!!
Noone was injured but Ike, it could of been worse, but he's looking kind of pitiful. His newly painted bumper is badly scratched and could be cracked, I can't tell in the dark. He is still sporting some of the red paint of the %$&# Dodge Caravan that tried to run up his a$$. He has a hole in the front bumper from the hitch of the Toyota Tacoma he was pushed into and a dented bonnet directly on the MINI emblem.
Good grief!!!!
Common thread here...mini van drivers on the phone....

[wandrur]

That's terrible to hear!! You didn't break a mirror recently, did you? Seriously, though, I'm so sorry. I hope the damage isn't horrible. I'm assuming this will be an insurance repair, yes? Some people...

[aprilrain51]

Oh NO!!!!! Poor Ike and Ike's owner. Will he be able to go on the Toys for Tots Run?

[gbishop]

Hopefully I'll hear from the Dodge Caravans insurance soon, and hopefully Ike will not have to spend too much time out of commission. With the holiday though, it will be no small miracle if he's recovered from his injuries by Toy for Tots weekend. I was soooooo looking forward to Toys for Tots, I may have to bum a MINI ride, though, as I'm afraid I can't caravan in a rental.... I am so sad....

[Popeye]

g,
So Sorry to hear about this! Dang! Glad nobody (except Ike) was hurt! If ya need anything holler.

[Juiceman]

Been their done that see my gallery.

[gbishop]

Well, here are the pics.... Not near as devestating as yours Juiceman, but still sad.....Note the red paint still stuck to the bumper. The cut out hole in the front bumper is where I was pushed into the hitch of the Tacoma in front of me.. Best I can tell, the MINI emblem on the bonnet was pushed in by the light fixture on the Tacoma that shines on the license plate (didn't touch the hood scoop, guess thats one thing to smile about). The Tacomas bumper was just sort of pushed under, not even a dent. The Dodge Caravan that caused the accident had so many dents, dings and scrapes, I couldn't tell if it made much difference.

I have to say after both stupid accidents, Ike is a tough little car, could of been worse.

[Juiceman]

Yep it sucks to be in an accident.

[oldbunratty]

So, is that first photo of the boot hatch? Hope the hatch door didn't get damages - from my experience that's $$. Glad to hear everyone is safe!

[crews]

Originally Posted by aprilrain51

Oh NO!!!!! Poor Ike and Ike's owner. Will he be able to go on the Toys for Tots Run?

When are the mini's doing the toys for tots?

My husband and I usually do the motorcycle run on his Goldwing, but we have a party to be at at the same time this year.

[aprilrain51]

The MINIs are doing the Toys for Tots on Saturday, December 6th starting from the old Benton Airport. Start gathering at 8:00 am and leave at 10:00 to drive to LR. There is a thread on this forum with more info, I believe. Come join us. We do this in conjunction with the Dixie Car Club. You will get to see a lot of neat cars.

[aprilrain51]

Well, I guess there is not a thread about it Click on the link on the www.motoringamok.com web page and it tells everything.

[aprilrain51]

I am just messing up all around here. There is not info there, after all. Will try to get a thread started with all the info.

[gbishop]

The 1st pic is the bumper. It seems the hatch is ok. The back bumper is pushed in quite a bit, the exhausts stick out from under that trim back there waaay more than they used to. Ike has developed a horrible rattle in the rear which we have determined must be a bent heat shield?
The Dodge Caravans insurance, not to call names (Farmers) finally returned my call today and took my statement. When I asked what kind of time frame we were looking at on repairs, the adjuster tells me that since he hadn't been able to get in touch with his policy holder, I will have to wait until liability had been determined. ??? ??? The accident was Friday, its Tuesday and she has so far refused to give my insurance company a statement AND return her insurance companies calls. The adjuster actually asked me to fax him my copy of the police report so he didn't have to order one. He told me I might hear from him within the next week to 10 days and to please see to it that I not damage my vehicle any more than it was at the time of our phone call.... HMMM...that won't be a problem, IF I can steer clear of idiot mini van drivers on the phone....
Ok, those of you who are unfortunate enough to have gone through something similar...it looks as though this might be drug out at my expense...Is there a time frame that this lady and her insurance company have to act within? She was cited for careless driving and the report states that I and the car in front of me were stopped at the light when she hit me. She states she didn't see me in time to stop. She's liable, right?

[Popeye]

G,
I don't know about time limits, but I can tell you that she is liable. She hit you in the rear and was ticketed for it, you bet she's liable. Do you know any attorneys? If you do and they won't charge you, ask them if they would write a letter on their letterhead asking for prompt service, single mother, needs her car, etc. That usually has an effect! Good Luck!

[vargasgal]

I had the same issue with my wreck. Both of us had State Farm. I had the wreck in September 07. The car didn't get cleared to go to the shop until almost Thanksgiving!!!!

First the ins. co told me they were waiting for the woman who hit me to call back and give a report. About two weeks later, they woman gave her report. A week goes by with no info so I call. I was told we were waiting for some witness to call back. After a week or two of waiting, I offered to go find the witness and have him call back (he worked at the Costco across the street from my work). The adjuster seems confused for a minute and tells me she didn't have a man listed as a witness, she had a woman.

I quickly tell her that the only woman at the scene was a friend of the MINI molestor and had admitted to not seeing the wreck. The so-called "witness" was never interviewed by the cops, but the Costco guy was. Sadly, the cops didn't feel it was necessary to write the actual witness' name, or anything else he said, in the accident report. That really worried me, but strangely enough, within an hour of the he/she witness conversation, I was cleared to go to the body shop! Six weeks later, Foxy came home for Christmas.

As to the liability, I am not sure what the laws are in AR, but I believe you could be liable for the damages to the truck in front of you. I think they can get you for not leaving enough room between you and him. In the end, it will probably depend on how the cops wrote up the report (how fast the woman behind you was traveling, how far they estimate she pushed you, if they think you left a safe distance between you and the truck) as to who is pays for that.

Originally Posted by gbishop

The Dodge Caravans insurance, not to call names (Farmers) finally returned my call today and took my statement. When I asked what kind of time frame we were looking at on repairs, the adjuster tells me that since he hadn't been able to get in touch with his policy holder, I will have to wait until liability had been determined. ??? ??? The accident was Friday, its Tuesday and she has so far refused to give my insurance company a statement AND return her insurance companies calls. The adjuster actually asked me to fax him my copy of the police report so he didn't have to order one. He told me I might hear from him within the next week to 10 days and to please see to it that I not damage my vehicle any more than it was at the time of our phone call.... HMMM...that won't be a problem, IF I can steer clear of idiot mini van drivers on the phone....

[oldbunratty]

Time to okay your claim: I had a similar experience to vargasgal, with it taking more than a month to get the okay from other driver's insurance to take my MINI to the shop. If it takes less than a month, you are probably doing well.

Liability: If the only driver who was cited at the scene was the person who hit you, I wouldn't worry about being liable to the driver ahead of you. Unless there's something to substantiate a claim against you (and likely there is not because you were not cited, and the police report even notes your MINI and the car in front were stopped), then liability will be with the driver who hit you and forced your MINI into the car ahead. In a pre-MINI accident, I got knocked into the car ahead of me at a red light by a rear-ender, and there was never any question (by police or insurance cos) that the only one liable was the driver who sandwiched me against the car ahead.

[gbishop]

Good idea, Popeye. Hehe, think I will contact my attorney friend who usually sends out one of those "heard you were in an accident letters" maybe that will light a fire under somebody. Interesting that it was just yesterday that I talked to the "MINI molestors" (love that) insurance adjuster and after he took a recorded statement from me, HE asked ME to fax him a copy of the police report so he wouldn't have to order one...TODAY, he doesn't have any idea who I am, tells me that the claim number I have is not a valid claim number and acts as though it is the 1st time he has heard about this accident. Dear God, its like the MINI Twilight Zone...He did eventually come around, but was incredibly defensive and all I wanted to know was if he got my fax and if he had heard from his insured. (Which he has not, %^&$# )
I did ask my insurance company today how this worked. I was told that it is very common for someone liable to become "unavailable" after an "at-fault" accident, but legally the insurance company has about 30days to get in touch with their insured, then they are required to take care of things. I was also told I could go ahead and file with my collision coverage, get the car fixed and then they would go after her insurance and would win based on that police report. Just not sure I want to risk my insurance company looking at me any closer....
This is going to get interesting...but I ain't going away...Ike will be avenged...

[Popeye]

GO FOR IT G. Kick some "MINI" van Butt!

[gbishop]

Dodge Caravans insurance finally called today accepting full liability for Ike and truck Ike hit.
NOW, comes the fun part, getting them to shell out the bucks it'll take to get him looking good again.