+1. But perhaps ghamma meant it in the sense that the CM has 4 wheels, windows, and doors.

 

My CM All4 was basically sideswiped while parked on the street. This was in May. Had all 3 panels damaged and a support brace. Amazingly the internals were not damaged, sot he CM definitely has good structural integrity. With lack of parts for the car it was about 6 weeks before I got my CM back. At least insurance let me go to a BMW Auto Body shop. All in all 11k in damages, but the car looks great again.

 

Hey - did you guys know the CM was a top safety pick for 2011?

 

Thanks for sharing your experience. 6 weeks, eh? I'm close to that now with no end in sight. The Niello Collision body shop doing the work is affiliated with 12 high-end dealerships in the Sacramento, CA area including two BMW and one MINI. My insurance company had no problem with them doing the work, but they did not have an established relationship so any post-work warranty issues are totally between me and the shop. My contact is their most experienced estimator, and he's much better at this game than I am (first collision repair). I'm hoping for a good final result, but the prospects of that happening any time soon are fading.

 

If you've been watching the MINI JCW WRC being thrashed on back roads around the world, you can see how strong the basic Countryman structure is. In my case, I have photos of what's left after you take off the broken bits, and the car structure is obviously just as sturdy as it feels when driving. As I recall, one of the safety tests used was loading up the roof - they stopped at 5,000 pounds with no damage. Amazing.

 

I've watched a bit of the WRC stuff. In fact, when I'm in traffic, I imagine that I'm doing that instead.

Other features cited in the safety pick was the maneuverability and traction control.

I should mention that I got trapped in an intersection yesterday (I wasn't box blocking - it was one of those intersections where two lanes turn left, and the guy in front of me slammed on the brakes and got stuck trying to go in to the right lane). A couple of seconds later, when the light turned, a trucker waiting on the cross street hit the gas hard and was looking right over my car. I laid in on the horn and he noticed me, but I almost got a semi right in the driver door.

Good to know they hold up so well. *gulp*

 

UPDATE:

I've tried to summarize the repair process so far:

Day 1 - crash - MINI Roadside Assistance tows the MINI Cooper S Countryman ALL4 to Niello MINI in Sacramento, CA.
Day 2 - MINI towed to Niello Collision in Sacramento, CA.
Day 3 - Initial repair estimate of $7,696 from Niello, repair to be completed in two weeks (Day 15)
Day 12 - MINI torn down - additional damage found.
Day 13 - New repair estimate over $12,000 and two more weeks needed for repair
Day 14 Ordering parts authorized, repair to be completed Day 30
Day 17 $12,018, all parts ordered (expected Day 18), repair to be completed Day 34
...
Day 32 Niello reported some needed parts were coming out of Germany, expected Day 41, repair to be completed Day 44
Day 38 Niello reported waiting on one part coming out of Germany, no ETA.
Day 40 Neillo reported 3 parts due Day 41, 1 part due Day 44, 1 (last) part has no ETA
Day 41 Niello reported last part due Day 47, repair to be completed Day 48. Insurance rental car runs out Day 41, Niello volunteers to pay for rental car until repair completion

 

Fenton is back!

We took the train from the SF Bay Area to Sacramento to pick him up. An additional note was a surprise increase of $1,379 in the repair cost. It seems they hadn't noticed that the right adaptive xenon headlight system was missing from the car until the final fitting (it was thrown clear across the road). Amazing.

Final score: 47 days, $13,398 and everything seems to be back as it was - except:

Looking over the car I found three chrome trim strips that have failed - ends shrunk, sides loose, end loose. Next stop at my dealer to join the party - what will their story on fixes be?

Hopefully this will be a useful narrative if others get in a similar fix. The final cost seems dangerously close to declaring the car totaled, but the way events proceeded that didn't happen. I don't know if that's a good thing. I do know that the CM4 is an incredibly strong vehicle and I'm not worried about the result from a driving standpoint.

 

glad you got it back, helpfully the repair shop did a great job.

 

I am so happy that Fenton is home and the family is reunited at last! Please, please don't forget to fight for those depreciation dollars with your insurance company. it is a very valid request.

 

I too am relieved you have your little buddy back. I'd like to hear your assessment of the workmanship quality. More to the point, how does Fenton handle? Any pulling to the side, vibration, or creeks that weren't there before this happened? Do the doors match up properly? How about the paint...does it match and is it without feathering where it was blended in with the undamaged area?

 

You can't compare the standard road car to a bodyshell built for rallying, the WRC CM is seam welded, braced, fitted with a roll cage, everything is beefed up, to the point where they only look the same.

Personally I would have made a plee to get the car written off, this accident is going to kill your resale value.

 

you can ask for diminished value, but no insurance company will total a car out for less than 60% of the value, let alone around the 40% where he is at.

hell my last accident they paid to fix it, ended up at 87% of the value.

 

Works different in Norway then, I refused to have my 6 month old Mercedes fixed after being rear-ended, it wasn't even close to totalled, my company fought for me, it was the other guys fault so his company paid out.

 

I asked for documentation for the body/frame alignment and the four-wheel alignment - all within specification. No vibration, pulling, creaks, etc. Everything matches.

Nothing out of the ordinary in handling, everything in alignment, paint is indistinguishable from new, no blending issues.

I'm left with a little bit noisier engine - I think I'll check for an exhaust leak.

 

I've seen the videos of the Prodrive development of the WRC MINI and I have the photos of my CM4 stripped down in the front end. While the WRC is a made-to-purpose vehicle, the two in the areas I reviewed are indistinguishable.

Admittedly they insert a roll cage and provide for an alternative suspension attachment at the rear, in the front they're very close - both very strong.

My observations from being inside when part was torn off pretty much confirm it - no real structural members were modified by the crash.

 

Well, Fenton's got his new livery - white top and white bonnet stripes. He's also getting mud flaps (I'm hoping to cut down on the brake/tire dust on the sides), hatch opening bumper protection, and skid plate under the engine.

 

 

Nice looking CM.

Your whole again. Don't it feel great?

 

Thanks for the complement. It's a lot of fun to not be driving the rental HHR any more.

 

So sorry for Fenton! Here you just had the stripes and the white top done and boom! Glad you are OK. What a bummer though!

 

Actually, the sequence was BOOM then fix then white top and stripes.

 

Nicely done, I do like the classic white top and stripes combo.

It appears they did a fine job on the repair.

Don

 

Ok ghamma, now I figured out how this thread business works, I thought page one was most recent...duh...!!!! Can't wait for my twin to Fenton, just a few more days!!