There is a road test now. Until recently you drove a quarter mile on a 'parking lot', parallel parked, performed a 3 point turn, reversed about 200ft in a straight line, and performed a complete stop at a stop sign.

Now they take you out on public streets, as well as the 'parking lot' test.

 

Thank god for that. Seriously the stuff I had to do in driving school was more difficult than the old driving test out here. Hopefully we'll see some improvement on the roads out here. On a side note I had a class with someone who seriously thought stop signs were "a suggestion". He really thought you didn't have to stop unless there was someone else at the intersection. Needless to say he couldn't figure out why he was always getting tickets.

 

Yeah, but think of all the people that were *grandfathered* in and never had to take that test!

 

Well got my estimate. Total is $5350, they are going to replace the front bumper, fender, door, fix the hood, replace fender well and wheel and suspension. I am not going to authorize the work until I see this in person. I'm having a hard time believing that the axel and lower control arm were undamaged. Also the fuse box was pushed over which means that the engine bay was affected by the impact. Not to mention any issues involving the transmissions internals since it was on that side of the car. I have a sneaking suspicion they didn't do a thorough estimate.

 

once they start removing all the damaged parts they will find any other damage that may be hidden. I'd say get it fixed then start shopping for a mini.

 

Yea, they'll pull things off and look for any supplemental damamge. They can't do a full estimate without getting parts off the car which they don't do for the initial estimate. What is the value of the car and which state do you live in?

 

Assuming he bought it new, and thus it's an '05. And he drives the "average" annual mileage. Its value is somewhere between $8,500 and $9,500. In his first post he says he is from Maryland.

 

Wow, apparently I shouldn't post on one cup of coffee. I definately should have realized both those things.

Total loss laws in MD say that damage has to reach about 75% of the car's value before they total it, so you would be looking at $7,125 worth of damage on the high end or $6,375 on the low end depending on how the insurance company values the car and what their TL policy is. You're close... but not quite. I'm not sure what the policy of totalling a vehicle after they have begun tear-down or repair work is...

 

I have to see what geico is claiming the value is but from my calculations I came up with the same numbers. Ho and it's an 03. I bought it in 05 (low miles too ).

 

Awesome that s for the info. The guy I am dealing with said they did a tear down and thats how he came up with the $5350. However, I don't think they did a thorough job considering that the fuse box (in the engine bay) was pushed towards the engine. I am bringing my mechanic tomorrow to go over the car just to make sure.

 

So you gonna fix it? No MINI? :(

 

I'm going to try my best to get it totaled, but if they insist on fixing it i'll just sell it ASAP. On on lighter note, I went in to extend my rental on a dodge caliber (terrible ride by the way), and the enterprise guy totally hooked me up. I noticed a sign saying mercedes rentals on weekends for 55 bucks a day (the enterprise was at a mercedes dealer) however Geico only pays up to 30 a day. So I asked how long the special was because i was interest in renting for a day in the near future maybe, and he offered me the benz for the 30 bucks Geico would pay instead of the usual 55. Needless to say I totally jumped at opportunity and considering I hated the Dodge's CVT transmission, this car was a huge improvement. He also extended the offer for the entire week. I know they're only doing this to get me hooked on the benz so that i'll buy one, but nothing is getting me distracted from my Mini.

Side note: When do the 2011 MINIs come out. i was under the impression august, but someone told me january.