I'm hoping for some ideas/suggestions as to things I should do during this experience.

After over two months of service my Mini was wrecked during it's final test drive by a technician.

I took a look at it today, and authorized them to take it to their body shop to estimate the damage.

It was a 2007 Cooper S that just had a ton of out of warranty work done on it (timing chain, head work, etc.), along with a replacement of the temperature sensor and some other odds and ends.

Assuming that they don't just call it totalled and write me a check for the KBB value, what are my options? I know if it's repaired it's still going to be considered a crashed vehicle and that it's value has plummeted.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. So far (and during the repair process), the dealership has been good, so I'm running under the assumption they aren't trying to screw me, but want to make sure that I'm taking care of my interests as well!

Thanks,

Terminal

 

Do you get to punch the person responsible?

So sorry to hear.

 

Thanks Wandrur!

The guy who crashed was the same one who has worked on it through all it's problems in the past two months. If I thought it was negligence or that they were hooning it around I'd be pissed, as it is I think it was just an unfortunate accident.

Terminal

 

Based on what I can see from the picture, I am surprised that the car has not been declared a total loss. Personally, I would "hope" that the car is declared as such.

Perhaps this is a chance to buy a "new" one and maybe this dealer can work out a deal for you. There is a member here who works as an insurance claims adjuster, hopefully he will chime in soon.

Bummer for the accident, best of luck.

P.S. Have you already checked what your car may be worth from Edmund's, KBB, NADA, etc.??

 

Son of a... looks very much like mine. I've never heard of a test drive crash actually occuring, but I'd be out of my mind, even though mistakes do happen .

Whatever happens, I wish you the best with the sharks. There are other insurance threads on here (not that old) where folks talked about loss of value after a crash, and I'm sure what was said there would pertain here. If you need assistance finding it let me know.

Keep us updated. Hopefully MINI will treat you like a first class citizen here, assuming it was a MINI dealership in the first place.

Good luck

 

Well, They should drop the cost of the out of warranty work you had done and repair it for free. That should be the minimum IMO... if they don't write it off altogether... Looks to be totaled to me though...

You might also request that they give you the extended maintenance and/or extended warranty in addition to that...

You might as well ask them what they would give you in trade for it towards a new MINI. You may not want the monthly payment, but I doubt there's any other time that you'll get a better discount.

 

Maybe its just me or I'm not following someplace, but it just looks like a new hood.. maybe bumper is needed to replace everything. I'm going off the attached picture of the white mini that was posted.

 

Thanks for the input guys, keep it coming!

My original post was getting long, but I should have mentioned that apart from the thermostat work done on the car that the out of warranty stuff was covered by Mini USA (there was some timing chain issues while it was in warranty, and the mileage wasn't that far over 50k).

Part of the reason for the long repair time was the back and forth between the dealership and Mini USA for the goodwill repair.

Incidentally it is a Mini dealership that is in view here - and during my history with them they've been pretty good to me.


Terminal

 

A few more images showing some more damage.

 

Unless there is frame damage or they need to put it on a frame machine for any reason, I highly doubt they will total it out. Also depends on how much you owe on the car as well. It really doesnt look to bad from the outside, I was expecting it to be mangled. I know the airbag and stuff is gonna be expensive but they will prolly just fix it. I was involved in a wreck a few years ago to the tune of 15k dollars and they still fixed it. Just my .02 cents.

 

My guess is that they will total it. That would probably be the best outcome. I would be doing my homework now to find out what your car is worth so that when you get the call from the insurance adjuster, you'll be ready to negotiate.

Otherwise, you're looking at a month or two of getting it fixed. I assume they're providing a loaner. While you can certainly ask for additional compensation and diminished value, I doubt they'll be receptive.

- Mark

 

Being an '07 with mid-high miles it could be totaled. I call dibs on the headlights I hope it is repaired for more miles of happy motoring but with airbags going off and some front end pieces it could be repairable. If the motor or turbo was tweaked then they will call it toast.

So seriously, how does the headlights look, in tact or messed up enough where they will get replaced and I will buy these from the trashcan they are going in.

 

I can pretty much guarantee that the headlights are toast. Pretty much any impact brakes off at least some of the mounting tabs.

 

That's my worst nightmare... the one place your MINI is supposed to be safe, at the dealership!

Are you hoping for a repair or would you rather see it totaled out?

 

Anytime the front end is involved and the airbags go off there is a good chance that everything in front of the engine will need replacing. The aluminum structure under the plastic bumper. All of the radiators (water, AC condenser, inter-cooler). The turbo and associated duct work, possibly including the exhaust manifold. The headlights as mentioned by RichardSperry.

The motor mounts need to be checked as they are aluminum and could be cracked.

 

You brought them a car without an accident history so there's no reason for you to leave with a car that has one.

You should've reminded them of which features/packages you had in the car and to let you know when you're replacement arrives...

 

What jackasses. Sorry but there's no excuse for that type of accident. The person who was driving it was obviously not paying attention or on his cell phone. Good luck through this hard time. Keep us updated.

 

 

Good luck with all coming out well. It truly sucks when you take your car in and bad things happen. My only advise comes from my own experience and that is to fight it tooth and nail to get what is right.

My '03 S10 went in for its 1st oil change at the dealer and the mechanic working on it didnt refill the oil, blown motor, 3k miles into ownership. I had to fight to get a new motor put in and not a motor from a yard. My attorney and insurance agent came down and fixed everything. The dealer was a punk, saying my aftermarket parts voided warranty. (IPCW clear indicator lamps, 3rd brake light and tail lights).

As for test drives going bad, a family member was a BMW Tech in VA Beach and he totaled 3 cars while working there, 4th crash, they let him go. I'll not say the dealer name, but its a major player in that area.

 

I've attached another picture showing where the trailer hitch punctured the front.

Looking at the lights they look ok (minus a missing headlight cleaner nozzle and cover), but I have no idea about how the mounting tabs faired.

At this point I really couldn't say if the damage is enough for it to be totalled or not. It is (or was) a nicely loaded 07 with 58k miles with all the options minus an automatic and navigation system.

Sadly I can't figure out what the best outcome for it will be - I really wasn't planning on a huge capital outlay for a new car at this point, but also know that if they fix it that I've taken a hit on value, and that it's quality is diminished in my eyes.

I'll post updates as I get them, and as always any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

--Terminal

 

To me it doesn't look that bad. Think of it this way- the car is optioned as you like it and there was just a ton of mechanical work done. Plus an '07 at 58k is pretty low mileage, IMHO. They should be covering the repair at 100% and not involving your insurance company since that could drive your rates up.

Val

 

My 04 had similar damage and it was totaled when only 3 years old. It might be for the best as it will never drive the same again. I do wish that I had bought it back and parted it out though.

 

Get an attorney involved. Some might argue it's overkill but your interests need to be protected.

 

Truely spoken like a lawyer.

 

Lol, I'm not a lawyer. But I did stay at a Holiday Inn last year.

I have had run ins with difficult situations though(I own a small business) and having had an attorney for all of them has helped tremendously(regardless of whether I was in their fault or mine).