Never thought the potential end of the road for my car would be like this lol

Bought my R53 new in '05, have invested quite a bit of mods over the years, and kept it going just up until a few weeks ago. It was a simple solo accident; it had rained earlier in the day, and was coming home from work late in the eve when it was darker on an off ramp from the highway, one that I've taken so many times over the years. I guess I took the turn a little faster than I normally would when wet because I usually am used to the turn dry. Was probably going 35-45, and lost a little bit of traction. First instinct was to let go of the gas and turn my wheel hoping to gain traction but it was too late and I ended up hitting the guard rail. Restarted my car and was able to drive off but there was an immediate chatter from the wheel well upon turning so I know I dented something. Car drove back home pretty normally otherwise(no other noise), I live less than 2 miles from the accident. Got home and I saw a significant dash on the left side of my hood, right near the left headlamp, minor bumper damage. Slept on it, woke up the next day and drove to work and noticed my car started pulling to the right on straights. I was going to call insurance anyway but this definitely signified something more serious than hood damage. Again, the drive was fine other than the pull to the right and I was hearing was wheel rub on something when turning sharp so I know I had some dent damage to the wheel well. Got the car towed to one of my insurance appraisal locations and its been a week not hearing anything.

Finally talked to the insurance appraiser today, he said it was kind of a tough thing because the damage is very close to putting my car into the 'total loss' category but it hasn't yet from his initial inspection. His worry is that if the body shop goes in and checks it further, they might find more damage to put me over the limit but of course they won't know until they do. The thing is, it could be minor damage or it could be more but its unknown at this point.

First option is to have them try to repair it but I won't be with my car for at least three weeks (which isn't too bad, I've done three months) and they might find more damage, which would put me into loss, or some of the parts might be really hard to find and might be longer.
Second is to loss it and buy it back, and they'd cut me a check for the rest after salvage value etc ($6k quoted check), and I'd be on my own.
Third is obviously the most simple, total it, they'd cut me a check, and they'd take the car.

I do have a lot of sentimental value for the car but I've also been pretty good with car maintenance and replacing parts etc. and I felt like I could have gotten a few more years out of it. My initial reaction is to just say 'hey try to fix what you can' because my gut instinct is that it wasn't that bad of an accident but that could be just part of my pride in the car talking. I don't know if it would be better to buy it back and take it and find places to fix it on my own with the cut check, this way I could repair at my leisure. The total loss, give the car to them, route is something I would rather not do but it's still an option.

I know a good amount of people would say just loss it and be done with it but I guess this post is more for people who would consider the other options. Just lookin for some ideas/thoughts.

 

I had something similar happen. What I did was send all my invoices on the add on (mods) and other changes I made and they raised the appraisal on the car to cover the repairs. Hope this helps.

 

Yeah - I've been in the same situation with the insurance company after an idiot hit my left front fender of my (fully customized),1968 Karmann Ghia.
Although, I do all my custom bodywork; I didn't want the damage to be to repaired with 2gal of bondo by some half-*** body shop. I had a reputable body shops quote the repair with welding on a replacement fender = $1,200 - $1,900..
Sight unseen, the insurance company deemed the car a total loss claiming since the (1968) car had no Blue Book value that the cost to repair exceeded the unsubstantiated car's value. I had argued that I had over $15k invested in the car and receipts to prove it.
Their response was - "since you never had the car appraised it wasn't worth $1,900". After a few back and forths, they finally sent an assessment agent out. After the insurance adjuster's overview, I was given a check for $2,500 for repairs.
He must have liked the car and appreciated the value in all the work I had done to it.
I scored a fender for $400 and wound up welding and re-fabricating all the custom body work myself. I had the car back on the road after paint.
Bottom line is: I hope the damage isn't too extensive and you can keep the Mini and put it back on the road. You already know the car. Finding a replacement to start all over again....

Hope everything works out in your favor.

 

I guess I would be in the group that says to toss the car and be done with it. But that can be and in this case probably is the best decision.

That the insurance company is already considering declaring the car a total loss even before the shop has a look is a good (or bad) sign the car has sustained some serious damage. That the car has a pull to one side and makes noises suggests serious damage to the steering/suspension and being a FWD car to the drive train as well.

Plus in these types of accidents there can be indirect damage. Damage in some cases quite removed from where the impact occurred. And damage or potentially damage to hardware that might not appear to you to be damaged. For instance any impact to the front wheels/suspension almost invariably requires the steering rack be replaced even if it shows no signs of damage.

From (unfortunately) experience I can tell you the body shop will find more damage as they'll be able to "tear down" the car -- remove bumper cover and other stuff -- and will invariably find more damage.

You are unlikely to be able to fix the car on your own. The car will need to be disassembled to the point it can be placed on a special alignment bend (google celette bench) and the car's hard points checked for proper location. Almost certainly some will be found to be out of position and it is expensive to have these pulled back into position. But this is a critical phase of repair because the proper position of hard points ensure all other hardware bolts up right is properly positioned and the car is essentially back to its pre collision condition.

Even if you manage to get the car back on the road some insurance companies can refuse to insure the vehicle.

I like to point out as there is a time to fall in love with a car there can come a time to fall *out* of love with a car. Think you need to consider it is time to fall out of love with your car and seek the best settlement you can and move on. There is always another car.

Time to fall in love with a car:



Time to fall out of love with a car:



Just 4 short weeks after buying the car.

 

All valid points and my appraiser said very similar things. To be fair, I would reiterate that my sounds when turning were coming from the wheel/tire rubbing up against part of the external wheel well that has been pushed in, and SOLELY when I turn my wheels/tires all the way to the right so that the width of the tire did the rubbing. While straight driving and minor turns, there were no odd sounds or chatter coming from the steering system, power steering felt fine. Yes the issue of the alignment and maybe more is present as there was soft drift to the right when letting go of the steering wheel, however I wasn't fighting the power steering in order to stay straight.

In regards to the pictures, and I wish I had taken some of my car before I sent it off, I would say they look somewhat similar except the dent is localized solely to the area near the headlamp and top of front bumper, there was some scratching on the actual wheel rim also.

 

Reading your signature line just guessing you have a lot more in the car, especially the motor, than $6K. If you have the room, what about going Option 2, part it out keeping the motor and other valuable pieces for a future build / project. Scrap whatever doesn't sell and/or keep it in your stash -- for another rainy day.

 

Not bad advice but I was pretty sure I was going to get another year or two out of the car. Another thing is, I don't have the space to keep parts, Im currently living in a condo with limited storage. Thanks for the input though!

 

Pretty sure it wouldn’t be too much to get a small storage unit to push the car into, and keep a stash of parts….

 

The true extent of the damage has to be determined by a thorough inspection by a qualified body repair shop. One that can quote chapter and verse from the factory collision repair manual. The tire rubbing may be limited to bent -- maybe even just slightly bent -- steering/suspension hardware but a proper repair would require the car be placed on a Celette bench (or its equivalent) and the hard points the damaged steering/suspension components bolt to checked for proper location.

Furthermore some car makers require the steering rack be replaced if the front wheels/tires hit anything or were hit by something. This even if the rack shows now signs of any damage.

And as I think I mentioned in my earlier post my experience is once the body repair shop starts work more damage is found. This can increase the cost to repair by 20% or more.

In one case I got the car back that was claimed to be fixed and ready to go. While the car looked ok straight away I drove to my body shop buddy and he inspected the car for me. After I had a legal size sheet of paper full of a list of things to address.

After this I headed to my favorite dealer. The techs obliged me and got the car in an empty service bay and went over the car with a fine tooth comb. One tech even removed the front bumper cover.

After this I had almost another page of issues.

Back to the body shop with my lists. Car went back into the body shop -- for what would prove to be another 30 days (it had already been in the shop for around 30 days) -- and I left in a loaner Cadillac.

When I got the car back the 2nd time it was fixed right. Cost just over $25,000. 'course not a MINI but a 2003 Porsche 996 Turbo. Hit a damn mule deer outside of Ely NV one night.

Pic:



No steering/suspension or drive train (car was an AWD model) damage. Bumper cover. Passenger fender. Hood. Headlight. Radiator. AC condenser. Lots of the hardware associated with the radiator/condenser. The vapor recovery hardware behind the passenger side headlight. Paint.

Still the car needed a bit of Celette Bench time:


This shelf to which the passenger side front fender bolted to had to be brought back into proper position.

 

Without seeing the damage I am assuming it is localized to one corner. If it was hood/fender /bumper cover I would consider an aftermarket front end. The pieces are often available for less than factory and the car would acquire a rare look. If its just one fender and mechanical I would be inclined to let it go depending on the mileage and non recoverable investment

As mentioned above, a repaired write off gets a branded title which hurts the value but at 18+ age that might not be a concern. Of course this might be fate telling you its time for a Gen 2.