I was driving home and all of a sudden my right rear tire blows out (at highway speeds). I do a vicious fish tail right into the wall! Lucky no one was hurt or involve other then the mini and me. Both air bags deployed and I had my seatbelt on which saved my life (thanks mini!). I walked away with some minor scratches and soreness which I’m very grateful. But my 04 mini isn’t doing so well. Take a look at the pictures. I’m wondering if my car is totaled or not. The engine has been shifted to the left. All the engine bolts have been broken. The sub-frame (has been crumbled). The radiator, windshield, rim and suspension all have been damaged. This was the worst wreak I have ever been in. If she is totaled then I will buy a new mini! It has been five days and I miss my car so much.

More pictures can be seen below:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/3646820...th/1572346692/

 

Ouch! Here is another story of the MINI doing its job and protecting our lives! Hopefully they will get her fixed back up good as new

 

Glad your Ok ! sorry about your baby . Are those runflats ?

 

Wow. I am glad that you are ok. I am no expert but I hope (for your sake,) that they do total it out.

 

No they were not runflats. I had cooper tires. I don't know what happen I didn't run over anything it just blow out. It seems like the side walls just gave out.

Yeah the mini is in bad shape.

 

When I saw the title I know it t'weren't gonna be pretty. Glad you're okay!!

 

I would have someone look at that tire .It doesnt seem right . Maybe search the web to see if it's happened to that brand before .

 

Youch !! That surely appears to be a Total Loss !

That sucks !! And I'm glad you're not hurt, but don't be surprised if you have some soft tissue injuries that present themselves in the next 24-48 hours. I see that a LOT and in far less severe impacts than what you experienced !

Still with my Auto Claim Rep hat on... hate to tell you but this is going to be an at-fault loss unless your insurance company determines it was caused by manufacture's defect in the tire (hard to prove).

Good luck with the MINI and with your continued good health !!

 

Glad to hear that you're OK and no one got injured. Regarding your MINI being totaled...it will depend on the extent of the subframe damage and how many OPEN items (engine, drivetrain, suspension, etc.) are referenced. Other than the damage to the front, do any of the other panels (roof, quarter panels) have buckles or bends in them? If so, this typically indicates unibody damage which will probably move the estimate to a total. Hope this helps!

 

Thanks everyone for their support. The cooper tires are on recall. I have the model that is getting recalled but not the size. Only the 18" where recalled not the 16". I think I'm going to stay away from cooper tires from now on.

I was talking to the shop and they told me that most likey it will be a total loss because both sub frames are bent. The cross memeber is damaged too! I was going about 70 mph when I hit the wall.

 

Yikes!!! I'm glad you're ok though. Can you press the issue with Cooper? Sounds like they need to increase the recall...

 

I'm going to look into that. There is a huge lawsuit againts cooper right now.

It has been confirmed that my mini is gone! She has been totaled. My mini and I have travelled across the all of North America from Calgary to Houston with many stops along the way. I can't believe I have to let her go.

 

Sorry to hear of your accident but glad to hear that it was totaled. When I read that you had a Cooper tire, the first thing that I thought about was the issue with the recalls for some of the tires made in China. Hope you can get some compensation from that - best of luck with everything!

 

From what I understand, the MINI was designed to drop the engine in case of a collision such as yours. That would reduce how far the engine comes back into the driver compartment.

If this is right, it seems like that little feature probably saved a lot of damage to you!

 

RIP dear MINI Thank you for sacrificing yourself so that another MINIac lives on.

I hope the claims process moves quickly for you and that you're back motoring with us very soon!

 

nOoooooOooo

another Dark Silver bites the dust........

hey keep your head up buddy. your mini did its job, which of course, what matters most. so what do you plan on doing now?

 

I'm going to the dealer today take a last look at her before she is gone for good.

08 Mini Cooper S Pepper White will be next. I LOVE THE MINI .



AGAIN THANKS FOR ALL THE SUPPORT!

 

Sorry to hear about your accident... Glad you're okay, and that the car is totalled so you don't have to worry about inadequate repairs. Have you been checked out by a doctor yet? CR&PW&JB is right that soft tissue (and other) injuries often show up later, sometimes several days, and it's good to have them treated appropriately (if indicated) and documented.

Please PM me if you have any questions.

 

Sad to see but I'm glad to hear that you're alright.

I remember going on a few runs with you when you were up here in Calgary.

RIP MINI, he did well protecting you. Bring on the '08!

 

Glad you're okay, but sucks about your MINI. Is that an R56? I can't tell from the pic

 

Yes it is an 56. It's an 04.

 

So sad to see these kind of pictures and posts - but - I'm glad you are OKAY - that is the most important thing of all.

Donna

 

Tony,
Sorry to hear about the accident and 'Betty's' write off, but glad you are ok. You have to get another MINI - that plate wouldn't make sense on anything else!

 

Hey Gord!

Thanks for the support. Betty has been totaled. I saw her for the last time last night . Then I went to test drive the 2007 Mini Cooper S . I like it! I think I will put an order in sometime this month.

I have retired the plate "NOTBIG" for Betty.

 

Then you can get the sequel for the new one:

NOT2BIG