well, i was leaving school and i pulled up to the stop light at the end of the road my school is on. Well, i'm sittin there...wating for the traffic to movee when WHAM! a blazer smacked into the back of me. he wasnt going faster than 5 - 10 mph, but it still smacked my head into the headrest and messed up the bumper cover and bumper support a bit. Classic quoted me $511 dollars ( just a quick written estimate) to fix the bumper. no damage to the hatch ( or so it looks) i think i'm gonna have some hood chips touched up while i'm there too if they can.

well, time for the insurance crap again, i'm sick of these freaking companies......

 

Sorry rednwhite. Sucks when things are just rocking along and suddenly.........WHAM!!!........time, $$$s and hassle. Sounds like you're on top of repairs, though. Best of luck!!

 

Wow, how the heck did a Blazer only get your bumper, and not the hatch?! Definitely take a close look at how the hatch closes, and make sure the gaps are the same on both sides. Sorry to hear about your bad luck! You could always find out how much extra for a rear aero bumper...

 

i considered the areo bumper, but after seeing on up close, the black tim is smooth and painted black, and, in my opinion, looked dumb. if the trim matched the textured plastic of the arches i might do it.....

 

Is that quote with NAM discount and install? If no install, it seems high, as an Aero bumper painted DS (metallic) was quoted at like $350 w/ discount

 

ok, to those of you with aero bumpers, is the trim smooth plastic or textured like the flares??? i saw an 02 with the aero kit and the black was painted and smooth. is this how they all are or just early ones?

 

Geeeeees !!! How many people get rear-ended ??? it seems like there's a new victim every week .
I just don't get it, just because someone is not on the brakes doesn't mean the car is moving (I presume that's the reason that Blazer got you).
All those stories made me paranoid, so everytime I'm at a traffic light I always check the car coming behind me and watch their eyes to make sure they're paying attention, and if in doubt, I step on the brakes....I'm especially bewared of the SUV-cell phone combo

 

When I was rear-ended, I was watching in the rearview. I assure you, this made it worse (and ultimately harder on my neck, as I had time to tense up as I saw the Jetta approaching). I think it's almost better to be taken by surprise -- unless there's somewhere you can go to avoid the rearending (forward, pull over, etc.)

 

And it JUST HAD TO BE A f***ing SUV. Was he talking on the cell phone?

 

I got rear ended and the guy didn't even buy me dinner! LOL Seriously, I just got my car back from the body shop, and it cost me $1,100 to replace and paint the rear bumper.

Make sure they test the side marker lights which are part of the black moldings. My rear side marker lights has corroded to the point where the socket had to be replaced. I rejected the repair until they fixed the lights. Good luck!

 

Dang - and I thought California was King of the Hill when it comes to rear enders!!! I see at least one every day in just the short 4 mile commute I have to the train station!!

Sorry to hear about your mishap....I hope you have a great body shop. Things will be good as new soon....:smile:

PS - when we got rear ended in our 02' - it was $3K - Wowza!!!

Donna
02' CR/W MCS (gone to MINI heaven - burned up)
05' Cool Blue MCSC "Ariel"
05' HB/W MCS

 

I got rear ended almost the same day, by a minivan. I am still waiting for an estimate from the insurance company but the shop's estimate is over $6,000. There was damage to the hatch, the bumber, through the floor of the trunk area and the battery well. There was also suspension and exhaust damage. Does anyone have any experience regarding damage that may be overlooked in an off center rear end collision to a MINI? I am a little worried given the extent of the damage that was visible without removing anything.

 

DW thanks - I appreciate that question and await any replys it might generate. I'm paranoid, therefore I am.

My experiences with insurance companies have been far better than those with the owners/drivers of the cars that actually hit me. Part of me always wants to trust the system to find and fix everything, and yet there's a little devil whispering in my ear, "Animal House" style, that those companys want to put one over on me, the ignorant "victim", to save a few bucks.

Perhaps worth noting that while I've seen many threads dedicated to insurance claims, I don't think anyone has posted about things that the insurance company/adjuster/body shop had "missed".

Good luck setting things right, I'm glad YOU are OK - most of the time, the biggest pain comes from the MINI version of "separation anxiety"
Tatt

 

I have been involved in a few accidents. One was a low velocity rear ender that resulted in a list of repairs identified by my long time dealer where I had the car towed to. The insurance company agreed to everything. 2 weeks later the car looked just like new, but when I got in I found that the driver's power window was open and would not go up. So the dealer repaired that, but because it was not on the original list the insurance company refused to pay--stating that it must have been a pre-existing condition. I complained that that made no sense. Why would I drive around in a car with a window that would not close (especially in a rainy winter when the rear ender occured)? The insurance company would not budge. It was $280 out of $5200 so I paid for it. But from that experience I learned to be very careful about inventorying damage after an accident. Problem is that a lot of damage may not be visible.

 

MINI withdrawals are the worst. I tried crying to the local dealer but they said they barely have enough for loaners on warranty work and never rent out MINIs.

As for the repairs, I feel like the shop wants to find as much as they can to get the money for the repairs, but they don't want to find too much and have it totaled because then they lose out. I think that the insurance company will pretty much follow what the shop says only undercutting on hours and the source of parts. They probably don't have the time to really do their own estimate from scratch, and after all they did approve the shop. That is why I am worried about the possibility of hidden or missed damage.

I have to admit that the shop is working hard to put my mind at ease, and after talking with them today I feel a little better.