Yes my barely 2 month old, 1700 miles MCS was sandwiched between a box truck and a jeep. I was driving in stop and go traffic on the way home when a big truck decided it wasn't going to stop and it smacked me so hard it pushed me into the Jeep Wrangler in front of me. No one was hurt thank god, just a sore neck.

First time I've felt like crying The rear bumper is nice and cracked, but the hatch looks to be untouched. Front bumper is pushed in as well as the hood. Luckily the airbags did not deploy and no damage that I could see under the hood. Off it goes to the Mini dealer tomorrow so the Insurance Adjuster can look at it and they can start ordering parts to fix it. I'm so upset about it, but there's nothing I can do.

Sorry no pics til tomorrow. -John

 

Hate to hear that (especially about a fellow PW). It'll be okay.

 

Sorry to hear about you MINI bump

 

So sorry to hear it First and foremost though is your well being. I know you may only feel a little sore now but you really should see a physician and be checked out. It can seem minor at first but you can truly be injured when your head snaps back and forth and the rest of your body reacts to the impact. Take care of yourself, I'm sure your car will be as good as new (ask around and find a top notch shop - their insurance should cover a rental too).

 

Yeah I took two tylenol earlier but if I'm hurting tomorrow I will see someone. I'm taking the car to the Mini dealer where I bought the car, not sure if they'll fix it or someone they use. I just want to make sure it's fixed with no issues after the fact. Thanks everyone


-I was told by my insurance company (USAA) that they will cover upto $15 a day or $450 then anything after that I would have to pay out of pocket until I was reinbursed by the other insurance company. This usually the way it goes? Never had to deal with this before.

 

so sorry to hear this, man, been there, done that. A quick question, were you able start the vehicle after the impact, there is a reason for that question. hope you feel better and happy to hear that you are alright

 

Thanks man. Yes I was able to start the car.

 

so, they do not have to replace the battery cable, that is a *****.... Again, hope you get your ride back as soon as possible.

 

No they don't, thank god. Just looks to be a front and rear bumper, hood and the little plastic piece surrounding the rad support. Thanks again.

 

John,
I used to have USAA too. I'm not sure what their deal is. They always score near the top in customer service, and yet I had the same cheap offer a few years back that wouldn't come close to covering a rental. In my case, the car was totalled (also a rear end by a big truck) and USAA offered over $2000 less for the car than the other insurance company (which offered more in line with comps). It made sense to work through the other company anyway since it was the fault of their covered driver. That's what I would recommend to you as well. A rear end collision is almost always the fault of the one who hits the back of the other vehicle. In my case, and I would guess in yours as well, the other company will be somewhat gracious in offering reasonable rental car coverage (since this is peanuts compared to a potential lawsuit).

I would also go this route for replacement parts too (unless there's a mess and they're not claiming fault in the accident), and stick to your guns for getting OEM. Evidently, aftermarket bumpers in particular have been notorious not only for less than stellar fitment, but more importantly, for cheap (unseen) internals that reduce crash protection (Consumer Reports, etc. testing).

Last but not least, please take the above advice and get yourself checked out. As you say, you're probably fine, but getting checked will bring peace of mind. Plus, you can go ahead and seal the insurance deal for your property damage (parts, plus rental) right away, and still give yourself some time to make sure you're ok physically before settling with insurance on the medical end (if needed). Hope this helps, and above all, hope you're ok. Glad you were able to walk away from that one.

 

maybe a good opportunity to upgrade to the aero kit...small premium....

 

it really is, only couple of more hundred $s, you will have the A/K, think about it seriously

 

How much does the AK run these days?

 

Ouch.......bummer........sorry to read this... Glad you weren't seriously injured...poor MINI.... A good body shop will have you out and motoring soon....

Donna

 

Glad to hear you are ok (but get checked out) & hope you don't get too much hassle from the insurance companies.

When I bought mine my MA told me about the safety and how well MINI did in crashes with SUVs. That said, I'll be curious to know how much the damage is quoted at and what all had to be replaced.

 

Don't sign any settlement with regard to physical injuries untill at least 6 weeks have passed.

I was in an old Volkswagon that was hit from behind years ago. I was reasonable and settled shortly afterward, since my sore neck got better in a couple of days. Then, about a month later, my neck went "out" and I was in pain for over a week. My neck got better but continued to go "out" and be painful at intervals for about 20 years. Thankfully, it hasn't caused pain in a long time, but now I have loud snaps almost every time I change my head position. Very annoying.

I'm not a fan of law suits and huge damage awards, but you don't want to sign away your rights, and then find out you have a long lasting injury with associated expenses.

 

I also have USAA, and after my Subaru was rear-ended by a big truck, and totalled out, USAA took very good care of me. The other guy's insurance was trying to make life tough for me and USAA handled everything. Yes, their offer to cover rental up to $450 is kind of bogus, but they handled everything for me so quickly that it didn't end up being a problem for me...

Sorry about your MINI, but thankfully you weren't seriously injured.

 

Regarding the rental coverage, you could have the other carrier setup your rental, and the $450 would be irrelevant. When you tell them you are having your neck checked, they won't mind setting the rental up.

Also, $450 from USAA may not sound like much initially, but based on their insurance rental programs with the national rental companies, $450 probably equates to roughly 25 days. Most repairs should be less than that.

 

Wow, your statute of limitations is 3 years! Sorry to hear about the accident, glad you're ok, and your MINI isn't too banged up, but you have three years from the date of the accident to settle with the insurance company.

Definitely get treated asap. I'd suggest you not wait to see if it still hurts... the sooner you go in the better, because you may not know the severity. Insurance companies also look down on lapse in treatment. Hope you feel better and all goes well.

 

Ok the Mini is off to the bodyshop, which is actually the Ford dealer next door. They turned out to be a direct repair shop for USAA so that worked out. I picked up my rental, a new Neon Oh well, better then nothing.

Here are the pics:

 

The thing they failed to mention is you get special rates with the rental car company, in my case it was enterprise. I was in a Lincon Towncar or something like that, for about $29 a day plus tax, and I had the rental insurance, so I was good to go. Go and rent a car like that normally, and you're looking at least $50 per day.

So $15, when USAA makes your rental reservation for you, should be good to go, or just a couple $ out of pocket.

 

Yeah this was enterprise as well, I think the price per day from them was $20.50. So it all depends on how long I have the car, and if it goes over that $450 mark then I guess it's out of pocket until I am reinbursed. I got a Neon for the time being.

 

looks like about a $2500-3500 in damages just breifly looking at the picts if
you were to get it fixed at a reputable shop.

hope you get it fixed soon.

 

I'm sorry to see that to a fresh MINI. Mine's new to me with 46,000 miles on it and I would be bummed if that happend to me, so I can't imagine how you felt. But chin up...they'll fix her!

 

Yeah thats what I figured, wonder if I can get the Aero kit instead? It's at Mini's certified body shop, so I'm sure it will be taken care of. Now I'm doing my research for diminished value. Can anyone shead some light on this?