No, this is not about a malfunction in the car. This is about an old lady,with an oxygen tank in the car and oxygen tubes on her nose, that ran a red light and never slowed down as she T-boned my beloved MINI S 03 that had only 67K miles.

I will not go over details of my physical conditions, but lets just say that I walked away and will be seeing a chiropractor, went to see my doctor and did visit the ER. I am not even sure if the old lady was fine or not. I was not able to see her, because the fire truck parked between us. I assume that she was taken on the ambulance. I estimate that she was going 30 to 40 mph and there are no indications on the ground of any attempt to brake.

The side airbag, on the ceiling, driver side, deployed and so did the seat bag. The seat bag went through the seat cover that I was using, so the seat cover did not affected the operation of the bag (opinion).

The old lady had a red light for at least 25 seconds until the impact, not sure how long after. I saw the green light at the exit of the ramp and had a car behind me when we entered the intersection.

I had the windows open. This might be a good thing or a bad thing, in relation to what the airbag did to my neck.

The impact was centered on the area at the end of the driver door and the driver rear tire. That tire is now angled out about 10 degrees and pushed the rear bumper back. The frame probably bend, because the rear pannel is pulled back in.

The glorious MINI did at least 2 360 loops and traveled quite a distance.

I am told that it is totaled and without even opening the frame, the repair cost estimate is over $11K.

I found a witness moments after the impact, that spoke with the police.

The Old lady's insurance has seen the police report, that clearly states that the she ran the red light. They are doing their own investigation and have not accepted responsibility yet. This is over two weeks after the accident.

I am happy to hear about ways to insure that the huge investment that I made on my aftermarket parts are considered in the value of the MINI.

In the historical side, this MINI takes to the grave the very first Detroit Tuned Bypass Valve ever sold.

Yes, I do feel like if the old lady had hit me a few milliseconds earlier and centered her car on the driver side, I might still be in the hospital or worse.

Bomboasy
former MINI owner.....

 

Sorry about your car, I know how it feels, I lost my 06 Saturn Ion Redline in an accident where I was T-boned and the car save my life as well as my kids who were sitting in the rear seat. That loss led my to purchasing my 08 Cooper which I love. Anyway, I had a ton of mods to the Saturn and when I produced receipts it upped my payout by $2000. Dig up every receipt you can find and present them to the insurance company. You will not get dollar for dollar, but anything is better than nothing. Good luck. The strength and protection of these Minis are nothing less than spectacular. It is amazing, that everyone walks away after their accidents. Amazing.

 

That does suck. Regarding the fact they didn't own up to responsibility, that is normal. My wifes care was totalled in our driveway at 1am by a guy who admitted to police he was texting his brother and they took a while to admit guilt.

The aftermarket parts will come into play value wise. They use "comperable sales" so once they give you a price, you need to list all mods and they have to adjust for them. It won't be retail, but it will be more.

What color is your next mini going to be?

Pics would be nice too...the accident sounds pretty bad.

 

If you are having a problem with the old lady's insurance company, contact yours and sic them on her company, trust me it works. I had my old Mustang hit head on while I was sitting at a red light, car in front of me made a right on red just as a guy made a right turn on green way too fast, slid into my lane and hit me head on. His insurance was giving me a hard time about "why didn't I take evasive action when I say him coming?" I was stopped stupid! After I got my insurance company after them they paid up in two days. Good Luck.

 

Agreed, get your insurance on this asap!

 

So sorry to hear about your MINI. I know how you must feel. A drunk driver with no insurance ran a light and totaled my much-loved pristine 911 a few years ago. After that, I came to the realization that the only way to be sure nothing happens to your baby is never drive it. Once you back it out of the driveway, all bets are off.

The people that tell you "it's just a car" just don't get it. Hang in there!

 

I'm so sorry to hear that! My own little accident was no where near as bad as this! I'm glad your still up and walking around though. Let us know how it turns out.

 

so sorry act yr mini.... hope insurance work out for u

 

The insurance company has finally admitted liability at 100%. The key was finding a witness that I mentioned in my first post. Now, we have to negotiate the value of the car. I am looking for old receipts for all the stuff that I have put in it. Because of this, next car that I get, will have records of receipts well stored. Looks like it is going to be OK, but I will have to say goodbye to my MINI. Not sure what I will get next.

Bomboasy