I think that was a smart move Wagnbat. USAA is a great company; they have always taken care of me. I'm glad to hear your ride will get repaired soon!

 

On a slight side note do you have rental reimbursement? If not get it, it is some where around $17 every six months with USAA.

 

Thats not quite true... see

http://www.marylandmva.com/VehicleSe.../uninsured.htm

$150 for first 30 days, $7/day after that for not having insurances. $1000 fine for providing "false" info .... but I would bet thats to a cop. Still, he IS required to have insurance in MD ... unless his car was registered elsewhere?

 

Wagnbat

Its even easier to get your money and make sure he gets his insurance.
Make a phone call to his command and talk to his gunney or 1st Sgt and let them know about the problem, I guarantee you he will have insurance and you will get your payment. Remind him how it is illegal to drive on base without insurance and he can lose base driving privliges and not to mention he probably could be brought up on charges. So he should be happy you only talked to the insurance company.

 

Wagnbat, first, I'm so sorry for what happened and glad you are alright. I, too, have USAA insurance and they are awesome to work with! You have two options with them. First option, have USAA pay for the repair of the BatMINI. You will be out your deductable until they settle with the other party. I highly recommend doing this. I was rear ended in the g-d awful Hamptom Roads area traffic (not Dixie). The guy was in a hurry to get to the airport so I was nice and didn't file a police report. Found out later the guy was driving a rental car and never filed a report with them when he dropped the car off. I didn't take the option to have USAA pay for the repair of my car but they did fight on my behalf and, long story short, justice was served and my car was repaired. But, things would have happened a LOT faster had I let USAA pay for the repair.

Glad you called them. And good luck to you and BatMINI. Let us know how things go.

 

Sucks about the accident, but glad to hear everything is going to work out.

Oh, and if he really does have a clearance, and he is caught w/o car insurance, he's going to have a whole lot of explaining to do to a lot of people. Probably why he wanted to keep it between the two of you. It's amazing how much trouble he is going to get himself into over a relatively simple thing like carrying proper insurance... And if it's a $ thing as to why he didn't have insurance, there's no way he could afford what it's going to cost to repair a MINI!!

-Paul!

 

the batmini is hurt??! Bummer ....hope all goes well

 

Sorry to hear about this.

With my previous car (Saturn), I got hit on Key Bridge going to work one morning by a teenager driving her grandmothers car. She changed lanes without looking. I had two witnesses who saw what happened from behind me, but I felt really bad for her and the damage did not look bad (dented drivers side door and lower panel.) We agreed to work it out without insurance companies. We did exchange information.

I did want to make a police report, but when called they said they would not come to the scene of an accident where no one was hurt and both cars were driveable. I took some photos and went to the police station and filed a report that the accident had happened. I cannot remember what the form was called, but basically you report the accident to the police yourself. I figured it could not hurt.

Flash forward a week. I have an estimate of $900. She is dodging my phone calls.

I got both insurance companies involved (called hers and reported the accident to them myself. She had not) and had my money a few weeks later. It really stinks, but sometimes you have to use the insurance companies to get people to respond....

 

If it's a money thing, and can't afford insurance, he shouldn't be driving.

 

Good news.

Inspector saw the condition of the Milltek, and is going to replace the entire system. It's really not all that bad, and if I had done the damage myself, I'd opt for the cheaper repair route... But since it's barely 1 month old, I'm glad it's being replaced vice repaired.

Inspector also agrees rear bumper needs to be replaced, and not repaired, as well as the battery box heat shield, rear valence, & fog assembly.

So the Batmini and I are on the road to recovery! Hopefully it'll be a short road!

Thanks for the advice, guidance, experience, and wisdom shared here... It has helped me make better decisions, and has definitely eased the stress of the situation! Thanks all!

 

Good to hear

Maybe its time to install the BatMINI defense system.

 

 

I totally concur with that thought (and of course wish BatMINI a quick convalescence!). NAM has more than once given me the opportunity to NOT make (incorrect, uninformed) judgement calls .

Cheers,
Tatt

 

Considering OEM prices + install, I've opted to order the Aero Kit from classic, install it myself, and just pay the difference. Total insurance inspector estimate for the rear bumper replace/repair ~ $1000. Aero kit = 1000, + paint & install.

Also ordered replacement Milltek cat-back, but Stratmosphere is out of stock until late February.

Car is in the shop getting inspected at the moment. Hopefully they don't find anything else. My SA is worried that something behind the bumper may be damaged, because he's seen Mini's rear ended before and says the fiberglass bumperskin will just pop back out into place, giving the illlusion that nothing underneath was harmed.

 

Well, everything is replaced.

New Milltek is on.

Aerokit is on, which I did myself, and ended up only being a couple hundred more than fixing the oem rear valence.

USAA called today and they're sending me a $252 check for my Mini's 'diminished value'.

 

Glad all is well now. With the recent addition of the Aero Kit and those wheels the BatMINI is one hot MINI.

 

Awesome, glad to hear everything's back the way it should be. Motor on!

 

that's great news man!! awome!...and USAA rocks don't they...they always come through when you need them