Thanks for the kind words everyone. I guess I do need to change the sig

I was planning on fixing the door ding anyway.

Here's some irony for you, I just bought a carchip from Dr. Obnoxys and had it in the car for the first time. Ever wonder what a carchip 20 second accident log looks like?




So I get home and the doorbell rings. Its the UPS guy delivering my free meguiars interior detailer wipes.

And then a few hours later the mail comes, and what is there but the 2nd issue of Mc2 magazine.

On the bright side, I am due for my 40k service call so now I won't have to pay $5 to cross the GG bridge MINI roadside service picked up the car and delivered to SF MINI.

 

WOW! you are so lucky. I cried when bumble was killed. But that was a lot worse than this. I hope your MINI lives to motor again. And if not than you may find the replacement of your dreams.

 

Aso... major bummer! Glad you're ok and I'm sure you'll be using the detailing wipes in no time

 

I feel very sorry for you and your car, but it could have been so much worse. Great that you are OK, and yes, they will fix your car and it will be as good as new... except for diminished value. Expect and demand that check - search for the recent thread where the claim was successful - $1200?

The sad fact is that stupid inattention on the trucks part caused an already tricky vehicle -- short wheelbase (darty handling in some vehicle), modified (pretty good lift and mudders, looks like), Jeep (great off-road, meh on) to lose it and smack you. That's two people causing the accident for you, and that's really sad. A great example of where if it was another MINI or some small maneuverable car, you might just be telling us about your close call. And if it was a attentive driver in the truck, you both might have never even known about it...

Now's the time to think about that aero kit

 

Do you have aftermarket brakes? I noticed red calipers in the pics. I wonder if this will have any insurance ramifications.

 

Just red paint. What do you mean by insurance ramifications? Positive or negative?

 

What a nightmare. Glad that it wasn't any worse. Seeing the Mini up against that cable isn't a pretty sight.

It must really suck when you are into the sporty handling of the Mini and then encounter clueless and unskilled drivers in their illsuited vehicles. I cringe when I see these jacked up vehicles going down the street.

A regular SUV is bad enough but when people jack them up and put on dirt road tires they really get out of control easily since they have such a high roll center and lean so much and don't have any traction.

The rain isn't a problem for the Mini. I take my Mini down tight twisty back roads in the rain all the time and throw in the corners. The short wheel base makes it quick turning and being low and having good tires it tracks nicely.

Hope you get things back to normal quickly.

 

Was the b*tch in the truck talking on the phone? I'd be soooo furious....

 

sorry to hear about the accident! on the upside, it actually looks like the car should be able to be fixed good as new. just be VERY attentive when you get it back to the road feel. if it wouldn't steer then something went wrong up there that needs to be completely replaced before anything else. I'd make sure you get a chance to take it for a drive before signing anything releasing the car to you. Overall though, I think it will be ok.

 

what a bummer...hope all turns out well. at least you weren't hurt....

 

Oh man! So sorry to hear that! Good luck with the repairs; it doesn't look too bad. At least the frame should be fine...

I'm surprised that Jeep didn't roll.

 

Most important thing here is that you are okay.

Of course it totally sucks that your MINI is damaged. Hopefully it is structurally sound (judging by the pics it is) and can be brought back to prime motoring form by replacing the bent stuff.

 

Settling this thing is going to be interesting. I called MINI of SF last Fri.pm after MINI raodside picked up my car. They didn't have it yet. This morning I called and the dealer didn't have it and said to call the body shop. They didn't have it. At 11:00 AM MINI roadside called to follow up and I told them no one knew where the car was. I went our for a few hours and when I got home the dealer called and said they were still looking. There was a message on my machine from the body shop that wanted me to call. I called and a very nice gal named Aurelia said that MINI emailed all the area dealers to see where my car was. She went out to their lot and found it. I guess it was there Friday but no one looked. I have now contacted all insurance companies involved and thing are moving. I also learned a very scary thing about California Insurance. State Law only requires $5,000 property damage coverage. The perp driving the jeep had $10,000. Aurelia thinks they will be under 10 as long as the strut tower isn't deformed. Between Perp #1 and perp #2 there should be enough to cover damages, car rental and diminished value. The bad part is they let young male drivers frree on the streets with only $5,000 property damage coverage. That won't cover much. It's a good thing I wasn't driving the Enzo!

 

wait isn't the $5,000 property just that, PROPERTY not vehicles? (i.e. "I crashed my car through your front yard and did $6k in damages, you'll be getting $5k from my insurance as that's the minimum and I had minimum coverages).

I was under the (possibly wrong?) impression that the vehicular liability for the other person was more than this.

If not how's that neck feeling, b/c I promise you personal limits (damage to other persons) is more than $10k.

very sorry to see this happen, hope it all ends up okay

 

the amount that is not covered.

i suppose you could sue them for the difference.

 

Sorry to hear about the problem and hopefully all will be better soon. It is also a pleasure to hear what a nice, sunny attitude you have.

Herbert

 

Car crash update.

It's been one week and interesting to say the least. I'm trying to keep upbeat but it can be challenging. It seems that Perp #2 either didn't have insurance or it had lapsed. Perp #1 has 10k. I have full coverage so their problems become my insutance companies. they have been friendly so far, but in my opinion not overly helpful.

Initial estimates came in at $6500. That's just for body work and in my opinion conservative. They have not even addressed frame, structural or suspension damage. For example they list a door skin only and I know that the hinges were pushed in.

I have decided to go for a total loss. I have an independant appraisal that suggests 40% diminished value. We found 5 03 coopers with similar mileage on dealer lots for about 23k average. We'll see what happens. I was driving a clean well maintained never been damaged cooper before the crash and expect to do the same after.

The body shop says 8 weeks to repair. I can get an new car in 12 weeks.

 

What really sucks is when the appraisal comes in low, and as they do the work, they uncover tons of stuff that would have resulted in a total. It's a real hassle, but you may want to be there going over the car with the appraiser, so that you can make sure everything is looked at.

And glad to know the carchip was working out!

Matt

 

You may be right. I may need to show up with a camera and starting shooting pics.

 

Never take the price offered by the insurance company. Use the 'net and get a bunch of documented asking prices. Call them up and find out if it sold and for how much. Pass that information on to the appraisers. You'll easily get a couple of thou' more.

That was my experience with a '93 Acura Integra.

 

is that if you don't take the time, you know that there will be things they miss. It just blows.

Glad it's just the car and you're OK....

Matt

 

My long ordeal has just come to an end. After over three frustrating months with my insurance company I just picked up my repaired car. The damages were what I expected, and in spite of my persistance, they absolutely refused to total the car.

Every week the repair shop found more damage, (all of which I predicted) and the insurance adjuster had to come over and deal with. On June 9th they decided to replace the transmission. I left for Europe for 3 weeks and was told the car would be ready when I got back.

When I returned on July 3, I had a letter f rom the insurance company that said the repairs added $872 to the value of my car and I couldn't get it back until I paid it. After several intense phone conversations and my promise that I would not stand for my car being held hostage, they finally dropped their silly attempt to charge me for "added value"

The repair shop, German Motors Collision Center of SF did a great job on the repair, and needles to say after three miniless months I am happy to be back motoring.

If there is a silver lining in this cloud, I find it amusing that my insurance company has had to pay out $500 more for this repair than I paid for the car new in 03.

 

Oh wow, I had missed this whole thread. I'm so glad you are finally over with this. What an ordeal!!! But your MINI is back!

 

I just want to know what happened to the twit in the truck!

In CA, you can take your car to any place you want to get the insurance repairs done, and by law, the insurance company has to smile while they bend over. What they tried to do was blatently illegal, and I would be looking for another insurer.

 

Sorry to hear about your incident, but glad you are OK, and the MINI sure looks like it took the hit well...

Hope you get it fixed soon, and back on the road and track soon.

Best regards,

Your fellow CWFAC 03 Member

Red