OMG,,,, My husband and I have been in Oklahoma for two days and am just now catching up with NAM. Your pictures are heartbreaking. I'm so glad for you that everyone is OK. Thank goodness our Minis are so well engineered. Keep us posted on how things are going for you.

 

first off, be thankful to quality engineering, and i'm glad no one is hurt- physically anyway. you did not happen to mention what the "other guy" looks like? What kind of car was it that ran into you? just curious.

again, glad you're okay, x'd fingers for good insurance.

 

As much as this stinks, I am thankful you weren't hurt!! Your MINI did what it was supposed to do - and you got out alive...

My heart hurts for you - I know you are sick about it...but it's a car and it can be replaced - you can't...

Donna

 

Dude.... I'm SO sorry.
Hope things work out.
Glad you're OK.
Don't let them total your parcel shelf....

 

Aw, so sorry about your accident. Like the others said, be sure to retrieve your special goodies, like the parcel shelf, etc. Are you sure you didn't get injured? I would see a doc just to be sure. Sometimes the shock of the incident keeps us from realizing how much we were personally thrashed. Hope it is all sorted out ASAP and you are back motoring again soon.

 

Bummer.
It's always dicey being behind huge trucks.

 

Sorry about your accident , Glad you're OK.

 

wow. So sorry to see your accident davavd

At least you're ok. That's the important thing. Keep us posted.

 

Wow, overwhelming response. Thanks, everybody. Thanks to Ords, who first pointed out that it would be good to get the parcel shelf. Thanks to those who have noted the other items that are worthy of retreival.

To clarify the incident a little, I was waiting behind a high wide vehicle to turn left. It was dark, and there was a lot of traffic. I could see a green light to the right of the vehicle ahead of me as he pulled out, and so I figured we had the right of way and that the oncoming traffic had a red light. WRONG. Really dumb, I know. I am going to be a lot more careful, now. And 100% attentive, I think that is what it boils down to, is just paying complete attention to all the information that is available. Anything less, and this is what can happen.

To those who spoke of repairs, do you really think so? Kind of hard to believe it could ever be right again. That top mechanism seems so complex! And it doesn't close right now, so something is out of wack.

I think the other car was a Ford Escort. It was a small sedan, not a hatchback. I will know for sure when I get the accident report. The entire front end looked about like my car, but the impact happened on the right front. I spoke with the mother of the girl driving last night and she is ok, bruised and sore, but nothing ibuprophen can't handle.

Again, thanks to all.

 

Glad your ok. Good luck with it all.

I'd be interested in hearing what they say about your car since it looks like the frame is exposed and possible bent.

 

Oh no!!! I am just now reading your post. The pictures are heartbreaking. Although, I'm so glad that everyone is ok...

 

Man, I'm glad to hear your okay. That looked pretty gnarly. Hopefully, she'll be sent to MINI Heaven instead of someone attempting to repair it. There's nothing like waiting for a car to be repaired. Especially a MINI. There's just so many little switches and wiring harnesses that have to be ordered. Its very easy for BMW to leave one out of the order.

If I can offer just one piece of advice, stay away from CarStar. Thats where we had our MINI repaired and it took 8 weeks. We didn't have it all summer.

Keep us updated!

 

That's how my last MINI was wrecked, except I was the guy that was turned into. The other guy apparently couldn't see either, but made the turn hoping for the best.

I'm glad nobody was hurt in your accident.

 

Bearslayer (yes, he really hit a bear) told me about a place in Chalmette, La., Fradella's, where he got his MINI fixed. He was very happy with the results. One of the guys I work with is from Chalmette and he says they have a great reputation, so I think I'll send it there if it isn't totalled.

 

as a great man named hugh grant once said "whoopsie daisys"

 

I am so sorry for you. What a frightening experience. Glad that you're alright, though.

Please keep us updated on your poor MINI.

 

The latest from Bearslayer is:
Per our conversation last night, I just spoke with Al at Fradella’s. Here’s the deal: Unfortunately, he is not interested in taking on your car. His biggest issues revolve around the lack of dealership support and the lengthy timeframes to get the job completed (it took six weeks for mine). He suggested that you may want to take it to the dealer and have them do the work

So, right now it looks like if it isn't totalled it's the dealership.

 

Yes, as I said in my email to Dirk, the shop that repaired my car earlier in the summer was not interested in doing another MINI. He even mentioned that he has turned away several others since he did my car. And it basically boils down to lack of urgency from the dealer in getting parts back to the shop. The guy is my cousin so I got the rush treatment and it still took six weeks to finish my car.

Dirk, my personal opinion on your car after seeing these pictures: I hope they total it for you. My car was nowhere near this bad, and the total price tag for repair was well over $5k. And I didn't have any airbag deployment, door damage, fender damage, potential suspension damage, etc. This would be a monumental repair job, both physically and financially.

If they don't total it, and you come across any local shops that you may consider, give me a shout and I'll share my $0.02.

I'm certainly glad to see that you're OK. If you start jonesing for a drive, just give me a shout and you can come drive the Slayer around for a while.

Good luck,
Matt

 

oh man that sucks, but you're okay, so its not that bad, but I feel bad for your MINI

 

Absolutely. My bro rolled his... no injuries. ALWAYS be a safe and courteous driver, but when stuff happens, these cars can hold their own.

I'm sorry to hear about the accident. Hang in there... life will be good again.

 

I thought the convertibles will continue to be built on the same platform after 06?

 

Sorry to hear about your accident. As someone who just went through a similar incident, I know how much it hurts to see your MINI bent and crumpled, but they are built to protect the occupants. We're glad you are okay.

If it is going to be repaired, be prepared for it to take a while. It took 3x as long to get the parts to repair Gromit as it did to fix him once the parts arrived. It seemed like everything we needed was on the back order list.

 

Wow...I'm glad to hear you're OK...physically that is. I hope the insurance totals your car. Keep us posted.

 

The convertibles will continue to have the same engine/platform until 2008/9, I believe.

 

Not quite true, the convertible will continue into 07 as is!