Yesterday the 05 Cabrio took a major hit when a honda turned left in front of my wife at an I/S. Impact was enough to apparently pop the drive axle from the auto trans when the wheel wheel got pushed back to the firewall. See photos

Interested in information from other MINI owners of their experience getting their MINI repaired after a strong impact. I see a new Xenon, bonnet, bumper, grills, wheel, tire, strut, etc in the future. Haven't even been able to open the hood as yet to see the extent of the damage inside the fender well and strut tower.
Worried how it will all line up in the future.

 

Oh No!!!!! I'm sorry to see these pictures... Your poor wife... I hope she is not suffering any side effects today...

I can't help ya with front end damage - ours was rear end - but I'm sure somebody will pipe in with some helpful information. Keep us posted!

Donna

 

Similar damage to my 03. I was going about 35 mph and tried to swerve to avoid the man who pulled out in front of me but he saw me and then stopped. My MINI was totalled. The wheel was pulled from the axle as well hanging from suspension. There was bunch of other internal mechanical and stuctural damage. They had to remove the engine to completely assess the extent of the damage.

I really hope your MINI isn't damaged as badly as mine was.

 

Sorry to hear about the bad luck. If you look at the picture of the passenger fender it looks just like the 07 coupe front end. I guess we know where MINI came up with the new design, just smash an R52.

Hope it all gets fixed.

 

I look at damaged cars 5 days a week and you can trust me when I say THAT is not a major repair. If your airbags didn't deploy, I would estimate that damage at around $6,000. If they did deploy, make it $7,500. Not nearly enough to make it a total loss and not the kind of damage that will permanantly impact the MINI.

Not trying to make light of the accident. Hell, I was rearended 8 months ago to the tune of less than $300 and I was HIGHLY pissed.

I hope the other driver doesn't try to say he/she had a green arrow. If so, I hope you have an independent witness.

Good luck and let me know if you have any questions through your insurance claim process.

 

So sorry to see both of those beautiful cars smashed up!
o4amini-I cant believe they totalled it. I bet you were heartbroken.
Chief_Charlie I hope your MINI gets fixed to new conditon without any hassle or problems (gawd I love that color)!

 

Sorry to hear of your accident. I hope there were no injuries.

But I see this as a good time to paint your wheel arches if so inclined.

 

Very sorry to hear that Charlie. Glad your wife is ok, that is the really important thing. Time to break out the backup car.

 

Not another Hot Orange MINI!

Sorry to hear about your accident, but glad your wife is okay.

 

Thanks all for your comments.

Jim Ray Snookie is fine; but this is about the 3rd "Honey I just got in an accident at...." phone call in the past few years. Between Cristina and Snookie I'm getting a lot older. Snookie's car was in the driveway at home. I wanted to leave the Cabrio in PG for the week, but no, she wanted to drive it during the fine weather we're having. As for the GP, well, it's snoozing on the lift in PG.

04amini You didn't say in your post if they fixed the car, or it was totaled. Could you advise what happened to it; and if fixed, how does it drive/look now?

moodylewdd Yes, it's a great color, especially in combination with the blue top/interior. I was shocked to discover that MINIUSA has discontinued it as an available color on the cabrio line (planning for the worst if the car were totaled). Seems they dumped it mid model year. Probably not enough folks in Europe or the ROW like orange.

Chili Red & Pepper White Thanks for the reassurrances about the extent of the damages. I'm curious to see what lies beneath the hood in terms of damage and deformation of the right shock tower area. I'd like to think that they can repair it with no problems, but there are so many inter-relationships between the bonnet, fenders, bumper covers for a good fit....and the R/F wheel is way out of place right now.

I'm guessing more on the order of $12-14,000 in costs (Hey, the is the S.F. bay area at $110 an hour labor) but I'll keep in touch with you as the repair process unwinds. Luckily it was the other driver's fault. He has AAA insurance. Don't know if that's a good or bad thing at this point, but we shall see. Thanks

 

$110 ?? It's $38 an hour here and this is the Baltimore/DC metro area which is a high cost of living area.

Yikes !! Double Yikes !!

You might be right then... most of a repair bill is the labor cost, parts prices are not the big pole in the tent.

Keep us posted when you get the estimate.

So... did AAA accept liability already ? If so, good on them, that would be quick.

 

No, when I called AAA on Friday afternoon, the other driver had just reported the incident apparently...the claim was "in process." The AAA rep gave me the claim number and the contact information for the adjuster.

I emailed the adjuster and advised him of the name of the shop where my car had been taken (unfortunately we're almost "investors" in it...if you know what I mean) and photos of the damage to my car and his insured. I threw in the police report number, and the fact that they were finding his insured at fault for a right of way violation. Haven't heard back from him as yet.

 

Chili Red & Pepper White: I mispoke earlier. Checked a Feb 07 estimate and the body shop hourly rate was $70 an hour. The $110 figure is from the MINI dealer in Concord. Sorry about that.

 

No sweat, Charlie. But that is still very high labor costs. I'll amend my guestimate at the repair cost to around $9,000. Still, shouldn't be a total loss as most insurance companies do not total a vehicle until it's at 75% of the actual cash value.

Again, keep us posted on your repair process. Hope all goes well !

 

Right after I posted this, AAA accepted responsibility for the crash.

Premier Body, Santa Clara, CA tore down the car, and AAA Adjusters had at it. Bottom line is approx $10,000 in damage, not including the mechanical items like axle, strut, transmission, etc which are still "open" The car will go to the local MINI dealer (MNI of Mt. View) for mechanical issues after body repairs.

Replacements include bonnet, R/F Xenon, bumper and bumper covers, grills, R/F fender, cowl, (and windshield...which broke upon removal as required by AAA to prevent breaking when "frame" is pulled...ironic, eh?). The entire front of the car gets painted, including both doors (to "blend" the paint). New wheel and new Michelin tire.

Figure it will be a month or more before the car sees the light of day. As it turns out we were "lucky" since most of the damage was just outside the frame rail on the passenger side. Go figure...............

 

Wow, that's quite a total repair amount considering that it doesn't include mechanicals. Best of luck with everything - be sure to let us know how it turns out.

 

Does seem like an extensive list, especially not knowing the mechanical aspects. I sure hope she drives well once you take her home.