Was rear-ended this morning. Off to see the Geico claims people...
http://www.shokk.com/gallery2/v/miniarrives/Rearended/

 

Sorry to hear that. Good luck!

 

That stinks man.

I just finished up fixing mine which thanks to the slickster
adjuster i end up about $400 short for the repairs.

So, when that geico <censored> tells you all you need
is a bumper cover and a light, he's lying outright to you.

The additional stuff that is broken on your car is
(this is the least)
muffler protector pan
bumper shock absorbers, most likely bent.
there is a bracket that holds the bumper on (at least
on the 2007) that connects to the frame. most likely bent in.
There are two plastic brackets behind the bumper cover, one on
each side. These are broken for sure.
Also, there is like 30 clips (on the 2007) that have to be removed.
They are single use clips and most likely will break when removing them.
Even if they don't break they should technically be replaced as they
are single use (the body panels get lose if used twice)
There is a good chance your muffler is bent in/shifted forward.

Don't make those <censored> adjuster's ferrari payments!
They will tell you 'we don't pay diminished value because we
are putting your car back exactly right'.
Well, trust me, you have diminished value. If you want it, you have
to have your insurance fix your car, they go after the other insurance,
then you sue in small claims for anything else you are out.
And they have absolutely no intention of putting your car back right
unless you make yourself their full time job.

Wish I had done that.

Get yourself checked out. You might have latent injuries.
I'm not going into it all here of course but 2 times ago when
I got smashed I 'thought i was mostly ok'. Well sure, the concussion
makes you think not right. I ended up missing months of work
from multiple back surgeries.

Geico is about the worst for putting you back right.

Call your doctor.
Then call your lawyer.

 

Oh, and if the censored was talking on a cellphone
I hope you kicked him/her in their private parts as
hard as you could, then when they doubled over
take their phone and stuck it up their <censored>

 

Great. Closer inspection shows trunk damage.

Good luck with that.

Don't take the <censored>'s offers for the
"free rental car".

You do, you also agree to substandard repairs.
They will hold you hostage is what I am saying.

The Man doesn't give you a rental car because he's nice.
He's doing it to save money, cheat you hand over fist, and
make sure his yacht payment gets in on time.

You take that rental car you will take the rest of the man's deal too.

 

I'll be printing out your list for future reference. I don't know if the Geico guy I spoke to on the phone was on a cell, but when I showed up at the adjuster, the guy was on a cell with someone and the person had to repeat a few times. He was pretty far out, so for the actual body work I went to a local auto body shop that I've used before and happens to be a Geico approved shop. They do good work, but I'll be on top of them with that list to see what happens after they remove the bumper.

Luckily the impact was not that hard, since the idiot started braking at some point and I heard the tires screech. I've been in accidents before, so I'll be waiting to see what I feel like tomorrow. I just wish I had the presence of mind to hit the accelerator when I first noticed him in the rear view, but I think staying on the breaks saved me since there was oncoming traffic on the immediate left and traffic in the lane to my right.

 

Hey shokk, sorry to see your new car wacked already.
The post by condor27596 sounds to me like he's had some real bad times dealing with GEICO. Sadly, that does and will continue to happen, regardless of who the insurer is. None the less, it's all good quality advice IMO.

I write estimates for a body shop and have done repairs and refinishing for the past 30+ years now, and I still can't say "I've seen it all". Soon as I do, somebody comes in to take the cake and I end up eating my hat.

Anyway, get your estimate done, see your favorite body shop and be sure they submit the supplements for any and all hidden damage. Trust me, there is always hidden damage on a hit like yours.

Good luck, and post some pics once the repair is completed.

 

I posted a few more at that URL of underneath the car. Will definitely post pics once my baby is back in shape. I'm scheduled to take it in Jan 28, and they estimate 2 days of work, so it should be back in shape before the end of the month. But with hidden damage, there will be supplements and additional waiting. And phone calls and arguing. =(

 

The downfall of driving a light car with good brakes Hopefully everything will work out.

 

If damage is found after the initial estimate is done, all the shop has to do is notify the insurance company. They might cover it without even seeing the vehicle. If there's any question about it being related damage, they will send one of their estimators to verify.

As far as medical care goes, if you have more than the normal muscle aches that last for about 48 hours after the accident, by all means, seek medical care. But seeking medical care when you have NO pain, that just ends up jacking up insurance rates for all of us.

Lawyers ? I'll tell you what I tell any claimant that asks me if they need an attorney: We will not treat your bodily injury liability claim differently in any way whether or not you are repped by an attorney. The attorney will just take the 33 percent of your settlement.

Now, if you're one of those people who wants to milk a claim for all it's worth (and jack up rates for all of us), then yes, get the attorney because they can help find you a doctor that works with them to provide unnecessary medical care. And don't tell me it doesn't happen that way. I see it nearly every day.

 

Sorry for the bumper bender, glad it was no worse.

Took a few weeks to get Percy back up and running, but we endured, too. Check out the pics in my gallery.

 

I'm not sure if that was directed at me.
I assume it wasn't so I'll speak in general.

There are quite a many ppl out there that say
oh oh oh waaaa I have a pain and try to get a little
$$$ for nothing. I totally agree. I agree it is wrong.

No reputable attorney will send you to any doctor, at all.
You have to take responsibility for your medical care yourself.

What I should have said is
Call your [reputable] doctor [if you think you are hurt].
[If you are hurt] call your [reputable] lawyer.

I do readily agree to the rest. Insurance companies have no
vested interest in fixing your car correctly, or taking care of you,
at all, if you are hurt. In fact, they have a very vested interest
in not doing so.

I do agree that in some cases higher rates are caused by
cheating people in the exact same way that higher taxes
are caused by those on the dole [meaning, not legitamately
disabled and such, just being on the free ride].

But higher rates are ultimately cause by people wanting to
do everything else except drive, while driving. That's the root
of the problem.

(doesn't apply to those on this site so much as generally people
that drive minis are driving-driving, not driving-makuping, driving-texting,
driving-reading, etc)

 

Also, as noted above.

A couple weeks to get it back.

There is no way you will get your car back in a couple of days
as indicated way earlier.

Best case you go by early, keep the car, they order the parts.
They call you, you drop the car off. Hopefully they take
it apart that day. They call the insurance, so the adjuster comes
by the next day (being optomistic). They order those parts.
Prep, paint, possibly waiting for the skim coat of bondo to dry,
paint dry, etc etc.

Best case, no car for the week. Most likely, closer to two.
No way is it two days.

 

With careful planning, this type of work is done all the time at my shop. In 2 days, believe it or not. However, most shops don't have the ability to plan carefully

 

You are definately the organized skilled professional

Although I didn't mean to sound like I was picking on shops.

I was more stating it like that's how it is.

Your a shop, you have 30 customers at once.
You're working on everything and also trying to run a business.
You can't just say ok, i'll take your bumper off, check for
damage, put it back on for you, order the parts, and have you
make an appt when the parts comes in.

I think everybody understands this.

I was just saying he should be more realistic with the two days
on the repair [for most shops]

 

Bummer.... I'm sorry.....

Donna

 

Sorry for the bad news. Best not to be hit at all but if it is going to happen getting hit from behind leaves no room for denying responsibility.

 

Best of luck in getting it fixed. At least the damage doesn't seem to be too bad. If you're back Motoring in only 2 days that'd be sweet!

 

I was rearended last year - only two months after taking delivery. I was not happy. But my damages weren't as bad as yours. I hope everything works out well.

 

r56mini- is that stock height? for some reason it looks a little lower than stock.

 

Unfortunate.

Your car will never be the same. Also, the car is now worth even less because it has been in an accident. You'll feel that when you go to sell it or trade it in.

 

I second that!!!!! I am so so sorry to hear this.

 

It's stock height and it's an illusion.... The wheel gap is there.

 

If that's true, then very few of the 300, or so, bodily injury attorneys that practice in the MD/DC area are reputable. Because there are very few that do not "refer" their clients to physicians, I assure you.

I think you're a little naive about the way the system works. But I mean that as a compliment because before you wrote that, I had you pegged for one of those professional claimants I'm all too familiar with.

 

Thanks for the support, everyone. Starting to feel a bit of pain in the back, but the earliest they would see me is tomorrow morning.

My wife and I were in a much worse accident about 14 years ago where we were broadsided by a full sized van while in a Monte Carlo Classic, spinning us around, breaking through a door and a seatbelt, and throwing my wife from the vehicle. Thank God she landed in a fluffy snow bank, and we had decided at the last minute to leave our 3 year old at home with grandma. I blew two discs in my back and I don't relish the though of ever having to go through any kind of physical therapy again after that.

Bigger car is not always better. There's always something bigger on the road.