I am amazed at the difference in damage between the two cars.

 

If a police report was filed, then CARFAX will reflect the accident attached to your VIN. Not all body shops cooperate with Carfax for obvious reasons. That's really why Carfax is not nearly as "fool proof" as they'd have you believe.

Recovering money from the woman's insurance company for "diminished value" will have to be done by suing her. It will likely cost you more money in legal fees than you will recover IF you prevail...not an easy thing to do. This maneuver is more likely to succeed with a very expensive car, as opposed to a MINI. Sorry.

I had a woman turn left in front of me and smack me in the LF. Didn't look too bad. Initial estimates were in the $2k range. When my car was finally fixed (10 weeks later!) the bill had ballooned to $14,000!! Allstate said they would have totaled the car had they known in the beginning it was going to cost that much to fix. FWD go-parts in a small car like a MINI are not cheap.

Very sorry your car got crunched. Good luck with the repair. My car came out of the body shop as good as new. Seriously. I was (and am) very happy.

 

So sorry! Your Mini held up pretty well compared to her car! If she hit your front wheel there may be major damage to the transmission and engine as well so keep your fingers crossed for it to be totaled if that's what you want.

 

So sorry about your mishap. Thank goodness you are ok. I wasn't so fortunate. but then again I was t boned at a much higher rate of speed. Good luck with everything. .

 

+1, her front end looks as if she hit a wall. Your Mini held up well. If you take it to a quality shop it will be as good as new.

 

yeah man she hit directly into my front wheel.. i was very surprised my air bags didn't go off.. I'm just worried about engine damage as well. if they total it ill be on the market for a new one.. i loved that car.. if the fix it ill make sure its done right.. those are the only two options I'm letting this situation have lol

 

You will have to sue to get the diminished value.

The above comments are why I will never buy another used car (1) again no matter
if it is $12k for a yaris. We got skunkered a couple times.

When you go to sell that thing and it has a carfax repair showing
$5, 7, 8k in repairs your value is going to be **seriously** effected.

(1) I'm not talking about $500 things I have in my yard. I mean normal
cars you depend on to get to work.

 

Glad to hear that you are OK. Lots of good advice in this thread. Hopefully the car isn't totaled but I wouldn't be surprised if they don't total it.

 

To the OP: I feel your pain! My poor Mini was totalled last week, and it wasn't my fault, either :( Good luck to you--I hope your Mini feels better soon!

 

i talked to the to towing company and they said they damaged a mini before towing it and to replace the bumper and front fender it was $4,500.. if thats the case there is no way its not totaled.. i need many more parts than that.. not to mention i didn't even look under the hood or at the suspension

 

oh no man... i hope your ok.. also do you have any pictures from your accident just to compare damage.. although yours sounds like it was worse

 

There's a lot of info on dimenished value on the net

http://www.allenandallen.com/blog/di...-of-value.html

 

Accidents are a bummer, you never come out on the good end. It doesn't take much these days to total a car, you may want to talk to the shop about it and see if they will work with you to get it totaled. I did that once. You should also get some legal advice and you should get a check above and beyond the repair for 'pain and suffering'. Shouldn't cost you more than about $50 legal fees and you should get about $500. But don't let it drag out, you only have a month or 2 and then you're out of luck. This too shall pass.

 

As long as you're fine, that should be the most important issue at hand. (no pun intended)

It's not the outside that worries me, that bent rim and the potential hidden damage to the tranny/engine.

 

Good posts. Both from personal experience and observation from others I know I have found the following: insurance company when they have to pay you claim no such thing as diminished value since they are making the car repaired. But, if they are paying out on a total loss they are the first to run a carfax or whatever, and claim there is a diminished value because it was in a previous accident.

Check your state laws. There may be a dollar amount of percentage of the BV where they are required by law to total it.

In general I think over the years insurance has become more quick to total a car because they get so much for the parts. It's not like 1970 anymore. The cars are stripped cataloged and mailed out in a week. Thus, the popularity of the illegal chop shop lol.

I think its always in your best interest to have it totaled out. I know that OrangeCrush guy does great work. I am sure there are others. But the percentage is very small. That means you are stuck with a very expensive lemon now.

Also remember that most likely (again, check with your individual state) there is a
government representative in the insurance commissioner's office that is sitting there waiting to resolve your complaint. This person does not communicate with your adjuster, but somebody about 14 up the ladder over your adjuster. This person makes their Christmas bonus by resolving your complaint. Do not hesitate to make a complaint.

Your adjuster will make their Christmas bonus by short changing you on your claim.
Big difference.

 

Sorry to see this.

Laws may change from state to state, but do a research on diminished value. It is there to cover this.

Also, have your car fixed by BMW/MINI certified body shop. In WA we have the right to get the car fixed where ever we want.

Hope all works out for you.

 

That is a good thing. If the car stays intact, all the energy due to the accident will be directed to the driver. You want the car to suck all that energy.

 

i know there is no set % in ohio to consider a vehicle totaled.. but i have not yet looked up diminished value in ohio... however i do not know who you are talking about or what your talking about making a complaint?.. are you saying if I'm not happy with what the appraiser does i should get a second look or file some type of complaint?

 

From my own experience... I was rear ended 2 years prior to my total loss accident and the rear bumper was replaced with OEM parts. The previous accident wasn't even taken in to consideration, there was no dimished value.

I was asked to provide a 2 year service/maintenance history (which i had) as well as the 2-year out of pocket expenses report to prove the car had been well maintained.

The first evaualtion from the total loss adjuster came inat $13K... When I submitted the maintenance & out-of-pocket expense report the insurance company came back with comps and paid me $15K.

(not too shabby, since i had a 2006 Cooper with 140K miles on it)

 

Glad tohear you are ok. Sorry about the MINI. That seems to be the only way a Focus can beat a MINI, by playing dirty lol.
Seriously though, the MINI held up well. From the looks of spilled fluid I bet she couldnt drive off if she wanted to.
Good luck with the repairs.

 

Did you take it to Orr's body shop? They do really good work.

 

indeed i did bro..im going out there tomorrow with the appraiser to determine the status

 

I work in the parts department at the BMW Store and will most likely be the one ordering parts for your car. I talk to them around twenty times a day

 

Nice man. Well if it comes down to fixing it make sure all the parts are OEM lol

 

Just to clarify - if the insurance is REPAIRING your car and **you** want dimished value they will claim their is no such thing, there is none, or they have never even heard of it. If they are TOTALING a car, and that car has had a previous claim, they are the **first** to say that the check they are going to give you will be discounted, because, your car was worth less due to DIMINISHED VALUE from the previous claim.

If you run across funny business or any other such thing, there should be a state agency person to make a complaint. For example, I had a car sit 4 months once. They would not total it, say they would repair it, or respond at all to my letters/calls/faxes until I made a complaint with the state agency. That is just an example, your situation may differ.

You will also find that due to their political influence, they have written the laws themselves, and as far as property damage goes it is 100 percent on their side.

____
Oh, I forgot to say this. When you go to pick up your repaired car (I am certain
they will repair that). Do not pick it up freshly washed. You can not see if
the paint doesn't match. Or cloudy day or at night. You really want to only pick
it up on a sunny day.