My baby got rear ended while on I - 95 Thursday and she is not looking too good, but drivable. Any suggestions how I should go about things? Anybody have similar damage? The driver's seat is messed up- should I still be driving it? What should I say to the appraiser to get the most accurate estimate?

Worst day ever ugh!

 

Probably not as that is a safety issue with all kinds of things. Plus it just looks super ghetto.

 

Pictures of the damage on the front and back :'(

 

That doesnt look that bad at all.

Should buff out.

haha.

Looks pretty fixable.

 

Don't we have an airbag in the seat? If so, think about this: You're sitting on effectively a shotgun shell (without the pellets) that inflates the bag. The part that has this shell in it is damaged. Are you sure you want to be sitting on something that is broken now which has a shotgun shell in it?

Or to think of it another way: If the seat is damaged, it is much weaker. If you get hit again, chances are much higher that it will fail. In the worst of all possible worlds, it will let you fly right into the exploding steering wheel airbag, or into the wheel which is not deploying an airbag! Neither of those is going to have a good result.

Don't drive the car. Get it checked by a pro.

 

I was rear-ended about a year and half ago. The seat has not been the same.

I complained about it and they found a used seat back frame. Didn't make any difference. Insist on a new seat!

 

It seems odd to me that an accident with what looks to be very fixable damage to the rear end would affect the seat. I'm not saying it didn't happen because you'd certainly know if the seat was affected. I'm just trying to figure out how that results in damage to the seat. I can see if the hit was hard enough to forcefully throw you backwards into the seat back, but it doesn't appear to have been that hard a hit. Anyway, I would follow gregsmini's advice and insist on a new seat.

 

Ripple effect of the energy through the car. Looks like the hood has some damage too. Get that beast looked at. Like tomorrow. Don't drive it till its fixed. It is not worth the risk. Plus like I said before it looks white trashy to be driving in a wrecked car.

 

Last Thursday? By now the appraiser should have looked at your car or at least put you in a loaner, paid for by the driver's insurance company who hit you. Have you contacted your insurance company to get them involved. They can usually speed things along. The other driver's insurance company is obviously in no hurry to take care of things.

 

Hey, get yourself checked out, too. Are you okay?
Was the truck tailgating you?

 

Where do you see damage to the hood?

 

I haven't been in the Mini world very long, but I've already seen reports of three rear end collisions and in all cases the owner reported issues with the seat. Doesn't seem that far fetched in this situation then either.

 

Around the passenger side bonnet stripe. It might be the picture and reflection but it looks like it might have buckled.

 

Front doesnt look bad, I dont really see any damage other than the tag. You def need a rear bumper and maybe the hatch can be saved by a PDR specialist. Good luck on the repairs and glad to hear you werent severely injured.

 

Body shopped estimate was 3700 including replacement of the front and rear bomb and replacing the hatch ( once they get into the car they said it will likely be more. ) but my main question is what do I do about the lost value of my car.

 

Nothing can be done about the value of the car being ruined. You are just out of luck on that.
Been there - done that.

 

Nothing can be done about the value of the car being ruined. You are just out of luck on that.
Been there - done that.
System timed out and posted twice, sorry.

 

You may be able to recover some $$ for diminished value, but you have to show that the value was diminished and how much it was. And that gets pretty complicated, unless the car is a collector car with well-known history and value info.

 

That's too bad...

I just got rear-ended myself last Thursday. I certainly felt myself jerk into the back of the seat, but haven't noticed any issues with the seat in general.

I've been driving mine as well... Both the split doors and the rear bumper are going to need to be replaced. Otherwise, mine didn't have too much damage.
Driving a beat-up MINI is still better than driving a rental, IMO.

 

Yes yes driving a car with damage that hasn't been assessed is a good idea. Yep The you get rear ended again and thats it you really hurt yourself. Ya sounds like a great idea to me.

 

In my case, the damage has been assessed and there are no problems (other than a crunched boot).

I wasn't suggesting the OP drive something dangerous, I was merely pointing out that I would prefer to drive my MINI with a bit of damage than a sh**y rental car.

 

Ugh. Just got the word that the guy has no insurance. :(

 

Same thing happened to me last Tuesday STILL waiting on Medford Police for the dam report!!!!
On my car looks to be 2400.00 worth of damage
and yes my seat is broken as well
As to diminished value I would see if you can take to other driver to small clams court

 

Hopefully you have comprehensive and UIM coverage on your car. If so, your own insurance company will do the suing for you. Talk to them about diminished value.

 

Depending on how hard you were hit your seat frame is probably bent. I would have it checked.