Angry.... frustrated... sad... perplexed


Easter Sunday as many call it.
Cruising down the 5 freeway southbound passing Laguna Hills headed home.
Approaching the El Toro exit, I notice traffic start to slow. As I'm driving next to the carpool lane, I start to think whether I should exit at El Toro and take the side streets for about 5 miles or so. I decided to just stay where I'm at and deal with the traffic.

A Honda Element in front of me starts to slow down to the point of a complete stop. I slow down as well. But because it's a slightly harder stop, I quickly glance at my rear view mirror and the car behind me is still pretty fast. The first thing I think to myself was... "ahh sh*t!!!" So I press on my brakes as hard as I could, hoping that I won't touch the car in front of me "IF" I get rear ended.

Then boom! I got rear ended. Although the damage on the rear bumper doesn't do justice, the impact was pretty hard. I felt the impact two times. There was only one car that rear ended me. I've been rear ended before in a '95 Camry (7 car collision) back in 2007 and the impact wasn't as hard as this one (the trunk of the Camry was pushed in).

I know some of you might laugh, but I got hit relatively hard (...twice) that I yelled "Argh!" (...twice). My car got pushed and I hit the Honda Element in front of me.

I immediately stepped out of the car... put my hands on my head (arresting position) and yelled really loud ("f*cccccck!"). I was angry. I couldn't help it. Cars in the carpool lane were staring at me.

We all pulled over to the side, I began to think... wow, insurance isn't even going to cover half of this. My car has mods. And my mods aren't "covered" by insurance.

Here are the pics of my unfortunate event.
Thankfully, I'm okay. The two other drivers are perfectly fine.

My concern... I'm 50/50 on whether the insurance will consider the damages high and turn the car into a salvage title. I say this only because I met an older gentleman who had a W211 E63 with low miles (years ago). He had a neighbor who's pickup truck backed-up into his fender and door while the E63 was parked. Insurance turned it into a salvage title. Damage was very minor too.

Anyways... here are the pictures.

And yes, I know... "it could be worse."

And oh... one more thing. I have a 12-inch subwoofer and box enclosure in the trunk. It's BOLTED down (two bolts). Impact was hard enough to snap both substantial sized bolts.























Any recommendations on a "high end" shop that can do an excellent job on modified cars? I don't mean to make it sound bad, but... I don't want to settle with just any shop. I want a shop that can do excellent work and nothing less.
I'm open to going anywhere reasonable in Southern California. I'm in L.A. County and Orange County.

 

I have friends who who are friends with chapparone auto body. That's all I can offer.

 

Your offer is greatly appreciated.
Going to add that on my list.
Thank you.

 

Really sorry man - I hope things work out. The most important thing is that you're ok and everyone else is too.

Hopefully there is no subframe damage - it looks like the rear hit a t-joint in the bumper itself. But it will be a toss-up whether your insurance will take the 'easy way out' and label it as salvage. Good luck...

 

Doesn't look bad, airbags did not pop. Let us know what happens.

 

Prior to filing a claim, I plan to get some basic legal advice to see what steps can/should be taken if the options aren't in my favor.


I'll keep you guys posted.

 

Man thats a bummer -
It sucks when you see it coming and you cant do anything about it.
You have to give the MB credit, it took the hit well, and your ok.
If you don'y have any frame damage, and the air bags didn't go off, I would guess they don't total it???

 

Damn... sorry to hear this man. Always loved this car.
Hopefully it all works out. Keep us posted.

 

Which is quite interesting.

 

I second Chapparone in San Diego.

Mark is a former (and future =)) W211 E55 owner and he knows the cars inside and out.

My E55 was in his shop to replace front bumper and both fenders, Mark helped with getting everything done with the insurance and the work is top notch.

I had around $6K in damages which looked SUPER minor from the outside.

I know it may be a bit far for you in South OC, but I am willing to travel for good help. I sent my car to Benz Works up in Huntington to get coil-overs done when I could've went locally.

 

oh man ....that effing xxx ... sorry bro.. only know shops that's not locally to u.


glad u ok.. let us know what happends...


get a SL63 rear cf lip and custom fit it for a newer look lol ...

 

Concur with Chapparone. Marks car was Actually Tal's car from ACG who did All my mods. Tal bought it back and then sold it again. I would look into it. ACG is 2 minutes away from Chapparone and they can do any other work that needs to be done.. They know the 55 like the back of their hand.. Good luck and glad your OK...

 

This should all be on the Honda Pilots' insurance, not yours, and they can't really have any say on whether your car has mods or not. They are covering the at fault driver. If you have receipts for upgrades, that will help. There are also auto appraisers that can help determine market values in a way that ins companies can't really ignore. I went through all this when the suspended licensed A$$hole wiped out my last car. his insurance was on the hook for a lot more than they thought they were gonna be. Good luck man.

 

Yes. Thankfully. "Could have been worse"


I spoke to an insurance agent this morning. I asked about what would make the car a salvage title. He explained that "if costs to repair exceed 70% of the car's value, we (...or the other insurance company) will then determine if it's worth repairing." Did some rough numbers based on KBB value... $14,500. 70% of that is approximately $10,150. I highly doubt that it'll reach that amount, but if it does... then I honestly wouldn't know what to do then.


Thanks man. I hope for the same.


Yeah... I personally don't know what amount of impact is needed for the airbags to deploy.
Now that I think about it. I hope the previous owner had the upgraded steering wheel installed properly.


I'm going to see what I can do. I have free 100 mile towing via AAA. Not sure if my towing can reach that far.
I totally get it. It's always best to take your car to a reputable shop.
Good call on BenzWorks. Serge and Nick are the only non-dealer shop that's ever touched any of my Benzes since '07.


Thanks man.
LoL...which SL63 lip are you referring to? It looks like a tough job.


Good to know.
Yeah... I've seen Tal's car. Very clean. Almost bought it back then.
I dropped off my car to a local shop here in Laguna Niguel for the adjuster to come by tomorrow morning. I spoke to the owner (really cool guy). I explained all the custom parts and mods. He was on my side and said... I'll do what i can to let the adjuster know what is "needed". I specifically chose that spot only because its local. I want to get the adjuster to come out asap (no matter where I end up taking the car). And plus... the shop works mainly on higher end cars (Porsche, Ferrari, BMW, MB, etc.).


Very helpful information. Good to know. I definitely have a lot of receipts / documentation to back up my mods and expenses.
Wow...really sorry to hear about your incident.

 

 

Oh man that sucks. That back doesnt look too bad but the front? Oh man.
Sucks because the OEM costs for parts is crazy high.
I hope it works out

 

You should report the accident to your own insurance and simultaneously file a claim with the insurance company of the car that hit you. Your own carrier might help you make the claim to the other insurance company. As said earlier, the issue of whether you had coverage for your mods is irrelevant. The driver that hit you owes you whatever full damages you suffered. If he doesn't have any insurance, then I hope you have uninsured motorist coverage for property damage.

I have been in the exact same style chain collision accident, and I also remember two or three distinct collisions (hit from behind, hit car in front of me, hit from behind again!), though my air bags did go off and that dazed me some.

 

I did a few cost estimates myself on "necessary" OEM parts such as the bumpers, grille, headlights, etc. Those basic parts alone came close to $4,270 (discounted non-dealer prices). And that's before paint, before labor, before other damaged parts that will be found during the process. I sure home the shop can work their magic.

Yes... I filed a claim with my insurance company first. Prior to speaking to the agent assigned to me, he already advised me that he already made contact with the other party's agent. The agent on my side is moving pretty quick. I'm actually surprised. I just want my car repaired well to it's full original condition (...if not better).

The good... myself and the younger kid I hit in front of me both have the same insurance company.

The bad... the young chick that hit me has a smaller insurance company I personally never heard of. She said she had full coverage, so "maybe" I shouldn't be too worried.

The questionable... what am I to do if I find out that certain aftermarket parts aren't covered? Example - heat exchanger, intercooler pump, rear diffuser, etc.

 

ill be losing my **** if aftermarket it not covered. why not. its on there cant you see it ?

 

It's not a question of coverage, it's a question of what damages you can prove in court. If you had a freakin' crystal chandelier mod for your domelight, and it busted, then they owe you for that. It doesn't matter if it's OEM or something extra.

That's not to say the other driver's carrier will offer you full payout. Start getting your evidence together of how much the mods are worth, and be ready to go to court if necessary. Don't settle no matter what their adjuster tells you they "don't cover" unless you are getting reasonably good value. If they won't pay, be ready to file a suit against the other driver and be ready to show a jury how much you had in the car that was busted by her negligence.

The law in most states generally says the negligent party is responsible for either the cost of repair or the difference in market value, whichever is less! You'll have a tough time proving that your car was worth more than KBB unless you can find an appraiser who will testify for you that your mods added real value. Alternatively, you could argue that your car was worth KBB plus the value of the mods you could unbolt and sell, if those mods busted and cannot be resold.

 

UPDATES

As my car sits at a local high end shop to have it looked at by an adjuster, I received an estimate.

The attached picture reflects damage inspected by the adjuster. Keep in mind that there could potentially be more damaged parts as the car is being worked on.

If you look at the final number at the very bottom, I have a feeling it's easily going to exceed that.













Side note - back when I had my W208 CLK, I asked my insurance agent about coverage on non-OEM parts (any and all aftermarket parts). She explained that in order for those items to be covered, I would need to apply for "additional custom parts coverage" (I don't recall the exact term). She stated that it would be an additional premium. The additional amount would be based on the cost of the parts being covered. Example... Coverage for $6,500 wheels would $157 more per year. Receipts are needed of course.

 

You have no deductible at all when it comes to damages caused by the other driver. The at-fault driver is responsible for your whole bill, even if that includes custom parts. You were not required to have extra coverage to make the other driver liable.

Again, the other driver is liable for the LESSER of the repair cost or the reduction in value of your vehicle, up to a total loss. So if your vehicle is worth $10k and repairs would be $12k, they only pay $10k.

When you make contact with the other driver's insurance carrier, be sure to ask for a comparable rental car to cover the period they are doing their estimates and/or repairs.

 

Man cars are getting expensive to fix. Sure doesn't LOOK like 9k in damages. Doesn't look good at this point. Although I had a Camaro that was totaled and est was 6500. I took the money and found a place to fix it for 3500. They really jack up the prices on the insurance quotes

 

Seriously! Over $40 for replacement information labels? Spend that $40 on some prime rib dinner, baby.

 

I don't see anywhere what model year your E55 is.... Could be a total loss here.