[Clark Kent]

So my many sleepless nights due to my job finally caught up with me and I fell asleep at the wheel last week. What I thought was a minor accident (just jumped a boulevard in the middle of a street and went through some bushes) is now shaping up to be a $20K repair job on a 4-month old car!!! I can't believe that my first accident ever turned out this way but now I'm just trying to evaluate all my options and figure out what's my best choice.

If, as the estimate stands, they need to go through and replace my entire suspension system (sport package), I highly doubt the car will be back to original form, let alone all the rattles and noises I can expect. I'm still waiting on a final estimate after they can get under all the paneling (tomorrow hopefully) but I was told over the phone that it's looking at ~$20K.

Considering I bought the car for ~$45K (plus tax & license), do you guys have any thoughts on whether it's worth going ahead with the repairs or if it might be a safer decision to try to claim it as a total loss? I was planning on keeping the car for 5-7 years and can't see myself being comfortable with the repaired car for nearly that long.

Any thoughts / suggestions are much appreciated!

[david @ eas]

First, I'm really sorry to hear about the car. I'm not sure how a suspension system would be around $20k. I would just assume that includes labor as well as maybe a BUNCH of other stuff that goes along with it.

I guess making those repairs really depends on a specific persons either love for the car, or financial situation. It would be a tough decision for me. Probably one of the hardest decisions I would say... Good luck and hopefully everything works out.

[TiAg335i]

I would total it...pics would be nice but from what you explained I would want it totalled. It would never be the same after that amount of damage.

[RMA]

I agree. I would not want the car back.

[audi2bmw]

Originally Posted by Clark Kent

So my many sleepless nights due to my job finally caught up with me and I fell asleep at the wheel last week. What I thought was a minor accident (just jumped a boulevard in the middle of a street and went through some bushes) is now shaping up to be a $20K repair job on a 4-month old car!!! I can't believe that my first accident ever turned out this way but now I'm just trying to evaluate all my options and figure out what's my best choice.

If, as the estimate stands, they need to go through and replace my entire suspension system (sport package), I highly doubt the car will be back to original form, let alone all the rattles and noises I can expect. I'm still waiting on a final estimate after they can get under all the paneling (tomorrow hopefully) but I was told over the phone that it's looking at ~$20K.

Considering I bought the car for ~$45K (plus tax & license), do you guys have any thoughts on whether it's worth going ahead with the repairs or if it might be a safer decision to try to claim it as a total loss? I was planning on keeping the car for 5-7 years and can't see myself being comfortable with the repaired car for nearly that long.

Any thoughts / suggestions are much appreciated!

i just went through something similar with my lexus. most insurance companies will only total a car if the damage is 70% or more of the value of the car.

anything less than that and they will just pay for repairs.

in my case, my repairs came out to 18,000. roughly 55% of the value of the car and they chose to repair it.

[audi2bmw]

Originally Posted by TiAg335i

I would total it...pics would be nice but from what you explained I would want it totalled. It would never be the same after that amount of damage.

its not your choice to total it. it is the insurance carrier's decision

[MrTiger]

I would total it...
I had similar situation few years back where suspension in my car was severely damaged.
My insurance repaired the car and few months after car was just falling apart. Rattles were all over the place and additionally other suspension components started to fail. Therefore I would just claim total damage...

[Tondtar]

Man , that really sucks. Glad to hear you are OK though. You could have ended up running into incoming traffic and that would be much worse than just car damage.

From my own experience w/ an old car, once you are involved in a semi-serious accident and get your car back after expensive repairs, it never feels the same. So if you don't mind the financial loss, I would say declare it a total loss and get a new one. Good luck.

[richardew]

Just had mine totaled. Had it 2 days, 150 miles. I was not at fault and nobody was injured. First estimate was $8000 (she was high), second was for $21000. Insurance Co did not give me the option to fix it or not. Their threshold is 65%. BMW tech came out and put a crankshaft pulley on car and it had a wobble - $13000 more, at least. Ins co then totaled car. Now there may be some hope for you. The actual cash value for my brand new car (MSRP 50825) was ~$40,000. Yours may be a bit less and the % may be approaching the threshold for totaling the car. Push for a diminished value claim if that is allowable, as that will push the repair costs closer to the threshold. Glad you're not hurt, that's hard to replace.
rich

[Clark Kent]

Thanks for all the feedback and input, everyone. Rich, going through this 4 months into it is tough enough -- I can't imagine just two days. I'm waiting on the final estimate (now pushed back to tomorrow) but sounds like a total loss might be the smartest choice here.

I definitely appreciate that I came out of the incident uninjured and have started to change my sleeping habits to the extent that I can. Thinking back to the car though, it's crazy to think that I simply cannot replace the exact same car since it was a sparkling graphite 335 with lemon, two options that are totally discontinued on the 2009 refresh. Luck clearly wasn't on my side that night, but that's just salt in the wound! Oh well, material goods are just that...material.

I'll keep you all posted on how the estimate comes in and my decision. In the meantime, any other experiences/thoughts are much appreciated.

[mayno]

Originally Posted by audi2bmw

its not your choice to total it. it is the insurance carrier's decision

+1

if there's no frame damage, they'll simply replace everything w/ new parts...just be sure to take it to the BEST body shop around...even if it's 50 miles away.

[mayno]

Originally Posted by Clark Kent

Thanks for all the feedback and input, everyone. Rich, going through this 4 months into it is tough enough -- I can't imagine just two days. I'm waiting on the final estimate (now pushed back to tomorrow) but sounds like a total loss might be the smartest choice here.

I definitely appreciate that I came out of the incident uninjured and have started to change my sleeping habits to the extent that I can. Thinking back to the car though, it's crazy to think that I simply cannot replace the exact same car since it was a sparkling graphite 335 with lemon, two options that are totally discontinued on the 2009 refresh. Luck clearly wasn't on my side that night, but that's just salt in the wound! Oh well, material goods are just that...material.

I'll keep you all posted on how the estimate comes in and my decision. In the meantime, any other experiences/thoughts are much appreciated.

hey, just be glad you didn't get hurt and worse yet hit another car head on possibly hurting (and even killing) them. happens all the time on 2 lane highways late at night.

your car can be fixed. it's not like you rolled over several times.

[Clark Kent]

I appreciate the guidance and trust me when I say that's crossed my mind a number of times too. All I was alluding to is how crazy it is to think that the car, just 4 months after my picking it up, is already out of production.

[kefler]

Originally Posted by MrTiger

I would total it...
I had similar situation few years back where suspension in my car was severely damaged.
My insurance repaired the car and few months after car was just falling apart. Rattles were all over the place and additionally other suspension components started to fail. Therefore I would just claim total damage...

Heh.. what the heck does that mean? "Hello Geico? Yeah about that car accident last week, I'd like to claim the total damage... so can you send a check? the car's in my driveway.. you can have it.. thanks"

[darkphantom]

Sorry to hear that man I think I better be careful too! except I drive in the day, but still it's a long drive and sometimes I do get sleepy! I need to make sure I pay attention to the road and pull over if it seems like I need to!

Sorry for your accident! good luck!

[boothguy]

Glad you're okay, but as others have said, whether or not to total the car is strictly your insurer's call. It's a numbers-driven business, and they're looking to put you back on the road at the lowest cost to themselves. That will almost certainly be by repairing your car. Best thing you can do for yourself here is to select a good shop. If you use the insurance company's "preferred" shop, they'll at least intervene on your behalf if the repair experience goes sideways.

[bling_singh]

do the 3 series come with lane departure and/or adaptive cruise?


sorry to hear about your accident, at least you walked away from it yea. i would try and go for the total if i were you. the biggest worry is frame damage.....the car would never be the same.

[clark192]

i kinda had th same issue. it took them a while to fix, and the car does not feel the same to drive anymore. no rattles or squeaks for me for the better part of a year, but who knows? there have been some minor annoyances with the alignment which may be in part due to the repair job and im still ironing it out. moral of the story? make sure you do your research, know what needs to be replaced, go through the damage with the claims adjustor and the head of whatever garage you take your car to. dont let the insurance company try and cheap you out of parts by "repairing" anything. just stand firm; if they wont total it, make them pay for everything to be replaced.

[Perpetrator]

Sorry to hear about your loss. As others said, it's fortunate that nobody got hurt.

I've had a prev car totalled (see sig), and went through your experience. as mentioned, the decision to total would be up to your insurance. the fact that your car is still new, will make it harder to claim as a loss. Also, the fact that you were at fault will prob give your insurance co the mentality to go with the cheapest route for them, since they will be fronting the entire bill.

From what it sounds like, it doesn't seem like the car will be totalled tho...but I hope I'm wrong.

Good luck with the situation and let us know what happens. Oh, and don't forget pix!

[nicknaz]

Personally, I'd get a third party damage assessment and discuss with the insurance adjuster while the claim is still open. Try to get the damage estimate as high a possible to get it over the hurdle for scrapping the car. As others have said, this hurdle is likely to be ~70% of the vehicle's cash value.

Also, squeaks and rattles will happen as the car ages regardless of whether it was in a collision or not. If the alignment can be brought back into spec that car should feel fine (i've held on to cars with repaired suspension, and they have felt fine, even under track conditions).

If you have a job that forces you to work ridiculous hours, you should be comped appropriately for it, so IMHO, take this is a learning experience on knowing your limits and move on. This sucks but it isn't a good use of your time to worry about it. A couple of grand spent to learn a lesson (don't drive when you are exhausted) that could save your life don't the road is money well spent.

[StoneCold]

Sorry to hear your loss bro. The good new was that you're okay and no one got hurt at all. The car is just stuff.

Like other have said, try to push it for totalled by having the higher bmw certified repairs shop, if not has it fixes up properly and drives it. Of course it won't be the same, but if you do not like it anymore then trade for a different one. Just a thought and best of luck bro.

[bsamoul]

do you have any pics of the car we can see?