Appliance got rear-ended - 'what car' thread

Don't worry, everyone is okay.

I love my '08 Saturn Astra 5-speed. Or at least I did, until it got rear-ended. Scratch that, I STILL love my Saturn. It started right up and after a little crow bar persuasion to the fender, drove away safely. Not even a CEL to boot! Still getting me to work. Enough of the good news, on to the bad.

Hit me so hard that I skidded across the median into the oncoming lane. I think I got lucky no one was there.

The hatch closes and latches, but there is a visible gap into the trunk. The rear pass door opens with enough force and will just barely close if you lift it up hard enough, but then it leaks. I really hope it's not totaled but I know they write off cars for anything these days. Still waiting on the other guy to fess up so no inspection scheduled yet.

So, GRM, do you think it's totaled? If so, which new appliance? I have no idea what the payout would be for an 8 year old GM orphan with 70k on the clock. I'm young, need a manual, hatch or wagon, or maybe not?, 30ish mpg. I have a 4 mile commute in southern IN and often take weekend roadtrips with the lady. No kids, no dogs, no towing needs. Already have a project and a weekend cruiser.

Glad you are okay. Did the Airbags deploy?

take the money and buy another?

Sounds like the unibody is heavily distorted, so it's probably totalled. May I suggest looking at a Mazda 3?

mad_machine wrote: take the money and buy another?

I would definitely pony up for the right 3-door manual, if I could find it.

No airbags, no check engine light, it even still tracks straight after sliding over a curb.

Kia Spectra5 or a Forte5

How's the spare tire well? That will probably tell you whether or not it's totalled.

Id say mazda 3 as well, though i just got swmbo 2.0 into a versa note, and i dont hate it. Surprisngly fun with the manual. Will totally hang a leg if shes not in thr car.

That happened to a '95 SW2 of mine and it wasn't totaled. Floor pan in the trunk was wrinkled, rear pass door was kinda tight.

I just pocketed the $1600 (well over what I paid for it), drove it another 20k miles, then sold it for $1300

Hard to say for sure from the photos if it's totaled. I don't see an obvious buckle on the quarter panel, but the gaps don't appear right and your description about the back door is concerning. To tell for sure, the bumper cover needs to come off and some other minor tear down to expose hidden damage.

If it is totaled, why not get another Astra if you really like yours. Or I'd also recommend the Mazda 3

That car is worth diddly poop to an insurance company. It is totaled.

With that said, I vote Fiesta or Mazda2. I have had both and they are killer appliances. Finding a 2 with a manual AND cruise may be a chore though. Good news is that it is also an orphan (at least in the US) so they aren't worth anything. Loved mine, wish it had more torques, hence fiesta (1.0L ecoboost).

What I want to know is: what did the rear-ender have to say for his/her self, and what choice words you had for them (after determining no injuries). I'm just nosey like that

I suspect that uncommon (not rare) and orphan are the two things that will work against you.
I would recommend starting an Internet search right away for an identical car (same year, similar miles but no mater what color.)
Save the listings you find.
What you will need to do is present a case to your insurance of what real retail is for you to replace the car with the near exact car.

As an example, this could be the difference of you getting paid out at a $5k value or a $7k value.
In this example, at $4,500 worth of damage they may total it if the insurance only values it at $5k. If they value it at $7k, the $4,500 damage could result in them fixing it.

Either way, start your own research now.
Less about what the "book pricing" websites say they "think" it is worth and more about real examples of how much coin it will take to put the same thing in your driveway.

In reply to maschinenbau:

My '08 Yaris S 3-door hatch is a marvelous appliance. An example in the 5-door hatch variety would be a spectacular appliance.

Plenty of cargo space, very practical interior, 35-39 mpg observed, decent handling, can cruise at 80 effortlessly.

An uncommon car does not = less value to an insurance company. Not many insurance carriers that I'm aware of actually use NADA or KBB as the final measure of a cars' value. They'll use those websites to get a baseline to help them determine if the car is approaching total loss. If a car is then determined to be totaled, most carriers have a vendor they use to make a final valuation. There are only a few large vendors out there who do this service. They use market driven value (i.e. comparables) as part of their final determination. Other things like mileage, condition of tires/glass/paint/interior come into play too.

The Astra is far less common, but not so incredibly unusual. There should be enough samples to get a good market value.

singleslammer wrote: That car is worth diddly poop to an insurance company. It is totaled. With that said, I vote Fiesta or Mazda2. I have had both and they are killer appliances. Finding a 2 with a manual AND cruise may be a chore though. Good news is that it is also an orphan (at least in the US) so they aren't worth anything. Loved mine, wish it had more torques, hence fiesta (1.0L ecoboost).

Or a Scion IA which is a rebadged 4 door Mazda 2 sedan. No hatchback for the US though sadly.

Ford ST brothers or Mazda3. If money is more of an issue the Abarth guys are active on here...

The0retical wrote:

singleslammer wrote: That car is worth diddly poop to an insurance company. It is totaled. With that said, I vote Fiesta or Mazda2. I have had both and they are killer appliances. Finding a 2 with a manual AND cruise may be a chore though. Good news is that it is also an orphan (at least in the US) so they aren't worth anything. Loved mine, wish it had more torques, hence fiesta (1.0L ecoboost).

Or a Scion IA which is a rebadged 4 door Mazda 2 sedan. No hatchback for the US though sadly.

And it's shockingly hideous. How about the iM hatchback with a stick? You can get one of those pretty cheap and we ran a stock one around Cherry Valley Motorsports Park (A Scion dealer sponsors our SCCA Solo chapter and sends a car out as advertising. Little did they know what we had planned) and it turned a pretty decent lap time.

Golf with the 2.5 engine may work. It gets vw depreciation, but was their most reliable engine.

I have a date with the assessor tomorrow. They say they will determine how much to give me for the repairs or write-off if it's totaled. Any tips for dealing with these guys? I hear you can negotiate a bit. I am already planning to get a quote from a local shop beforehand.

NickD wrote:

The0retical wrote:

singleslammer wrote: That car is worth diddly poop to an insurance company. It is totaled. With that said, I vote Fiesta or Mazda2. I have had both and they are killer appliances. Finding a 2 with a manual AND cruise may be a chore though. Good news is that it is also an orphan (at least in the US) so they aren't worth anything. Loved mine, wish it had more torques, hence fiesta (1.0L ecoboost).

Or a Scion IA which is a rebadged 4 door Mazda 2 sedan. No hatchback for the US though sadly.

And it's shockingly hideous. How about the iM hatchback with a stick? You can get one of those pretty cheap and we ran a stock one around Cherry Valley Motorsports Park (A Scion dealer sponsors our SCCA Solo chapter and sends a car out as advertising. Little did they know what we had planned) and it turned a pretty decent lap time.

the iM is a Toyota Auris aka a corolla hatchback.

Good news, it is NOT totaled! Got quoted for over $4k in repairs. Looks like Veronica gets a break from the salt this winter.

Yaris gets my vote. I had a three door and it handled like rails with some springs and a fat rear bar.

maschinenbau wrote: Good news, it is NOT totaled! Got quoted for over $4k in repairs. Looks like Veronica gets a break from the salt this winter.

That's good news. I've always had a weird thing for Astra hatches. It's too bad Saturn folded when they were on the brink of bringing a bunch of interesting cars to market.

Rant time.

Word to the wise: if you ever find yourself on the receiving end of a rear-end collision, do not I repeat DO NOT try to be a nice guy and work with the other guys insurance. It makes nothing easier. You think you're doing them a favor by not getting your own company involved. You think they will take it as a gesture of good will by avoiding the need for subrogation. NOPE. They will try to squirm and wiggle their way out of anything they owe you. They will try to berkeley you.

FILE WITH YOUR OWN INSURANCE, pay your deductible, let them fight the other guy's insurance. You'll get the deductible back, though it will take some time. It's like I'm prying teeth trying to make them pay for my rental car. They keep having the rental company charge me and make up all these bullE36 M3 excuses. I don't give a berkeley. I didn't rearend anyone, I'm not at fault, why do I feel like I'm on trial here. Just pay my damn rental bill, pay the damn body shop, and give my damn car back.

I miss changing gears. My rental is a Sentra CVT. Car has been in the shop for a month. It makes me hate life.