I got into a car accident yesterday on the freeway while driving around 65 miles per hour on the highway. It was wet outside and my 2006 RX 330 FWD hydroplaned. My car began to spin and hit the divider twice in the front. Miraculously no one got hurt and we did not hit other cars. My question now is my car totaled?

I have attached pictures below. Do you recommend that I go to insurance and report it? The first two photos were right after the accident, and the next two are when its dry and I pushed one side of the bumper back into the car. The last one is of under the car where the base of the car has been broken too. Nothing leaks, and all the lights, blinkers, turn signals, etc. work. Any insight or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much in advance!!

 

Glad you're safe. Are any of the fender panels tweaked? If it's just the bumper and hood I'd just go to a trusted car shop and get a quote, then decide to involve insurance from there.

 

Definitely doesn't look totaled from the pictures. Will still be several grand though. I'd go through insurance.

 

I don't think that the fender panels are tweaked; the right fender is a bit scratched though. The grill is also kind of popping out.

Thank you so much!

 

yep that rain in California is a strange thing to drive in.

Glad everyone is ok.

Agreed, let insurance co handle it. Definitely a new front bumper.

 

Good to hear passengers are healthy. I would remove the damaged panels and take a good like at the underlying structure. You should be able to deduce how much damage the structure has received.
If you don't want to dive into it yourself, then get a few Zip ties and attach the loose bumper cover section and go get an estimate on having the cover replaced. At least you'll know what you're up against before calling the insurance guys...

 

why pay for insurance if you aren't going to use it? things like this is why you have insurance to begin with..

 

you can get a body shop to determine if it's totalled, but i doubt it from what i see. really sorry for your misfortune, and looks to me like that will be a very expensive repair and i'd use insurance.

 

Welcome to CL.....and sorry to hear of the incident.

Did you let the tires wear down too far? Most modern tires, especially all-seasons and rain-tires, are quite resistant to hydroplaning as long as the tread isn't worn too badly. But let the tread wear too much and it can be a different story...especially at 65 MPH.

I don't think your car will be totaled if they just have to replace and repaint the bumper and hood, but if more parts are involved, or if more hidden damage is done underneath, that could be different.

 

^ I was going to say the same thing about the tires . . . . If they are crap, replace them, live and learn.

As for getting the insurance involved, yes. Whatever number you have in your head that you think it will cost to fix, double it lol. Also how bad is the hood, its hard to tell if its even damaged from the pics.

 

Honestly, I don't know if the hood has been damaged. I'm hoping that it hasn't and that the only reason why it is lifted is because the bumper has shifted. Most likely it might be slightly deformed.

Do you all know of an estimated cost of repair? I realize that going to get a real estimate at an auto shop is probably the best bet, but I currently am unable to do so. Also if not totaled, would it most likely be a salvage car title?

Thank you all so much!

 

if the insurance pays it out as totaled, yes it will be a salvage title. The insurance company will take possession of the vehicle once they cut you the check. Some insurance companies give you the option to "buy back" the salvage vehicle at a lower than market value rate (usually about 50%). In other words they will give you the vehicle with the salvage title and a check for 50% of the market value.

If the cost of repair exceeds 50%-60% of the fair market value then it will be totaled.

 

I doubt they'd total his car out. From the pics it looks to be pretty clean/taken care of, just looked up the book value, an RX330 with 100k miles on it is worth $12,000. That would have to be over $6k worth of damage, I doubt that it would be that much since the OP said the radiator was fine, which means the front end/core support/front frame rails are probably also okay.

 

You have been paying all those insurance premiums, why would you not report it? That's the whole point--they will cover it.

 

Don't forget, IF you have let the tires get too bald (I'm not saying that you actually did that, only that, if so, it could have contributed to the hydroplaning)...to include the cost of new tires in addition to the repair. Depending on the quality of the tires (I have generally found Michelin and Continental tires the best, but they can be expensive), and what shop you have that done at, it can run anywhere from a few hundred to maybe over $1000. Tires, of course, will not be paid for by insurance......that is your responsibility, unless the accident itself damaged them, or you had a bad set of tires from the factory that was defective or wore out prematurely, where the tire-manufacturer may (?) have some liability.