after less than a handful of small scratches, paying off the car, 103k miles, and 5 years later...this happens!

Long story short...I was at a dead stop in traffic and got hit at ~30mph. Everyone was fine.

The auto body shop is expecting it to be around $12k in damages. Here is the short list he gave me of repairs to be made:

Front bumper
Grill
1 headlight
Tow Hook repair
Parking sensors front and rear
Rear bumper
Rear body panel repair
Trunk floor replacement

The car is a 2007 IS350 with 103,000 miles. Anyone know what the rough insurance value would be? I don't think it'll be totaled, but with that many miles, who knows.

Pretty nervous that my car will never be the same, but the auto body guy said that with today's uni-body construction, you're less likely to have frame twisting and related issues, and he said its typical of a hit like this...and confident he can get it as good as new.

Just wanted to share my experience and get anyone's opinion on $12k in damages and similar experiences with repairs of this magnitude. was your car ever the same?

 

Sorry to see it happen!

Your car could be considered totaled, which all depends on your insurance company. Usually its 75% of the car's present value.

As for the damages, it doesn't look that bad from being hit by a car going 30 mph. Doubt there are any frame damage if so very minimal.

 

Sorry to hear this. But glad that all of you are alright and I don't think it's that big an accident anyways. Hope you get it fixed soon.

Off topic: BTW great wheels though

 

Sorry to hear about the accident. The good thing was that everyone was OK and able to walk away. Did the driver not see the cars stopped at the sign or was simply not paying attention. 30mph seems a tab fast for a residential area especially when it looks like it was raining or it just rained. Good luck with insurance. Hopefully everything works out.

 

yikes that definitely does not look like 12k in damage. then again you never know whats damaged until you take everything apart and look at it.

 

30MPH was my own estimate.....maybe as low as 20...not sure how fast, but both of his airbags went off and as you can see, his front end was pretty messed up!

I also erred on the 30mph side because he also pushed me into the Mercedes in front of me, and the Mercedes into the Cadillac in front of him! Definitely not his day!!

Thanks!...best $15 I ever spent on plasti-dip for the wheels!

 

My front end crash was $8,000.00 and it looked like the person that hit you. I don't think they will total your car (unless airbags went off which doesn't look like it) The other car is totaled!

Glad to see everyone is okay though,. Just make sure you stay on top of the body shop and keep all the warranty paperwork.

 

Bummer... Just to give you a reference, Hurricane Issac blew a tree on top of my 4 Runner and IS350. My baby only had minor damage, but my wife's 4 Runner was totaled. The silver lining was, we received a check for 13500.00 for an 04 with 120,000 miles, way more than i could have sold it for... if lucky i could have gotten 8 or 9 g's.
The other option that i didn't take, i could have bought the car back for 3500.00 and still pocketed 10. If your car totals, it may be worth the buy back. I hope this helps. Good luck.

 

Most likely this involves cutting, removing and installing new pieces which require welding. If this is the case, I would say it's not going to be same and the vehicle's structure isn't necessarily as strong. It is the case, I would get rid of the car.

It's almost like having welds in places where they shouldn't be. Imagine it as a cardboard box.. Now you start cutting pieces off and put in replacement pieces which is tape or possibly glued. It isn't the the same when it was a brand new box which is essentially one piece like fused together.

 

man sorry to see this happen glad everyone is ok. Now maybe you'll get some money to get a drop on top of fixing the car =)

 

The only important difference is that welds are stronger than the metal it holds together...opposite of the glue/tape analogy.

I cut out and welded new floors in a 68 Camaro, and was a welder in a past life, so the structure and strength don't bother me....just the possibility of shakes and rattles.

 

The trunk is not one piece metal. You can see the factory welding point here and there if you remove the spare tire from your trunk. I suppose that the body shop use the replace piece of metal and weld it at the factory welding point. I think if they done a properly it should be like new.

 

Digging the black badges at least =D

 

I don't trust the welder's job in general in comparison of how the robots do it from the factory. So yes I would be concerned about it's strength and the car's structure in terms of safety and reliability.

Similar reply to above.

If other pieces needed to be replace especially if it's concerning the structure of the car like the frame..., just the fact that if it requires cutting certain pieces out and putting news ones in its place which would require welding... I would have no confidence in it.

It was a co-worker who told me (who is a lot more knowledgeable in cars than me) about the cardboard box analogy (which is oversimplified but to make a point he mentioned) but the if it requires a welding and cutting and inserting new pieces (especially those that where welds should not be)... Get another car.

 

It all depends on how good the body shop done the job. If they done it properly it shouldn't be a problem. The welded part shouldn't be weaker or stronger than the oringinal part. Judge from the picture the body shop probably will only replace the piece under the trunk opening. The trunk floor should be ok if he has the spare tire in there. It should get stack in the spare tire well...