I took pics of my wrecked 350 this morning. I will upload them today. From what I can guage from the initial reaction of the swell lexus repair shop guy, it may not be totaled. He says the front ends of the frame have moved to the right, but they r built to be collapsed and hence repairable. he says they r actually welded to the frame and can be replaced. Also, he said that the engine parts have moved to the right and they can be set in place.

one mor eunforunate thing was because of the towing guy. the smoke pipe was pushed too far and the tow hitch is bent on to the smoke pipe. Whose fault will this be ? Can I claim the repair from the towing guys ? huh..seems like lot of headache.

 

Just make sure the body shop includes the "extra" damage from the towing company as all one bill, and then don't worry about it. If you try to separate it, you'll have a hassle. You can easily argue that the damage in the back was a direct result of the accident - if you didn't need a tow truck, then a tow truck wouldn't have caused the problem. Plus, the police expect the tow truck drivers to get the road cleared quickly, so they don't have time to be careful with an otherwise damaged car.

 

I will let others chime in with the attorney issues but let me comment on auto repairs. If your car is repaired by a reputable shop with a good history, your car should drive, ride, and perform like an almost new car. That includes the airbags and other sensors. My insurance company replaces body panels with new parts if the mileage is less than a certain amount. I would say that with 1000 miles you should be able to demand new parts, not used and certainly not ones that have been reconditioned. The other thing I would do is to ask Lexus who does their body work. Remember, one of Lexus' strongest selling point is their reliablility and their word of mouth advertising. If the car is repaired poorly by a Lexus approved repair shop it will inevitably reflect poorly upon the brand, not the repair company.

I have known a couple of folks in the body repair business and I will say that reputation goes a long way. For instance, down the way from me is a repair shop with Mercedes, Audi, Porsche, and BMW cars sitting awaiting repairs. When my wife's Mustang convertible needed a repaint to the hood do to abrasion, I took it there. There were less than 1% higher than the place with the Chevrolets and Fords in front of it.

Gary

 

here are the pics of the damaged car

 

one more pic

 

this is where the engine parts have moved to the right

 

engine cover broken

 

from right side angle

 

My estimate is for about $18,000 to repair. I'd expect the repair to take about 60 days. Let me know how close I came.

 

another angle

 

jeff, initially the repair guy at sewell lexus bodyshop said it may take abt one month. he didn't give me the amount figure tho.

 

Ok..I went to the repair shop today. they tore down the front part .just a little bit. The initial estimate the insurance person gave before tearing it downw as $6k. After tearing down, the repair guy says it would be around 15k.

The front rails are bent to the left by 45 degrees angle. Repair guy says thats "frame damge" but can be repaired and lexus tolerance is 3mm. They are going to replace the front rails with new ones.

When I asked about the opinion of totaling the car..they said they can repair it but I expressed my concern about the framedamage and reluctance to repair it.

They said, they can quotes as much as for the supplemental repair charges and I should be able to get a check from the insurance for that amount. And then I can trade it in with them, after getting a value from a salvage bidder.

Both these amounts should be close to my new vehicle value and I will be given a tax credit.

Is this all true ? am I being taken for a ride ? Please help me . what are my options and what should be my course of action now ? I will upload the pics later which show the bent front rail.

please help me.

thanks.

 

Personally, I would try to rid of your RX if you can. God only knows what other problems they will find after they tear everything down. Even with the repairs completed, a formerly wrecked vehicle is rarely as good as new. You could also develop other problems later on related to the accident. I'd take the money and buy another RX.

 

so..what do you think I will be taking as a hit ?
my vehicle cost is 36,800 + tax
when I combine the insurance money and salvage bidder's price..will I come any closer to the original value ? do I loose all the tax that I paid ? and will I have to pay 3k tax again on the new one ?

also, will the insurance agree to pay me the amount that repair guys quote as repair charges ?

I have filed my claim with my insurrance people..AIG.
they said since the other guy is at fault, they will pay me first and collect it later from the other insurance.

 

If your body shop is on your insurance approved repair facility list they will pay whatever the body shop asks for no questions. If they are not on the list, but have a good relationship with your insurance, you probably will have no trouble getting what the body shop asks for, but no guarantee.

Whatever happens I'd try my best to get rid of this car. Even if the car is repaired 100% which I doubt it will be, the value of this car is shot.