A little info on Ct. diminished value claim:
http://www.cga.ct.gov/2007/rpt/2007-R-0011.htm

My wifes 2002 E46 was hit in 2007 and we were awarded $1300 for the diminished value claim. Which quickly was invested into MODS!!

 

Well, looking at the picture and assuming no frame damage, it shouldn't be totaled. Parts that need to be replaced: hood, front bumper, passenger headlight, passenger fender, and grille shouldn't add up to 70% -- unless your car is 2004 with high miles.

 

That's a bummer - Good luck getting this sorted out.

A few points to keep in mind:

• The issuance of a ticket is NOT an automatic determination of "fault" as far as an insurance company is concerned. A plea or finding of "guilty" helps but state insurance laws govern liability matters (e.g. some states have "comparative fault" regulations).
• Typically, for insurance companies, an air-bag deployment is an automatic "total" ...
• YOUR insurance company will work hard to get the other party to come up with the cash. BUT, if you are expecting them to PROTECT YOUR financial interests - forget it! They are in business to minimize THEIR losses - and reduce any cash they have to put out! Sad but true.
• DO YOUR OWN HOMEWORK and document it document it document it. KBB, Edmunds, Retail prices from area BMW dealers to prove the true value of your car and its replacement cost. The post about diminished value is helpful - that will require some homework too!

The damage doesn't look too bad ... BUT under the skin are things that IF you choose to have repaired I strongly recommend using a CERTIFIED BMW Collision repair center. One last point, if the insurance adjuster determines your car is a "total" and you choose to buy and repair it the title will carry that information and resale may be very very difficult.

One more "last point" ... your post starts out "... I struck an old lady in a Lexus SUV."

BTW, not accusatory about your actual conduct but thinking how it could play out down the road. .... do you think HER lawyer could cause you a second accident (in court)?? .... hmmmmm so YOU - some hot-dog kid ... racing around in a BMW (everybody knows how BMW drivers drive!!) hit and caused caused grave harm to an (older) adult safely driving a conservative vehicle (Lexus). hmmmm Just sayin

Good luck - keep us posted on how things work out for you

 

I am sorry to hear about your accident. Looks like the damage isn't too terrible but I am no expert. Its sad but it seems like when you have a great car, others want to ruin it.

I don't keep any vehicle after it has been involved in a serious accident if I am still paying on it. A little story:

In 1997 I was the owner of a fully loaded low mileage 1993 Ford Bronco (if you like that sort of thing). I loved and took very good care of it. One fine day in Phoenix AZ, I was sitting at a light waiting for the green.... meanwhile coming up behind, some smelly hairy unkept hungover SOB was driving a hunk of shiaat 68 puke yellow and white rusted out chevy truck with NO license, NO insurance, and NO brakes.. How did get get around town? He was using the gearbox to slow the POS. I am NOT kidding or exaggerating in ANY way!!!!!! Well evidently while approaching the light and stopped vehicles, the drive shaft literally fell out of his POS truck and he decided to use my Bronco as his parking brake.

The damage was bad but the airbags did not deploy so the insurance kicked in and took care of the damage. It did look like new and so did I after a few months worth of chiropractic visits...I thought it was all behind me...

Sure enough less than a year later my lovely Bronco had a catastrophic failure in the transmission in a MOST unholy place on an unholy grade 6% going uphill (LOL going to Flagstaff from Phoenix a jog after the exit for 179 those of you in AZ). I was lucky to get back to civilization in the same afternoon. Every auto expert I consulted with (Ford and indy) attributed that failure to the accident...... The insurance did nothing. I didn't have the money to sue at the time and only had my insurance to go after anyway being that the other party was a human POS. I was screwed Lesson learned...

It is my opinion by experience that major accidents cause damage to vehicles that cannot be seen or detected. I feel that insurance companies know this but you know how that goes. I keep gap coverage on my vehicles, take no longer than a 48 month loan and sell or trade them in immediately after an accident.

 

wow that does suck, ive worked in the auto industry for a few years doing body repair and what not and from my experience the cost of the fender, bumper, bumper bracket, headlight, headlight bracket, hood, hood strut assembly, facia accessories, most likely front crash bar + new sensor, radiator, radiator support frame, replacement curtain airbags F+R mechanical / body labor + cost of paint & labor, with cost of hazardous material disposal fee's, with around im assuming 12-14 hours if you're car is valued at anything less than 25k your car is going to be considered totaled.

but thats only determining from the one picture you posted up, if you can get a shot with the hood open it would be a lot easier.
just be glad you are safe, cause thats what vehicles are made to do, absorb impact instead of you. Plus now you have down payment on a new model
just make sure you dont "sit back and let the insurance companies handle it" because thats how they screw you. document ALL THAT YOU CAN.
best of luck!

 

I have gotten a lot of responces and good advice so far and I really apreciate it.

Adressing luigi524td: the old lady was proven to be txting at the time she made the turn. She also admitted to having been up for over 24 hours straight. I was going 35 in a 40 mph zone having just got out of a red light and radar in the area can prove my speed at the time of the accident.

I've been getting calls from the woman's insurance trying to pin the blame on me already and have been very cross with them. I have been trying to be a nice guy abou this and even after it happened, my first concern was for who I hit (I sprinted to her car to make sure she was ok). I haven't made complaints of injury, although several doctors have clearly told me i have been injured by the accident. (My sister was sued for rear-ending an SVU back when she had her first car because the couple she hit complained of "neck pain". Because of that I said to myself i wouldnt be that kind of person)

However, if this woman continues to try and push off blame on me, I am prepared to fight it and will gladly confess the several bodily injuries. I really wish people just had the moral fortitude to do the right thing instead of b!tch and cry to try and find ways to avert blame on some one else.


If my car is totaled, it will be a big inconvenience for me, and quite a heart breaker as this was my first car. All i can do is hope and pray it seems that the damages dont cost more than the car.
I will be documenting everything, getting as many estimates as I can and will continue to fight this woman's insurance as hard as I can to see if I can get my car back on the road.

Thing is: I never planned to sell it, I always wanted to keep it seeing as it is my first car. I figured once i had gotten the money for a new one I would just garrage this one.

Anyway, thanks for all the advice and all the wishces of luck. I fear I am going to need it.

 

DeMayo-

I work in the auto collision industry, have seen this time and time again. Couple things to consider.

-Activate your own collision coverage through your own carrier. Yes you will have to pay a deductible. This will ensure your claim is handled promptly. If the other party is found to be at fault, you can request they cut you a check for your deductible. The insurance companies will subrogate the repair costs (or total loss) payments out.
-Typically (depending on what state you live in) the formula for repair or total is: Repair costs (+ rental) + Salvage value = total repairable amount. In other words $10000 + 1000 + 9000 = $20000. As a general rule most vehicles are repaired up to 70% of ACV (Actual Cash Value). An insurance company isn't going to put $18,000 into a $20,000 car. I have no idea what your car is worth.
-An insurance company cannot use NADA or KBB to determine the ACV. ACV is based of similar vehicles in a garaged market. Vehicle conditioning is a major component of ACV. Mileage, options, tires, exterior and interior conditions are taken into account. An insurance company is required to use a 3rd party vendor to help gauge market value. If there are no comparable vehicles in the market for sale, generally this 3rd party will consult a local dealer, asking what a similar vehicle would be sold at. In the case of BMW's, it's more difficult to find comparables. The reasoning behind 'garaged market' is a truck may be worth more money in Montana than NYC.
-Air Bag deployment is not an automatic total loss.
-If your vehicle is deemed a total loss, do some research on your own. You don't have to take the initial offer. Remember there is a difference between 'asking price' and 'take price'. Look for vehicles of the same year range, similar miles, similar options. Generally your rental car will be extended only a few days after the insurance companies initial total loss ACV offer.
-Unless you think your car is worth the moon, 9 our of 10 times ACV is more than you expect.
-If you use your own insurance company, then your policy will be in force. Every insurance policy allows for 'most cost effective' repairs. This means the use of NON-OEM parts, re-manufactured, reconditioned and used parts. Generally on BMW's alternative parts are more difficult to find. You do have the option to pay the difference between OEM and alternative. Remember- YOU signed the policy. But didn't we all?
-Use a BMW certified shop. Their techs go through expensive training, and have the proper structural fixtures to fix your car right. Ask your favorite dealer who they recommend. The shop choice is yours. The insurance company can suggest a shop, but it's your choice.
-Diminished Value is very difficult to prove and is not automatic. Generally DV will apply to brand new high end vehicles. Although there might be a CT law in your favor.

Good luck. If you have any questions just ask.

 

In my opinion and based on experience ... very important to leverage for your benefit >>

1. "the ___ lady was proven to be txting at the time she made the turn> Is that noted in the police report? (IF illegal in your state, was she ticketed for using a hand-held device?)
2. She also admitted to having been up for over 24 hours straight. >Also, is that written in the police report?

If not, write it down now - date and time, other witnesses ... never trust your memory!

Hope it all works out for you!

 

Good news.

Well sort of.

A few days ago, I received an estimate from Amica (the woman's insurance) stating my car was a total loss. I looked over the estimate sheet and there is a very simple reason for it: due to some stupidity on Amica's part, the appraiser whom looked over my car decided that it would need a whole new nose so he put that on the sheet which came out to $6000 and 31 hours of work, coming up to about $9000. Amica seems to be a bit...mad, in the insane sort of way. I had Allstate (my insurance) look over my car, and upon inspection they realized the hood was still jammed shut, to the point where it would not open. This means that the Amica Rep did not even look under the hood. We had to use a metal pole to force open the hood, and when we did, we found that there was almost no damage inside the car.

As it turned out, Amica said it would cost around $23k to repair and counted my car as a total loss.
Allstate and the garage that I had chosen to do repairs (which also uses only OEM parts) estimated about $9k.


So in short, I should have my car returned to me in about 3 weeks time. In the interim, Allstate is still fighting with Amica over liability. Everything I mentioned about the woman driver was written in the police report, she was ticketed, and everything was cited. It is very obvious that Amica is just trying to cut their losses by trying to share the blame. I understand that by a business standpoint but seriously? I believe I am right in saying that sometimes you have to just cut the bullshit and pay up. Allstate already made it clear that they would not pay a dime and will not drop this until Amica pays.


Looking at the whole event I can only be happy I crashed in the car that I did. 90% of the guys I spend my days with drive '95 Jeeps and Buicks, you know, the kind of car that you will be killed in if you hit a chipmunk. Thank the Germans for BMW.

 

Good luck on this one. Sorting out the liability could take a while. The other issue you might run into is policy limits. CT minimum liability insurance is 20/40/10, or $20,000 bodily injury liability maximum for one person injured in an accident, $40,000 bodily injury liability maximum for all injuries in one accident, $10,000 property damage liability maximum.

If the AMICA insured has 20/40/10, their policy will only pay $10,000 for all vehicles (damages) they are liable fo. So if other vehicles are part of this collision, the fight begins.

The damage to their vehicle is covered under collision, not part of the $10,000.

Don't be surprised of Allstate totals the vehicle as well.

Do you really want to be driving a car with $15,000+ worth of damage? I would not.

Yes- be happy you were is a car designed to protect occupants.