My baby...

[Jersey Mike]

My speed at the time? 0 miles per hour.

There was long stop-and-go traffic on 208N this afternoon. I was already in right lane and my lane was ending. I snugged into an opening and waited for traffic to pick up again so I could get the ass end of the car into the lane.

...Mr. Truck didn't want me to come in, I guess, because he tried to force me back into the right lane--this doesn't make sense to me, since I was already 3/4 of the way in the lane and AT A DEAD STOP.




http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/8209/0616091625.jpg (http://img44.imageshack.us/i/0616091625.jpg/)



The cop told me that I have to yield, but also said that "It looks like all the damage is to the rear of the car, so if I was the insurance person, I'd say that he hit you." ...so, I dont know what to make of the situation.

http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/6817/0616091800.jpg (http://img3.imageshack.us/i/0616091800.jpg/)
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/92/0616091801.jpg (http://img3.imageshack.us/i/0616091801.jpg/)
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/9337/0616091802.jpg (http://img3.imageshack.us/i/0616091802.jpg/)



1) the insurance companies will find it his fault and I won't have to dish out any money
2) the insurance companies will find it my fault and I will have to pay to repair the T/A out of my pocket (liability only).

[SamhainZ28]

ooof that sucks bro, hopefully she gets fixed up soon

[bobb1589]

i wonder if they would consider that totalled? that is some significant damage to the rear quarter... is there any damage to the door?

[Jersey Mike]

I hope it's not a total!
Rear quarter needs to be replaced and the drivers door needs to be repainted... No other damage.

[bobb1589]

I hope it's not a total!
Rear quarter needs to be replaced and the drivers door needs to be repainted... No other damage.

hmm... i think rear quarter panel's are very expensive to fix being that they are welded on and i would think a good amount of the body parts aroudn it would have to come off... don't quote me though... maybe someone who does body work would know better than i would... its just i got $1250 for a small cracked maybe two inches long in my bumper, so i can only imagine what they will say for you

[NastyEllEssWon]

thats gonna be close to a 3k dollar estimate.

[bobb1589]

thats gonna be close to a 3k dollar estimate.

i would almost go ahead and say more than that... but again im no guru lol

[NastyEllEssWon]

it wouldve been but he got lucky and the rocker looks untouched

[bobb1589]

yeah ... the pictures are kinda awkwardly angled

[Jersey Mike]

^ sorry, all i have is a camera phone and the low quality mixed with the lighting, doesn't show the scuffs on the driver's door, so I had to angle the camera to capture some of that.


................................

are these estimates assuming replacing with a new or a used 1/4 panel?

[baddest434]

that sucks bro.! was that a dump truck that hit you. imo dump truck drivers are the worse truckers on the road. especially the ones that get paid per load. their always in a friggin hurry.

[Frosty]

Sorry to hear that :(

Here's some advice....if his company does accept liability make sure you don't just take any offer. Once the shop takes the 1/4 panel off they're going to see the wheelhouse and inner-1/4 are going to be damaged...so basically if his insurance company tries to cut you a check let it be known there will be additional damage found after the preliminary estimate is done.

[Knipps]

Yeah, at a $3k estimate I'm willing to bet they'll total it.

[bobb1589]

well... either way... i am sorry to see this happen! but let us know what the outcome is

[Frosty]

$3K won't total that car out...though I don't know how much that estimate would be...I don't have access to my estimating software anymore :(

[Jersey Mike]

$3K won't total that car out...though I don't know how much that estimate would be...I don't have access to my estimating software anymore :(

that may be the best news i've heard so far.
Does anyone have any insurance background and could give me an idea of what I'm looking at, in terms of the outcome of whose insurance is going to have to pay?

[Frosty]

Well it's going to be up to their insurance company really. You can call yours and see if they'll negotiate for you but since you only have liability they might tell you to pound sand.

I didn't do accident recreation but looking at the pics he was in the wrong unless you pulled out in front of him. I have a feeling that the way the police report is worded is going to play a HUGE part in who pays what.

[NJ Torque]

well he did stop then...

[NastyEllEssWon]

your cars real market value should be somewhere between 5500-6500. they wont total for 3k. if you get the body shop guy to push it a bit you can get it close to total. it all depends on how the insurance plays out....tis a waiting game



sucks to see though. :-x

[JerzyIroc]

That cop is wrong. You actually had the right of way based on the positions of the vehicles. In situations like that basically each lane is supposed to alternate yielding. Car on the left lane goes, then car on the right, then left then right so forth and so forth. Since you're car was obviously ahead of his truck, he was supposed to yield to you... This info btw was told to me by my uncle... He's a lawyer in Florida that was a cop in Newark for over 20 years. I don't know what insurance company you have but I had progressive when my iroc got hit by a truck at a gas station. At first his insurance company didnt want to take responsibility. Progressive faught it and faught it hard for a good 4 months and finally i got a check for 1700 8-) So hopefully everything works out for you too!!

[Crayface]

If he was merging onto the road, he has to yield, it dont matter how much you inch out... Yield means YIELD not inch out to where you have to alter traffic. Coming from a current Police Officer thats sitting next to me.

The whole thing of who is going to pay for it is solely determined by the police report. Your insurance company will want you to submit what happened but the deciding factor lies in the police report. I went through this last september in my car crash..

where are you located tho? i know of a great body shop by me in north jersey (in Chatham)

[btownws6]

yea that's not totaled i'll show you pics of my accident which makes this thing look like a scratch it needs to be 80% of the value and most likely they will just pull the quarter out and bondo it which isn't that bad if the do a good job. personally i would rather have the bondo bc you are effecting the strength and structure of the car. but good luck with it and it should be fine but will be an easy 3 to 5k job.

[Jam]

that sucks. good luck.

[maroman88]

wen they call u for ur statement, explain exactly wat u did up top, u were completely stopped while attempting to merge as your lane was ending, wen the truck hit you... the placement of the damage also works in your favor, as its to the rear of ur TA, and his damage(if any) is on the front of the vehicle... as me how i know lol

also send em these pics

edit again.... it did the !side molding mod for ya

[Jersey Mike]

^^ hahah someone noticed the side molding delete. Yeah, his wheel must have ripped that bad boy off

[Camvill]

i cringed when i saw this picture

[miketa95]

thats funny, my car had the exact same dent and scratch...

http://i384.photobucket.com/albums/oo281/MikeTA95/002.jpg

[Jersey Mike]

^^ how much did the repair end up costing?

[The Fixer]

Wow, that blows, sorry to see that! I hope you get things squared away with insurance and they fix it right. My brother got hit by a garbage truck in NYC like that a few years ago, but his car at the time was already a POS so I don't think he did anything about it. We just got a junkyard sideview mirror for it and left the dents on the doors.

[Frosty]

Jersey Mike, yours is A LOT worse than miketa95 had...so his price is going to be off, big time.

Also, there was another response talking about actually fixing the 1/4 with bondo, that 1/4 panel is absolute toast..it needs to be replaced. Have you gotten any estimates yet?

[Jersey Mike]

Not yet. Will be getting one tomorrow and another on Friday.
Called the guys insurance company and gave them the info to file a claim...


Gonna call them tomorrow morning & send the pics and police report if they want it...

[FlyingDutchman]

thats funny, my car had the exact same dent and scratch...

http://i384.photobucket.com/albums/oo281/MikeTA95/002.jpg

haha my car got that exact thing when my neighbor backed outa her driveway wit a suburban

oh and now i understand your spotted post haha :rofl:

[Jersey Mike]

oh and now i understand your spotted post haha :rofl:

glad that's all cleared up for ya :rolleyes:

[Teds89IROC]

That sucks man, what time did this happen? I was on 208N at about 12:30.

Definitely explain what happened and everything that maroman said. You definitely have to yield but during stop and go traffic and judging from the pics, that truck driver was just being a d-bag. If you live around NH I know a good shop in Midland Park and another in Lodi if you're more towards that way.

[Jersey Mike]

This happened yesterday around 4:15PM.

I'm right off 208 and am in Midland Park all the time. PM me that name, i'll check em out.

[miketa95]

I never ended up getting my car fixed. It was hit and run in a parking lot while I was in the store, so it stayed like that till I sold it. There was a crack in the door though so i replaced that with a new door from a junkyard, cost me $90.

[Jersey Mike]

Anyone know what a used d/s door goes for?

[NastyEllEssWon]

you can find em at the junkyards for less than 50...but thats without glass and door panel

[zuuhlsT/A]

Sorry that happened bro. Did anyone else notice that the truck that hit him was a Ford? Prolly did it cause he knows your car would kill a Ford.:mrgreen:

[r0nin89]

Theres no way that will total that car out. No way in hell. $1800 dollars in damage didnt total my 88 Monte SS out. As soon as the adjuster sees that you have full intent to have your vehicle fixed and keep it he will base its worth on for sale ads and ebay prices. Thats exactly what the adjuster did for my Monte.

He said the blue book is low on these cars, like $1200, so traditionally this would be totaled but these cars hold value in the market so I'm gonna base its worth off of similarly conditioned cars with relevant miles and he came up with a $3500 worth for my car.

[Jersey Mike]

It's nowhere near "Totalled."
I got a few estimates today and learned a few things:
In NJ, if cost to repair damages exceeds 75% of the vehicle's worth, the vehicle is declared a Total.

The $3,200 in estimated repair costs only put us at 15% of that 75%.



The hard part will be getting his insurance company to send an adjuster out to look at the car. They will only send someone out to look at it *after* they have accepted liability, which they still have not.
I just sent them pictures and the police report, so I'm waiting to hear back. I'm considering getting my insurance company involved (asking them to 'fight' for me, but I'm not sure how much good that will do with only Liability coverage).

[miketa95]

Anyone know what a used d/s door goes for?

I got mine for $90 from F-parts on ebay, same color paint, with a working window motor and 20% window tint just like I had. All I had to do was swap doors.

[Knipps]

My 95 V6 was totaled for this

http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/2623/photo0082nj5.jpg

[Tru2Chevy]

I'm considering getting my insurance company involved (asking them to 'fight' for me, but I'm not sure how much good that will do with only Liability coverage).

You can ask, but I am 99.9% sure they won't do a thing for you since you only have liability coverage. When an insurance company fights with another company over who's at fault in an accident, it's to make sure they don't have to pay out on your behalf. Since you only have liability, your insurance company doesn't stand to lose anything based on this accident, so they don't really care.

- Justin

[NastyEllEssWon]

a 95 v6 is also worth considerably less than a 98+ trans am :nod:

[madness410]

a 95 v6 is also worth considerably less than a 98+ trans am :nod:

we got alfred einstein in the house