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Sigh,

2K views 17 replies 8 participants last post by  cdubea 
#1 ·
Son got rear ended today. It's a MY05 with about 65k on the clock.

:crying:
 

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#2 ·
I hope your son is okay. That must have been a pretty tall vehicle he got rear ended by . . . there is barely a scrape on the 7/8ths of the bumper.

~ Steve
 
#3 ·
Yeah, curious to know what kind of vehicle did that. Main thing, though, is if everyone's OK.
 
#5 ·
Luckily the Chevy van that did this skidded quite a bit before the impact. My son indicated that the actual impact was fairly minor in intensity.

I kept a close eye on him and he is fine.

The damage is entirely non-structural. The gap on the right rear door is the same as the left. So we are optimistic that it can be repaired.

I've got a message from the company that owns the van on my answer machine about the claim details that I will look into this morning.

There is a lot of sentimental value in this car. My wife accompanied my Father-in-law in the procurement and it was shortly thereafter that he began to exhibit symptoms from Parkinsons and Alzheimers that were to eventually end his life.

The car had suffered a bit from being parked in the sun in front of the seniors center and we have been cleaning up all those issues. Amusingly enough, my son was on his way to have the passenger air bag inflator changed after receiving the recall notice. A change that they were adamant wasn't necessary when the driver side bag was replaced :(

Thanks for the concern for my son's well being!
 
#6 · (Edited)
Well this has been an adventure. Not sure why, but the first response I got from both my and the other guys insurance was "totaled". Without even seeing it. :|

I managed to negotiate a salvage payout from the other guys insurance of $9,300 and I kept possession of the car. They did insist on branding the title as salvage (thanks a lot....) though. I had filed a claim with my carrier, State Farm and they offered me a good bit less for it and got a bit terse in my protestations of the value. I will discuss the topic with my agent at length when next we speak. I've been a SF customer for over 40 years and expected to be treated a bit more courteously. My dealings with them after Katrina were significantly more helpful so this came as something of a surprise.

So, I found a body shop in Herndon who wasn't afraid of working on totaled cars. On seeing it, his first response was , "that's not bad"...

He indicated that he would have to cut the tailgate off to give me a complete estimate and if I decided not to repair it, I would need to pay them for the labor. No issue.

He called me with a repair price of $5,500 using recycled parts, which we had discussed. I asked him to quote painting the whole car and that was $3,300, which I though high, but the total was less than the payout so I said go.

It has taken him a while longer than expected, but he was able to repair the right rear without replacing the panel. He pulled it out and then used body filler to smooth out the imperfections. I saw it before the filler and they did a tremendous job of getting it straight. They did replace the tail light bucket, but that was spot welded in, so I considered that a win. I was floored when I saw that they repaired it without major cutting/welding.. He told me that's why the price was as low as it was as he was certain it would pull out!

Anyway, I got to see it after paint on Monday and I found out why his paint price was high. They completely disassemble the outside of the car and paint it. The bumpers, mirrors, trim etc were all painted separate. The paint is awsome. It's a light metal flake and it's gorgeous...

It was supposed to be ready yesterday, but the replacement bumper he bought didn't come with the lower valance and the rubber bumper cover on the looked a bit shabby so he was buying them new and they won't be delivered until Monday.

So I'll pick the car up Tuesday/Wednesday.

After that I get to deal with the title. We got the signed title back from the insurance company, and it says that it will be branded as repaired and not salvage after it's inspected. I just need to figure out how to get it inspected. This is completely different from the info posted on the VA DMV website about salvage titles. Oh well.

I'll grab some photo's when I get it and post them for the before and after.

In any event, the car is now mine as my wife bought a demo '16 MDX for herself a couple of weeks ago. That's no rain on my parade as now I don't have to drive the '03 Sienna mommy van in the inclement weather any more!

My fair weather ride is a '08 S2000 which I don't drive in the snow, and typically (until this episode) don't drive in the rain....

cheers,
 
#9 ·
This is not out of my pocket. This is the monies received from the insurance company. When this is all done I'll be about even.

One of the reasons I have learned not to get too attached to material goods. Sentiment can interfere with financial prudence. But having recently shopped ( in vain ) for a replacement for a 2005 MDX Touring that got totaled by hail while my son was driving it, I get it. These cars have a well-deserved reputation for reliability and value, so people hang onto them. Finding a used one in good condition isn't easy, and there's always the risk that it spent time underwater somewhere, or it was in a crash that never got reported, or the previous owner didn't believe in fluid changes, etc. We ended up retaining the vehicle and getting a new hood, but leaving the rest of the dents as sacrifices to the high school parking lot gods. And I figure the dimples out-of-sight on the roof make it more aerodynamic.

BTW, congrats on the 2016 MDX. My wife drives a 2014. I only get to drive it if she is in the car to supervise... :crying:

But yeah, the big thing is that the people are OK.
Agreed to all said. My luck with previously owned cars is, to be kind, not spectacular. The major plus from this one is I know it's history from purchase.

To replace the vehicle, with a same year, similar mileage, one owner version proved to be nigh on impossible. A lot of digging produced three possible candidates across the country. None were offered for sale for anywhere near what I was offered for it. Under closer examination one was from the Ohio area and had major corrosion issues. That severely limited my options.

We picked up the car on Wednesday and the shop did a tremendous job. It looks much better than it did even before the accident with the new paint. I've got a couple of little odds and ends to replace, little minor garnish pieces in total costing about $20. The major outstanding item is the muffler. The impact bent the pipe feeding into the muffler slightly and the muffler doesn't hang properly under the car. I will need to replace the muffler or exhaust system at some juncture. I've got enough monies left in the kitty to just buy the piece from Majestic so it's not a big deal.

The next part is getting the title sorted out. My wife was able to talked to DMV and the process is clear, but not fast. We have to fill out some paperwork, send it to the state with the title and a check to cover the fees, about $200. They will process the paperwork and at some juncture someone will come out and inspect the vehicle. Once done they will issue me a "repaired" title. They indicated this can take as much as 6 weeks. The gotcha is you are not allowed to drive the car until the car is registered to me....

So it will sit in the driveway until then.

I've got photos on my phone and will post before and after shots in a few.
 
#8 ·
One of the reasons I have learned not to get too attached to material goods. Sentiment can interfere with financial prudence. But having recently shopped ( in vain ) for a replacement for a 2005 MDX Touring that got totaled by hail while my son was driving it, I get it. These cars have a well-deserved reputation for reliability and value, so people hang onto them. Finding a used one in good condition isn't easy, and there's always the risk that it spent time underwater somewhere, or it was in a crash that never got reported, or the previous owner didn't believe in fluid changes, etc. We ended up retaining the vehicle and getting a new hood, but leaving the rest of the dents as sacrifices to the high school parking lot gods. And I figure the dimples out-of-sight on the roof make it more aerodynamic.

BTW, congrats on the 2016 MDX. My wife drives a 2014. I only get to drive it if she is in the car to supervise... :crying:

But yeah, the big thing is that the people are OK.
 
#11 ·
It's good to hear you got the Pilot back. It looks great. The Pilot is a wonderful vehicle and I completely understand why you weren't willing to send it to the scrap yard. We've owned our 2005 since it was new and have no plans of getting rid of it.

Hopefully you get everything resolved with the DMV and get it back on the road soon.

Steve
 
#13 ·
Years ago I was handling a collision repair as a young insurance claims adjuster & my customer was in tears because her new car was damaged and "would never be the same". I'll never forget the "old" body shop foreman who very genuinely placed his hand on her shoulder and said "young lady, you're right, your car won't be the same...it will much better! When we finish with it, it will be 'custom built', while before it was just another factory built car!". It turned out just that way -- the customer was happy, a young adjuster & company looked good, and the body shop had a great reputation enhanced. Clearly, you have experienced a similar event with excellent repairs to a special Pilot. Congrats, and thanks for sharing! Mc
 
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