bottoms up

my 2007 was hit when i was in the bar and the guy was arrested and taken to jail dui driving while susupended and all that but anyways est damage 2054.36 done on my car its not horrible but its bad. my car is in the shop now. it hit the second door, wheel and behind the wheel. does anyone have any advice if i should keep the car or trade it in. i love the car and want it but at the same time im paying on it like it is brand new i have made 3 payments so either way im screwed. this is the first new car i bought and im 21 so this is all new to me...

Transam kid 01

iTrader: (1)

Pics

Cody Red

Do you have insurance? Sorry if that seems stupid, but some states don't enforce car insurance as a law.

-Cody

rx8rotary

I wouldn't trade it for such a low damage claim - doesn't take much for $2K of damage any more. BTW, little known fact, you are entitled up to 10% of the damage amount for loss of value on the car. The insurance companies don't advertise it but if you are not at fault (like this accident), you can demand the extra $200. Not a lot of money but would buy an accessory or two.

Bob

guidosrx8

I wouldn't trade it in either. sorry to hear about that.

world would be a better place without drunk drivers....

-Chris

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

if the frame wasn't damaged, I'd say keep it. Sorry to hear about this mishap but once she's all fixed, you'll be off ZOOM-ZOOM'ing once again.

jmerc

Keep it. If you tried to trade it you would get screwed because it has been in an accident, so no one would give you anything for it.

New Yorker

Agreed, $2K doesn't sound like a lot of damage. Hey, I know what you're going through—my first new car was hit, parked on the street, when it was just 3 months old. If a GOOD body shop does the work (every area has a few good shops and lots of average and poor ones—the difference in quality is significant, so I hope you found one with a good rep), your car will be good as new, and just months from now you'll hardly think of this incident that's obsessing you now.

reaper1

Like it was mention , if frame is ok, you'll be fine. At 2000.00 worth of damage i doubt it even got close to your frame.

NoTears316

Like they said, it doesn't sound too bad. Just keep it.

Hightshoe

My 8 was hit about a month after I got it. About the same amount of damage as well, a little over 2g. I found a fantastic autobody shop and there is no way anyone can tell work was done. Other than a carfax report, im the only one who know's. It still sucks though, it just doesn't seem perfect to me anymore but to justify taking a hit of thousands of dollars to trade for a new one, just doesn't seem logical to me. If you want to waste the money, by all means get a new one.

Feras

iTrader: (1)

2 years ago i got into a serious accident (repairs of about 15k) but the frame was not damaged in the least (but practically every body panel got replaced...hence 15k). I kept the car and i still love it and have never noticed a difference.

btw i hate graveyards.

bottoms up

yea i have insurance and i went through my insurance company to get it repaired then my ins. co. will go back the the idiots insurance co. and all that mess. This happend on the 9th and I am just now able to get it in the shop. I think I will keep the car because I do love it but i get all drepressed whenever I look at it now haha. I talked to my insurance agent too and if I do lose moeny they will pay the difference or something like that. the damage isnt frame damage at all it really isnt that bad either if i can find the pics ill post them

RedSheDevil

^ make sure you ask the body shop to let you inspect the pieces they remove/replace. some places get shady and repair your old stuff instead of replacing and pocket the extra insurance money. if you ask to view your old parts after your car is fixed you will know they really did replace stuff.

ps: glad you werent in the car when it happened!!

SOVINE

That is so true. I barely hit a truck (his hitch rather) on a hill when my clutch had gone out (trying to reverse out of a parking spot on a hill).

I was close to $2k for the clutch and bumper only.

bottoms up

oh i told the body shop to save my old parts and ill pick them up... i had to get a new wheel, well i didnt need to its only strached a lil bit less then and inch and you can hardly see it but i wanted a new one and ins. is paying 550.00 for it so i def. told the body shop to save my parts for me

KeithL

If you have coverage for "uninsured motorist" on your insurance, it should be all good (I'm assuming that if he had a suspended license, he didn't have insurance - typical for this type of clown - I've dealt with it twice now).

Of course, you'll be out your deductible, but you can turn around and go after the guy in small claims court for it. Bad thing about that (may be different in VA) is even if you win, you have to know where he banks or is employed to collect, and it's up to you to do the collection.

In one case I dealt with, it turned out - by searching on the internet (no help from my insurance company) that I found out that Missouri had a form you could fill out such that if an uninsured motorist hit you, and the damage was more than $500, you could fill out a form so that he has to pay you back (plus a fine) before he can get his license back... Hit the net and find out what the insurance laws are in VA.

I'm glad it wasn't worse for you. In one of the cases I delt with, a drunk, uninsured a**hole ran a redlgiht (at near highway speeds) and nearly took the front end off my daughter's car. Could've killed her, but miraculously, she walked away w/o a scratch.... My old '89 MX-6 that I'd given her, well, that was another (sad) story - it did it's job protecting her tho.....

Good luck, man.

l0s

My 8 was hit four days after I got it. The claims ajuster said there was damage to the bumper and fender and it would cost around 2k. After the body shop started working on it, they found more damage and in the end it added up to around 5k. I only paid my 500 usd deductible, which I eventually got back.

I asked Geico about compensation for loss of value and they said that in the state of Texas if damages are repaired by a reputable body shop then there is no loss of value.

CarAndDriver

If it wasn't frame, keep it.

TheBri

Sorry to hear about your car. I'm a +1 for the "if there is no frame damage, keep it" camp.

On an unrelated note: Your writing style (or lack there of) hurts my head entirely too much to bother reading any more of your posts. You're 21 years old. It's time to start writing/typing your thoughts out like a big boy. People will take you much more seriously if you do.

jskup1

iTrader: (7)

Even though no shop will make it 100% as good as new, you will take it in the rear too hard if you trade it in, so keep it.

tmak26b

Is there such thing as a good bodyshop? I have never seen cars go back to the way they are suppose to be. There is always a missing clip or misalign panel somewhere.

rx8rotary

He did say his car was hit while at the bar - maybe he is still at the bar

chizzer337

how come no pics? fishy.

BlueRenesis82

personally I would take an English class