BRealistic

Honestly- I would go ahead and file through your insurance- let them go after the responsible party.

Remember to bring up 'diminished value'. If the car is worth less after the repairs, then you are owed that amount.

And I have heard of the silver curse- but I suppose it has to do more with the amount of silver RX-8s sold than any curse. While at the dealership today, I spoke with a woman who has an 04 Silver RX-8 (auto :-/) and over 80k miles. She has had no problems besides the recall services.

DarkBrew

From a fellow Silver: It pains me to look at the damage to your car. I hope it all works out for you and your passenger.
Beware the insurance company; they will say that it is unusual for someone to be so unlucky and may try to dump you on the next incident, even if it is not your fault.
On the other hand, you need your insurance rep on your side to do battle with the other company.
Life sucks but when you get your baby back all will be well.

juikster

Sorry, but this curse of the silver 8 has to be the most rediculous # 13 hoax this forum has ever started.

spieder

Maybe the silver colored cars blend in better with the road.

BRealistic

As I said before- silver is the most popular color- which means there are more silver RX8s than any other, which means more of them will be involved in accidents. The law of averages is not a curse. ;-)


http://money.cnn.com/2005/10/27/Autos/car_colors/

Car colors: Silver hot, watch for blues
For 2009 model year, PPG predicts blues will be big, yellows and browns will shine.
October 28, 2005: 12:33 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Nobody knows exactly what cars will look like in 2009, but an auto paint company says it knows what colors they'll be.

In their fifth annual study of automotive colors, PPG Industries found the 2005 model year's top colors, and consulted with designers on probable colors for the 2008-2009 model year.

The Pittsburgh-based company found silver the most popular color among North American vehicles this year with 26 percent of the market, followed by white at 16 percent, naturals like gold and copper at 14 percent, red at 13 and blue at 12. Black captured 11 percent, while green was 5 percent and specialty colors came in at 3 percent.

"As predicted, bright silver will remain a favorite in North America and around the world for several years to come due to its appeal among designers to highlight the form and shape of a vehicle," said Lorene Boettcher of PPG in a statement. "We are continuing to explore a variety of advancements in technology that will bring silver closer to a liquid-metal appearance -- the next hottest trend for this hue."

To predict the popularity of colors in several years, PPG's Color Marketing Team developed 130 new colors to present to automotive designers.

"There is a desire to reinvigorate the automotive palette with color," said Boettcher. "Color preference has been in neutral mode for so long that we're now starting to see a push for more colors to emerge and for technology to put a new twist on classic shades. We're looking to take color to the next level."

PPG's color experts predicted four major trends in colors for 2008-2009.

They see blue becoming more popular as liquid-metal and lilac shades are developed. Green will get infusions of sparkle, for distinction, or appear in blue-green shades. Yellows and browns will gain popularity as they grow richer and gain shimmer effects. And reds will return to darker and warmer shades like deep cranberry and wine.

"Incorporating new coatings technologies into color families will continue to be the primary focus of automakers looking to differentiate their vehicle brand," said Jerry Koenigsmark of PPG.

_____________________

ShadowX

Definitely go through your insurance company. His insurance company is gonna try to pay you as little as absolutely possible. Contact your insurance company and have them inspect the car. I be worried about the chasis being bent. And ofcourse the whole diminished value thing.

azure

I have contacted the other driver's insurance company (Geico) and they have been pretty helpful so far. Right now the issue is not the matter of they are taking responsibility or not... it's a bit complicated than that. The other vehicle at fault is a rental vehicle from hertz. Geico still needs to find out if the other driver who rented the vehicle from Hertz bought the insurance from hertz or not and what was his purpose of renting the vehicle. Once they have established that the rental is covered the rest is history. I believe at least a liability insurance is required in both georgia (where the accident occurred) and Maryland (the origin of the other vehicle) so i figured if Geico isn't taking responsibility, i would have to go after Hertz.
As far as i can see there would probably be a few outcome:
1. Geico assumes liability of the whole fiasco
2. Rental car involved in accident is not covered by Geico and i would have to go after hertz
3. Geico does not cover rental AND renter did not purchase insurance from Hertz - which probably means i have to file uninsured motorist and that guy will get in trouble??

i'm hoping it should not have to go as far as #3.

The body shop that i go to (They do mazdas and porsches) said that it's only a moderate damage. They should find out though once they start working on it if there's any frame damage. Right now it's just sitting on the lot waiting for insurance stuff.
Oh truemagellen, the wheels didn't buckle... that black stuff coverying the wheel is the plastic underneath the wheel well that popped off. They do need to check suspension too though since i did hit the curb. The other wheel that's not visible in the picture is damaged.

azure

Oh... i got the police report too and stating the vehicle's damage is "extensive" in contrary to the repair shop's comments. I would say the damage is not extensive enough to cause leaks and stuff but daaaamn that police report is going to hit hard on my carfax history

blue flash

sorry for your 8.how fast were you going?

rx8wannahave

Sorry to hear about your 8 but I"m glad you and your passenger are OK, I hope the best.

I just hate seeing a damaged 8...

azure

Not fast, since the airbag did not even deploy... and the passenger seat belt did not even restrain my passenger. It was pretty much about 35-40, since i just cleared an incline about 50ft behind me.

Detrich

am really sorry this happened, but glad you guys are ok. what insurance co. do u have & what coverage? did the police report state that the other party was at fault?

if u have comprehensive, u should use that and immediately get a claim going so your car can start getting fixed- unless u like waiting around that is. insurance co.'s are notoriously slow if u don't get the ball rolling. if they later determine the other guy's insurance will assume liability- you'll get your record cleared & your deductible back.

your car looks very repairable to me, but only your insurance co.'s adjuster can decide. from my own experience, that kind of damage- even after fully repaired- may leave some residual annoyances- like creaky windows or dashboard noises. Make sure to do a thorough check afterwards- tho the insurance company may not opt to replace those seals, because they arent' technically "broken" per say. i know- sucks. but, such is life...

SilverEIGHT

azure, I'm really sorry to here of your misfortune. Believe me, I understand everything you are going through. The two attached images are from my first 8. Similar to you my accident was from an angle and the airbags did not deploy either. Damage also looks similar. After about 4-5 months, mine was totaled but it took a lot of diligence on my part. Where is you car being repaired at or has that been determined yet? I used Classic Collision up in Gwinnett Place. I'm sure there is one located near you in Chamblee. They are a great company to work with and do a fine job on repair.

azure

Oh and i just got a call from my insurance company saying that Geico start filing a claim against me even though their client is at fault. I explained them the whole situation and they even have the police report in hand that clearly marked that geico's client was issued a citation. They were a bit baffled why they received such a call from Geico when they know their client is at fault. My insurance decided to close the claim and fight against geico if they are call them again.

On a side note, the adjuster for Geico just called me... they said that the car is totaled. He starts writing stuff and the more he write the more he found and he stopped at 16k and not even completed his estimate. He found that the firewall is torn, engine is shifted badly, frame is shifted, suspension is badly damaged (cross-linked parts), intercooler(?)... those are beside the obvious costmetic damage. I guess i'm looking for another car then... right after i find out who's going to be paying

SilverEIGHT

Well, it's nice that you will be able to bring this to a close promptly and not have to drag it out. Funny thing about the RX8. Damage to the front end is extremely expensive. It does a great job of bending and buckling just like it is designed to do and that means replacement of most parts from the firewall forward in a diagonal accident like yours. This is a very safe car. So is a formula 1 but everything brakes to save your life. Glad you were not hurt and I hope your passenger gets better soon.

legokcen

Sorry to hear of your troubles. I don't think it is totalled. The parts list L8APEX had is pretty good. You should also add about $800 for the paint. You should get the whole car painted since you've had it for a year. Have the shop wet sand it and paint the whole car. Once they remove the front bumper and fenders, you'll more than likely see more damage there.

I'm sure it isn't totalled though. Take it from someone who had $12K of damage on their car! If you need anything, or have any questions, I'll be happy to help.

legokcen

I just read this after telling you it wasn't totalled. ! Sorry to hear about the loss. I know it's tough. You looking at another 8 or something else?

legokcen

See if you can keep your front bumper. You can hang it on your garage wall like a trophy.

azure

This is not exactly closed yet since geico is not admitting coverage for their client yet. I know now that the car is totaled and someone is going to write a check for me but right now i still don't know who. It'll all be simpler if geico cover the whole accident, otherwise i'll have to let my insurance company go after them. Either way i'm getting another vehicle.

It's possible i'm not getting another 8. I love the 8 so far though and i hate to part ways after a very short time. However, at the time i bought the car till now things have changed and my side job requires me to travel short distances and lots of stop and go. My poor 8 (and wallet) had to take the hit with 15mpg historical avg. I will definitely getting another fun, nimble car... definitely not silver though
Any idea on something fun that gets good mpg?

I'm not sure if i can ask for my bumper to hang at home... i don't think that would fly well with whomever is going to possess my vehicle

Crazy Rx-8 Driver

you need to take pictures inside your car and snap shots of all the possible areas of where those air bags were to deply and re-read that manual to make sure that those air bags were to deploy... if not.. you can and SHOULD take this to mazda.. im sure they'll pay up so they wont have this story leak out that their vehicle was not working properly in an accident.


my Aunt got into a head on collision with toyota... and her air bags did not deploy... she got some nice incentives from that accident... just a thought. if you have the time that is.



but im glad you and your passenger are alright... those pics look worse than it actually is huh?

azure

Actually it's possible the air bag did not deploy because of certain angle and the fact that the impact speed is quite low. However, i'm still puzzled why the passenger seat belt did not lock him into place. If i'm taking this to mazda it would be the seat belt issue because that 's what caused my friend to hit his head to the A-pillar in the first place.

The pics looks worse than it actually is cosmetic-wise but the inside of the engine bay is actually messed up

L8APEX

i guess i should retract my statement then. I had no idea that ll of that stuff would get the crap kicked out of it. I guess the car is designed so that collisions total it. Probably best, they never get fixed right anyway.

Good luck finding a new ride.

brothervoodoo

Sexual fetish perhaps????

azure

Holy crap i wish i can have that hanging on my wall but my front bumper is badly damaged

azure

So... any advice on fun to drive car with low maintenance?
It doesn't have to be necessarily new since i would probably lose money anyway from the compensation they are going to give me for my car. I'd probably spend <20k and put the rest of the money to good use on something else