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Was rear ended. Think it's totalled?

8K views 23 replies 13 participants last post by  johnre 
#1 ·
I was rear ended a few weeks ago (by another Subaru coincidentally) and I've got an open claim with the other driver's insurance. I opted to do a photo estimate since it's hard to get a body shop appointment during NYC coronavirus lockdown so I pulled the rear bumper cover and reinforcement bar off. Damage is worse than I thought. I'm thinking this car has a $3k book value at best so I think this may actually end up being totaled out. Thoughts/opinions?






 
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#4 ·
Totaled, that's the unibody that's bent, putting it on a jig to try to re-true it would be expensive and only come with having that diagnosis anyway.
 
#8 ·
I'd say shop it around. A replacement will cost a whole lot more than $2000 or $3000.
 
#11 ·
Shop it around, but don't mention insurance. I've been surprised what they can get do when they don't know there's a pot of gold at the end.
 
#12 ·
You can probably get more that book value since the accident wasn’t your fault. When the other company examines your car let them think you are going to look into going to court for injuries. By doing that they will want to make you whole by overpaying for repairs . Go to a doctor first to be checked out. I was rear ended years ago and felt fine but after a few week I realized I was loosing arm strength and found out I had a pinch Ed nerve in neck caused by whiplas. I was driving a Citroen DS19 which at the time was worth $5000 it was totaled I found a used one in great condition for a few thousand more and the other cars insurance company agreed to pay for it. I also sued and was able to pay off all my debts from my neck injury.
Get a personal injury lawyer as they know how to play the game. My accident was years ago so I’m not familiar with current laws so doen do what I did with out checking. I wound up having to get surgery to fix nerve impingement .
one other tip for body work. Go to a body shop and tell them you backed into something and you don’t have collision insurance. You will get a better price. I needed a bumper replaced on my Lexus rx350 the body shop wanted $2500 i got it fixed for les that half of that buy letting another shop know I was paying for it myself.
 
#13 ·
Well if I do fix it I'm going to just do it myself. I was also thinking of maybe putting the money towards something else since this car is going to need a bit of work in the future. Incidentally one of those options is an RX350.

As far as putting in an injury claim, the accident was over a month ago, I'm not sure how suspect that would seem. I actually did have a sore neck for a few days afterwards but I've been fine since then.
 
#14 ·
Well if I do fix it I'm going to just do it myself. I was also thinking of maybe putting the money towards something else since this car is going to need a bit of work in the future. Incidentally one of those options is an RX350.

As far as putting in an injury claim, the accident was over a month ago, I'm not sure how suspect that would seem. I actually did have a sore neck for a few days afterwards but I've been fine since then.
If you get a rx350 I have a set of cross bars for the roof rack in black mine was a 2017 I think it fits 2016-2020 it cost over 200 new I just want $30 plus shipping
 
#16 ·
I mean, our Sprout got rear-ended last October. She had a hole in the spare tire well I could put my fist through where an Accord slid under her.

She was repaired. The repair bill was close to her book value. I'd push for repair myself if it was the other driver's fault.
 
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#17 ·
Is the rear end of an Outback some kind of accident magnet? Someone merged into my passenger rear quarter last year. Luckily it wasn't too bad; just pushed the quarter in some and scratched the bumper. Still cost their insurance nearly $3k to fix. I even got my cracked tail light replaced because they assumed it happened in the accident. I wasn't trying to pull one over on the insurance though. They never asked if it happened in the accident and it wasn't even something I was thinking about at the time since it's been like that since I bought it. Didn't even notice it was fixed until I already drove the car home.
 
#22 ·
I ended up taking the $2k check. I'm probably not going to fix it and instead use the money towards another car at some point. This car just has too many issues. Worn piston rings, noisy ring and pinion, still needs yet more suspension work, and some minor body work from even before this accident. I'll keep using it in the meantime and do the bare minimum to keep it alive and roadworthy but I'm not going to put any more major work into it. This car was a mistake to begin with so I essentially got the money I poured into it back. I'm probably going to replace it with a 4th Gen outback 3.6R or a Lexus RX330/RX350.
 
#24 ·
I ended up taking the $2k check. I'm probably not going to fix it and instead use the money towards another car at some point.
You might just check in with a local bodyshop, explain that you'll pay cash, and ask what they can do to fix the visible damage, leaving the rest alone. This way, you have a number to work with, and thus a way to make an intelligent decision. They'll likely bid it just the way you want it done.

If they say "no bid" because they are nervous legally about the accident worthiness and safety of this car, you'll learn that also.
 
#23 ·
I think I would just put the bumper back on it,....put a DIY patch on the cover with some RTV,....and keep driving it. = its a NYC car. (rubbing is parking).

If the title is relisted as damaged / salvaged, you can't get anyone to work those offices right now.
 
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