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Lotus vs Honda (x2). Honda wins.

10K views 63 replies 35 participants last post by  mjf 
#1 ·
I was stopped on 635E between Preston and Hillcrest this morning in a long line getting onto the high 5. The silver Honda behind me just didn't stop. A few go's and stops prior, he actually ended up on the shoulder because he was hitting the gas and breaking late. :( For some reason that alone was not enough for him to get the picture that he was driving like a tard.

Stuff of note:
Right side door would not open. Right back tire is bent out and would not turn. Engine would not turn over. Battery stayed connected to wires, but was on the right side of the trunk. Trunk won't close. New Tires have 50 miles on them. Had my insurance papers inside the Mesh behind the driver's seat before the wreck. After the wreck, nothing was inside the Mesh as the impact threw everything out.

I'm fine, just really sore. Dr said I would be extra sore tomorrow.

Totalled? :crazyeyes





This is the damage on the silver honda:


This is the damage on the white honda accord in front of me:

Flickr link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffandlaura/sets/72157600325511214/
 
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4
#35 ·
Cody, do you mean it should follow the red lines? And that you think force was applied in the direction of the arrow?
Yes to the red lines.

The red arrow would be where I'm guessing the wheel hit and acted as a second class lever: fulcrum being the wheel against the extrusion, resistance being the A-arm/wheel hub/subframe, force being the Honda.

The bending there probably resulting from the force (as shown in your arrow) on the fulcrum point.

But yeah, basically... I'm 99% sure that bent part should be a straight part.
:(

I'd definitely point it out to the adjuster and try to get him (or the shop) to pull the wheel for a closer look at the suspension pick-up points (not really shown in the photos) to inspect them for damage as well. Then I'd try to be quiet and patient while I waited for him to tell me what I already suspected.

On the up side, if the suspension pick-up points aren't damaged, it'd probably make for a great salvage rebuild for a track/race car.
 
#36 ·
Give Cody a round of :clap:. We took off the tire and got some better photos.

Straight on: I haven't seen the other side, but is that much glue supposed to be coming out?


Is that bar bent? Should it be bent?


Cody's Smoking Gun.. the wheel.


No official word on the "total" status, but its looking pretty likely. I will give props to Freeway Motors for calling me when the Appraisers showed up. Appraiser #1 said he would call me and didn't. He didn't even take off the wheel and gave an initial damage estimate of $15k (fixable). I took off the wheel and showed him the dent. He then said lets get a $$ value on replacing that part.

The second appraiser listened to the body shop and walked away saying probably total, but he has to see what he can get at salvage first.

Its hard to be patient here. It seems like everyone wants to move at their own slow pace.

Jeff
 
#38 ·
Give Cody a round of :clap:. We took off the tire and got some better photos.
Honestly, I'd prefer to be wrong.
:(

Straight on: I haven't seen the other side, but is that much glue supposed to be coming out?
Yeah - that's just a function of the chassis assembly. There's joints all over the car where a bit of adhesive is squeezed out. I'm sure there's an engineered thickness expected to the adhesive and a process for the application that allows for just a little more than needed to ensure coverage while wasting as little as possible.

Is that bar bent? Should it be bent?
That's the lower A-arm. Don't think it should be bent and there's a mark visible on the outside of it in this photo which would indicated it was bent over something:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffandlaura/2178234155/in/set-72157603667621614/

That piece is easily replaced though.

Cody's Smoking Gun.. the wheel.
Wow - did a number on the wheel too.

The thing that would definitely put it over the edge would be if the lower A-arm/chassis points got bent out of shape.

In these photos, they appear OK, but can't be seen well enough to say:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffandlaura/2179027146/in/set-72157603667621614/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffandlaura/2178234155/in/set-72157603667621614/

I bet the car would be fine to repair and drive but doubt Lotus would ever back that since we're so litigious here in the States.

As a side note, I had a ding in an R1 frame push it over to total status with USAA back in 2000 (there was a whole lot of other damage too). While the bike was structurally fine, the cosmetic issue called for frame replacement and the labor pushed it over the threshold. Of course, it also took a month to settle since none of the local USAA adjusters knew jack about bikes. Although it was a little slow, they didn't even blink... but pretty much dropped me ASAP.

Man... that whole High 5 75/Hillcrest/Preston/635 business is just not working as intended. We were just talking about that the other day - seems like they waited way too long to try to expand the 75/635 intersection and everything around it was far too built up to leave adequate room for when they finally got around to trying to make it better.
:shrug:

Congratulations on your new exige 240! :)
Time for an upgrade!
:up:
 
#41 ·
Yeah, but I think his point is:

undamaged value + (gap coverage if applicable) - deductible = payout

IIRC, they're subrogating so you're likely going to be stung for the deductible until the Honda guy's insurance ponies up. At that point, you generally get your cut first, then your insurer gets the rest.
 
#48 ·
True - but I still fail to see why this is relevant to the decision on whether or not to repair the car? For example, if the insurance company thought they could get $20k for the wreck, and repairs would be $15k on a $30k car it would be better for them economically to total the car (these costs could easily be incurred through front clam damage only too!) - and maybe the owner would like this:shrug: But to extend the logic in a less dramatic incident, with perhaps a $3-4k damage bill, salvage value could easily be $28k! So would you write off this car???

I don't know the answer (and am not familiar with the US insurance system) but am curious as the salvage value comment seems to come up regularly.
 
#50 ·
True - but I still fail to see why this is relevant to the decision on whether or not to repair the car?
I live here and I fail to see it!
:shrug:

Just get the police report and threaten to sue the insurance company if they don't cover it. I had to do that when someone backed into my M3 while it was parked in downotwn Dallas. The cop saw the person, chased them down, took a report and their insurance (AIG) screwed me around for a month until I went down to the station and got the report.
That's why you have the insurance company subrogate - it makes it way easier and you don't have to deal with Fly By Night Ins. Co. on a claim.
:up:

Drjest - any updates yet?
 
#51 ·
I live here and I fail to see it!
:shrug:



That's why you have the insurance company subrogate - it makes it way easier and you don't have to deal with Fly By Night Ins. Co. on a claim.
:up:

Drjest - any updates yet?
I heard letting your own insurance comapny know about a not at fault situation can still possibly affect your future premiums etc. Plus I figured it would be an easy claim but the insured decided to not cooperate and sleazy AIG tried to screw me out of paying the claim so it ended up being a fiasco.
 
#43 ·
Do you mean the report showed it was clearly the Honda's fault or that he said it was clearly your fault? That's somewhat unclear..?
 
#45 ·
I have found from experiance that people are often extremely honest in the heat of the moment. Everything is happening so fast that they tend to tell exactly how and what they saw. Only after some time for things to settle in do they start thinking of the ramifications and then start looking for an exit to their previous statements. I'm sure if you think back on it, there are plenty of times in your life that this has been the same for you as it has for anyone else. It's just one of those human nature things.
 
#46 ·
He's at fault on the police report and that's the most important part. At least he's got half-way decent policy limits. Most people around here drive with state minimum if you are lucky.
 
#47 ·
When I worked for State Farm and the Sheriffs Office in Fla I found that only around 30-35% of the drivers actually had decent coverage and less than 70% had insurance at all. I somehow think TN is worse than that. Of course, I never would have realized it until I worked there but some 30-35% of all crashes are hit and run, even when in active intersections, etc. Yep, even happened to me but thankfully no damage to my car (not the Lotus).
 
#49 ·
Just get the police report and threaten to sue the insurance company if they don't cover it. I had to do that when someone backed into my M3 while it was parked in downotwn Dallas. The cop saw the person, chased them down, took a report and their insurance (AIG) screwed me around for a month until I went down to the station and got the report.
 
#53 ·
No big updates. The body shop did say they got a price on the tub. $13k + $10k in labor. The ins. estimates have not been updated to reflect that yet. I faxed the police report to my ins. on Friday and am waiting to hear back from them.

I am looking at ordering another Phantom Black, 07 or 08.
 
#57 ·
Who was your insurance company....only took me 4 month to resolve mine :clap: :mad: Granted mine was a little different than most....mine still looked perfectly fine and was completely driveable.

This is why I chose to live in West Fort Worth even though I work right there at Texas Instruments and the High 5. There are WAY less cars out here, so I can drive on open roads and park in empty parking lots.
 
#58 ·
USAA. Overall, I give them a thumbs up. Dude still hasn't accepted liability, so I'm out my deductible until then. My injury claim is still open as well.

It was impossible for me to have the car in the garage and choose something else to drive. I've read other forums ( bmw, ferrari ) and I laugh at the posts who spout the BMW party line of "The Ultimate Driving Experience." Yes, they can be fun, but its just a different experience. The Lotus driving experience was so fun, it made me smile everytime I got into the car.
 
#63 ·
glad ur ok but I'm 100% sure it's totaled.
 
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