Not to add to the accident threads but!

[Lightning Blue]

Some dude slid into the Camry last week while it was snowing, while parked in the parking lot. Left a note though.






Clincher is, $3,318.45 to fix it Amazing how much a small amount of damage is to fix, the car itself still drives fine. Upsetting though, this is the car with the snow tires, and now there's almost 4 feet of snow on the ground, really needed them! Here's to hoping Allstate doesn't decide to total it.

[Gothmog3VZ]

If you don't have any structural damage, I suggest that you pick up a bumper & trunk from a junkyard, and fix yourself. That doesn't exactly look like $3000 worth of damage, unless you're having a stealership fix it for ya.

[Lightning Blue]

I know right, I was shocked when they gave me the price.

Well the lip that the trunk sits on was smashed up pretty badly, the right quarter panel has scratches and missing paint, the trunk hinges are toast and there's a few other things, comes out to like $1600 for parts and the rest is paint and labor... The trunklid itself is $500 for a used trunklid! What the heck?


It's an autoshop doing the work, and it's covered 100% by the other person's insurance. Tempted to grab a check and run if they'd let me do it, and repair what I can, but at the same time I want to save the resale value of the car!

[iovaykind]

What'd the note say?

[Lightning Blue]

Hi, name is XXX, I slid into your rear and there is damage, call me at XXX for insurance info

At first I thought there was no note because there was a foot of snow on the car, had to do some digging!

[iovaykind]

I'd say you're lucky that it was a hit and run but then again he probably got damage that he wants insurance to take care of anyway.. but still that's better than nothing for ya.. if you're handy you might be able to junkyard some parts and fix it up yourself if there's no structural damage or anything

[haux]

Hi, name is XXX, I slid into your rear and there is damage, call me at XXX for insurance info

Sorry, "XXX" and "into your rear" made me chuckle.

[Lightning Blue]

Well it was some hot car on car action, just not the type I was expecting to get

[projektvertx]

Wow that sucks... The reason for a 3000$ repair bill may be some internal damage that you are not seing. I'm pretty sure they will repair it with no problem thought, seing as to the price of the repair and your car being an 00-01 model. Trust me, if they repaired this for me:
My car got rear ended :(((((

After repairs:
My car is REBORN!!!!!!!

They will definitly repair your car. What you see above is 3200$ worth of damage. This way last May on a '95 V6 LE. Just make sure the shop is reputable. Back in the day when my accident happened, I got estimates ranging from 3000$ to 5200$ for my car. Shop around. Odds are a Toyota dealership would rather call your car totaled. Also, let the boys at the shop know that you want to keep the car, they will tailor the estimate in order to suit what you want to do. At least the guy left a note!! Very honorable, the guy had enough ethics to take ownership for his actions, which is a rare thing nowadays!!

[DarkMastyr]

Originally Posted by haux

Sorry, "XXX" and "into your rear" made me chuckle.

I agree.

I also accidentally slid into the rear of a hooker once and did some damage. Had to pay extra for that.

[ONE_to_HATE]

^ LOL! what'd it cost you? - a couple rash spots with a bit of burning sensation?
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to the OP.. that car's toast. LOL! 130K miles with a $3000+ repair- that's waaay more than half the car's value. Good Luck!

[Lightning Blue]

Originally Posted by ONE_to_HATE

to the OP.. that car's toast. LOL! 130K miles with a $3000+ repair- that's waaay more than half the car's value. Good Luck!

Yeah, retail is around $5200 on edmunds, $4200 private party and $3300 trade in! I didn't think 130k miles was all that bad for a 10 year old car, just look at haux

I do suppose I'll see what they say when I bring the car in monday morning.

[projektvertx]

Originally Posted by ONE_to_HATE

to the OP.. that car's toast. LOL! 130K miles with a $3000+ repair- that's waaay more than half the car's value. Good Luck!

I don't know about other states, but in Michigan, if the repair exceeds 75% of the car's value, it is considered a total loss. Maybe in California, insurance regulations are different I live in a no fault state so... 3200$ still falls below 75% of the highest listed value by the OP (5200$ I believe). You may be in luck! And hey, my repair approached almost 100% of the car's value.

Another thing I would like to point out to the OP is that the insurance adjustor may not give you market value for the car because it is an accidented car. Trust me when I say this, I was told it all depends on your luck and what insurance adjustor you get...

In my case, the guys at the shop simply stated that the client wanted the car repaired and the repair would cost them the same amount as dishing out the value of the car. They also mentioned how well maintained the vehicle appeared to be, no rust, perfect mechanical condition and all that bla-bla... So they obliged and repaired it...

@ the OP, it all depends on your luck and if you really want the car saved or not... My original suggestion sticks thought, find a reputable shop and shop around for estimates since you say the car is perfectly drive-able. I know it's tought since most shops are only open, what, 8 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.? But I suppose it all comes back to the point of wether or not you care about the car enought to do that and what the insurance company says Back in my day, a lot of people where calling totaled, as you can see from the thread, but look what happened, it got repaired Best of luck to you and keep us posted on what happens!

[ONE_to_HATE]

to Camry owners who know that this car can reach the moon in one engine, 130K is LOW. But cars are such bad investments.. because i could have had a house by now, but instead- i have a camry. fML.

or.. buy it back and sell it for parts to make a little bit more money to put on top of the insurance moneys to get an awd/4wd!

[projektvertx]

Originally Posted by ONE_to_HATE

But cars are such bad investments.. because i could have had a house by now, but instead- i have a camry.

VERY true, cars and investment don't go in the same sentence together.