Hatch It

So I was just rear ended in my 96' Civic CX Hatchback.

I am slightly worried right now because I have ALOT of work put into the car, B18C, SiR front and rear bumpers, CTR grille, CTR headlights, all authentic, not to mention FRESH Roma Red paint...

I was just hit this afternoon, I got a police report, he said he'd call his insurance tonight... What is my first step here?

I'm worried because I hear horror stories about people getting hit and the one at fault's insurance wanting to just settle and give you blue book for your car, mine is only worth $1,098 on KBB! Or should I not worry and my car will be repaired despite the KBB worth?

Here is a quick photo, I know the damages will easily exceed the blue book costs, but with all the work in it I don't feel they should "total" it..



Obviously it needs the bumper replaced, a taillight, and the hatch is dented in, but there is some damage behind the bumper preventing the hatch from closing. The quarter is fine and straight, as well as the exhaust and hatch glass.

I'm a collision student and know with paint this repair will easily cost over 1k and go beyond my blue book worth, but this is my car to school and my baby! If they gave me blue book I would never find a reliable car for school with just a grand, and that just scares me to even lose her.

I wasn't told any of this, I'm just shaken up and worrying, maybe they will pay to repair her, with or without the SiR bumper, but my question is what is my first step? Call my insurance? Bring her to a shop for the estimate?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks guys

JoeBlue

If your insurance was not aware of the modifications, consider this your lesson learned.

It could have been far worse, they could have killed you or sued you.

TomCat39

I've been told here in BC if you have all the sotck parts you can get all your custom parts back from ICBC.

Not really sure how much truth there is to that.

I think I'd first talk to your insurance and see what they tell you your options are so you have an idea of where you stand. Then plan accordingly.

Sorry to see the mishap man, that one bites.

Fliptard

You can always ask the insurance company NOT to total it out because you have put time and money into it.

A friend of mine wrecked his RSX and had a lot of money into it, and he asked them and they ended up giving him more money for it and NOT totaling it out.

B_Swapped93

just pay it out of your pocket if you really love the car I had to do that...insurance values my 94 integra gsr at "**** all" and said it was "totaled", I laughed and bought a whole new 98+ front end and will be running it this race season. spent around 1.3K parts and paint/clear coat but well worth it. I know that feeling the first few days after an accident I wanted to sell my car/part it out, wait a bit take off the body panels things will be better then you think I hope .


that doesn't look bad at all.

Hatch It

I just put the car on insurance yesterday! I purchased the car a few weeks ago and did a TON of work to it in those weeks. I don't see how they could have sued me though, the police report says that the other driver was at fault for "following too closely"...

It doesn't look THAT bad, and I may be jumping to conclusions with the totaling of the car, but when I was not at fault and I was hit by a driver basically driving wrecklessly, why shouldn't their insurance pay for my repairs regardless of modifications, age, or mileage...

I am hoping that they will just cover the repairs. I guess i'll be calling his insurance tomorrow... Wish me luck.

45mpg 95 civic

You should contact your insurance, they can help you deal with the other person insurance company. When it comes down to it, it'll be up to you if you want to keep your car or if you want it to total. With all the parts you put on your car, if you didn't have them on your car when you insured it, they want be covered.

B_Swapped93

Their insurance should pay out... someone backed into my FIT and they admitted fault and I got double what the actual repairs cost and my car got repaired mind you that's an 09 FIT. In the case of the integra they said it was totaled so idk try and pretty it up if the police took no pics, here in the city(Toronto) we have accident reporting centres the police make you go to, and they get both side of the story and pics of the damage. So if you didn't have to do something like that pretty it up! aka make it look less then it is better get some then have them say "ohh it's totaled" .

Marvin1985

iTrader: (5)

The other drivers insurance will try to total it out to get off on a cheapo payout. Bitch up a storm and they HAVE TO cough it up. Don't let it go. Now on the other hand had YOU crashed your car, well then it would get totaled and you'd be screwed.

You will get paid the repair money and parts. Then just source the parts and do the work yourself or elsewhere and save a few bucks. I'm guessing you have $2500-$3k damage/labor.

B_Swapped93

lol where on earth do some of you guys get your body work done 3K worth of damage ? are you kidding that's maybe 1K absolute MAX ! judging by how much I paid for a big 10x9'' dent in my FITS quarter panel that ran me 600$ and it looks MINT now.

Hatch It

I'm in school for collision and it doesn't seem all that bad, it might end up being right on the line of totaling it or not, so since it was completely his fault I may be able to argue it in my favor. The most expensive work would be pulling the rear behind the bumper back in line so the hatch shuts. Taillight and bumper and even the hatch wont be too pricey, but paint will bring it up to that 1k+ range, that's my own estimate and without the SiR bumper though, which is the least of my worries, I can always get another..

Hopefully all goes well tomorrow when I speak with his insurance company. Really praying..

I did just put about $1,500 into it in the last couple of weeks too

Marvin1985

iTrader: (5)

This isn't canada dude. Shops charge huge labor per hour, like $80-120. Also paint, bumper, support, hatch, taillight and metal fabrication is why it get normally totaled. I had a 96 vr6 gti golf that had the headlight broken in and it was $3200 cuz they changed the grille, bumper, foam piece, core support, light, hood and painted whole from end. I even got a free rental on the douche that hit me.

raverx3m

iTrader: (1)

your insurance has nothing to do with this. they dont pay out of theri pocket for anything

if the report says the other driver is 100% at fault then his insurance pays for everything
wait few weeks before settling you will see if you had any serious injuries

and when adjuster shows up:
washington state does not go by blue book(find similar car locally on craigslist and print out the ads. they go by market value of the car
2gather the receipts for all the stuff you put on the car and all maintenance etc. pretty much all the receipts that you spent on the car and possibly the bill of sale showing how much you paid for it.

if they total it they will have to give you that value since you just bought it.
if they dont total it keep in mind the value of the car drops because of the body work regardless if the title is clean or not. it will show the accident in carfax. and that costs you money...
inspect everything that was damaged and dont forget allignment at the end of the repair.

eghatch9295

iTrader: (1)

Do you know ANYTHING about body work? Pulling a dent VS pulling out the structure of the car, plus a bumper, plus pulling a dent on the hatch, plus a tail light= much more than a grand. Sure, Bubba could smash out the rear end with a hammer, slap a non OE light and bumper on it, and bondo the **** out of it for a grand, but that wouldn't be restoring his car to pre accident condition.

P-M-B,93EXsedan

My bro got sideswiped in his RX7 like 10 years ago, and the insurance paid him for EVERY mod because he had the recites. Then he bought it back, fixed it, poured the rest of the money into it, and rolled it over a year or two later.

he stripped that ****, but the car was a crushed can. See if you can find out who insurance would give the car to if its totaled, u might be able to work out a deal with em. If not, strip that ****. Repaint another hatchback.

P-M-B,93EXsedan

this guy right here understands why I'm more concerned with dat accident Dan dat rust. Rust isn't show up on a VIN checker. 2ft long 1ft tall crash is gonna show up.

motocrossracer9

Are you planning on doing the work your self ? If so $1800 is wayyy more than enough to fix that I don't care what brand paint you use I've painted whole cars with serious body damage cheaper than that

B_Swapped93

Sigh... how is there serious structure damage there ? the bumper isn't even cracked! as for "pulling the hatch".... just get a new one of CL for 50$ then paint/clear coat=200$ oem tail lights off CL=40$. Then remove the "possibly" bent bumper beam you can replace it if you like(free/20$). the part that seals with the hatch is light metal and easy to pull out 1/2hr work at a shop, I see no need for bondo some paint yes but why are you assuming all new panels what's wrong with mint used ones?. That's what I did with my integra when it needed a new front end and in relative to price of work here idk I have a good shop I go to for painting etc got my integra's front bumper painted championship white and clear coated for 80$ looks great.(see my build thread)

eghatch9295

iTrader: (1)

You're talking about backyard bodywork. Look at the picture, you can see the bumper mounting tabs are pushed in, as well as the upper part of the trunk pan. Like I said, you can hackjob it cheap.

raverx3m

iTrader: (1)

you gonna have to work hard to convince adjuster not to total it.

usually when they see that you care about this specific car they will work with you
you have to be polite but firm with him let him know exactly whats goin on and don't mention anything about medical claim until the car claim is settled then take care of medical if you need to
just remember, adjuster is there to save money for insurance agency hes not there to pay you more money. I spend 4 weeks emailing back and forth and at the end I got all the damages covered without totaling the car

B_Swapped93

lol I can guarantee you my car's suspension alone costs x2 your whole civic....think before you say I do a hack jobs of things it's a track car anyways, I can weld/fabricate most of the stuff I need for it. I do still need someone else to paint things other then that I know what I'm doing.

JoeBlue

Hence the you got lucky part. Had it been deemed your fault with mods on the car and the insurance company was not aware of them, goodluck...

That should tell you what you need to know, pay your insurance for the mods, and keep your receipts. This is the best you can do to protect yourself from this happening and having a different outcome in the future.


Goodluck with this.

Hatch It

So little update. The guys insurance agreed to fix her. Initially it came up as a total loss, but I talked to my estimating teacher and the body shop I just started working for and they helped me out a lot.

So the estimate was $1,200, and they will cover it. Very happy right now, the SiR bumper is also still intact and just needs a new molding on the right side which I'll pay out of pocket for eventually.

Thanks for the help everyone, and yes I will be insuring the car with mods from now on..

JoeBlue

Good luck with the repairs, hope it comes out good