[phani39]

Hello,
I had an accident with my 2005 Mini Cooper S in Connecticut today, the car is 5 months old and today I was rear ended by a truck. My Mini then rear ended an SUV. I ended up with a bunch of damages.
1) Rear lights, Bumper, Hatch all dented pretty bad
2) Rear and side glass shattered.
3) Rally lights, Front lights damaged.
4) Front end of the hood pushed in
5) Leaking coolant.
These are some of the initial visible damages. The resale of the car is probably down the toilet after this...Can any of you guys give me a guesstimate as to how much the resale would drop? Also does anyone know any good lawyers in the Connecticut area? I would appreciate any help in this regard.
Thanks
Phani

PS: Could you also tell me if there is any other group I should be posting it into since this is a general discussion group?

[acande1]

Quote: Originally Posted by phani39

Hello,
I had an accident with my 2005 Mini Cooper S in Connecticut today, the car is 5 months old and today I was rear ended by a truck. My Mini then rear ended an SUV. I ended up with a bunch of damages.
1) Rear lights, Bumper, Hatch all dented pretty bad
2) Rear and side glass shattered.
3) Rally lights, Front lights damaged.
4) Front end of the hood pushed in
5) Leaking coolant.
These are some of the initial visible damages. The resale of the car is probably down the toilet after this...Can any of you guys give me a guesstimate as to how much the resale would drop? Also does anyone know any good lawyers in the Connecticut area? I would appreciate any help in this regard.
Thanks
Phani

PS: Could you also tell me if there is any other group I should be posting it into since this is a general discussion group?

Oh man, that sucks. I hope you are alright. I am not from the Conn. area so I couldn't recommend lawyers but as far as resale value is concerned, what are you going to do, get the car fixed and then just dump it? If so, I would sell it privately over trading it in because A) the dealer will most likely check the VIN to see if its been in an accident and B) You will get more money selling it on the street anyway.

From the damage you describe, I'm guessing that sounds like around 10K worth of damage (that's with labor included). I couldn't see it being more than 15K and considering the car is only 5 months old, your insurance should not declare the car a total loss. I don't know about Conn. but in Illinois, if your car is declared a total loss and is less than 9yrs old, the state will not let you keep the car. So if fixing it up and reselling it is what you are considering, maybe you might want to have an independant estimate done before letting the claims adjuster look at the car. Just a thought.

Best of luck....and again, I'm very sorry to hear about this....I was recently in a similar type of collision with my old ride. It must sting a little bit more considering you were in a 5month old car but remember, it is replaceable.....you are not!

[jwardell]

You may wish to post in the new england forum here on mini2, to get local recommendations for lawyer and body shop.

If the hood is dented at all, it will need to be replaced, it is double-walled so can rarely be repaired. After painting and remounting everything it's abut $900.

If you're leaking coolant, that may have damaged the radiator. But they will probably draining and removing it anyway to repair the front end so that won't add any labor.

Unless you were hit hard and have serious frame damage I bet the rear can be repaired very well. I've seen minis hit like this and much worse, and repaired good as new. I know it's upsetting but with some time and patience you will have it back in one piece again.

[AprilWhine]

Quote: Originally Posted by jwardell

You may wish to post in the new england forum here on mini2, to get local recommendations for lawyer and body shop.

Good idea, thread is now relocated.

[Mister]

In California, $2,500 will be deducted from the car's value if it was involved in an accident that caused over $600 worth of damage. And that's WITH the car fully repaired. We found this out when we traded in our '04 MC for an '05 MCS. My Cooper had been side-swiped by some dummy and the door had about $675 worth of damage, but was repaired to good as new condition prior to the trade in. Unfortunately, you can't "forget" to tell the purchaser about the accident because it's considered fraud. All of this has made me extremely paranoid of other drivers on the road, knowing that they have the power to significantly decrease the value of my car. I still drive like a crazed maniac, but now I'm a paranoid crazed maniac !

[GMINI]

Yup. The fact that my car had new paint on it dropped it's trade-in value $6k+. That's ok. That car I was considering is now being offered with $7k back.

As for finding a MINI owner recommended CT lawyer, try www.NEMINI.org as well.

[Aqualung]

You need to tell us where in CT you are. My b-in-law is an atty in the Northeast corner, not the type you want but could certainly recommend one.

[phani39]

Thanks for the info guys...I had the car towed to New Country Mini in Hartford and they have body shop called Airport Auto Body who does all the body work. The guy over there said that damage is mostly on the body and there was no frame damage..so I guess the car won't be totaled....that kinda sucks as I will end up taking the blow for some truck driver's fault...

Does anyone know how reliable the body shop guys are? Can they use after market products and claim that they have put in original Mini parts? Is there any way to verify this doesn't happen?

Aqualung I live in the Waterbury area....Could you please let me know if your brother-in-law knows anyone in that area?
Thanks in advance for your help guys
Phani

[jwardell]

BMW & MINI parts are actually very cheap (as my body guy explained, BMW got your money in the beginning, japanese parts are twice as much, korean 4x!) so you shouldnt have to worry about fakes. It's also all easily replaced, with the exception of the hood and radiator, so since your frame is just fine you shouldn't have an inferior car when you get it back. In fact I think my new paint is better than the factory so it's better now!

MINI resale value is higher than any other brand so even if you lose a little you're still well on top...but really, I couldn't possibly imagine selling my MINI anyway!

[Aqualung]

Quote: Originally Posted by phani39

Thanks for the info guys...I had the car towed to New Country Mini in Hartford and they have body shop called Airport Auto Body who does all the body work. The guy over there said that damage is mostly on the body and there was no frame damage..so I guess the car won't be totaled....that kinda sucks as I will end up taking the blow for some truck driver's fault...

Does anyone know how reliable the body shop guys are? Can they use after market products and claim that they have put in original Mini parts? Is there any way to verify this doesn't happen?

Aqualung I live in the Waterbury area....Could you please let me know if your brother-in-law knows anyone in that area?
Thanks in advance for your help guys
Phani

I grew up near Hartford, and my other b-in-law has a business in Hartford...I'll ask him about them/alternative. And, I'll ask him about a lawyer in Waterbury.

I'll ask my Northeast corner b-in-l about a lawyer down that way, his in-laws are all attnys down Westchester County. And a very good friend in Greenwich's Dad was a big-time partner in a Wall St firm if it comes to that (big $$$)

As an aside, tho' are you going after the other "guys" for personal injury or damages/repair to your MINI? Doesn't your insurance company go after them? It "pays" for the insurance co in the right to go after the insurance co in the wrong to minimize the insurance co in the right's payout....But if you're gonna sue the other guys for whiplash and the all-important emotional distress for being deprived of your MINI while it's being fixed, then that's different.

[ice]

As far as I know, there are no lawyers in Connecticut.

[GMINI]

^LOL

THAT's why I couldn't think of any!

(Maybe they migrated to follow their main source of sustenance. (Insurance Co.s))

[Aqualung]

My b-in-l in Hartford says he knows the owner from when their sons played bball together and hears he runs a top notch operation.

[holdenontoit]

definately discuss something called "diminished resale value" when you do finally talk to a lawyer. I'm sorry this happened to you, I lost a Honda civic some years ago with 6k on the clock,I feel your pain.

[phani39]

Thanks for the tips guys....I did call a lawyer in waterbury yesterday...Will probably meet with her next week to see where this goes...

Aqualung could you please give me the contact info of the lawyer your b-i-l was talking about. I appreciate your help a lot.
Phani

[Aqualung]

Quote: Originally Posted by phani39

Thanks for the tips guys....I did call a lawyer in waterbury yesterday...Will probably meet with her next week to see where this goes...

Aqualung could you please give me the contact info of the lawyer your b-i-l was talking about. I appreciate your help a lot.
Phani

Sure, haven't heard back on the lawyer yet...you're wanting a personal injury lawyer, yes/no?

[phani39]

My neck hurts a little Aqualung but I might be ok in couple of days...I was hoping to get something for loss in resale value...I am not sure which lawyer I should be looking at? Figured it probably would be a personal injury lawyer...