M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS
DISCUSSION => General Topics => Topic started by: bmwman91 on February 20, 2008, 08:33:03 PM
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So I was on my way to the gym after work today, and well now I have a crapped up car.
The story:
I was approaching a red light to turn right into the shopping center. There were 2 cars in the middle of the lane, both with no signal on and looking like the were stopped, waiting to go straight when the light turned green. So, for those 2 car lengths, there was a nice 10ft margin for me to make a right turn while they were stopped (which IS legal).
Well, I pull up to the crosswalk line and stop to check for any pedestrians or turning cars that might be there. The car at the front of the line was a Toyota Tacoma, and I could not see past it. So, I guess the guy in the Tacoma was turning right afterall, but was in the middle of the lane and had no signal on. He commences to turn right...
...right over the top of me. His passenger side door/rear q-panel rode right up my fender along with his wheel. SHIT! Mostly, I could not believe this actually happened. Not only was my car sticking out in front of his, but he was actually turning from the middle/left side of the lane!
We pulled into the shopping center and exchanged information. We are both insured under State Farm, and although the truck was his parents' he had a policy with them for his Infinity something or another. We'll see how it all pans out now that State Farm has all of his information (minus DL#...oops). The DL# is something you don't want to forget...don't let the moment let you forget that like I did. Luckily I had his insurance card in hand and verified his information on there.
The lunar eclipse tonight must be messing with things lol. While my car is pooped up, it still runs fine and the alignment on the wheel seems to be just fine. I got lucky, it could have been a LOT worse! At least I can still go to work!
So, without further ado, here are some shots of the damage!
(http://bmw.e30tuner.com/images/my318is/pic/runover/bmw001.jpg)
(http://bmw.e30tuner.com/images/my318is/pic/runover/bmw002.jpg)
(http://bmw.e30tuner.com/images/my318is/pic/runover/bmw003.jpg)
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Ouch that sucks man, good luck with insurance.
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So, who has some predictions for me? From all that I can tell, I am not at fault since making right turns in that fashion are risky, but perfectly legal. The guy apologized, which can count as an admission of fault should this end up in court. He was generally cool about it and very polite (he looked to be ~24, so my age). Maybe a little rushed, we exchanged info and he was on his way to wherever...said he had a business trip.
Tomorrow I guess I will file a police report. Being that we had no injuries, I didn't want to have to wait for the cops to come during rush hour. Apparently it is required if damage is over like $500 or something, which, well it is an older BMW so it definitely will be lol. Shoulda got his DL#, damn.
Anyone else have advice for me? This is the first time I have been involved in a collision with another car. Being that he was at fault, he will be paying my $500 deductible, no?
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im so sorry, thats awful. accidents are such headaches. hope everything works out for you
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it's been my experience in GA that if you dont call the police right then, then no blame is issued. A police officer has to show up and ticket someone. Because someone screwed up, so, if you didnt call the police, I doubt the insurance co will lay blame on either of you.
Sorry bro, I hope it doesnt work out like that, and I hate to sound all "parent" on you, but you should have called the cops.
Hopefully you can file a report, and an insurance adjuster can use common sense when he looks at both vehicles.
Good luck,
Hodge
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it's been my experience in GA that if you dont call the police right then, then no blame is issued. A police officer has to show up and ticket someone. Because someone screwed up, so, if you didnt call the police, I doubt the insurance co will lay blame on either of you.
Sorry bro, I hope it doesnt work out like that, and I hate to sound all "parent" on you, but you should have called the cops.
Hopefully you can file a report, and an insurance adjuster can use common sense when he looks at both vehicles.
Good luck,
Hodge
Yeah, you are right on that. I was caught up in the moment and pissed off, and being that the damage was relatively minor I just decided to file a claim. My GF has been in 2 accidents and never called the police lol. When it was the other person's fault, the insurance company didn't worry about that so we'll see. In the future though, I will be doing this properly. Practice makes perfect! (not that I want any more)
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That sucks. But things could have gone alot worse. Seems like you just needs a new fender. Good luck!
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That sucks. But things could have gone alot worse. Seems like you just needs a new fender. Good luck!
Yup, pretty much. E30 fenders are widely available right? I don't want them to try pounding this one out, it'll look like ass. Hell, I'll go to the local wrecker & get one myself!
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Damn. Just keep reminding yourself that it could have been worse. I'm sure you can find a red fender in the local JYs.
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Damn. Just keep reminding yourself that it could have been worse. I'm sure you can find a red fender in the local JYs.
That would be ideal. Paint-matching would not be an issue then! Any suggestions for the Bay Area? Pick N Pull is pretty limited on late-model E30's.
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try and settle outside of the insurance if its just the fender. get like 250$ from him and buy another fender and pocket the rest. that way you can avoid potential blame, and you both get off without an accident on record.
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try and settle outside of the insurance if its just the fender. get like 250$ from him and buy another fender and pocket the rest. that way you can avoid potential blame, and you both get off without an accident on record.
$250??
What about paint? And surely the paint will be mismatched. You'd have to paint the entire side of the car and the hood and some of the roof, no?
That's more like a $800+ job by the time you're done.
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Do not let the other driver pay your deductible as settlement. This is in violation of the terms of your policy and prejudices your companies claim for payment from a third party. If you accept a cash settlement from him, you have also violated the terms of your policy - at least in Texas. Read the section: Terms and conditions. I had the same damage with the fender cracking the paint on the edge of the hood. It was $1100 at body shop rates in TX which is third world compared to CA. That was a new fender and painting the hood and fender. A $1000 is a small body repair these days. I'd also check that the bumper bar didn't carry the impact through the structure. Check the fit of the bumper cover at the right front corner.
If the other guy is at fault, you are entitled to your damages and it is not a chargeable accident on your record. You rates will not go up.
There are strict liability states, no fault states and comparative negligence states. I'm not sure which type CA is.
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COOL! now you have a good reason to repaint the whole car, do some bodyworks, rims, suspension, engine etc.!!... a entire overhaul..!!! and your girlfriend cant say anything!!! its because the accident darling.... ;-)
i send you the beer directly from switzerland!! :-)
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Do not let the other driver pay your deductible as settlement. This is in violation of the terms of your policy and prejudices your companies claim for payment from a third party. If you accept a cash settlement from him, you have also violated the terms of your policy - at least in Texas. Read the section: Terms and conditions. I had the same damage with the fender cracking the paint on the edge of the hood. It was $1100 at body shop rates in TX which is third world compared to CA. That was a new fender and painting the hood and fender. A $1000 is a small body repair these days. I'd also check that the bumper bar didn't carry the impact through the structure. Check the fit of the bumper cover at the right front corner.
If the other guy is at fault, you are entitled to your damages and it is not a chargeable accident on your record. You rates will not go up.
There are strict liability states, no fault states and comparative negligence states. I'm not sure which type CA is.
Well, hopefully he will be paying my deductible, along with his own. We both have State Farm and I filed the claim 10 minutes after it happened so they know who was involved. As much as it may be a pain, I plan to do everything "by the books." Hopefully, this will not mean the car is totaled lol, body work + paint = $$$! I have been browsing http://www.car-part.com and have found some undamaged brilliant-rot fenders for ~$100. I would prefer one of these since they are probably faded similarly to mine. I do not trust paint-matching & feathering. I am sure shops hate it when customers do it this way, but F them I want my car looking as original as possible.
I see no reason for my rates to go up from this since I was making a legal turn and he hit me. Let's hope he didn't just SEEM nice and end up making some sort of BS claim after he left. He was insured, but it was his parents' truck, so I hope they don't try anything shady either! My GF got rear-ended a few years ago, never filed a police report, and didn't cost her a dime. I believe CA is a strict liability state...AAA found the other guy at fault and he was liable for all repairs.
COOL! now you have a good reason to repaint the whole car, do some bodyworks, rims, suspension, engine etc.!!... a entire overhaul..!!! and your girlfriend cant say anything!!! its because the accident darling.... ;-)
i send you the beer directly from switzerland!! :-)
Haha I wish. I am all for some good Euro beer straight from the source. The rest....well it might have to wait till the next accident lol. I need a 2nd car before I can put it out of commission for so long! My next BIG expenditure will be on a Metric Mechanic street-spec M42.
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$250??
What about paint? And surely the paint will be mismatched. You'd have to paint the entire side of the car and the hood and some of the roof, no?
That's more like a $800+ job by the time you're done.
i was thinking that he would buy a red fender. its still cheaper even if it were 500$ to do so. you can get a fender for >100. it would be probably $200 for a respray of that fender if it was in good condition.
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$250??
What about paint? And surely the paint will be mismatched. You'd have to paint the entire side of the car and the hood and some of the roof, no?
That's more like a $800+ job by the time you're done.
$800 is a cheap job for even 1/4 of the car.
i was thinking that he would buy a red fender. its still cheaper even if it were 500$ to do so. you can get a fender for >100. it would be probably $200 for a respray of that fender if it was in good condition.
$200 for even a fender is really cheap, trying to match paint can be a bear. Red is one of the worst as it tends to fade the most. Even worse now you have 2 different types of paint, and 2 different ages, both will continue to fade at different rates. What matches now, may not match in 6 months. I have seen bumpers cost $300 to paint match. That was with a new vehicle with no fade, and no work needed, just spray it.
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Damn, that's terrible. Luckily it won't be difficult to fix. Good luck!
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$800 is a cheap job for even 1/4 of the car.
$200 for even a fender is really cheap, trying to match paint can be a bear. Red is one of the worst as it tends to fade the most. Even worse now you have 2 different types of paint, and 2 different ages, both will continue to fade at different rates. What matches now, may not match in 6 months. I have seen bumpers cost $300 to paint match. That was with a new vehicle with no fade, and no work needed, just spray it.
Yeah I have been thinking about it and I definitely want to get a Brilliantrot fender from a 1991 E30. That will probably be the closest in terms of fading.
The other issue is that this is CA. Lacquer-base paints are not legal here, so not only would there be some other color red on here, but it would not even be the same type of paint! Forget that noise.
Damn, that's terrible. Luckily it won't be difficult to fix. Good luck!
Sssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! The car gods might hear you! Spiteful, they are.
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I hope this ordeal goes smoothly for ya!
Goodluck man :)
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The other issue is that this is CA. Lacquer-base paints are not legal here, so not only would there be some other color red on here, but it would not even be the same type of paint! Forget that noise.
paintscratch.com indicates that bright red (brilliantrot) is base coat/clear coat paint. It's most likely Glasurit. The easiest way to tell is to use fine polishing compound. Clear coat will come off as white or a very light gray on the rag. If it's not, the rag will be red. Base/clear would be the best for finding a used fender that matched well enough to leave alone.
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paintscratch.com indicates that bright red (brilliantrot) is base coat/clear coat paint. It's most likely Glasurit. The easiest way to tell is to use fine polishing compound. Clear coat will come off as white or a very light gray on the rag. If it's not, the rag will be red. Base/clear would be the best for finding a used fender that matched well enough to leave alone.
Oddly, some panels on the car have CC, and others don't. The title was clean so I have no reason to suspect it was crashed before. The rag turned red a lot when polishing the thing in the past.
Once fault has finished being established, I will go to a nearby shop that works with State Farm and discuss purchasing a used fender of the proper color. A nice polish + wax all around the car should make everything spiffy. I wonder if I can get them to polish it for me lol.........
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Hmmm, I always thought that lacquer based paints were illegal in all of california too, but after visiting a local paint shop, that seems to not be the whole story. They said that if I were to go to their branch in amador county(im in eldo county), I could legally buy lacquer based paints. So now im unsure..
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Look what I came across locally. Might be worth emailing him whether he has the driver side.
LINK (http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/pts/584388807.html)
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In Texas it's an ambiguous regulation. You can only use lacquer (as opposed to acrylic lacquer) on older cars that currently are finished in the older type paint. In addition you can only use it for spot painting or for repaired panels. If you repaint the car completely, you are required to use the newer acrylic type. In reality, classic cars that are being restored and muscle cars are painted completely in the older type lacquer. The shop just does it in increments such as edging and cutting in panels and then uses it to completely paint the outer surfaces. No one comes around to actually check! BMW's have used the newer type paint since at least the mid 1980's.
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The drivers fender is the most often damaged. Finding one will be more difficult. Not impossible, just more difficult.
Red is one of the worst fading colors. Even if identical, it may not match unfortunately. I would be prepared for a complete spray.
If you paint match it even with the same type of paint, in 6 months it may not match. The age can effect the fade rate.
As for the clear on some and not others, the car may have had some touch up work done such as buffing out scratches and such. My Miata has no clear remaining at all. Be careful when rubbing out your car when it is like this. If they have to re-spray anything, you may want to see if they can touch up the clearcoat.
Cars near airport flight paths, especially Cali cars, take a beating on clearcoat.
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Cars near airport flight paths, especially Cali cars, take a beating on clearcoat.
:confused:
I have never heard about this before. Can you please explain more?
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its due to the kerosin...!its very agressive..!if the aeroplane is too heavy to land, they open the valves and throw away fuel!!!thats not a joke!!!in switzerland it is prohibited, but in other countries? sometimes the kerosin doesnt burn entirely in the turbines... can also be a reason for "kerosin rain"
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It's called fuel jettisoning and it's done because on some aircraft the maximum takeoff weight can exceed the maximum landing weight.
Not all aircraft have a jettisoning system, this is why you'll sometimes here of airplanes flying around to burn fuel and reduce weight.
More here with regulatory references too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_dumping
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I never heard of this before. Thanks for the info. No more parking near/at the airport for me. It looks like they only do this close to the airport?
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Wow, that's news to me. Sucks that you got hit BMWman, but a tacoma could have done a lot more damage than that ;). Good luck with insurance.
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I never heard of this before. Thanks for the info. No more parking near/at the airport for me. It looks like they only do this close to the airport?
Anywhere within the flight pattern but especially inline with the runways.
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Anywhere within the flight pattern but especially inline with the runways.
:eek: I still can't believe they can do this. Especially now with such high fuel prices.
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:eek: I still can't believe they can do this. Especially now with such high fuel prices.
Better safe than kaboom.
You would be surprised what that industry is allowed to get away with.
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A very good and competent body repair facility will be able to not only color match the needed paint to your existing factory paint but will also be able to reproduce the clear coat "sheen" - even if it's faded. Most Pro shops now have the ability to match new paint to existing vehicle paint, even if it is faded. It's amazing at how far paint technology has come along...
I had a 95 BMW M3 that was bumped in the rear by a small box truck. Luckily the only damage that occured was the rear bumper cover was scuffed along with the bumper cover trim moldings and the bumper shock absorbers. The car was factory Cosmos, which has metallic in it. The body shop who performed the work ordered all new BMW replacement parts and when the car was done, the paint job (paint color and clearcoat sheen) matched 100% perfectly to the existing body paint that had in excess of 90k miles on it. There was no discoloration, nor could one tell that the rear bumper was ever replaced or repainted when comparing it's finish to the rear quarter panels or the rest of the vehicle.
Best of luck with the repairs, it looks like an "easy" fix considering the damage that occured. Post up pics of your progress.