Well, there's nothing to destroy your sense of; "I know my car is almost 2 years old but to me he's still basically new" like a Jetta up the tailpipe.



I will be sending Click and Clack some Jetta mail about this one...

I was coming up to a green light when the guy in front of me took his sweet time making a turn, resulting in a yellow. I was still pretty far back from the intersection, so I just slipped into neutral and coasted up to it.

I was *almost* stopped (you know how you kind of coast very very verrrrrrrrry slowly [while breaking] before you completely stop) when I checked my rearview. I saw a black Jetta. And then I saw it closer... and closer... and -- moving very quickly -- closer still. I realized that the guy wasn't paying attention and that a wreck was inevitable as he hadn't seemed to notice yet that I was stopped. In that magical split-second "I can't believe I can actually think coherently right now" moment, I realized that I didn't have time to get him into first and out of the way, so I just took my foot off the break and....

WHAM!

Holy neck snap, batman.

I pulled over and the guy was SUPER apologetic -- which was good because until that point I was livid. His self-deprication did wonders to ease my nerves and we handled things quickly and very civilly.

The guy had to have hit me doing AT LEAST 10mph -- though I'd say more like 15 -- but the cosmetic damage to my car is minimal. The bumper will likely need replaced, as it's quite loose and makes horrible cracking sounds when you move it. Aside from scrapes where his bumper hit me, though, it *looks* ok.

I've reported to my insurance and have to find a good body shop. Although, since I'm thinking the bumper will need to be replaced and, obviously, any underlying damage repaired, I may just take him up to New Country in Hartford and get a rental car.

He did feed me a very quick line about how he wasn't paying attention because he was on his way to the hospital having just found out that his wife was "bleeding" (flailing rather helplessly toward his nether regions) -- and to his credit, we were 1 block from the hospital, he did have a wedding ring and he did turn into the visitor lot. Whether that's the truth or he was just a cafeteria worker running late remains to be seen. He was also extremely jittery and, as I said, apologetic to the n-th, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

But my car is now less than pristine... and I'm sad.

 

Wow... how many of us is that now?

Stupid drivers


My damage was $2000 when the 4-runner got me

 

that sucks...as I am sure you don't need to hear it some more...I am sorry to hear that


I am however happy to hear the guy was appologetic...I am so tired of the human race not taking responcability...like WHY WERE YOU STOPED! or somthign...you know how people get...

You boy will be fine my friend no worries...I have whitnessed a MUCH worse hit to a couple of my fellow motorers and well thier minis are like new now...

not that right now it's ok...but it will be... keep your chin up

 

Toast, I'm so sorry!! I feel your sadness...kinda takes the wind out of your sails, doesn't it? Things happen so fast.....are you okay????

If it's any consolation I just got mine back from a similar mishap on the front end (...not my fault either) and I will say there IS something special about a MINI that rises from the ashes having proven just how damn tuff it is, ready and eager for more motoring adventures.

So glad you have repairs underway. Remember....rentals build character (...yeah, right ).

 

I have to say that I wanted to strangle my husband when he broke my baby...a stranger probably would have been better off from my wrath. :smile:
But, all will be repaired in good time, and your car will be back to his ol self again.
I think we all emphasize with your pain!

 

sorry to hear that man


good luck with it :smile:

 

Thanks for all the sympathy, guys. I think I'm fine: a bit tense and a stiff neck, but physically all appears well. :smile:

I definitely think his profuse apologies did WONDERS to readjust my attitude -- which was initially one of pure evil, of course. I see so many stupid drivers almost running people off the road and whatnot and they never even bother to put down their cell phones long enough to wave an "excuse me". Had he been a doofus, I would surely have handled things in a less-than-entirely-rational fashion.


I'm kind of worried about damages -- particularly because he looks so good. I'm sure that by taking my foot off the break and allowing the car to roll a bit further I helped to defer some of the potential damages. I'm surprised, however, that my airbags didn't deploy.

And now onto the quagmire that is car insurance claims... BAH!

 

OM-Y!! So sorry to hear that love. Gosh, just horrid!

I think priority #1 is that YOU are okay. Forget the car, it's replaceable. How is the neck? Any back issues? I'm not trying to get you to sue or anything, just hoping that nothing happened to you. Keep an eye on yourself over the next few days. You know what to do if you start to feel some pain.

 

Sorry to hear about this
But this is an example for not coasting out of gear,you may have been able to move up if you were still in gear,any gear.Not preaching,I sometimes do it myself,but it's not a good habit to get into.
Hope things work out ok,keep us posted.

 

I've been told that letting your foot off the brake is one of the best things you can do to avoid injury to yourself. Namely your neck. Very sorry to hear about your accident. Puts my car troubles into perspective.

 

My bad,how are YOU should have been my first responce,sorry.
Can you drive the car?
Question.Do front air bags deploy in a rear ender

 

That assumes, of course, that you're not heading into cross traffic! I'm glad you weren't and that you're alright. Good luck with the repairs.

 

Same thing happened to me. I offered to settle outside of insurance, which they were more than happy to do as it was fully their fault. Got a quote for $1100 to repair it and a check for same from the other driver, then found a new take-off bumper in my color on eBay for $150. Covered a good chunk of the JCW cost right thurr...:smile:

 

A few months ago, my wife was in a similar situation. Coming up to an intersection on her way to work in the morning, the light turned yellow and she put on the brakes right at the same moment the woman behind her hit the gas to try to make the light. Thousands! of dollars worth of damage to my wife's new (to her, at least) Volvo C70 convertible. Her baby!

But the kicker was, the woman who rear-ended her was pissed! "You stupid *****, the light was yellow! What the F*** were you thinking, stopping for a yellow! You coulda made that light! I can't believe you made me hit you!"

I'm sorry for your loss, but, man, at least the person who hit you was a reasonable human being!

 

Aw Toast!! Bummer.......bummer........bummer!!! But, I'm glad to hear that YOU are okay - aside from the sore neck....:smile: Your baby will be good as new soon......promise......

I know this is not much consolation at this point, but we were rear ended a few years ago on Christmas Eve of all days!!! $3500 dollars and 3 weeks later, we had Scooter back good as new. The secret is a GOOD body shop and don't accept your MINI back unless it's 100% perfect...:smile:

Chow!

Donna

 

Aw, no! So sorry to hear about the accident, but the most important thing is that you are okay. Cars can be fixed a lot easier than humans. Your MINI is tough, it'll recover with the car doctor's help. You, on the other hand, are irreplaceable, and I hope you have no lingering aftereffects from this. You have a whole buncha people here at NAM throwing good vibes your way. That's a definite plus in the help department.

 

I am sorry to hear of your loss. I'm glad you're all right!

OmToast's MINI did the right thing- it was saving those front airbags to protect it's people in case it got pushed into the next car!

The front airbags should not deploy from a rear-end only impact. The sensors that arm the SRS and trigger a deployment are directionally sensitive, and also require a minimum threshold velocity change before they will send a deployment signal to the bags.

Since the motion of objects inside the vehicle (occupants included) relative to the vehicle is toward the point of impact, deployment of the front airbags would do nothing to help protect the occupants in a rear-end collision. The force of the primary impact presses the occupants backward into their seats, and away from the steering wheel and dash. However, if as is all too often the case, the first impact forces the vehicle into another object in front of it, the resulting secondary frontal impact may be of sufficient force to cause the front airbags to inflate.

hope that's a little clearer than mud! :smile:

 

Clear as stew
Figured as much,but had to ask.

 

Sorry to hear that! Yesterday makes one and a half months since the silverado knocked me into a ranger. It only cost his insurance company about $1400 to replace both bumpers. $450 for nearly two weeks of my driving a pos grand prix, and $400 for the dr. visit! I know how you feel, it SUCKS! At least he was easy to deal with, hope insurance goes smoothly too. Good luck and I hope your car is back to 'normal' soon!

 

Mine didn't cost me a penny... her insurance paid $2000 for repairs and I wuld guess at least $500 for well over 2 weeks in the Stratus

 

OmToast,
Know what you mean, watched a Honda car get closer and closer to my M3 at a stop light once, same results. Some drivers just don't pay attention when behind the wheel. Hope everything works out O.K.. :smile:
Charles

 

Sorry to hear about your bump - a Bronco nailed my wife wile she was turning into the church parking lot - $9500.00 and about a week ago she THOUGHT she put the parking brake on but the Mini rooled into our Land Rover - $1500.00 (this is a quote she got from the dealers body shop, I suspect that I can get a better price elsewhere, for instance I got the headlight for $520 instead of the $650 they listed.) I have a little museum in the garage of body parts from 5 cars that she has managed to mangle!

BTW a damn cop gave HER a ticket on the first instance for "slowing and stopping in a traffic lane" - how else do you make a left turn into a parking lot???? We are fighting that ticket.

Lee

 

Aw, Kelly! Sweetie, have one of your chiropractor bosses check you out. Since your neck is already stiff, you may need some medical care. So sorry about Ollie! Grrrrrrrr!

Clover

 

Lot -- I know there are varying opinions about coasting. My theory has always been that I'd rather replace the brakes than the clutch -- and I think I just found out the downsides of said theory... the hard way.

The guy driving is insured by Progressive, which makes me sad as my uncle (who owns a repair/body shop) informed me that they are LOUSY with their pay outs, and they won't cover my deductable unless it's part of a medical claim. So I'm out $500 for some guys stupidity, just because he didn't happen to hit me hard enough to really hurt me (at least, as far as I'm feeling right now - which is basically fine, but a little headache and sore neck. As would be expected)

Questions for those who have been through this:

I reported this to my insurance immediately and got a claim number. I was planning on using my claim # for all the fixin', then let my insurance and his insurance subrogate and sweat the details for me. Could I/would it make more sense for me to call HIS insurance company and file a loss report with them so that they can handle the costs directly? I mean, can you even do that? I was just trying not to deal with his insurance if at all possible, but I will if it's a better tack. Thoughts?

Oh -- and thanks for the airbag explanation! That makes sense (and it makes me really freakin' happy that noone was in front of me)

 

Godspeed Toasty, take care of yourself. Better days are comin'. :smile: