Hi, I was rear-ended on Friday January 18/08 by some dude that decided to use my car to stop. My car has no rear bumper, as well as no back up lights etc. But my main question is the transmission. The transmission was FINE that morning, after the accident it hasn’t been the same. The car is not shifting properly, today when I put it in drive it hesitated then jerked really hard then went. As well my Grand AM (2003) has the brake/shifter interlock system. Before I got hit I had to put my foot on the brake to put it in gear, when the vehicle is/was running. Now since I’ve been hit I can just put it in gear without applying the brake, I know this is not normal. Any ideas what could be wrong? I’m kind of hoping they total it as it’s got lots of kilometres (168,500)
Did that dude have insurance? If so just add what you feel to the list of what you are going to tell the insurance/repair company. Yes an accident can damage a transmission.
I wonder if the insurance company is going to try and use the lack of a bumper on your car as some sort of failure on your part to try and wiggle out of some or all responsibility?
I think the OP meant that the bumper got destroyed as a result of the collision - I suspect it was present, in place, and in good order prior to being used as a wall.
The collision could have broken 1 or more engine mounts, allowing your engine to move around and not match up to your transmission in the proper way. This could account for the sudden jerk before the car starts moving.
No sense trying to save it, no matter what the insurance company does. Although, economically it might make sense. Fix and sell or fix the body and the brake interlock. Maybe shoot for 200,000?
If you want to keep it you may be able to get the insurance company to total the car and then sell it back to you for the salvage value. This is not unusual. You get your car value minus about $100, and the car, which you can then repair.
Yes the guy did have Insurance. Went and took it in to be estimated today… (Wednesday) The estimator said all I need is a new bumper, and damage is $1288… I told them about the transmission, and they told me that I would have to get the repair shop to check it out. I also had to meet with the adjustor, and reminded them as well, they told me that I could still get the cosmetic stuff fixed, and that they would send an adjustor to the dealership raise the car on a hoist, and check it throughly for twisted frame, bent frame, transmission etc. So still kind of unsure if the vehicle is written off or not. Right now it’s a waiting game.
Will keep updating everyone throughout the process…
Yes the bumper was in place and perfectly fine, before it was used as a wall.
When you met with the adjuster, you should have worn one of these to improve your bargaining position:
If you find the space frame is bent beware, a fix may not be permanent. I had a 380ZX frame straightened and it was OK for a while. Months later it moved back to some point between the bent and straight point. I learned later this is common and some repair shops no longer straighten at least some types of space frames.