Last Friday, my 2012 nissan maxima sv got tboned at 50 mph. The driver’s side side airbags deployed. It will get inspected tomorrow, but I just would like to hear some outside opinions. Here are the pics…
That looks pretty nasty to me…The L/F suspension and steering have been severely displaced by the impact, It will never be the same even if they do repair it…I would hope that they total it…
Tough call. There’s a lot of body damage, and certainly chassis damage, but I can’t tell from, here how much unibody damage there is. The substucture that holds the struts, engine, radiator etc. may be badly damaged, so this might require what body guys call a “clip”, which means they basically pull the front end off, clip the substructure, weld a new one on, and rebuild the engine, suspension, etc onto it. The might even replace a lot of the chassis as part of the “clip”. If there’s powertrain damage, and there might be since the left axle got punched into the transaxle, they might even replace the entire powertrain with the clip.
Let us know how you make out.
I will… The car was leaking fluids after it got hit, but idk if that constitutes it as severely damaged.
The inertia from 3,500 pounds of steel (or whatever the vehicle that hit you weighs) traveling at whatever speed they hit you at and driving the axle into the transaxle can do serious mechanical damage. The differential portion of the transaxle isn’t made to withstand that. My wild guess is that at least some of the fluid is tranny fluid leaking past a totaled tranny seal, specifically the one around that axle that got hit. That ain’t a good sign.
My opinion is that it should be declared a total. A body shop could throw a front clip and a few suspension parts on it but my feeling is that the subframe and floor pan likely has damage and the car will never be right.
It varies by state, but here in OK for example any damage that meets or exceeds about 60% of the vehicle’s true value is considered a total.
That doesn’t mean that a lot of them don’t end up back on the road though… 
The damage doesn’t necessarily have to exceed the car’s value to be totaled
The insurance adjuster has some leeway, as far as I know, and can declare a total loss if the damage approaches the value of the car
Now I’ll go a little off-topic . . .
Some shop, somewhere, is going to repair that vehicle. And it will be on the road again, whether OP is driving it, or somebody else
It’s going to be on the road again . . . clean title or not
I’m guessing they’ll fix it. The car is only 2 years old, probably still worth quite a bit.
A friend of mine had his S-10 parked in the street in front of his office, a driver swerved to avoid something and ran into his truck. Damage of $3700 on a truck with a book value of $4000. The insurance company fixed it.
To be honest, I hope it is totaled. I don’t entirely feel comfortable with driving it after being so damaged. The collision guy, at the place the car is at, stated that it could be totaled and that he would prefer that it not be repaired… I’m just worried about the insurance inspector.
Fix the car and then try to sell or trade it. That accident will dent the sale or trade value considerably even if by some odd chance repairs turned out acceptably well. The perception can put the hurt on the monetary value.
I’m not a fan of insurance adjusters because their goal is to get their employer off the hook as cheaply as possible and that may not be in your best interest.
Several times in the past when they’ve lowballed me I just told them I was going to see a doctor for treatment of headaches and possible whiplash. It was amazing how the value changed so quickly…
The car is a lease, and its contract ends Sept 2015. I got severely bruised from impact and went to the doctor two days later. My passenger suffered from whiplash, but didn’t go to the hospital.
Leased means it’s not your car and the leasing company will certainly demand that the insurance company total it…That’s what full coverage insurance is for…Hopefully, the person who hit you has decent insurance…The leasing company knows the car will be a tough sell when the lease is up and they will want no part of that…
You have zero input with a lease vehicle. Whether the car is totaled depends upon your state’s insurance regulations and/or the insurance company policy. Many total any vehicle wherein the cost of repair exceeds a specific percentage of the book value of the vehicle, typically 80%. The lease company will simply move forward with the insurance company recommendations. If the car is repaired, you still will likely have to keep the vehicle until the lease expires. READ YOUR LEASE AGREEMENT CAREFULLY. You need to know your obligations and/or possible options.
Sincere best.
At the worst, there may be $9,000 worth in damage, so no total wreck. What you have is easily repairable.
As long as you have no responsibility for the accident, you should get another car from the leasing company for the remainder of the lease. And as SMB said, read the lease to see what your options are. Don’t fret about what might happen, remain calm and get busy finding out what your options are. BTW, if it is the other guy’s fault, you should get a rental from his insurer until the issues with your car are settled.
Approximately $13,000 to repair it, and it’s over 50% of the value… The other party is a fault because they ran a red light, but we are contacting the other insurance company now since our insurance company wants to repair it. The lease company is pretty lenient and wants to do whatever the insurance company insists.
As the owner of the vehicle, it becomes the lease company’s decision whether to have the vehicle repaired or accept the settlement, which would make them legally “whole”, and scrap the car. Since the vehicle is worth twice the cost to repair, it’ll be repaired. It’s a simple business decision. You. unfortunately, have no part in the decision. You are, however, still bound to the lease.
One issue that you may need to pursue if applicable is rental costs for a temporary vehicle. A close reading of the lease may disclose your exposure in this regard. It might be that if the car is rendered undrivable through no fault of yours, the lease company is obligated to provide you with a comparable replacement… you, of course, still being responsible for the lease payments.
Now, look up and say “thank you” to the almighty that you’re only dealing with the inconvenience of a disabled car and not the inconvenience of having to select a motorized wheelchair for yourself. It might not seem like it, but you’ve been lucky.
You are very lucky that you won’t have to drive this car in one year when the lease is done. Make sure that you have no obligations to the leasing company even though the accident was not your fault.
You are healthy, the car belongs to someone else; life is good when you think about it that way.
…but I will have to be stuck with it for a year, not to mention having basically the entire summer without my car. I know I should be looking at things half full (and yes, I’m thankful my daughter and I are alive), but I am still having another inspector come out. The collision guy will be doing a more in depth inspection as well to see if any other costs are possible. I believe totaling is what’s right, but it’s not my decision either…
Look at the bright side. If the accident has left the vehicle with hidden damage that won’t make itself evident for a few years, you won’t be stuck with it! You may have the honor of being the only person ever who has presented a situation where having a lease might actually be an advantage!