So my e70 35d gets rear ended

[norcalmike]

Hey y'all. This is my first post, but been a long time follower of this forum. After a weekend of scrubbing, claying, waxing my beautiful, recently became 100k miles old, 2012 x5 diesel. I get rear ended by a distracted driver on the freeway(going maybe 45mph to 50mph, and that distracted driver gets rear ended, pushing him into me and rear ends me AGAIN(like 10-15mph).

The biggest insurance mess is that the guy who rear ends me, blames the person who rear ended him and that person doesn't even have insurance. My insurance already told me it going to take a few weeks to decide whos fault at it, and how they're going to make the uninsured person to pay out( trying to avoid paying out my uninsured motorist insurance ).

Just last thursday, one of the insurance appraised my damages, and quoted me at $3700 just for the bumper and tailgate. I asked about the other internal damages that i've been noticing after the accident. Such as sulfur smell from my car at night(like 80F), vibration in the steering wheel going freeway speeds, random vehicle check alerts(off and on), aligment is off by like 5-8 degrees to the right, and my halo doesnt turn on when i unlock the car. The estimator just said, i only estimate on damages i see.

This is my first accident, and im concerned is that they will total out my car, or try to swindle me into accepting the $3700 repair and i get stuck with an unibody damaged x5. I tried going to shop and get estimates, they all said they will work with my insurance estimate. Are the shop on my side or theirs?

[AlphaBetaX5]

I hope the insurance pays you. I hate when us the law abiding drivers have to pay for uninsured motorists.

Such a huge issue here in Los Angeles.


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[norcalmike]

Originally Posted by Hshakarami

I hope the insurance pays you. I hate when us the law abiding drivers have to pay for uninsured motorists.

Such a huge issue here in Los Angeles.


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Yeah i think its a california issue. My fiancee got rear ended in Oakland, and the guy who was driving it didn't even have insurance. She went thru a huge mess just to get her bumper replace. Like 2 months.

Funny thing. I just read something about how sacramento have the worst drivers. I get rear ended in sacramento by a guy with new york driver license, and a woman with a washington driver license. LOL

[xbimma]

Originally Posted by norcalmike

Hey y'all. This is my first post, but been a long time follower of this forum. After a weekend of scrubbing, claying, waxing my beautiful, recently became 100k miles old, 2012 x5 diesel. I get rear ended by a distracted driver on the freeway(going maybe 45mph to 50mph, and that distracted driver gets rear ended, pushing him into me and rear ends me AGAIN(like 10-15mph).



The biggest insurance mess is that the guy who rear ends me, blames the person who rear ended him and that person doesn't even have insurance. My insurance already told me it going to take a few weeks to decide whos fault at it, and how they're going to make the uninsured person to pay out( trying to avoid paying out my uninsured motorist insurance ).



Just last thursday, one of the insurance appraised my damages, and quoted me at $3700 just for the bumper and tailgate. I asked about the other internal damages that i've been noticing after the accident. Such as sulfur smell from my car at night(like 80F), vibration in the steering wheel going freeway speeds, random vehicle check alerts(off and on), aligment is off by like 5-8 degrees to the right, and my halo doesnt turn on when i unlock the car. The estimator just said, i only estimate on damages i see.



This is my first accident, and im concerned is that they will total out my car, or try to swindle me into accepting the $3700 repair and i get stuck with an unibody damaged x5. I tried going to shop and get estimates, they all said they will work with my insurance estimate. Are the shop on my side or theirs?

I do not know CA laws but here in TX the insurance of the guy who rear ended you is on the hook for your damages.
I was myself in 3 car collision 3 weeks ago but I was the leading car just like you. So I get to go after the guy who rear ended me. But because the 3rd driver admitted his fault on the scene, my insurance told me to open a claim directly with his insurance. And hopefully they honor the customer wishes.
As far as the repair goes the final cost is generally greater than the adjuster estimate. The shop will contact insurance for approval which is what often extend timeline.



Garage:
E53 4.4i M62 born 2003-03-04 (SOLD)
E53 4.8iS N62s born 2006-03-16
E90 325i N52 born 2006-03-28
F30 328i N20 born 2012-09-06

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by Hshakarami

I hope the insurance pays you. I hate when us the law abiding drivers have to pay for uninsured motorists.

Same here. Big problem in TX.

I hate it almost as much as the portion of the population who has health care having to pay for those without. I don't understand how vehicle insurance is mandated, but health is not (minus the slap on the wrist tax penalty). But that's a problem for another thread.

Good luck OP. Probably not going to be a pleasant experience... just remember, you don't have to accept their offer. And you can always mention possibly going to see a doctor as that usually loosens the insurance company's purse strings.

[loayo]

Sorry to hear this OP. Please make sure you get a rental and not continue to drive your car. I would stress on stating your car is not safe to drive. Also since this is the first accident, you should check on getting a diminished value claim - check on this in CA. Be patient and persistent - glad you are ok I hope. If at at all hurt get a doc to check you out.

[blue dragon]

Good luck with the repair. In Ontario its a minimum $5000 fine for a first offense of driving without insurance

[boostedX5SAV]

I would find a BMW certified Collision center for the repairs. They will work with your insurance and only use OEM parts. Insurance adjusters are in the business of offering you the lowest payout since they are employed by the insurance companies to keep costs down.

I was involved in a minor fender bender. Insurance adjuster gave me $1,000. I laughed and drove to BMW collision center. They took off the bumper and saw some other damage and had the adjuster come back out. In the end, it was a $4,000 repair. I suggest you do the same. Insurance companies are required to make you whole.

Do you have collision coverage? What you can do is put a claim with your own insurance and then your insurance will go after the other parties to get the money back. You will have to pay deductible but that can be refunded if the insurance company gets their money back.

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[ard]

1. Neither your insurnace nor their insurance is on your side. You need to really understand this. Yes, YOUR insurnace is marginally better- but at the end of the day they are all trying to protect themselves - to handle this as quickly and cheaply as possible, and NOT to minimize your cost or rating impacts. You need them for info, but don't ask them "what should I do", Ever.

2. You need a great body shop. The BMW approved shops are mediocre at best. BMW drivers are not highly discriminating- "is it shiny?" And "they have a nice waiting room" seem to drive their opinions. BMW paint on new cars is low quality, the hig name shops that secure the 'BMW Approved" label do this to crank in profits. The very best shops tend to go about their busness and don't worry about jumping through hoops.

So, recommendations, word of mouth, reviews. Where are you? SF Bay or Sacto area?

3. You need to understand the laws and rules in CA around insurnace claims and liability.

4. You say the car behind you hit you FIRST, correct? The they were rear ended, and hit you again? This is an EASY one- your insurnace needs to get access to the data recorder in that middle car and see which happened first.

Will they do that? Probably not. They don't care, about you, about your car, your rates. They just as soon process it via your policy that lets them control costs and then have you pay the deductible- as opposed to spending $5k -15kin a filing, demand letter and data analysis.

The key will be if the last driver says 'the car in front of me hit him first, then I hit that car'. Done, proven.

My daughter was involved in an accident with a rental, under my policy. (I got a call on the morning I arrived in Australia for a month vacation... ). I was able to cause the investigation team to ask the other drivers and witnesses about specific observations/questions. "Our people will perform an investigation" became "they will ask X y z" Just FYI.

5. You need to establish control.

I refuse to allow insurnace companies to access my car until AFTER I have obtained estimates. Why? Just to tell them I understand this process. Here is how insurnace is supposed to work:

With no insurnace:
Someone hits you
You go to a body shop, get an estimate- maybe get it repaired. Cost is 2800.
You contact person that hit you, tell them you are "liable" for my loss of $2800
Person sends a check for 2800, or you sue them and win 2800.

With insurance:
Same as above except person that hit you contacts their insurnace and says "I was liable for this accident, please pay him the 2800"

Now, you will say "that's not how insurnce works". True. They have established all sorts or rules, policies and practices around this core liability coverage- SOME are based on state laws, some are based on the polciy language- and some are just made up to make their business easier.

Here's the key thing- YOU do not have to follow any of their rules if your are proceeding under the strait liability- get your car fixed, the other insurnace pays your liability. What YOUR insurnace wants and what the other insurnace wants, doesn't matter. Easy to say, hard to do. Generally though work with your insurnce BUT tell them 'I'm getting this fixed right, the other party was liable'. They can't tell you "you need to do it our way becuase our policy requires XYZ"

Establish control, don't think they are on your side. Don't need to be an ass, just firm.

That's enough for now....

[norcalmike]

Originally Posted by loayo

Sorry to hear this OP. Please make sure you get a rental and not continue to drive your car. I would stress on stating your car is not safe to drive. Also since this is the first accident, you should check on getting a diminished value claim - check on this in CA. Be patient and persistent - glad you are ok I hope. If at at all hurt get a doc to check you out.

Exactly what i did. After posting this post, i decided to let my car sit until the insurance decides to fix it. I'm going to ask for a rental car on Monday. Right now im driving around the wife's mini cooper. Its sooo little and underpowered. lol.