Rear Ended :( Have a few questions

[White340]

It finally happened to me after 20+ years of driving. My 2018 M3 was rear ended by a dodge ram. The car wouldn't turn after the collision (guess that fuse in the rear blew which prevents the car from starting). It was a big PITA getting it towed because they couldn't put the car into neutral. They had to drag it onto the flat bed and it ended up scraping my rim just a small amount.

What was scary is that after the collision the seat belts were so tight and hard to get off. I had to put a lot of force to get mine to unbuckle. My wife's wouldn't unbuckle at all and it was super tight. The guy who hit me had a knife so we had to cut it off. This is really scary especially if god forbid there was a fire...

I ended up towing the car to Rallye collision center. I hope they do a good job there. My previous experience with them 20 years ago was terrible but when talking to the rep I made my OCDness known. In fact, he wrote "picky cust" on both drivers and passengers side window. Has anyone had work done there recently? Would love to hear your feedback.

It seemed to be a bad day for M3s because they had two san marino blue M3 CSs towed to them just today sitting right in front of mine. One rear ended and the other hit someone. Anyone on this forum?

Anyway when talking to the advisor at Rallye, he said that Geico might not pay for my CF exhaust tops (MP replica ones) which were scraped, my MP OEM diffuser (which I bought after I bought the car) and my MP OEM spoiler (also bought afterwards). I have receipts for all of these. Has anyone been able to get Geico to cover these? The spoiler flew off the car so is scratched up and the MP diffuser also has some scratches on it.

Also, any chance I can get reimbursement for not having my car (i.e. lease payment) since i am not at fault? I don't have rental coverage on my car...

I was going to buy this car out at the end of the lease but now I am worried. I asked geico if they have diminished coverage and they said they do but I dont know how the process works for a leased car. Anyone have experience with this?

Lastly, I saw some smoke coming from around the drivers seat and I couldn't figure out where it could have come from. Whats down there? Didn't smell like anything was burning..

Thanks

Now what people want to see:

[CanAutM3]

Sorry to hear

So it seems another accident caused by a Prius driver

[Tommy L Garage]

Oh no. That’s so difficult to watch.
Can’t help you with any of the questions but I sincerely hope you’re taken care of. And I say don’t buy the car out after lease end. It will never be the same.

The seat belt tentioners will need be replaced.

I’d also inspect the undercarriage. I suspect the exhaust got pushed in hence the smoke underneath.

The fact that the transmission is locked is not a good sign.

It’s gonna be thousands of dollars in damages.


At least the mud flaps survived! Next car you get I’ll get you a set on the house

[White340]

Originally Posted by CanAutM3

Sorry to hear

So it seems another accident caused by a Prius driver

I was also pissed off at him. The truck was going from the right to middle lane not the left lane!

[White340]

Originally Posted by Tommy L Garage

Oh no. That’s so difficult to watch.
Can’t help you with any of the questions but I sincerely hope you’re taken care of. And I say don’t buy the car out after lease end. It will never be the same.

The seat belt tentioners will need be replaced.

I’d also inspect the undercarriage. I suspect the exhaust got pushed in hence the smoke underneath.

The fact that the transmission is locked is not a good sign.

It’s gonna be thousands of dollars in damages.


At least the mud flaps survived! Next car you get I’ll get you a set on the house

Yes mud flaps survived!! I was actually worried that I didn't tell the advisor that I want those mud flaps so don't throw them away! I will take you up on your offer if I don't get them back!! ;-)

[RickFLM4]

Sorry to see but glad no one seriously hurt. The other driver’s insurance should cover your repairs including all parts and rental car. I don’t know anything about the shop where you had it towed, but I’d take it to a BMW certified body shop.

Unlikely to recover lease payments or DV on leased car. Plan on turning it in at the end of the lease. That’s one of the benefits of leasing in this situation.

[FirstF80InSpace]

I would definitely not be buying this out end of lease.

[AustinGelbM4]

That was hard to watch. Glad it was not worse. I hope things work out better than you expect.

[aastretch64]

I'm glad you, your passenger and the occupants in the other vehicle are all okay.

AFTERMARKET COMPONENTS:
Typically speaking, aftermarket components aren't covered under your insurance unless you have them added as an addendum to your insurance policy. That being said, I've personally never had an issue with a GOOD insurance company and GOOD body shop getting everything back to the way it was before an accident.

DIMINISHED VALUE AND LOSS OF USE:
As far as reimbursement for diminished value, you will absolutely never get that. You do not own the vehicle, the leasing company does so you are not "losing" any value on the car. In respect to loss of use coverage this is more of a business expenditure, like a rental company not being able to rent the car for a month. It doesn't really apply to personal coverage. You should have rental coverage on your policy. It’s usually like $1-$3 a month to add rental coverage.

Sorry my friend, accidents suck, not only because of the damage, but because you sometimes loss money. You’re lucky it wasn't totaled. You would have lost your down payment if you put one down on the lease. I've also heard some horror stories of people being thousands upside down on a traditional finance without gap insurance and they pretty much had to continue to pay off a car even though they didn’t have it in their possession. BMW leases have gap insurance baked in luckily.

BURNING SMELL:
Seatbelts contain explosive charges to pull the belt as tight as possible. The seatbelt will likely need to be replaced. Also, airbags have a similar gun powder smell.

Good luck my friend. At the end of the day, you have your health and really this is just a car. In a few years, you won’t even own it any more.

[9M71]

dang man, sorry to see and hope you get the car back soon. was this on the Verrazano?

[uniqueMR]

Sorry to see and hear

[IK6SPEED]

Originally Posted by aastretch64

I'm glad you, your passenger and the occupants in the other vehicle are all okay.

AFTERMARKET COMPONENTS:
Typically speaking, aftermarket components aren't covered under your insurance unless you have them added as an addendum to your insurance policy. That being said, I've personally never had an issue with a GOOD insurance company and GOOD body shop getting everything back to the way it was before an accident.

DIMINISHED VALUE AND LOSS OF USE:
As far as reimbursement for diminished value, you will absolutely never get that. You do not own the vehicle, the leasing company does so you are not "losing" any value on the car. In respect to loss of use coverage this is more of a business expenditure, like a rental company not being able to rent the car for a month. It doesn't really apply to personal coverage. You should have rental coverage on your policy. It's usually like $1-$3 a month to add rental coverage.

Sorry my friend, accidents suck, not only because of the damage, but because you sometimes loss money. You're lucky it wasn't totaled. You would have lost your down payment if you put one down on the lease. I've also heard some horror stories of people being thousands upside down on a traditional finance without gap insurance and they pretty much had to continue to pay off a car even though they didn't have it in their possession. BMW leases have gap insurance baked in luckily.

BURNING SMELL:
Seatbelts contain explosive charges to pull the belt as tight as possible. The seatbelt will likely need to be replaced. Also, airbags have a similar gun powder smell.

Good luck my friend. At the end of the day, you have your health and really this is just a car. In a few years, you won't even own it any more.

What you said on all points.

I pay about $75 every 6 months for around $25k of aftermarket/mods per car on my Geico policy. I had the declare those in advance.

But this shouldn't be an issue as the other Driver should be responsible for the entire repair.

[allinon72]

If anyone wrote "picky customer" on a vehicle right in front of me, there would be words exchanged, possibly more.

[clutchdj]

That’s looks like the Whitestone. Narrow lanes and inexperienced drivers. Do not like that bridge. Same thing happened to me in an audi a while back. Guy got out and apologized; said he dropped his sandwich. Ridiculous. Lots of stop and go. other drivers not paying attention and like running up on ya. That had to be a nightmare; especially not being able to move the car. if I recall correctly this is a release switch underneath the car on the gearbox in order to get the car back in neutral.

[jbed]

Rallye is a BMW Certified Collision Repair Center - they do good work. Be sure to demand OEM parts only and a rental from the at fault party's insurance. I believe they are on the hook for your mods as well.

Also make sure to claim child car seats/booster seats if you have them as they are not supposed to be used again if the car is inoperable after a collision.

[danchee]

Originally Posted by CanAutM3

Sorry to hear

So it seems another accident caused by a Prius driver

How is it the Prius's fault? The truck came out, he may be entering the middle lane but I've seen plenty of drivers just cut into the left lane as well and the Prius (as much as I find many are bad drivers) simply slowed down to be defensive. OP did the right thing leaving enough room to slow down. Truck in the back did not or was not attentive enough to start slowing down earlier.

[CanAutM3]

Originally Posted by danchee

How is it the Prius's fault? The truck came out, he may be entering the middle lane but I've seen plenty of drivers just cut into the left lane as well and the Prius (as much as I find many are bad drivers) simply slowed down to be defensive. OP did the right thing leaving enough room to slow down. Truck in the back did not or was not attentive enough to start slowing down earlier.

Don’t get me wrong, the driver in the Ram is 100% at fault here. One needs to constantly pay attention to what’s going on.

However, there are many bad situations caused by overly defensive driving. Judging from the video, there was no reason for the Prius driver to slow down that much. Even if it does not ensue in an accident, events like like this are the seed for massive traffic jams.