[Boostedphil698]

Hi everyone,

My girlfriend's 2019 Corolla SE got hit head on parked on the street outside my house. The driver said he was distracted (pretty sure he was on his phone). Here are some pictures. It appears her suspension geometry is off, the engine is slightly slanted in the engine bay, the car was also pushed 20 feet in park with the e brake on. Car leaks oil and coolant on the road. Should she and myself plan for a total loss? I know you can't see all the damage but I included the pictures nonetheless.

[Sedoy]

Judging by the frame damage on 2nd pic and assuming that air bags went off, this is a total loss.

[Boostedphil698]

Originally Posted by Sedoy

I would say yes, especially if air bags went off.

Airbags didn't deploy but I think it's because no one was in it.

[Sedoy]

That front rail on the 2 picture looks significalty damaged, I would be really surprised if this is not a total loss.

Originally Posted by Boostedphil698

Airbags didn't deploy but I think it's because no one was in it.

[Boostedphil698]

Originally Posted by Sedoy

That front rail on the 2 picture looks significalty damaged, I would be really surprised if this is not a total loss.

I'm preparing myself and her for it. Pushing a car 20 feet leads me to believe the car was hit at about 35-40 MPH.

[Drewbkm4]

Yea that’s totaled

[whofelt]

based on my training and experience as an online forum member, that's totalled.

[IronX1]

Radiator support is damaged, front Bumper Reinforcement is bent down and doesn't look too bad. For me that vehicle is not totalled, and can be fixed. For insurance company, it's totalled.

[Boostedphil698]

I guess I better prepare to negotiate a replacement car for her

[BMWCCA1]

Originally Posted by Boostedphil698

I guess I better prepare to negotiate a replacement car for her

Do NOT take their first offer. Get her own insurance company involved to help in dealing with the person driving's insurance. That's what you pay premiums for.

Do your homework and know what the real value is. Find records of recent work like tires, etc. If you can afford to, just wait them out until you get a fair settlement. Adjusters don't get to close a case until you sign the check, so just wait them out to get what you want.

[Boostedphil698]

Originally Posted by BMWCCA1

Do NOT take their first offer. Get her own insurance company involved to help in dealing with the person driving's insurance. That's what you pay premiums for.

Do your homework and know what the real value is. Find records of recent work like tires, etc. If you can afford to, just wait them out until you get a fair settlement. Adjusters don't get to close a case until you sign the check, so just wait them out to get what you want.

Appreciate the advice! We did get her insurance involved immediately. Obviously the other driver admitted 100% fault to the police. So now her insurance is basically billing the other person's insurance for everything.

[bosstones]

Originally Posted by whofelt

based on my training and experience as an online forum member, that's totalled.

A quality ceramic coating could have prevented this.

In all seriousness, OP, sorry to hear/see this. BMWCCA1 hit the nail on the head. It isn't hard to fathom an insurance company not adequately paying out without some push.

[Boostedphil698]

Originally Posted by bosstones

A quality ceramic coating could have prevented this.

In all seriousness, OP, sorry to hear/see this. BMWCCA1 hit the nail on the head. It isn't hard to fathom an insurance company not adequately paying out without some push.

I like the joke you added. It made me laugh a little haha. It's a bad situation, her car really isn't worth that much and she's not sure if she'll have the funds to replace the car. She spoke to an attorney since the other driver admitted in the police report he was 100% at fault.

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by Boostedphil698

I like the joke you added. It made me laugh a little haha. It's a bad situation, her car really isn't worth that much and she's not sure if she'll have the funds to replace the car. She spoke to an attorney since the other driver admitted in the police report he was 100% at fault.

If the crash did enough structural damage to cause the motor to be moved it’s almost a certainty the car will be totaled.

Go on CarMax, Carvana, Vroom, Toyota dealership websites, AutoTrader, etc and figure out the realistic retail value of the car from a dealership. Go on the high side. The insurance company must pay the full retail value of the car plus tax, title, and license. Unless she is upside down on a car loan or she’s in a situation where doing a degree of financing on a replacement car is a problem it shouldn’t be terribly difficult to replace a 2019 Corolla, even an SE, with another 2019 Corolla.

Edmund’s appraisal tool is very good. You have to push past the lowball offers that come up before you get to their actual valuation at the end. https://www.edmunds.com/appraisal/

[Boostedphil698]

Originally Posted by tturedraider

If the crash did enough structural damage to cause the motor to be moved it’s almost a certainty the car will be totaled.

Go on CarMax, Carvana, Vroom, Toyota dealership websites, AutoTrader, etc and figure out the realistic retail value of the car from a dealership. Go on the high side. The insurance company must pay the full retail value of the car plus tax, title, and license. Unless she is upside down on a car loan or she’s in a situation where doing a degree of financing on a replacement car is a problem it shouldn’t be terribly difficult to replace a 2019 Corolla, even an SE, with another 2019 Corolla.

Edmund’s appraisal tool is very good. You have to push past the lowball offers that come up before you get to their actual valuation at the end. https://www.edmunds.com/appraisal/

The problem I'm running into is, that her car has higher mileage than what is in the area so she'd be borrowing the difference. Her car was paid off and had no intention of buying another car until this one died. For some reason, Toyota's seem hard to come by.

[Boostedphil698]

Update - car is totaled. She had an endorsement that allows her to get paid the value of 2 year newer Corolla with 30k less miles, so that's a plus.

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by Boostedphil698

Update - car is totaled. She had an endorsement that allows her to get paid the value of 2 year newer Corolla with 30k less miles, so that's a plus.

That’s fantastic news!! Hopefully this will eliminate any financial stress!!


Now, research those values!! Make sure she gets reimbursed for the newer value that she paid for with her premiums!!!

[ShocknAwe]

Lots of cars are hard to come by currently. Get the most you can for it and start shopping!

[Boostedphil698]

We're gonna get to work immediately. She's trying to get into an SUV. She may have to borrow a little but it's a long cry from what I thought she might have to.

[Efthreeoh]

OP glad it worked out. But I have to say, I'm thinking the distraction was not phone related. Hope the dude that hit the Corolla girlfriend didn't suffer any "head" trauma...

[G MONEY]

Originally Posted by Boostedphil698

We're gonna get to work immediately. She's trying to get into an SUV. She may have to borrow a little but it's a long cry from what I thought she might have to.

RSQ8 is a nice vehicle. Time for her to upgrade baby

[Boostedphil698]

The guy admitted he wasn't looking at the road in the police report. I'd go for an RSQ8 if money wasn't an object