Wrecked 2015 Mirage

The day before yesterday, just ten months after buying my 2015 Mirage DE, someone wasn't paying attention and ran a red light. Their 2002 Toyota Camry contacted my rear passenger quarter at about 40MPH. The impact spun me out of control, over the curb/sidewalk and into a 3-foot high concrete wall - so there is impact damage on both the drivers side front-quarter as well as the rear passenger side.

All things considered, it held up awfully well for a tiny, light-weight car; much better than I would have expected. I'll find out if it is bent up enough to be totaled early this next week. I really like the little car, and if it is done for, I'm going to try to find another just like it. Otherwise, I'm going to go for a 2017.

The most important thing is that one was hurt in either car, and the sidewalk was clear. I've got a Kia Optima to drive around until the whole mess is sorted. I like my Mirage much more that boat.

Man, that stinks! And you just got it too. Never got any pictures posted in your garage, and now it's too late. :(

Not to sound morbid, but do you suppose you could post pictures of the damage? I am interested in seeing how these cars hold up in crashes.

Sorry for your luck, but glad to hear no one was seriously hurt.

Do you think you'll get a manual transmission this time?

Great that no one was hurt.
These little cars seem to be keeping us safe in these fender benders so far.....
Glad to hear you like it enough to want another.

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Originally Posted by IchabodCrane

Great that no one was hurt.
These little cars seem to be keeping us safe in these fender benders so far.....
Glad to hear you like it enough to want another.

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2nd that, get another (I did). Had a rented Kia also while waiting for the insurance settlement. Couldn't wait to return the Kia, lousy mpg and no fun to drive.
Glad you are ok.

Glad to hear you are OK. Did any airbags deploy?

Sorry to hear about the crash, but yea, join the club! My experience was no fun at all. Did the other party in the crash deny responsibility?

-Charlie-

I'm really terrible about keeping up with forums, so yeah... no pictures of my ride while good. I don't think the angle was right for the deployment sensors, so no airbags. Had I been rammed amidships it would have been much worse. Had I been 2 feet farther along, it would have been a miss. Most of the force of impact was converted into angular momentum, spinning me out of the way.

The other driver handled herself very well… how one who runs a red light ought. She didn’t try to deflect responsibility. She was driving a 2002 Toyota Camry, more than half again the mass of my poor little Mirage. I've got photos of the rear on another person's phone that I need to remember to get, and will post them later. There is more obvious impact damage to the front, than the point of initial impact. The hood jammed and won't open, and the passenger side door no longer quite lines up, which leads me to suspect that the thing is a bit bent.

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Hopefully it's not totaled. I don't know why people were telling me that I'd be driving a 'much better car' after getting insurance settlement. If you are granted a total loss check from the insurance company, it only pays you the value of the car at the time of the accident. So if one were going to buy another new Mirage, you'd be paying a couple grand out of pocket.

If they don't write this one off as a total loss, make sure that not only the exterior gets fixed, BUT ALSO the tire alignment gets checked out as well. Pretty easy to get glaze over that 'unseen' detail.

-Charlie-

Wow, the body looks to be in good shape for the impact you described. But as Charlie mentions, the hidden damage can tell another story. A friend recently ran over a large object with his Fiat 500 and although the body was unscathed, the insurance company totalled the car due to damage to the transmission and suspension. Were it my car, I'd prefer the total with replacement to a repair. And since our cars were so cheap to begin with, it doesn't take much for insurers to write it off as a total loss.

That's a shame . Good to see no one is harmed . Hopefully all things go smooth .

Wow, sounds like a pretty good accident. Very glad to hear you weren't hurt. IMO it sounds like the car will be totaled. It doesn't seem to take much these days to total out cars.

Good for all involved that nobody was hurt.

Did the other driver explain how she managed to drive through a red light???

Sorry I haven't posted an update in a while. The car was totaled. I've got my crosshairs on an identical 2015 to replace our wrecked car. It has more miles on it, but otherwise is fine. I'm a bit annoyed that I'll lose the 10 year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty. I've been having an awful time with the insurance company. They seemed unable to establish lines of communication with the body shop that they say that they regularly contract with - it took two days and my involvement to get the repair estimate to the insurance company. The body shop had sent the estimate, meanwhile the insurance continued to say that they were waiting.

Afterward, they tried to say that the car was in poor condition prior to the accident, and adjust the settlement payment downward by several hundred dollars. I threw a fit, said I am going to review my legal options. They quickly backtracked, saying that they had made an error. We live on a dirt road, so it needed a good dusting and a wash; otherwise, it was in the condition that you'd expect a 10-month old car, with 7,224 miles on it to be - pretty darn good. Afterward, I spent four business days trying to get my total loss adjuster to call me back, or respond to my email. All I wanted to know was 1. how long it would likely take for me to get my settlement, and 2. how I go about getting the title to them. When I finally managed to get in touch with a human from the total loss department, they said that the settlement payment was on hold, while they waited for the arrival of my title, which they hadn't yet told me where to send, and by what means.

I think I showed quite a bit of patience and tolerance when I explained to her that had anyone answered any of my multiple attempts at communication, and let me know this, they title would have already been there; and that I'm not bloody clairvoyant, regardless what they may think. I'll be moving to a different insurance company when this is done. It is a shame, I've been with these folks for a long time, and they were once very, very good. I'm going to a company who has an actual living, breathing agent in an office that I can visit when i have a problem.

The other driver said she was in a hurry, thinking about something else and zoning out. I've done that before... only never while driving through a busy intersection.

I took a few better photos, one of the point of first impact. It looks like there is more damage to the front, where the car went into the wall, but I suspect that the thing is twisted pretty good in parts that can't be seen.

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If that ever happens again with an insurance company, let them know that you are having pains in your neck and back and want to see a doctor before settling. They will have a check to you really quick for the amount of the car and maybe a bit more so you can sign on that dotted line. I worked for a very large insurance company for many years and that is the best way for you to get what you actually deserve.

Too bad they wrote it off and the customer service sucked.

Are you certain you lose the 10 year warranty on the replacement car? That question has come up multiple times here in the forum, with different answers.