I was rear ended when someone was backing out of a parking lot. My 350z was parked. The guy is on video plus the restaurant knows him and there are witnesses. He still hasn't contacted me yet but I've filed a police report for hit and run.

I really can not afford for my car to be totaled. Do you think this damage is repairable and it won't get totaled? The 350z is an 04 and it only has 75k.

 

Welcome and sorry to hear about this. The real question is what kind of damage is underneath the rear bumper. Take it to a local body shop and get their estimate for repair is. Compare that estimate to what KBB or Edmunds say your car is worth in your area to develop an informed opinion on whether the insurance company would total it. If the damage cost is over 50% of estimated value, you'll have your answer.

 

I live in a state where the loss has to be above 75% of the value for the vehicle to be totaled. Mine is worth on average 9,000$. I'm hoping the damage in the photos doesn't go above 5,000. If there isn't much damage under the bumper do you think the damage will exceed 5,000$? I think I can find a body shop to fix it within that range but I'm not sure if I'd be allowed to.

 

Get a few estimates at a bodyshop. You'll have a clear answer vs random people giving you guesses from your pics.

 

when i got rear ended, it didnt touch the hatch like yours, it was $5200

 

What all was damaged when you got rear ended? I will need a new bumper, but nothing underneath the bumper got effected. I am looking at a new bumper, a new taillight and hopefully they can repair the hatch without replacing it.

It just sucks that we spend all these years building up credit to let someone back into out car and then the insurance company tries to take it all away from us...they should be held liable to fix it regardless of what they think the car is valued at. I will gain nothing from it being totalled and I will fight it if I have to.

 

bumper cover and support and it put a ripple in the quarter panel. you assume nothing under the bumper cover is affected, but you dont know until you take it off

 

hell i had a fender bender in my corvette in the summer,, just looking at it wasnt bad, but ended up being over $6k when they started taking it apart

 

Not sure why you're asking a bunch of strangers with no ability to put hands on damage when your insurance company is paid to deal with all of the damage as well as having the unsub tracked down.

 

As someone who deals with insurance companies on a daily basis, I completely understand your frustration and anger, but that's not how your typical insurance policy is written. There are policies that exist where any type of property damage will be repaired, but the premiums would make it cost-prohibitive for a vehicle like this and you would likely end up paying the car's value at least three times over during the time of your ownership.

If it is totaled, you have a couple options - either accept their measly property damage check and keep it to fix it yourself (or have a shop do it), or likely take less than what the car is worth to you which undoubtedly won't be enough to cover the cost of a replacement, and then switch insurance companies if you don't like how they treated you.

 

I assume you have full coverage insurance. If so, the Z will probably be fixed without question. I don't think there is enough damage shown to total the car. You will be out your deductible and that should be the extent of your expenditures. Do you have rental reimbursement so you will have a car to drive while your Z is being repaired?

 

If they total it, buy it back from the insurance company for $1k and put a used tail light assembly and a used black bumper cover and hatch on it. Don't let em junk it.

 

Yes. I do have full coverage and I do have rental coverage. The guy who hit it admitted fault so I should not have to pay my 200$ deductable. I'd gladly pay that to have the car fixed though. Surprisingly it doesn't take much to total these cars. Mine (2004) is in excellent condition plus low mileage but still only valued at 10k at best. If repairs get anywhere close to 5 or 6k they consider it totalled.

 

Yes, I know the answers given here are just opinions. I was just looking for opinions and ideas from some of the members with similar experiences. I have an​ estimate scheduled for Friday.

 

It's in really great shape for an 04. I guess I should have realized from the start this would be an expensive hobby if any damage where to occur. A car this old even with full coverage insurance will be an expensive fix if damaged.