Involved in a hit and run Saturday night. Sitting at a stop light when I was hit. Driver did not apply brakes but would guess they were going about 20 mph.

Impact occurs at about the 25 second mark:
Yes I was driving a bit aggressive to catch back up with the perp. Once I got the license plate I backed off while I talked with dispatch. I did pull up to him and thought about escalating but I had my family in the car so I simply got a good look at them. He waved at me. That was so nice of him. Video ends with me at the local police dept headquarters.

Anywho, I've attached some pictures. trunk floor is bulging upwards. Spare tire is not coming out. It is wedged in there pretty good. Doors seem to open a close okay. Just wondering what the outcome is going to be. Guessing that damage will need to be about $9K for it to be totaled (75% in state of Kansas). Taking the car later this morning to an authorized Infiniti repair shop with great reviews. I absolutely love this car but fear that it will never be the same no matter how good the repair is. It will always be stuck with diminished value as a result of the accident.

Initial questions/thoughts I have:

• Can the quarters be saved or will they need to be replaced
• Is there frame damage with the way the trunk floor is bulging up
• Trunk lid as damage on the bottom corner. Wondering if they will replace it or try to fix it?
• One of my custom exhaust tips is damaged. No idea how that gets fixed since it is not factory stuff.

Quarter panel caved in a bit.


Trunk lid damaged on edge. Broken tail light and chipped reflector. Bumper is obvious toast.


Cracked tail light and caved quarter panel.


Trunk latch is pushed forward about a inch or two.


floor board of trunk is bulging upward.

 

Quick update. Right after I submitted my post I managed to get a copy of my police report. Kid was 19. Assuming they have insurance.

Officer Fitzpatrick responded to the above stated address and observed the white van unoccupied. Officer Fitzpatrick stated he attempted to knock on the house door, but no one answered. Officer Fitzpatrick stated he took photos of the white van, but was unable to get the van proof of insurance. On 12/06/2020 at 1709 hours Officer Richardson and I responded to home to attempt to make contact with the owner of the van and the person driving it on the time of the accident. I made contact with the owner of the van, who stated that his son was driving the van around the date and time of the accident. Dad stated son was not inside the house at this time. Moments later, dad called me stating that son had arrived at the house and was expecting me. Officer Richardson and I responded and made contact with son. He stated he was involved in a rear end accident at Ridgeview and Santa Fe on 12/05/2020. He stated he fled, without reporting the accident because he was scared. He stated he then parked the van in front of his house and left the house with his brother.

 

Good on getting identity of owner. Fleeing the scene of an accident won't bode well with the van's insurance co.

A tip for those with dash cams. Plates at night can be difficult to capture. Mine is always recording audio. Best to verbally announce vehicle description, plate, time (date), and location for the record.

Can't comment on the body damage. Last rear end incident I was involved with involved an full frame car (mid 80's taxi). The chrome bumper got messed up a bit, but no other damage. I was still moving (10-15 mph) when hit at ~30ish. Ironically driver was paying attention to the cop across the street than the red light up ahead.

 

Yeah I verbally stated the license plate in the video. I cut out the audio because my wife is one of those really annoying scream/yellers. Sure as **** hope she does not lurk on these forums.

 

The car is totaled for sure.
- The insurance estimate will be for the quarters to be replaced. However, if you have a nifty body guy you can get away with fixing them.
- The trunk floor will need to be replaced. Again, you can get away with pulling it on a frame machine.
- A new trunk lid will be needed.
- Estimate will be for a muffler OEM replacement which is more expensive than an aftermarket system

 

Hey, if you need an oem driver side muffler, I still have mine available.

Back seat drivers can be annoying in stressful situations

Wonder what was going through the kid's mind while trying to free.

 

Thanks JSolo.

Dropped the car off. Body shop guy said if he had to guess he'd put the number at 10-12K. That to me puts it above the 75% threshold totaling the vehicle. Bummer. I'll no for sure later this week.

 

That's $10-12K in damage?!@# I'd be gathering receipt for any recent work done. Maybe even a lawsuit if you're not made whole. Who's the other party's insurance co?

 

Before posting I went back through rear end damage threads and the common theme was 'oh man that does not look to bad' which escalated to 'I have 10K+ worth of damage!!'

Confirmed other part has insurance. It is a local company in Kansas City that I had never heard of. I guess all I have going for me is that they have decent Google review ratings. My insurance (American Family) said they would take care of everything and would be going after the other party to recoup any losses.

Body shop told me to start doing my research to determine the cost of similar vehicles in the region in the event that insurance has to pay out ACV (actual cash value). Most are going for 14-17K. I am hopeful if totaled they give me 15-16K for mine. That would pay off the loan and leave some left over for a down payment on my next vehicle.

 

Did you go to a doctor? Does your neck/back hurt?

 

We only had muscle soreness. Daughter had a fat lip when her phone she was looking at flew into her face. Just about back to normal.

 

That is the perfect keeper car.... if they total it ......I don't see a crease on either rear quarter panel . The bumper opened like a mouth and all or near all the tabs look fully intact ........A top notch paint-less dent repair facility can get those rear quarters near perfect (Minus the chipping at the top of the right rear taillight ) same with the trunk floor . A salvage title means squat if you are willing to drive it into the ground all while you collect on the total and pay it off with the money.....you are left with a mechanically speaking great car (engine and tranny) and a car that looks almost the same ..for free ...

Bank the car payments you would have made each month on it along with the savings of dropping the insurance to liability and drive the car until it's dead , years from now or pass it onto your Daughter which ever comes first. I just did this same thing on my other car .....a 2007 Nissan Maxima I've owned since new with 77,000 miles ....I hit a deer in February , the insurance company totaled it out and gave me $7,100 minus $600 to keep the car . I've spent $390 in parts from local sellers of parts since then ....A Hood , Left front quarter panel , front bumper & grill . Lower control arm , outer tie rod & stabilizer link . All DIY and some detailing take off the winter wheels & it's hers...My youngest daughter gets her permit in 7 months and has a car .

 

My car is officially totaled. Estimated visual damage before teardown was $12K. American Family declared it a total loss. Now I wait for the total loss department to contact me and tell me how much they are willing to offer to settle. I am hoping based on condition previous to the wreck that I would get about $15-16K. KBB fair retail value is 14-17K. I have about $3500 in receipts for custom work but understand that I will get pennies on the dollar for that stuff. Even just a grand would make me happy.

 

Not a surprise there with the totaling it. If you have the space, I'd suggest buying it back from the insurance company. Usually they rather sell it to you than go through the auction process. Shouldn't be too expensive to buy it back with that kind of repair estimate.

Should be fairly easy to do shadetree fixes on it on the cheap with salvage yard parts to make it look decent again and just keep on driving.

 

Your accident is did not touch the structure of your vehicle. His car can't be PDRed, the rear fenders folded in. It needs to go on a frame machine and have the rear floor board pulled as well as the rear fenders. The correct way to fix it is to cut out the rear fenders and weld in new ones which is the reason why is estimate is over 12k.