HELP, Just been in an a 4 car pile up accident and i need a Good panel Beater

[canga]

I have managed to get myself into a 4 car pile up and i need a good panel beater...

Any suggestions?

[aaronng]

Would help if you told us where you were located and the extent of the damage.

[canga]

Sorry, im located in sydney.... liverpool area
The rear beaver has been pushed in causing the spare tyre to get stuck in its current position...
The boot has been boot lid does not shut properly and the bumper needs to be replaced and also it looks like the rear quarter has shifter the gap between the rear door and the rear quarter is now closer, the front bumper, left front quarter, bonnet and possibly the lights need to be replaced.

I'm not to sure of the structural damage as i still need to take it in for an assessment... NRMA is going to assessment on it

suggestions please ????

[canga]

The car is a 2005 Honda Accord Euro, which i only bought last December

[simonnowis]

sounds like could be a write off, ull find out soon enough. btw who ended up taking the blame in the accident?

[rayd]

phhooaaa

thats big $$ for NRMA, they might just write it off... good news for you i suppose - pay out :D

[canga]

Well i hope so, well the guy that hit us is taking the blame for all the 3 of the cars that he hit. we were stationary, parked at the traffic lights waiting for the light to go green thats when the accident happened.

He also hit into a month old IS250C ouch!!!!

I hope so cause even if it is repaired it will never be the same as before.....

[jyh888]

I had the same accident and my 08 euro was written off, more than 20k of damage.
If the rear has been pushed like u have described then it is most definately a write off as the rear number, boot lid, tail lights etc need to be replaced, not even mentioning the cost of the front half. Time for a new car :) did u have any mods? I didn't cover my mods , so i couldn't recover them and lost about 7k

[HunterZero]

Ouch, ouch, ouch. Double ouch for the guy with the near new IS250C...

Not sure about a repairer in the Liverpool area, unfortunately. Choosing a repairer is always painful and hit-or-miss. Someone can go to a repairer and get a great job, then another person can go to the same repairer a few months later with another job and have a not so good result. It's hard to know which are the most consistent panel beaters.

You will have to take it to the assessor though, for any claim, cosmetic or structural. NRMA will try to suggest a repairer for you, and if you have the details of the at fault driver, they'll take care of claiming off the other guy for you. NRMA might try to make it painful for you if you choose a repairer. If you do just go through NRMA, hopefully the assessor you get is a good one. If they choose the repairer, NRMA will deal with the repairer for you. If you choose the repairer, you usually have to do it yourself. Sometimes you get assessors who are very fastidious, and will make sure the car is done right. Make sure the assessor knows the score with you.

Go over the car with a fine tooth comb with the assessor, before and after the car is repaired. You want to look out for misaligned panels, bad respray etc. If the car is drivable, listen for squeaks/groans in the rear suspension.

Check that the repairer uses PPG or Glasurit paint, to get the best paint match.

If the car isn't written off, but it could be close to it, then unfortunately the car will be devalued because it's taken a hit... Which isn't so great if you choose to get rid of it and get another car.

Either way, let us know how you go.

- HZ

[HunterZero]

Oh, another point... Since the car is out of factory warranty (3 years), NRMA will insist on the use of reconditioned or used spare parts wherever they can. They may even use aftermarket third party parts. They won't pay for new OEM parts unless there's no option for them.

- HZ

[burak213]

are you going to pay for the damage to the car you hit? or is the guy that was at fault going to pay for all of it?

[doosra]

with my old euro.. i had a repair done at bensons smash repairs in moorebank.. i found their paintwork and quality to be really good. They're an AAMI authorized repairer...

[biee2]

I had the same accident and my 08 euro was written off, more than 20k of damage.
If the rear has been pushed like u have described then it is most definately a write off as the rear number, boot lid, tail lights etc need to be replaced, not even mentioning the cost of the front half. Time for a new car :) did u have any mods? I didn't cover my mods , so i couldn't recover them and lost about 7k

so if you dont cover your mods? they geet all taken away? i didnt kno know this...never made a claim or been in this situation b4.....daaammm

[canga]

Yeah its a very big ouch, well the car is standard with no mods, so in regards to the mods i have nothing to worry about, I have taken the car to Hollywood body repairs located in lansvale, and they informed me that they have booked in the NRMA inspector for wednesday 28th, so i should have an answer then whether the car is a write off, or they are going to repair it.

In regards to the damage the guy that hit us is at fault, we were all stationary and he hit into us, the police were called to the scence, and i have obtained a police report and the police did advise me that he was at fault.

I will keep you guys updated on how it turns out, i hope i can get paid out so i buy another car i was thinking about getting the 2006 facelift euro

[canga]

Well im just waiting for next wenesday to come now so i can find out what the next step will be........

Hopefully it becomes a write off, cause even if they do repair it, the car will never be the same again

[demons21]

Canga,

Yes the guy is at fault but from memory you may still have to take the blame for hitting the car in front of you.. I think it's like 70% his fault for hitting you but 30% your fault for not keeping a safe distance from the car in front of you.. Correct me if I am wrong! Keep us posted and Good Luck.

Cheers

[tron07]

if you want to bring your car to the CBD, there is a very good repairer at Ultimo beside the Shell station.... mostly bmw, audis, and expensive cars.

[HunterZero]

Canga,

Yes the guy is at fault but from memory you may still have to take the blame for hitting the car in front of you.. I think it's like 70% his fault for hitting you but 30% your fault for not keeping a safe distance from the car in front of you.. Correct me if I am wrong! Keep us posted and Good Luck.

Cheers

That can't be right, surely? You are only meant to leave a safe following distance if actually moving to allow for your reaction time and emergency braking if the car in front slams on the brakes.

What you are asking is for someone to leave distance to the guy in front, based on the speed of a driver behind them they cannot see, and cannot react to. Most people don't sit at lights applying full brake pressure, they only apply just enough brake to keep the car stationary.

If you were stationary, you shouldn't be right on top of the person in front, but only have to leave a couple of meters.

IMHO, it's 100% the fault of the guy who didn't stop and crashed into the car behind that you were moving again.

- HZ

[02gzm]

You are meant to leave enough distance to be able to quickly move your car completely out of the way in an emergency. This gap is typically meant to be a few metres. Driving instructors will tell you that you should be able to see the ground under the car in front of you.

If the gap was this big and with your foot on the brake, getting hit from behind in an average prang will cause you to move very little. Especially since the sudden shock would scare you into mashing the pedal anyway. The fact that 90% of people on the road don't know how to drive properly doesn't help when stuff like this happens. If every car in the accident was leaving enough gap, the damage would have been a lot less.

And the person at fault will be decided on a case by case basis. There's a lot of factors involved like speed of the first car, distance between cars, brakes applied properly (determined from skidmarks), elevation of road, etc. If you were sitting a few inches from the car in front of you (which most people on the road seem to do) then they will argue that you were too close and say you have to pay the damages. If they prove that you were leaving a decent enough gap and still got smashed into the car in front then they'll pass the blame to the guy who caused it all.

[HunterZero]

Interesting... Fortunate enough never to have been in a rearender here.

Yes, I was instructed to leave enough gap so that you could at least see the rear tires of the car in front, and personally I do leave at least that. But there isnt' a specific rule that requires you to do it, nor a recommended distance? Seems to be a very vague, broad interpretation of the safe following distance rule. The only other rule is that you're not allowed to block pedestrians with your car.

"A driver must drive a sufficient distance behind a vehicle travelling in front of the driver so the driver can, if necessary, stop safely to avoid a collision with the vehicle."

Taking it case-by-case just sounds like the bureaucrats justifying their existence...

Still, you can see why they tell you not to admit any liability in an accident on the spot, if there's a chance some of the blame could be directed at someone in front for not leaving enough gap.

- HZ

[CIV-18C]

Any pictures of the accident?
I'm interested to know if this "leaving enough gap whilst sitting at the traffic lights" rule takes effect on "canga"
Keep us updated.

Hopefully write off and pay out for you though.
Good Luck.

[adhunt99]

If it's damaged more than front and rear panels, or if it's damaged engine parts or radiator, it'll likely be a write-off.

[canga]

Thanks for all the input guys it really help, at the scene of he accident the police were called out and we did give them our statements of what had happened, i have obtained a copy of the report and i have been in touch with the constable who is in charge of the case and they have advised me that the ''last driver'' that hit into us is at fault, due to the fact that we were all stationary and at a complete stop at the traffic lights, as for the sufficent gap between the vechices i would say that there was between a 1-2m clearance between the cars.

I have also spoken to the other drivers involved in the accident and they also put in there claim against the ''last driver'' and there vechicles are currently getting repaired at the moment, as for the guy with the 1 month old IS250C, im pretty sure that they will replace his car cause it has only been on the road for less than a month

I have also contacted my insurance company and his insurance company and informed them of the situation and they did advise me that the ''rear driver was liable for all the damage.

I have taken the car into my local panel beater hollywood body repairs and they told me to drop the car in on tuesday 27th so they can strip the front and rear bumpers so when the assessor comes in on wednesday he can see the extent of the damage, with the bumpers installed you cant see the extent of the damage....

So i'm playing the waiting game at the moment and fingers crossed that the car will be written off..

I have some pictures of the accident i will upload them as soon as i get the chance too.

[adhunt99]

What they've told you is practically correct - ie that's what will likely happen - but not technically.

It's correct that it's likely the last driver will end up being liable for the lot, but in actual fact, he is only liable in the first instance for the person their car impacted with, then it goes like a chain, ie 1 liable to 2, 2 liable to 3, 3 to 4 etc because you are each responsible for ensuring your car does not hit another (ie leaving enough distance so that your car doesn't hit the front one if that happens). However, because the impact from each vehicle was caused by the one behind in each case, causation and thus liability will flow back to the first driver to hit anyone. If everyone was uninsured and argued liability I imagine it could be a messy mix of counter-claims and claims with arguments about negligence (the back guy causing the crash) and contributory negligence (not leaving enough gap) etc but if you're insured it should be pretty straight-forward, hopefully noone but the original person will have to pay anything.

Hope it gets sorted quickly. :)

[Rudy]

^ disagree

[adhunt99]

^ Sure disagree by all means you'll just be wrong...

[jaywoo]

^ no actually you're wrong. in a multi-car rear end accident such as this one, the last driver is ALWAYS at fault and responsible for ALL the cars.

tip of the day: don't be the last driver in a multi-car accident (of course you wouldn't give a stuff if you were insured).

[adhunt99]

If you read my post, you might learn something. The first person did not damage the third or 4th car, they CAUSED the damage to occur by hitting the second - different... That person would be liable at the end of the day - as I said, because they actually caused the damage - but could seek to have the loss or damaged reduced due to contributory negligence arising from the failure by the other cars to leave a safe distance while stopped. Lol.

[WATAJK]

If you read my post, you might learn something. The first person did not damage the third or 4th car, they CAUSED the damage to occur by hitting the second - different... That person would be liable at the end of the day - as I said, because they actually caused the damage - but could seek to have the loss or damaged reduced due to contributory negligence arising from the failure by the other cars to leave a safe distance while stopped. Lol.

He speaks the truth.
Well said. This is especially useful when you ain't insured.

[Phased]

Although this isn't directly related to the topic at hand.

When you say "if you ain't insured" you would sure as hell would want to hope people are. In my eyes if you own a car worth over $10,000 (or $15,000 if you're young due to such high premiums) and you can't afford insurance... then you can't afford the car.

Cars are a bad enough "assets" (I personally find defining it as a liability more realistic) as they are... Depreciation, Maintenance, Fees & Registration etc. let alone having to worry that because someone does a hit and run you could be $15+ out of pocket.

Best of luck with the claim. If it's done structural damage like that then just try do everything in your power to try and get it overquoted or alternatively hope that due to chassis alignment and damage it may actually be a statutory write-off which can't legally be repaired regardless of cost.

[praja6]

I would be surprised if anyone with brand new EUro driving only with the thrid party insurance....One of my relative here, he is a red P plater driving a Nissan skyline manual with only a third party insurance, but for him its pretty old car and what he says is paing that high premium for him is can't afford...

YOu can drive carefully, but can't avoid someone's mistake in driving and causing like this unexpected incident.. I would strongly recommend comprehenshive insurance if anyone driving a brand new or near new car...

[power_of_dreams]

curious to know what position you were in.
where you the first car to be hit (back of the queue?)

[WATAJK]

Although this isn't directly related to the topic at hand.

When you say "if you ain't insured" you would sure as hell would want to hope people are. In my eyes if you own a car worth over $10,000 (or $15,000 if you're young due to such high premiums) and you can't afford insurance... then you can't afford the car.

Cars are a bad enough "assets" (I personally find defining it as a liability more realistic) as they are... Depreciation, Maintenance, Fees & Registration etc. let alone having to worry that because someone does a hit and run you could be $15+ out of pocket.

Best of luck with the claim. If it's done structural damage like that then just try do everything in your power to try and get it overquoted or alternatively hope that due to chassis alignment and damage it may actually be a statutory write-off which can't legally be repaired regardless of cost.

I've had the issues of not having insurance... then being hit and not being at fault.
Went smoothly as he admitted fault and there were no dramas. But, third party insurance is the minimum you should have (which i have on one car, and full comp on my daily). Regardless how expensive your car is, you should at least have Third Party.. Why? You rear end a Mercerdes Benz or BMW which is worth $100,000+++ Good luck with paying that for the rest of your life.


I would be surprised if anyone with brand new EUro driving only with the thrid party insurance....One of my relative here, he is a red P plater driving a Nissan skyline manual with only a third party insurance, but for him its pretty old car and what he says is paing that high premium for him is can't afford...

YOu can drive carefully, but can't avoid someone's mistake in driving and causing like this unexpected incident.. I would strongly recommend comprehenshive insurance if anyone driving a brand new or near new car...

I own a DC5R, im on third party. Why? I've lost my license for 6 months. Car will be garaged. I don't see a need to pay $2500 for comprehensive when it won't be driven. My car is only used once or twice a week so thats another reason why third party suits me. Of course i will be moving to full comp but maybe in 2 years time.

[praja6]

2500 for third party insurance, thats too much, I dont know may be the experience. I am paying for my euro 2010 model for 1100 with NRMA full comprehenshive which includes no claim bonus..

If you don't drive often i think 2500 may be high....

[biee2]

since canga is not at fault does he still have to pay excess? sorry for asking noob questions

[praja6]

For my knowledge canga doesnt need to pay excess and the guy hit was on fault needs to pay excess.

[rayd]

thats right, the excess is payed by from the person in fault then insurance will fix all the cars involved.

[canga]

Hi guys well i finally got an answer form the insurance company yesterday, and i am not at any fault and the guy who hit us (the last driver) is totally liable for all of the damage...

unfortunately the car is repairable and will not be written off........

The panel beater has informed me that he will commence his work today and it should take between 7-10 days......

thanks heaps for all the comments guys.... ill keep you updated with the repair

[raffyboy]

Blue print smash repairer and theres one in Livo that i really like forgot the name but near the islam school