A Sad Day.....

[WIDEOPN-X5]

A sad development in the life of WIDEOPN-ZN.

My wife was on her way home from work (daily commute from Hilton to Hillcrest until January next year) and on the N3 at Camperdown, there was a veld fire on the opposite side of the highway. Lots of smoke which had already caused a fender bender on that side.

So the traffic ahead is slowing down and eventually comes to a standstill ahead of her and to the left. Next thing the car behind her ducks onto the centre median to avoid being hit by the oke behind him who had "see through the smoke goggles" on. Said D**S then hit the back of WIDEOPN-ZN at probably 50km/h and punts my X3 into the Amarok in front of her.

Thankfully, my 7month old son was strapped in his chair next to mommy and both of them got out okay.....I got the phonecall to say they'd been in an accident. Not a nice call to get. Paramedics in attendance on the other accident scene checked them over and all okay.

What does my little guy do when i get to the scene. Gives his ol' man a huge grin :lol: :lol: "No problem here dad :lol: "

So to poor WIDEOPN ZN....well the estimate for repairs stands at R 210 000.00

The car was taken to SMG Panel Beaters, supposedly the only BMW Factory Approved repairers in KZN (??) and the dude assures me that the car is structurally sound. The fortunate part is that the car that hit my wife from behind was a Golf 3 and appears to have gone in under the back of the X3. The electric tow hitch mechanism has taken the impact and the rear silencer box is buckled but aside from the obvious damage to the bumper skin and the bottom of the tailgate, the rear doesn't look bad ......

The front of the X3 (which hit the rear of the Amarok) however is very second hand :crazy: :fear:

 

[individj]

damn sorry to hear that but thank goodness your wife & kid are ok! So i assume its written off then

 

[zippy320]

Thats so sad to hear , at least your familys ok . Thats all that matters . At R210 000 the insurance would probably write it off , Its so silly , that the car can be repaired but they would rather have it written of as its not economically viable . So sad .

Auto Umhlanga is also a BMW approved repair center . I have used them and the results were excellent! Pricing wise , they would both be more or less the same price in terms of repairs +/- a R1000.

Have you pictures of the car?

 

[individj]

probably best to write it off though hey

 

[Twinz]

Hectic story....so glad your family is fine and the happy smile your kid gave you.:blowheart:

 

[Magneto]

Thank goodness everyone ok.

If it were me, please write the car off. I don't want a car that has had that amount of damage. Will also get nothing for it when reselling.

Such idiots on the road. Thinking they starring in the movie Days of Thunder is a sure way to kill or be killed.

 

[xol335]

sorry man, its better your family got out unharmed.

 

[MikeR]

:skit: oh dammit...all the best with your family mate, thats terrible news

 

[Drama]

Sorry to hear bud but thankfully your wife and child are ok. That's all that matters.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sash]

sad to hear, glad the family is safe.

 

[Philip Foglar]

That sucks! Glad your family is fine though, that's the most important thing! How can said D**S think that it's fine to simply drive through the smoke? Then again, I have seen how quickly smoke can change direction and visibility can go from good to zero. Still, at that stage, you should already be cooling it in terms of speed!

 

[ChefDJ]

A terrible story :sorry:

Very glad to hear your family is safe. Props to you and the wife for using a car seat when necessary! I see so many children standing on the seats and leaning out the window on highways and I think to myself those parents do not deserve that child. So your story just goes to show how important they are. Well done.

As far as the car goes... If my 5er were in that kind of an accident I wouldn't even want it back...

 

[GPGrobler]

Glad to know your family is O.K. and the BMW did it's job well in keeping them safe, your son is a sweetheart, guess you love him to bits as I do mine, I always felt that something was missing until the day my son was born :blowheart:

 

[Sabretooth tiger]

Glad to hear your family is safe bud. Cars can always be fixed/replaced.

Whats the market value? at that amount of damage is it economical to repair?

 

[GPGrobler]

A VW rear-ending a BMW, figures! Happened to me too in the E30 - Golf a write off while I was able to drive my car home.

 

[WIDEOPN-X5]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all the well wishes. First one to get off the chest is yes, my blood boils when i see kids "loose" in the car. They become "projectiles" in an accident. I will never ever forget the harrowing image in my mind of an accident scene at the top of Van Reenens Pass many years ago. Car had rolled and the were 5 adults standing / sitting at the side of the road. The SAPS were in attendance awaiting paramedics but there was that awful "silver blanket" in the middle of the road.

The size of the body underneath could only have been that of an infant / small child. Damn it still haunts me that one. And that was probably 15yrs ago

On the car side of things, can someone pm me a step by step guide to upload photos cos I'm not winning:roflol:

In terms of the repairs, the Underwriters have said they will repair. I am somewhat concerned however the damage looks worse than it is i think.

In regard to the front in particular, there is a very big void space behind the grill before the aircon condensor. This took up a lot of the energy of the impact with the Amarok as did the bonnet.

The back end was protected in large part by the towhitch and the fact that the Golf went in under the X3 lifting it and dissipating a lot of the energy. The tailgate still operates open and close (electric function) perfectly so I think the structure is still sound.

As it is, by virtue of the mileage on the car, I would get nothing for it anyway so probably not really going to matter.

My biggest concern is that on the diagnostic, there was an airbag warning. It was traced to the drivers head restraint according to the chap at SMG. That will be replaced but its a worry.

I have written to the Underwriter requesting clarity on this point and what the position will be "post repair" if airbag warnings etc start lighting up. There can be no arguing from their side that it would be related to this incident and being in the insurance game, I do understand that insurance is there to put the insured back in the position they were prior to the event.

A dashboard full of lights would not be in the position I was in before the event.

I suspect however that I will receive a "you have a fear of loss and this is not covered" type response.:skit:

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Got the pics sorted:roflol:

 

[Gordvisr]

sad to see, glad no one got hurt.

 

[WIDEOPN-X5]

Just received confirmation of final quote which was authorised for repairs to start.

R 216 000.00:blueCry:

In chatting to the Broker, he said the problem is the parts prices. All new parts will be used but get this;

In round numbers:
Bonnet R19k
Tailgate R 21k
Bumpers R10k each
Electric Towbar R17k

These items alone roughly R80k

Then there's aircon condenser, left headlight and labour plus bits and bobs.:argh:

The good part is that the conclusion reached is that despite appearances, the damage actually isn't too bad. Structurally, the vehicle is sound. Now one can only hope that the quality of the workmanship is top notch. The Broker said he will tell SMG that I am a very demanding and fastidious owner so they best pay special attention to detail:rollsmile::rollsmile:

Only time will tell I guess....

 

[Lizzard]

R80K for cosmetic stuff, that is insane :RedNo:

Makes one think if these are the cost prices or a little extra added price on top :thinking:

But glad they going to fix her for you. Holding thumbs that they do a proper job on it

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And on a lighter note .......

That VW came second :rollsmile: , hope you took the driver to the side for a little man to man talk :hammerhead:

 

[Sabretooth tiger]

Dude, your car's registration number.... what does it mean? :fencelook: