Neighbor smashed my parked Vibe...questions and suggestions wanted.

[Redrum]

Thanks in advance for anyone that wants to chime in. So I get woken up Monday morning with a neighbor at the door telling me my Vibe(parked) was hit. Apparently someone up the road smacked into the front driver side wheel and flipped over her car. That driver was ok, but since then I've been in overreaction mode, anxious over what happens to my car from here. My Vibe's an '04 AWD, just under 36k miles (was my town and winter driver).Anyhow, between the holiday and getting things squared away with their insurance, the repair shop won't look at it until Monday(1/5/09). I've included a couple pictures for anyone that wants to chime in. -First off, if anyone wants to play armchair estimator, how much do you think repairs will cost? The policeman at the scene mentioned the front axle might have been busted. It might be hard to tell from the pictures but the car was pushed a good 3-ish feet from its parked spot, emergency break engaged, and the wheels were straight when parked, so that angle is from my neighbor. (I rectangled off the skid mark in the photo where it was before the neighbor hit it)-Second, I'm meeting with the repair shop on Monday, are there any questions I should be asking in particular to best stay on top of the process? -Any added difficulties to the repair because of the AWD system? -Anything else they should make sure to check out that might be impacted?-And to put the cart before the horse, how long would you guestimate the repairs take?-And to totally over think things, based on the looks of it, any chance it gets totaled? I'd hate to lose the Vibe because I'm not ready to get something new but I'm afraid I'll overreact and never "think" it drives the same again (though I readily hope I know not of what I speak and these will be easy fixes).Basically this is (was?) my first car and I'm a neophyte to all things repairs/insurance related.Thanks to all that weigh in.

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[keithvibe]

Ouch!!I would say about 4500-6000bucks worth of damagefront bumper, driver fender, inner wheel well, one strut, new axle*if you say it is broke*, New brake rotor*possible, new side skirt, new fender flare, Possible new head light, maybe the driver door as well depending on how the fender hit it. Depending on where the axle broke you could have transmission damage as well.Hard to tell from the photos but maybe some hood work Ican't see any damage from the photos though I would have them, drain and flush the transfer cases front and rear and pull the covers to check for metal shards because moving an AWD with it in park can ruin the system.I am going out on a limb and say it's going to be very close to being totaled.

[Redrum]

Quote, originally posted by keithvibe »Ouch!!...Possible new head light....I am going out on a limb and say it's going to be very close to being totaled.Thanks for the input. I figured the headlight too but didn't mention it in my first post as it seemed like the least of things, hard to tell in the pics but the driver side light was taking on condensation inside the glass, like it'd been cracked or dislodged.I'm figuring razor's edge either way on being totaled. Should be an interesting meeting with the mechanic anyhow.Thanks again for some things to look out for.

[03vibedriver]

Don't trust the Insurance Company. Don't trust a Body Shop recommended by the Insurance Company. If this car doesn't total take the car to be inspected at an independent Wreck Check facility after repairs are completed. This will cost around $200 for the inspection but you will know if the car was repaired correctly and they will give you an independent estimate of the diminished value that you can collect from the persons insurance that hit your car. The diminished value is usually 25% of the total cost of the repair if the repair was done correctly. http://www.wreckcheckboston.com/

[keithvibe]

if the driver is ok.... go and beat the snot out of them for being ************then when they can't move anymore hand them the paperwork for the lawsuit and say you have been served ******* ******

[Redrum]

Quote, originally posted by keithvibe »if the driver is ok....Oh yeah, the driver was fine, the only good thing out of the whole mess. Still shocked you can flip a car on dry, clear roads at 8 in the morning though from no more than four houses up. Curiosity has me wondering whether she was on her cell phone or just didn't bother defrosting her car....either way, it's a shame she has a license.

[kunkstyle]

Quote, originally posted by Redrum »either way, it's a shame she has a license. If not somewhat astonishing.

[jake75]

Why did you park on the street instead of in your driveway? Not that you should not be able to do that but it entails added risk for sure.

[Redrum]

Quote, originally posted by jake75 »Why did you park on the street instead of in your driveway? Not that you should not be able to do that but it entails added risk for sure.Fair question. Single lane driveway, multi-car household, swapping cars around during a vacation week can be a bad mix I guess.

[keithvibe]

so whats the verdict????? we want to know, if its totaled. I got dibs on your center arm rest lid HAHAHA.

[kunkstyle]

Quote, originally posted by keithvibe »if its totaled. I got dibs on your center arm rest lid HAHAHA.Hahaha. You're all heart.

[keithvibe]

Quote, originally posted by kunkstyle »Hahaha. You're all heart. I am.... I didn't see anyone else ask how he made out.My little pillow i use on the center arm rest works just as well. I was just trying to be a smart aleck

[Redrum]

Quote, originally posted by keithvibe »so whats the verdict?????The slowest process ever continues, turns out today was just to ok them to look at it. The mechanic estimated another day or two until they look it over "officially". While looks can be deceiving, they seemed like a quality shop though, at least more upfront and transparent than dealing with the insurance company has been. We shall see.

[Amtron]

Quote, originally posted by Redrum »-Anything else they should make sure to check out that might be impacted?Maybe her capability as a driver? Oh, you mean the car...