[FrankSpin]

Over the weekend I was rear-ended pretty badly by someone going somewhere around 40 mph. From quick view all you notice is the rear bumper folder completely under but upon further inspection I noticed some other things:

-Rear tailgate does not properly line up anymore near the top seal
-All the doors do not properly open/shut, when they open you can feel them drop an inch and when they shut you have to kind of lift them up
-The whole cargo area in the back appears to be compressed in
-The back to rear seats are not sitting properly, when you look at them there is space between them

Has anyone else been in an accident in which they were hit from behind? I'm probably overreacting but I'm concerned my frame is all messed up since things like the front doors aren't even closing properly.

 

[breese524]

There is not really a frame. The E has a unibody construction. Great for keeping you safe in a crash, not so great for the repairs needed. I'm sorry to say, but it'll never be normal again. Something will always be a little off. Considering the age of your E, the insurance will probably total it. It would take a lot of work to get that thing straightened out properly.

 

[goosler]

Frank, these are all valid concerns & not over reacting.... since you were rear ended I am assuming the other party is at fault....be sure & show/tell the insurance inspector all of your concerns & observations when you go in for the estimate....have them put it up on a lift & check EVERYTHING! Odds are if there is that much frame damage, they will be totalling it out....... if so, find out what the buy-back price is from the insurance company....myself & quite a few other members are in search of a "parts" element.......good luck & glad you're alright.... Keep us posted on your progress..... Pat

 

[spdrcr5]

It sounds like all of the crumple zones did their job and crumpled from the tailgate right through the A-pillars. Have your insurance adjuster check it out and they will most likely call it a total. No possible way to straighten that much damage to a unibody.

Hope you and your passenger(s) are alright.

 

[FrankSpin]

Thanks for the concerns. Luckily myself and my passenger are ok except for your typical neck stiffness from the whiplash. In new jersey any rear end collisions are the automatic fault of the person who hit you and my insurance company has already said I am not at fault. I pick up the police report on Friday and get the whole process started with the repairs. The auto body place wont look until then because I'll be submitting it to the other parties insurance.

My brother's E was rear ended and they didn't total it, so that's my concern. I have to call him to find out how bad it was.

Also despite the age, it has a little under 60K on it so that might play into the yes/no on the totaling of it.

I'll keep you guys posted and I'll see if I can get some pictures of the car.

 

[spdrcr5]

Thanks for the info, pics would be good as would the insurance report once they get a chance to look at it. 40mph is a very hard hit, so don't be surprised if they total it. If your brothers wasn't totaled it had to be a much slower impact.

 

[FrankSpin]

I have a few pics I took with phone that don't show the damage too well because it was at 2am and with a cell phone. I wanna go and take pics in the day time and all the door seams lines where you can see the rubber gaskets and the top of the doors not lining up:

 

[goosler]

thats totaled. glad your ok!

 

[Buckskincolt]

Make SURE you take it to a good reputable body shop and not one the "other" insurance company wants you to. It's your car and your choice where to get it fixed. If you take it to their body shop then what you are saying is you agree to have them fix it.....Only take it where you want it fixed. Tell them if they want to take it someplace else you would be happy to for $50.00 per hour and you don't agree to have it fixed there.

This looks pretty bad to me, the shock has traveled through all the crumple zones and buckled it in many places. This is just me, but I wouldn't want it back... being as it's an 03 with only 60k I would start doing research on high values for an 03 to have my ducks in a row to argue price....trust me they will try to screw you there too.:-(

Sorry to hear of your accident, I wish you the best of luck!

 

[FrankSpin]

Thanks for all the positive comments.

I had it towed to a body shop that came highly recommend by the tow truck driver. I already spoke with the manager at the body shop too and she has been nothing but amazing thus far. She said they have had a great relationship with Honda and she seems very much on the side of the "victim" when it comes to this stuff. They have a lifetime warranty on their work so that is a major positive in the event of it not being totaled.

I did start looking into market values of Elements in my year/mileage and most are about 1-2K more than my remaining finance (bought CPO) so one can only hope.

 

[ApriliaGuy]

Sorry FS, but from those pics and description...it 'll prolly be totaled. (or should be)

Good luck.

 

[Twilightzero]

I'll agree, I'd total that no question. Also to echo what Goosler said, you might inquire as to the buy-back price since there's quite a few people on here looking for an Element to strip for parts. Too bad it wasn't an MT

 

[sloweddie]

Must be the SOP that protected you.
Seriously, the element did its job, that's not alot of visual damage for a 40 mph crash. Glad you're okay but don't sign any medical release forms for a while just to make sure nothing more shows up.
se

 

[FrankSpin]

More pics for you guys:

You can't see it here but there is a piece of the guys fender is stuck around the tail pipe

The top of the tailgate that no longer meets up with the roof.

This is the side panel above the grey panel and belwo the window right before the passenger side "suicide door"

The top of the passenger side "suicide door" that no longer touches the roof:

Not a major deal but this is the over head storage compartment that no longer works, as you can see it looks like it's bent because A. the button doesn't meet with the release and B. there is gap in the side of the door

 

[FrankSpin]

The two rear seats, I'm 99.9% sure there is not supposed to be any space in between those seats

The rear seat release to take the seat out of the E

 

[Buckskincolt]

If it were me I would demand that it be totaled! Also check with the dealer, Some extended warranties (not sure about the CPO program) can be canceled and you can get a refund on the extra money you paid for the extended warranty.

This E is toast if you ask me. Good luck!

 

[Twilightzero]

Again I'll second that. There's extensive unibody damage here, I would start talking to the insurance people about totalling it.

What are you driving in the meantime?

 

[marksbug]

sorry to hear this, but it's dead.the fat lady has sung.have a wake.get a small check,get a new one.good luck.

 

[FrankSpin]

Right now I'm driving a Dodge Caliber rental

The woman at the body shop says they can fix it no problem and I have no doubt in my mind they can. The work they've done on some other cars is really good BUT I highly doubt this work wont end up costing more than 50% of the cars worth.

The adjuster is supposed to go out there today or tomorrow and it'll be on a lift for when gets there. I'm sure then is when they'll see any damage to the frame and also when they pull panels off.

I tried pull the trunk mat off to look at the spare tire well but I couldn't because it was compressed under the back seats and the tailgate was bent in enough that I couldn't pop it off.

 

[Hondamade4dogs]

Looks like about $6500 and more worth of damage to me..totaled.:x