[schnellwagen]

Yesterday I was driving in congested traffic when a Ford braked hard in front of me. I stopped in time the first time, but after we started moving it braked hard again and I didn't react in time, hitting the car.
My car got towed to an auto body shop and I'm awaiting the estimate, and Geico's decision regarding my car.
Does it look fixable, or should I start looking at a replacement?
Also, how can I fight with them so that they pay me the most amount of money possible? The market is in a horrible state right now.

[BimR]

Doesn't look that bad visually but if you have a broken axle or tie rods etc, then things change.

[Billfitz]

That looks to be all body work, no big deal. BTW, it's always the fault of the guy who ran into the car in front of him. It's called failure to maintain an assured clear distance ahead. You can even be cited for it.

[LGHT]

Since it was your fault they probably won't total it, but it would run $5-6k to fix it. If they have you take it to "their" body shop you want to get at least 2 independent shops to also give you quotes.

I would personally ask them to just pay you out the value to get it fixed and get a used bumper and find a good local shop to swap it out and color match. My shop guy could fix the car for under $1k so if you did go that route it's an option to pocket the difference.

[freakystyly]

Looks cosmetic from here. Without peeling the bumper you can't see the supports.

Headlights, bumper, hood, fender, misc plastic bits like grille, wheel well, sensors...

[rjd_F30]

Assuming there's no mechanical damage underneath, that doesn't look that bad at all. Hinging on that same assumption, I doubt they'll total it.

[schnellwagen]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

That looks to be all body work, no big deal. BTW, it's always the fault of the guy who ran into the car in front of him. It's called failure to maintain an assured clear distance ahead. You can even be cited for it.

Well that sucks, guess that's why we have insurance eh?

[schnellwagen]

Update: Thanks for the insights. I'm currently waiting on the body shop (reputable local place, very high quality work) to give Geico the estimate. It will take a couple of days max. In the meantime I've been looking at replacements. Maybe another CPO F30 330i or if the insurance money is enough (if it's totaled) a G42 230i.

[AllaVodka]

Guy stop tailgating. Everyone deals with traffic, most of us don't come anywhere close to rear ending someone. I always keep like 15-20 feet between when theres any movement.

[hybrid90]

If they don't total it, I agree about getting paid out for it instead. And NOW is the time to look at doing any upgrades to your front end since they're already going to have to replace things.

When my E90 got hit, they were going to charge me $400 to "FIX" my front bumper, and that was BEFORE paint. So I called a few places and found an M3 front bumper designed for my car which only cost $300 so I had it replaced and still had extra $$ left over.

[LGHT]

Originally Posted by hybrid90

If they don't total it, I agree about getting paid out for it instead. And NOW is the time to look at doing any upgrades to your front end since they're already going to have to replace things.

When my E90 got hit, they were going to charge me $400 to "FIX" my front bumper, and that was BEFORE paint. So I called a few places and found an M3 front bumper designed for my car which only cost $300 so I had it replaced and still had extra $$ left over.

Exactly, as someone who restores salvaged titles often, you want to take advantage of the pay out and upgrade with better aftermarket parts for sure...

[Aceway]

Gotta watch out for the hard brakers. They usually do that cause they're not paying enough attention in front.

[adilakif]

It won't be totaled. Geico paid for my car repair 4 months ago. Total bill was $11.5k, I paid $2k deductible.

If you want to read more about it read my post:
https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1861297

[SquareWheels]

Sadly, it sounds like you want it to be totaled.
I hit a deer last year and caused about 10k in damage (didn't look nearly as bad as your car).
I talked to my car to let her know it would be OK and we would get her all fixed up.
She's now happily sitting in my garage good as new.

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by SquareWheels

Sadly, it sounds like you want it to be totaled.

Maybe so he can get a car with automatic braking?

[Icarium81]

Want to know who can accurately tell you.... your insurance company. These threads are always ridiculously stupid. We can't tell from a couple photos what sort of damage you have.

[Wires]

Originally Posted by Icarium81

Want to know who can accurately tell you.... your insurance company. These threads are always ridiculously stupid. We can't tell from a couple photos what sort of damage you have.

The only usefulness is if f30post adds a betting pool type option. You know, so you can bet yes, or no, and then you win if you randomly guess the outcome.

[schnellwagen]

Originally Posted by Wires

The only usefulness is if f30post adds a betting pool type option. You know, so you can bet yes, or no, and then you win if you randomly guess the outcome.

That would actually be interesting to see

[schnellwagen]

Originally Posted by Aceway

Gotta watch out for the hard brakers. They usually do that cause they're not paying enough attention in front.

This guy was having a medical emergency, potentially a seizure. He slammed on the brakes when there was a ton of space between him and the other car.

[schnellwagen]

Originally Posted by AllaVodka

Guy stop tailgating. Everyone deals with traffic, most of us don't come anywhere close to rear ending someone. I always keep like 15-20 feet between when theres any movement.

I wasn't tailgating. I was following with the average distance people follow other cars with on the road in question. Nobody is going to keep a massive space between them and the car in front of them like the Drivers Ed course tells them to.

In an ideal world, PV = nRT. We don't live in an ideal world.

[Pauloxxi]

Originally Posted by LGHT

Since it was your fault they probably won't total it, but it would run $5-6k to fix it. If they have you take it to "their" body shop you want to get at least 2 independent shops to also give you quotes.

I would personally ask them to just pay you out the value to get it fixed and get a used bumper and find a good local shop to swap it out and color match. My shop guy could fix the car for under $1k so if you did go that route it's an option to pocket the difference.

Your shop guy is really cheap. But materials go high expense here. LED Headlight, bumper, fender and hood at least. My experience is that this is like an onion. The estimate was updated every week, as they removed each layer they found more to replace... It will be a lot of money to fix, and to make things worse, even if totaled, the offers for pre-owned cars is limited and expensive nowadays.

[Livetodrive]

My money’s on repair by the insurance company. Nowhere near being totaled.