Project "butthurt"

[hobbit]

Thursday night I was returning from a pleasant ice-cream outing with friends I hadn't seen in forever
esp. over the pandemic. I was stopped in a busyish intersection waiting to turn left, with another car
[Jeep #1] behind me also waiting. Some kid in Jeep #2 came flying up behind, evidently not paying
any attention and probably fooling with her phone, and smacked right into the pair of us, pushing
Jeep #1 into my hatch and bumper.

Ouch. Expletives.



Impact to me personally was quite minor, and I hopped out to assess the damage. The causative girl
also emerged from her cabin now filled with airbag smoke, and seemed stunned that her airbags had
gone off. Well, duh, you just smacked your car into something at a good clip, that's what airbags are
supposed to do. The driver of the middle sandwiched Jeep had a minor bump to the head but there
weren't any major medicals.

Fortunately Jeep #1 buffered the impact rather well, and the damage seems mostly confined to the
hatch and bumper with some bit of the lower rear bodywork smushed in. My hard-won spare tire was
slightly compressed between that and the seatback but not harmed, and i managed to extract it and
my other stored items the next morning. Then came the hours on the phone with insurance people, with
me starting at ground zero because in 40+ years I've never had to deal with any of this.

My Kona was still quite driveable; the rear suspension was completely unharmed and it didn't get anywhere
near the battery. Both jeeps were much worse off, with flattened tires and #2 leaking coolant all over the
road. The local police had me move off the road and collected everyone's paperwork, and I later left the
scene with absolutely no contact information about the other parties to the collision. This is apparently
how these things are done now: all the insurance companies get copies of the assembled police report,
and then fight out amongst themselves who pays who for repair/replacement. *I* will certainly want copies
of all that, and I hope that remedial training is required before the teenage dumb blonde drives again.

So now I have to wait for the "appraisal" and whatever recommendations they give for competent body
shops. It looks fixable, although several new parts will be needed from Hyundai. I just hope the hatch
can be made to close properly again, as there are some tricky contours around there. Fortunately the
Kona has a "big butt", and all that extra waste air space in how the rear body is built may have been some
slight advantage here.

_H*

 

[Toolworker]

Ouch! Sorry for your aggravation and the forthcoming inconvenience. Glad you weren't hurt.

Fortunately the Kona has a "big butt", and all that extra waste air space in how the rear body is built may have been some slight advantage here.

It's called "crush space," and it did.

 

[srkz]

*I* will certainly want copies
of all that

Hopefully you can get a copy of the police report. Insurance companies usually won't release it to you in a multi-party accident because it contains personal information of the other parties. I've only been able to get a copy of the full report in single-party accidents (the one time I hit a deer on my motorcycle - the deer was not around to worry about its privacy post-accident!)

 

[Clamps]

Sorry to hear about the damage, hobbit, glad you and all the others are okay. Are you taking your car to Hyundai for the body work or a private shop. And hope the insurance co doesn’t give you any grief.

 

[Domenick]

Thursday night I was returning from a pleasant ice-cream outing with friends I hadn't seen in forever
esp. over the pandemic. I was stopped in a busyish intersection waiting to turn left, with another car
[Jeep #1] behind me also waiting. Some kid in Jeep #2 came flying up behind, evidently not paying
any attention and probably fooling with her phone, and smacked right into the pair of us, pushing
Jeep #1 into my hatch and bumper.

Ouch. Expletives.

View attachment 11897

Impact to me personally was quite minor, and I hopped out to assess the damage. The causative girl
also emerged from her cabin now filled with airbag smoke, and seemed stunned that her airbags had
gone off. Well, duh, you just smacked your car into something at a good clip, that's what airbags are
supposed to do. The driver of the middle sandwiched Jeep had a minor bump to the head but there
weren't any major medicals.

Fortunately Jeep #1 buffered the impact rather well, and the damage seems mostly confined to the
hatch and bumper with some bit of the lower rear bodywork smushed in. My hard-won spare tire was
slightly compressed between that and the seatback but not harmed, and i managed to extract it and
my other stored items the next morning. Then came the hours on the phone with insurance people, with
me starting at ground zero because in 40+ years I've never had to deal with any of this.

My Kona was still quite driveable; the rear suspension was completely unharmed and it didn't get anywhere
near the battery. Both jeeps were much worse off, with flattened tires and #2 leaking coolant all over the
road. The local police had me move off the road and collected everyone's paperwork, and I later left the
scene with absolutely no contact information about the other parties to the collision. This is apparently
how these things are done now: all the insurance companies get copies of the assembled police report,
and then fight out amongst themselves who pays who for repair/replacement. *I* will certainly want copies
of all that, and I hope that remedial training is required before the teenage dumb blonde drives again.

So now I have to wait for the "appraisal" and whatever recommendations they give for competent body
shops. It looks fixable, although several new parts will be needed from Hyundai. I just hope the hatch
can be made to close properly again, as there are some tricky contours around there. Fortunately the
Kona has a "big butt", and all that extra waste air space in how the rear body is built may have been some
slight advantage here.

_H*

That really sucks, but glad you're ok. The replacement parts you need don't appear to be EV specific, so there shouldn't be a long wait period for those, at least.

 

[hobbit]

Thanks all. I cleaned up the rest of the pics a little, and put them in a website section.

The local Hyundai dealership doesn't do collision repair, but recommends a local chain. The
insurance co also claims to have a list of "approved" shops that they glowingly rave about how
well I'll be taken care of, yadda yadda. I expect to hear from the adjuster/appraiser/whatever
on Monday and learn more. A couple of my tech cronies opine that it's totaled, but I really doubt
that, it's still too new for one thing. If it was and replaced, I guess I'd get a new pack, huh?

_H*

 

[apu]

Thanks all. I cleaned up the rest of the pics a little, and put them in a website section.

The local Hyundai dealership doesn't do collision repair, but recommends a local chain. The
insurance co also claims to have a list of "approved" shops that they glowingly rave about how
well I'll be taken care of, yadda yadda. I expect to hear from the adjuster/appraiser/whatever
on Monday and learn more. A couple of my tech cronies opine that it's totaled, but I really doubt
that, it's still too new for one thing. If it was and replaced, I guess I'd get a new pack, huh?

_H*

I have some experience rebuilding wrecked cars. From what I see in that picture your no where close to being totaled. Looks like your going to get a new tailgate door, bumper support, plastic bumper cover, associated trim and at least one lower light assembly. There is damage to the unibody structure for sure which will require the frame pulling services of decent body shop. Your likely around $5-7K in damages. You should also talk to the prospective repair shop and make sure they are comfortable with an EV repair. There are some nuances like not baking the paint finish at too high of a heat as this can damage the traction battery. The only problem I see is if your worried about resale value that damage estimate is going to show on the vehicle's carfax history. You might might want to ask your insurance company about diminished value compensation. If you push that angle I could see how that might trip a write off.

 

[Tomek]

A few years ago I had a similar case in my Toyota Avensis Verso - the staring youngster did not brake in time when I stopped at the pedestrian crossing. There were bumper, tailgate, trunk floor and some small decorative elements to be replaced. The car was not old, so there was no question of total damage. It all depends on the cost of the repair. In our country, they cannot exceed 70% of the car's value, but insurers like to cheat with the appraisal of the value, eg they take into account the cheapest version of the vehicle, "forgetting" about the costly additional factory equipment. And this, as it is easy to guess, very easily leads to the recognition of total loss. At least in one case, it was only a solid skirmish with the insurer's representative that prevented me from declaring total loss. Nevertheless, sometimes totalization can pay off even more if the compensation and the price for which you sell the wreck together are enough to buy a new car. In this way my father once exchanged a crashed two-year-old Kia Venga for a new one, without adding a cent.
A separate issue is agreeing the cost of repair, here also insurers often pretend to be naive and you have to add money despite the payment of compensation. However, we have a cashless repair mechanism - then the insurer is dealt with by the workshop, not the vehicle owner.

 

[hobbit]

After the body shop got the back of the Kona apart enough to see all the metal, another appraiser
from the insurance company stopped by for a better look and re-assesment. He found that the
"high strength steel inner body panels" were bent up enough that basically the entire rear
of the car would have to be replaced, at great effort and a lot of welding. Instead of the
original $7400, it was going to cost well north of $23000 to fix to factory-spec. So they've
written the car off as totaled, and my Kona is officially dead.

It was then on me to come finalize the car and remove any remaining personal stuff, so that
same afternoon, I dug all the *other* useless junk that had come with the car out of the
basement and loaded it into the Prius, and tooled down to the body shop ... where I spent a
solid hour in their yard crawling all over the partly-disassembled hulk, de-hacking my electrical
mods and pulling out all the stuff that was mine. Yuppie-button box, 12V distributor, dashcam
wiring, GPS supports, a small inverter, my LED headlight modules...

I took a bunch of pictures, pulled the plates off, and then bade my final farewell to "Snowcap".
What a pain in the butt, so to speak. Less than 8000 miles and still driveable, and now it's
on its way to a salvage auction.

At least the Prius is still on the road with a relatively clean bill of health, and will hold up for
me a while longer.

But dammit, now I have to go car-shopping again. I hate car-shopping. But I think it's pretty
clear that I want another, updated Kona, and local dealers seem to have them according to the
website. After pouring so much R&D into the first one and getting to rather like the platform,
I think I want to stay with this for a while. I've also committed enough resource to EV ownership
in general that staying that course seems entirely appropriate.

There is a bit of silver lining to this -- with that car I also part ways with a battery pack
of questionable safety with the outstanding recalls but no real fix yet, and a drivetrain that
might have been starting to prematurely wear out. Presumably updated models would be
free(r) of those issues.

For that dumb chick that hit us, it had to be a life-changing experience -- which happened
in an eyeblink because she was playing with her phone or something. Her insurance is
undoubtedly in it for a crapton of money at this point.

_H*

 

[Clamps]

The other day I was nearly sideswiped by a bus that I was able to swerve out of the way. After I collected myself I thought about your silver lining. I could get the updated Kona, which I think looks gorgeous, and get rid of the potentially bad battery all in one shot.

Good luck with your new purchase. By the way, and I may have asked, which Hyundai dealer do you use?

 

[Toolworker]

But I think it's pretty
clear that I want another, updated Kona, and local dealers seem to have them according to the
website.

2021 or 2022? Around here, there's a decent supply of 2021s but the 2022s haven't been released to the dealers yet.

 

[Lars]

After the body shop got the back of the Kona apart enough to see all the metal, another appraiser
from the insurance company stopped by for a better look and re-assesment. He found that the
"high strength steel inner body panels" were bent up enough that basically the entire rear
of the car would have to be replaced, at great effort and a lot of welding. Instead of the
original $7400, it was going to cost well north of $23000 to fix to factory-spec. So they've
written the car off as totaled, and my Kona is officially dead.

It was then on me to come finalize the car and remove any remaining personal stuff, so that
same afternoon, I dug all the *other* useless junk that had come with the car out of the
basement and loaded it into the Prius, and tooled down to the body shop ... where I spent a
solid hour in their yard crawling all over the partly-disassembled hulk, de-hacking my electrical
mods and pulling out all the stuff that was mine. Yuppie-button box, 12V distributor, dashcam
wiring, GPS supports, a small inverter, my LED headlight modules...

I took a bunch of pictures, pulled the plates off, and then bade my final farewell to "Snowcap".
What a pain in the butt, so to speak. Less than 8000 miles and still driveable, and now it's
on its way to a salvage auction.

At least the Prius is still on the road with a relatively clean bill of health, and will hold up for
me a while longer.

But dammit, now I have to go car-shopping again. I hate car-shopping. But I think it's pretty
clear that I want another, updated Kona, and local dealers seem to have them according to the
website. After pouring so much R&D into the first one and getting to rather like the platform,
I think I want to stay with this for a while. I've also committed enough resource to EV ownership
in general that staying that course seems entirely appropriate.

There is a bit of silver lining to this -- with that car I also part ways with a battery pack
of questionable safety with the outstanding recalls but no real fix yet, and a drivetrain that
might have been starting to prematurely wear out. Presumably updated models would be
free(r) of those issues.

For that dumb chick that hit us, it had to be a life-changing experience -- which happened
in an eyeblink because she was playing with her phone or something. Her insurance is
undoubtedly in it for a crapton of money at this point.

_H*

Sorry for your bad luck. Good you are all OK - personally. Like you attitude dude! New buying sucks.

 

[Domenick]

After the body shop got the back of the Kona apart enough to see all the metal, another appraiser
from the insurance company stopped by for a better look and re-assesment. He found that the
"high strength steel inner body panels" were bent up enough that basically the entire rear
of the car would have to be replaced, at great effort and a lot of welding. Instead of the
original $7400, it was going to cost well north of $23000 to fix to factory-spec. So they've
written the car off as totaled, and my Kona is officially dead.

It was then on me to come finalize the car and remove any remaining personal stuff, so that
same afternoon, I dug all the *other* useless junk that had come with the car out of the
basement and loaded it into the Prius, and tooled down to the body shop ... where I spent a
solid hour in their yard crawling all over the partly-disassembled hulk, de-hacking my electrical
mods and pulling out all the stuff that was mine. Yuppie-button box, 12V distributor, dashcam
wiring, GPS supports, a small inverter, my LED headlight modules...

I took a bunch of pictures, pulled the plates off, and then bade my final farewell to "Snowcap".
What a pain in the butt, so to speak. Less than 8000 miles and still driveable, and now it's
on its way to a salvage auction.

At least the Prius is still on the road with a relatively clean bill of health, and will hold up for
me a while longer.

But dammit, now I have to go car-shopping again. I hate car-shopping. But I think it's pretty
clear that I want another, updated Kona, and local dealers seem to have them according to the
website. After pouring so much R&D into the first one and getting to rather like the platform,
I think I want to stay with this for a while. I've also committed enough resource to EV ownership
in general that staying that course seems entirely appropriate.

There is a bit of silver lining to this -- with that car I also part ways with a battery pack
of questionable safety with the outstanding recalls but no real fix yet, and a drivetrain that
might have been starting to prematurely wear out. Presumably updated models would be
free(r) of those issues.

For that dumb chick that hit us, it had to be a life-changing experience -- which happened
in an eyeblink because she was playing with her phone or something. Her insurance is
undoubtedly in it for a crapton of money at this point.

_H*

Thanks for the update.
Maybe you feel differently, but although some aspects of car-shopping are not fun, I personally like the "permission" it gives me to test drive new cars. Hopefully before you make your final decision you'll have the opportunity to try out some of the newer entries to the market, and be able to have that experience inform your purchase.
I know a lot of people are excited about the Ioniq 5, though that might be too far on the horizon if you haven't placed a pre-order. It's also still unknown what the price here as well.
Oh, reservations open for the Kia EV6 on the 3rd of June, btw. I think I like the interior of that one more than Ioniq 5, but that's all subjective.

If you want to use this thread to track your buying process, I can tweak the title to reflect that. Or, of course, you can start a fresh thread -- maybe in the General forum for a broader range of input.
Anyway, good luck, and looking forward to seeing how this goes.

 

[Tomek]

The most important thing is that you are all - the car is a purchased thing. Besides, if you manage to get some decent insurance money, you can buy a generation higher than the Kona. You will still be a beta tester but it seems that the new models are actually a big leap.

 

[Toolworker]

If you want to use this thread to track your buying process, I can tweak the title to reflect that. Or, of course, you can start a fresh thread -- maybe in the General forum for a broader range of input.

Or you can join in "For those involved in the Buyback program: what are your plans after?" There's a lot of overlap about vehicle choice, and it might turn into a buying discussion as the checks start flowing.

 

[hobbit]

If I went for a 2021 SEL [my first idea, maybe even same color scheme] there would be very few
differences, right? Like my neighbors would probably not even realize anything was different, just
"the car" came back looking fixed. 2022 probably wouldn't be different either.

I'd have to redo my hacks, but at least I've got the short list of those and the wiring might even
be the same so I wouldn't have to grind through hyundaitechinfo.

[Edit: the insurance co called, and are offering a semi insulting "market value" of 27k or so in
settlement. I do *not* have a "new replacement" rider, so I may be stuck with that. Any magic
words that make adjusters re-think such things? NADA placed it more like $33k.]

_H*

 

[Toolworker]

You might get a good deal right now. There's $3000 "dealer cash" through June 1, although I've been talking to different dealers and they either don't mention it or say I'd have to take out a loan to qualify, which I could pay off after three months.

I haven't seen that change much in the past few days, but it might over the long weekend. And Hyundai may offer even more cash after June 1. Or less - they might keep selling the 2021 inventory in the U.S. and sending their perhaps limited 2022 production everywhere else in the world.

But around here the SELs are going first. I see 93 EVs within 150 miles but only one SEL. The rest are 50-50 Limiteds and Ultimates.

I'd rather have a 2022. No major differences, but a few nice minor ones, and if I'm going to go through the hassle I'd rather have something at least a little different.

 

[hobbit]

For Clamps -- the now-dead one came from Connolly in Framingham because they had it at the time,
but I live closer to Mirak and Bill Dube. Mirak looks [or did 2 days ago] to have a couple of gray SELs.
The hyundaiusa site seems pretty reasonable WRT searching.

_H*

 

[Mattsburgh]

Thursday night I was returning from a pleasant ice-cream outing with friends I hadn't seen in forever
esp. over the pandemic. I was stopped in a busyish intersection waiting to turn left, with another car
[Jeep #1] behind me also waiting. Some kid in Jeep #2 came flying up behind, evidently not paying
any attention and probably fooling with her phone, and smacked right into the pair of us, pushing
Jeep #1 into my hatch and bumper.

Ouch. Expletives._H*

You shouldn't have any trouble here as Jeep #2 was clearly at fault. Do you know what insurance company they are with?

Btw I used to be an insurance adjuster for quite a few years so if you have questions feel free to message me. Short version is: file through her company and they'll pay / set you up in a rental when your car is being fixed, you should have no out of pocket costs here. Or file through your company they may charge you your collision deductible initially but you'll be reimbursed later once Jeep #2's insurance pays up. If you don't have rental coverage you may still need to seek that through the other company.

 

[Mattsburgh]

After the body shop got the back of the Kona apart enough to see all the metal, another appraiser
from the insurance company stopped by for a better look and re-assesment. He found that the
"high strength steel inner body panels" were bent up enough that basically the entire rear
of the car would have to be replaced, at great effort and a lot of welding. Instead of the
original $7400, it was going to cost well north of $23000 to fix to factory-spec. So they've
written the car off as totaled, and my Kona is officially dead.
_H*

Should have read more before replying. Anyway, THAT is surprising. Btw note that you ALWAYS have the option to keep the car. Just because they total it doesn't mean you have to give it up, though typically that's what one should do. Here, not so sure. I mean if they offer you $30k for the car and it'll cost $23k to fix you may want to go that route, just be aware you'll be on the hook for a rental if you get one while it's being fixed and it will take a long time to fix. Also, if there are unseen damages that raise the total you're on the hook for it all. That said, I find it very hard to believe it would cost much more than $23k to fix it. If you do keep it, you'll get the value prior to damage minus the salvage value now. That could be tricky too if they value the salvage highly b/c of the battery. Anyway just wanted to point out you are always in control here, totaling a car doesn't always mean it's not repairable it just means the cost to repair + rental + unknown might not be worth it. Typically, insurance companies total a vehicle if the estimate is 70 or 75% of the pre-collision value.