Possible undercarriage damage...feedback needed
 

Two days ago while at work, some nimrod tow truck driver parked his flatbed in the lot parked directly behind my new 2013 speed3. He put the truck in park, but failed to set the air brake. Eventually the truck started to roll and hit the right rear of my car. The toothless wonder eventually showed up 3 hours later to move the truck.

The damage to the rear is light, although the hatch and rear bumper cover will need replacement. Fortunately he didn't get into the rear quarter, otherwise I'd have been hosed.

My real concern is the undercarriage. When the truck hit my car, it shoved it forward about 6 feet. A concrete curb was located in front of the car. Fortunately, the curb had been previously damaged, otherwise I'd have wound up teeter-tottering on the damn thing. Both front wheels pushed parts of the curb forward and out of the way, however a large chunk went directly under the car. When I found it, the car itself was wedged ONTO the slab of curb/concrete. The wheels were touching the ground, but the chassis itself was sitting about 3 inches high. Essentially, the car's full front weight was wedged on the slab of concrete, with the weight on what appears to be the skid plate under the oil pan. See pics.

I will be taking the car to the dealer for a full undercarriage inspection before filing the insurance claim, but being new to the car (I haven't even made the first payment yet), I'm uncertain what, based on the photos, could actually be damaged. Anyone have any input on issues I should ensure the dealer checks for? Feedback is appreciated. Thanks!

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/10/11/qugera8e.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/10/11/a7ypamar.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/10/11/3u2epeju.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/10/11/rymajahy.jpg

Sent from my SPH-P500 using Tapatalk 4

Fuck man, that sucks. I'll let more experienced people chime in with what to check for, but I just wanted to say I hope it works out for you. Good luck.

Thanks. The irony of having a brand new car hit by a tow truck is THICK. I seriously hope this car isn't a shit-magnet. Had my RX8 for eight years and nary a scratch. One month in the Speed and BAM.

Be sure to check the engine/trans mount(s).

Man this blows dude...
My guess would be the oil pan?
Do you remember if you were leaking anything?

Do gen2 have the metal cover below like gen1? I hope everything is fine.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

Fucking ridiculous. That is some incredibly bad luck.

I would make a negligent property damage claim and sue for loss of value. A new car having repairs is going to make it worth less, and you should be entitled to that plus repairs.

I'm pretty sure our belly pan is all plastic. It's fairly thick, but I'd let Mazda / reputable shop near you use a fine toothed comb to find even the tiniest scratch or ding and repair it.

Ive never seen a factory metal cover on either generation. As stated above, they're just a fairly thick piece of plastic that is mainly there for aerodynamics more than anything. Likely the oil pain doesn't have much damage if the car slid up on to the cement. The motor mounts could easily be stressed though as well as anything else that was moved in the process.

I know this sounds like me being an asshole but the subframe wasn't damaged before so no scrapes or gouges should be accepted. It should be returned to factory condition. Same with the underbody tray or anything else. He fucked up a brand new car, you should get back a car in brand new condition as well as a deminished value check.

Toothless wonder :laugh2::laugh2::laugh2:

Thanks all...very good feedback. Hadn't considered engine/transmission mounts...I will make sure those are checked. I don't have any leaks either...checked that before driving the car. I do plan on having anything under the car that is scratched or gouged included in the estimate and will do some research on challenging the insurance company on diminished value. His insurance is through the Hartford...hopefully they don't suck.

I WILL say that the owner of the company came out at the time and was pretty pissed at the driver and very apologetic. He said he always told his drivers to chock the wheels when parking and even noted the chock located on the flatbed right behind the cab...unused. Even offered to fix the car at his body shop free of charge. I checked on that option (would avoid a Carfax hit), but would be waiving any insurance protection down the road for substandard work, so NO.

Sent from my SPH-P500 using Tapatalk 4

looks like the car is sitting on the oil pan, that needs to be checked. front bumper should be checked for damage from the curb. Wheels and tires need to be checked for bends and pinches, pushing tires isn't great for them. Motor mounts as stated before, under tray, alignment. The rest should be okay but a full inspection is needed definitely.

Keep all estimates and repair records, if you go to sell the car you want to show exactly what was damaged and what was replaced by who

I noticed that the parking lot was empty - Why did he have to park behind you? Its like when I park far away from everyone, I come back, and someone HAS to park right next to me, usually with their car real close to mine, at a slight angle.
Hopefully they can match the metallic paint on the bumper and hatch, otherwise, I would ask for the whole car to be resprayed (although I doubt the insurance company will agree to it). Good Luck

Find tow truck driver, beat the death out of him.. :slap:

Closeup photos of rear damage?

That's horrible! But at least you know what caused it. It would have sucked more if you came back to this, without any evidence.

Was the car in gear when this happened? If so, there's probably damage in the drivetrain. It may not have broken anything, but it put immense stress on those components.

About a month ago, I hit a tire on an offramp at night. Couldn't be avoided - the alternative was sideswiping another car. I went over it. Wrecked the front grill, the big middle undercarriage piece, both front wheel well/undercarriage pieces, and various brackets.

As detailed as the inspection may be, they may not find everything until they're actually in the process of putting on the replacement parts. The insurance company should just amend the payoff. In my case, they found a damaged radiator mount that was missed initially by the mechanics and the insurance appraiser. They let the insurance company know, and they cut me a check. $2,100 total not including the 8 day car rental.

I was pissed at first, but nothing like you must be. In the end I had a brand new grill to replace one with 70k miles of highway rock chips.

My adjuster had some good advice. He said, "this will be considered no-fault, but we do ask that you avoid running into things." He was serious, but I lol'd at him anyway.

I was rear ended 6 months into owning my pu. You can definitely file for diminished value, this is precisely the thing that is designed for. Their insurance is obliged to return your car to pre-accident condition, so all new oem parts, no refurbished or aftermarket, and also pay out extra because the car is now inarguably worth less simply because it was damaged. I'd wait until after the repairs are completed and paid for before bringing it up, but all you need to do is tell them that you would like to file for dv then they will arrange for an inspector to come out and do an appraisal. You can also get one yourself as well, just to get a more impartial opinion, but they will likely insist on using their own guy for the official one. It's just negotiating the final total after that. Good luck, don't let them jerk you around man, and hopefully your repair goes faster than mine, 7 weeks to finish was ridiculous. Most of that time was waiting on parts from Mazda, including several waits because regular Mz3 parts kept getting sent. It's a pain in the dick to get MS3 parts.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2

As far as drivetrain damage from the push across the lot....

Think about it. The limit of the force is the traction of the tires, which is going to be pretty low in reality. Any impact to components is of a much larger concern to me.

So you parked in the corner of the lot away from everything else and the guy manages to hit you somehow. Incredible.

I wouldn't be super worried about the under car stuff. The body shop actually being able to match the repair work on a new car like CGHMS3 mentioned would be my biggest fear.

-Derrick

Garbage truck did the same sort of thing to me last year, some people should not have a license.

Terrible luck. Hope all gets fixed. Great suggestions from all these guys ^^^^^^^^^^

Damn that sucks man. I don't know if I would have been able to keep my cool once the driver showed back up. Hopefully it all works out and you get compensated for it.

So...undercarriage inspection done. Looks like the plastic undertray is warped, with a fastener or two broken...it's hanging somewhat whopperjawed down there (that's what she said). Subframe is fully intact aside from scraped paint/coating which should be easily repairable. Body shop will be sanding/recoating. No damage to oil pan, engine/trans mounts, suspension, etc., so that's good news.

Car was in neutral, just parking brake applied, so mechanicals should be fine there.

Bodywork estimate also complete. As of right now, it's looking to be around $3500, although they think the crush points under the bumper are likely wasted based on how the bumper cover is flexed. The body shop also picked up on something I hadn't noticed. It looks like going over the curb flexed the front bumper enough to break at least one mounting clip. He pushed on the bumper and one corner popped out of alignment at the headlight (see pic). I didn't notice it at all, but he picked up on it immediately. So, that's $3500 just for what can be SEEN, but will almost certainly go up once the panels start coming off.

Also, can anyone shed some light on the diminished value thing? I will be putting the claim through the tow truck owner's insurance, but I spoke with my insurer face-to-face and asked them what the best way to pursue that would be. They looked at me like I had two heads and had no idea what I was talking about. I don't think they were lying...I've had them for years.

Hatch damage...sigh...both parts of right taillight are wasted too:
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/10/14/amygynyn.jpg

Rear bumper cover, scratched to hell, looks worse in person than in the pic. If you look closely on the top part of the bumper adjacent to the hatch (where dust is wiped off), you can see a subtle bulge/crease where they suspect the crash absorber is crushed. Hard to see with a cellphone cam pic, but easy to spot in person.
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/10/14/eqevetar.jpg

Front bumper misalignment...glad the body shop guy found this:
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/10/14/nusegavy.jpg

Sent from my SPH-P500 using Tapatalk 4

Oh I would expect that total to go up, mine was over $6k when all was said and done, and that didn't include the DV. http://www.mazdaspeedforums.org/foru...sequel-116061/

And as for the DV claim, the body shop guy probably knows a good bit about it, they do this stuff all day, that's who first tipped me off to it.

That sucks it happened to you. Judging by the front bumper, the car is most likely going to have to be straightened on a pull machine, but that's surprisingly nothing to worry about with a good shop. Ask to check the 4 wheel alignment, make sure before you take the car home to ask for an invoice of parts replaced, the insurance can also give you paperwork as well for what they will be billed.

Diminished value I have been told you can go to carmax or any place where they quote your car as is, get the value, and then they can give you an estimate on what it would be worth if it WASN'T in an accident. So you should walk out with the two values.

Oh yeah, most importantly, ask one of your local Nator members to go with you when you pick it up so you can have two sets of eyes on it and go through it with a fine toothed comb before taking delivery.

The Carmax thing is a good way to get a rough number for your own information so you're more informed when you're negotiating, but pretty much every insurance company is going to want to have their guy look the car over. @gingermike; might have more insight here btw.

Thanks for the link Darth...was a good read. Your hit definitely looked worse.than mine...hell man..your hatch competely caved in. And thanks guys for the Carmax suggestion. I think Autotrader does the same thing on their website...used that tool when getting a feel for trade in on my RX8...I'll try running some numbers and see what I get.

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk

happened to such a new car too.. sucks man

Back in the day (before I retired) we required 2 evaluations on company letterhead from dealership sales managers and had an inside DV evaluator to do the settlement. There are also independent adjusters who will work you up a number for a basic fee.

The reason your insurance agent looked at you like you just stepped off the mothership is that they sell, they don't handle the damage repair side of the industry.

I like your plates, but damn that sucks on the estimate but doesn't sound too far off.

I had a re-tread hit the front end of the shop Mazda 2 which dented the hood and broke the windshield. $2400 was the estimate because they wanted to paint the whole front end of the car to make sure it blended properly on the silver color.

-Derrick

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/10/14/nusegavy.jpg

This will keep coming back. Gonna guess a tab broke. Only fix-new bumper and the plastic part it clips to.

Also, get the old parts back. (makes them actually replace, not rig it).

The rear hatch, if the paint is not damaged, can actually be pulled out using paintless dent removal. I had worse on the roof of my CX-7 after kids jumped on it.

And yes, diminished value is needed. Come trade-in, due to the roof repair (great PDR), rear-hatch repainted (shitty PDR attempt by rookie) and driver's door repainted, we lost $2000 in trade-in.

Thanks for the helpful replies everyone. Been years since I've needed to make an insurance claim, so feedback from recent experiences has been extraordinarily helpful and gotten me to ask some questions I wouldn't have thought of otherwise. What a great bunch of people!

As for Diminished Value, I spoke with the body shop guy who DID have experience with it, amd stated that he had NEVER seen a successful claim. Ever. And this guy routinely repairs high end vehicles...Ferrari, Maserati, Porsche, etc. In the reading I've been doing, it looks like success is really state-specific, with Georgia being the only state where you're certain to have it ruled in your favor. I checked the Department of Insurance website here in Ohio, and it is silent on Diminished Value. Also used some online estimators that show the car, even repaired properly, would be $3200 less value on trade-in. SUCK! I'll be battling for it, but really do think I'll get hosed.

Hadn't considered asking for the parts back from the repair...good idea. Who knows...maybe someone would want a front bumper in like new condition (except for a broken tab) for dirt cheap. :-)

As far as imitation parts go, the dealer doing the underbody inspection noted that using them would void any manufacturers warranty associated with that part. Mentioned that to the body shop guy too, who agreed and said for a car this new, only OEM stuff would be acceptable. I plan on asking them for copies of any parts purchase receipts to add to my owners manualthough, just for protection. Don't want the guy telling me he's putting on authentic stuff and then installing knock-offs.

This whole situation blows donkey balls. Thanks again everyone.

Sent from my SPH-P500 using Tapatalk 4

Just remember, you do not have to accept the insurance company's initial offer. It's not a black and white transaction. If you're not completely satisfied with what they're offering, you can argue with them. I had a cherry 95' 4runner w/ less than 80k (a year ago) get smashed into by some jackass drifting in snow. Insurance decided to total it. Their initial offer was for 3k. I laughed at the guy on the phone and told him to shove his 3k up his ass and hung up. Might be a little harsh for your situation... But long story short, after arguing with them long enough, they cut me a check for 6500 AFTER I bought the truck back.

Moral of the story: What they tell you isn't carved in stone. Don't feel like you have to take what they offer, until they offer what you want to take.

Just gonna highlight that. Heck when I last had to deal with insurance they were like... here's the offer, and I went, well uh... I don't know, I'm uns...... and they instantly doubled the offer.....

Good luck. That was after 4 weeks of communication and TONS of unanswered calls.

So did you hire this guy to haul your car to the body shop?

I mean... He was already there...

Good reading for you here @Jokerface;

Worst case scenario, the diminished value is a tax write-off, but that shouldn't be necessary. More than likely you'll be entitled to ~$2K.

Shitty situation for sure! Stand your ground with insurance and dont let them walk over you.

LOL...nope. Checked the car to ensure there were no leaking fluids and drove it home. Besides, I wasn't sure which body shop to use and wanted to research first. Car seems to be driving fine. I can't detect any alignment issues. I'm awaiting a callback from the adjuster at this point.

Sent from my SPH-P500 using Tapatalk 4

aww man that sucks :(... Feel bad for the car