The only time owning an S4 is an absolute pain, or my insurance experience(long)

[dramaticstatic]

Well I've been on the phone all day talking to a ton of different people about my Nogaro S4 that was recently in a wreck. My car is pretty much screwed but no one seems to really want to total it. My original plan was to convince the repair shop to total the car but that didn't go as planned.

Apparently my car was sent to a collision repair place in PA specializing in European cars but the guy who owns it seems to know nothing about the S4.
Originally the preliminary estimate was for $18K which was 70% of the cost of the car. I'm suprised they didn't total it right there but the story gets better when I asked the guy about my car.
He basically told me that he is having trouble finding parts because there are only 3 S4's in the country that he can source from. One of those cars down in NC was being cut completely in half and the front half of that car and the back half of my car will be welded together and the parts from my car tranfered over. I was pretty pissed at that one as I know from many stories I've heard that it's almost guarenteed to fail and leave me with a car that I'll have to part out because there's no hope of selling it whole. He told me the only reason it isn't totaled was because it's an S4 but I really think there's something more behind this seeing all the work he has to go through to get this done.

He then said that he doesn't think there's any internal damage to the engine but he'll have to replace everything in the front of the engine like the fans and the timing chain. I asked him if there was any problem with the engine sliding back in the frame and he said he doesn't know but there shouldn't be anything wrong with it. Frankly I think the engine is completely shot.

I told the guy to stop work on the car but he gave me this crap about how I only have rental car coverage for 30 days and if it takes longer than that because I told them not to work on it then the extra rental car coverage must be covered by me. Well I decided that tomorrow I'm going to go to the shop and demand that they stop working on the car along with taking pictures for records to see what they've actually done.

My plan now is to convince insurance that this thing is going to be a money pit for the insurance company because I know that it will be. Supplimentary cost on average runs 30% or the original estimate to repair the car plus all the times that I know I'll have to take it back to fix it.

I have a feeling that insurance will total it as my rep thought it a bit crazy that they were pretty much going to weld to cars together and that just won't work at all.

Worst case scenario is I threaten the other person's insurance company with a lawsuit because their client is 100% at fault and I have at least 3 witnesses willing to testify on my behalf if it gets that far. I'll then force them to take the car and reimburse me the money I would get had it been totaled plus some if I can.

This really sucks.

And now for a picture showing the damage:

[L0rd oF da Ring]

thats some crap right there man...i worked in the auto collision industry for about 4 years at a very respected auto body shop...and in the entire time i worked there we never did such a thing..and we worked on much worse damaged/more expensive cars too, and never once butted 2 different frames together and welded them..theres no way they can do that and guarantee that work.

welding frames together is not only foul practice but could be very dangerous..i suggest u either take it to a different shop or argue ur case with ur insurance comp..get a few shops opinions on it and that should help influence ur insurance companys decision.

i highly doubt this guys info is correct on the only "handful" of S4 spare parts/cars..even then theres is alot of companys who make aftermarket parts for every car out there(not OEM and some occasions may not be perfect fit) but if parts become a problem then it may be a last resort...i would really think about just takin it to a different shop first off.. for the most part most frames on most cars can be pulled and straightened (does that shop have a good modern rail puller) sounds silly but ask if they use a laser frame straightening rack...ur car doesnt look to horrid but if it becomes an issue of the frame not being salvageable then i would imagine ur insurance comp would total it out. good luck man

[dramaticstatic]

Well I don't want the car back at all. There's no way that I'm going to accept the car back.

The guys I talked to over at AW say the thing should be totaled, it doesn't look too bad but it's a front end collision. I've heard of S4's in front end collisions at half the speed of mine needing upwards of $16k in repairs.

The problem is the body on the front end of the car is screwed up. The way my insurance company works is they like to repair the car with used parts and if they can't do that then they go oem or aftermarket.

The things that pissed me off was that number one repairs on a preliminary estimate are 70% of the cars cost, and number two the guy thinks that there isn't much damage to the engine even though the accident destroyed the belts the fan and the timing chain and it was leaking fluids which would mean he doesn't know much about the S4 at all.

I'm heading over to the shop to take pictures and halt repair on the car so I'll be able to see all the damage then.

[OverSpun]

what insurance company do you have? i'm going to make sure i steer clear...

also.. if that girl is 100% at fault, what are you doing using your own insurance company? by all means, use hers. its her fault, her insurance should get jacked by it, not yours.

[dramaticstatic]

I have nationwide.
They were perfectly fine when I had an accident before and totaled a previous car right before christmas. Everything happened in a matter of a week. My rep basically agrees that what the repair shop is doing is crazy so it's not Nationwide's fault it's the repair shop who won't declair it totaled.

I'm using mine because if it was more clear cut then everything would have worked quicker. I think it's going this way because the guy who owns the shop is trying to screw me and the insurance company over.

My rep basically said they he will do all he can but if it's a big problem I should go to the other company because it's her fault and they're pretty much afraid of me suing the crap out of them right now so they'll do a lot to please me.

[A4_Andre]

i say get your car the hell out of there. i'm shocked and speechless that the guy at the shop wants to cut and weld 2 S4's together. i'm sure replacing the front 1/2 of the car is enough to say it's totalled. if the insurance company doesnt know this, u must tell them.

[dramaticstatic]

Yea right now we're basically demanding the insurance comapny gets another estimate from a person who actually knows Audi's.
The guy baiscally wants to cut my car at the top of the windsheild straight down and then weld the front clip of another s4 into that.
That's 18k.
He's then going to stick the engine back in and try to start it up. If it doesn't then both us and the insurance company are screwed because it should've been totaled but it's too late then.

I just called my insurance rep to get him to really act on this because it's absolutely crazy.

Oh and I'm dealing with my insurance because PA sucks and their fault system works on precentage. Because everything isn't worked out yet the other insurance company doesn't want to go and admit fault unless they're forced which hasn't happened yet.

[cj-S4]

Originally posted by OverSpun

also.. if that girl is 100% at fault, what are you doing using your own insurance company? by all means, use hers. its her fault, her insurance should get jacked by it, not yours.

No, that is bad advice. I have been here done that one,, never again. You should always go through your insurance pay the deductable. If it is her fault your insurance will go after her and her insurance for payment.

If you go with her insurance and they start jacking you around, which 9 out of 10 times they will. Then you have no one to represent you. At that point your insurance company will not step in and do anything for you. Sure you can go hire a lawyer and try to reclaim the expenses that way,, but in most states you can not sue for legal fees unless there is personal injury. You are better off with the company that you pay a bill to,, they will always treat you better. And then they will pay for the lawyer to get their money back if you are not at fault,, and after that is settled you will get your deductable back.

[cj-S4]

Originally posted by dramaticstatic
Yea right now we're basically demanding the insurance comapny gets another estimate from a person who actually knows Audi's.
The guy baiscally wants to cut my car at the top of the windsheild straight down and then weld the front clip of another s4 into that.
That's 18k.
He's then going to stick the engine back in and try to start it up. If it doesn't then both us and the insurance company are screwed because it should've been totaled but it's too late then.

I just called my insurance rep to get him to really act on this because it's absolutely crazy.

Oh and I'm dealing with my insurance because PA sucks and their fault system works on precentage. Because everything isn't worked out yet the other insurance company doesn't want to go and admit fault unless they're forced which hasn't happened yet.

That sounds screwed up. Your insurance estimator is the one that should total it,, not the body shop. Sounds like they both are giving you the run around.

[Hutash]

Also check your policy, most are written for OEM parts, that part about getting half an S4 from NC is crap. Get your agent to stand up for you, or contact the state insurance comission, or what every you have in your state. The company has the right to repair or total the car, but the repair has to be as good or better than before, which is obviously not the case.

[audispeed]

Check the laws, I am fairly certain it is higly illegal to weld two cars together to form a new one. there was a story on the news about it a while ago. I dont care how good of a welder anyone is, if that car is in a collision, the safety cage will not perform as designed and chances are it wont perform better (actually, i can gaurantee you that). I would threaten to sue the heck out of that body shop, or better yet, check with the authorities, and maybee even have them close the shop down for doing such a thing. You could not pay me to drive a car repaired like that.

[dramaticstatic]

Originally posted by audispeed
Check the laws, I am fairly certain it is higly illegal to weld two cars together to form a new one. there was a story on the news about it a while ago. I dont care how good of a welder anyone is, if that car is in a collision, the safety cage will not perform as designed and chances are it wont perform better (actually, i can gaurantee you that). I would threaten to sue the heck out of that body shop, or better yet, check with the authorities, and maybee even have them close the shop down for doing such a thing. You could not pay me to drive a car repaired like that.

Thanks for the information.
My insurance rep is going to try to deal with all of this tomorrow and if he really can't do anything then I'll call the shop and threaten a lawsuit if they don't stop working on the car.

There's no way I'm taking the car back at all.

[audispeed]

Originally posted by dramaticstatic
Thanks for the information.
My insurance rep is going to try to deal with all of this tomorrow and if he really can't do anything then I'll call the shop and threaten a lawsuit if they don't stop working on the car.

There's no way I'm taking the car back at all.

Let us know what happens. Good luck ...

[dramaticstatic]

Woooo!
My car was declared totaled today. Thanks guys for all your help. It really helped me to convince my insurance rep to total the car.
If all goes well I'll be back in an S4 in a week.

[RippleChip]

Good to hear it was resolved.

Do you have access to the car to get anything out?

[EVIL-AUDI]

I'd burn it myself before I took it back.

[Hutash]

You can often buy back the salvage car and part it out.

[A4_Andre]

grats! good to hear that the car was totaled (i feel weird saying that, lol)

[A4-disiac]

I just started reading this thread. I was gettin mad for you. I'm glad to see things worked out for you. Hopefully you can get in there and get some parts off it so you can make a little extra mod money. Good luck finding another S4.

[audispeed]

Originally posted by dramaticstatic
Woooo!
My car was declared totaled today. Thanks guys for all your help. It really helped me to convince my insurance rep to total the car.
If all goes well I'll be back in an S4 in a week.

Glad, but sorry to hear it at the same time. Good luck with your new S4. I hope the insurance company takes care of everything properly.

[dramaticstatic]

Well I'm not really looking to part it out for mods as I have a nice silver stage 3- S4 picked out with black/silver interior. Yum.
My insurance should work enough out and hopefully I'll get 26-27k for the car, right around what I bought it for. Anything extra I'll get from the other company seeing as it was the other party's fault. Hopefully they'll settle on something as I don't want to have to battle this one out in court but at least I get reimbursement for the car now. Any more money can come whenever it wants.