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My girlfriend and I were visiting Fort Wayne, Indiana for my friends wedding this weekend and on the way to pick up the rental tux the A8 was involved in a wreck. All parties were not injured but the car was damaged. You'll see in the pictures what I'm talking about. An older lady was looking at the parking spot she was going to pull in to (her words) and not at oncoming traffic, and turned left right in to me. That's power steering fluid on the asphalt, not oil (thank goodness) but is there a possibility of the vehicle being totaled? Correct me if I'm wrong but I think she just narrowly missed the airbag sensor? Or is that speed related? we were both traveling around 25-30 miles per hour. Looking for opinions on what you all think, or if anyone has any past experience with the repairs that stand out to you. The Toyota Corolla rental I have now is not a bad little car, but boy was the drive back loud! We are very spoiled with how quiet and comfortable our cars are.
Last edited by Albatrossboss; 08-17-2015 at 06:08 AM.
Good that you all are well. I believe that car will be totaled for sure. Repair cost with all new parts will easily be more than $15K.
By the way, you where traveling much slower than 25-30 mph at the moment of impact.
At the time of impact I was hard on the brakes, so yes, you are correct. I was looking at audiusaparts and just started tabulating things that I saw were apparent and was already over $6,500 in parts alone (their discounted price, not retail.) so I am very worried now.
At the time of impact I was hard on the brakes, so yes, you are correct. I was looking at audiusaparts and just started tabulating things that I saw were apparent and was already over $6,500 in parts alone (their discounted price, not retail.) so I am very worried now.
Unfortunately probably gone. Even if more toward the (ugly) cosmetics like bumper cover, fender, headlight, fog & small grill, some brackets and a hood re do (not replace), that is quickly toward $5K or more from what I've seen. But if you lost P/S and then maybe A/C and/or radiator, or especially if it gets into structural like the front frame rail, on a 2005 4.2 I think it's done. Had airbags blown, that would have also pushed it over pretty easily.
You might want to gather up repair and parts receipts and look hard at comparables assuming you may be discussing value with an insurance co. Better armed for a possible negotiation that way.
The car will certainly be totaled. Maybe you could find a donor car with a good front end, you could repair much of it yourself, and resell the donor for minimal cost. That would require buying your car back from the insurance company, and a third party to paint the bumper, fender, and hood. That's the only potentially cost effective option I see, but not a lot of people want to take on that sort of project, and if you asked a shop to do it, the labor would surely be cost prohibitive.
It's such a nice car, otherwise, it just seems a shame to relegate it to the crusher. Maybe it's not worth saving, it's hard to tell the full extent of the damage you can't immediately see.
That sucks!!!
Years ago I had my 1990 V8 Quattro hit in the left rear quarter panel, actually hit directly into the wheel. The car was immaculate but almost 10 years old. The insurance company declared it a total and paid me about $7,000. I bought it back for about $1,200. (I had more money in the wheels and tires than that) I made a deal with a repair shop to repair it as they have time. I was able to do that because I had a second vehicle. Anyway they repaired it for about $4,500 so I actually made a profit
I'm glad you are OK but 100% totaled. Unfortunately I just went through this with my 2005 W12 so talking from experience. My damage was less and Now I own a 2009 W12. Good luck in dealing with your insurance and the value of your total loss.
08-17-2015, 06:04 AM
Poor A8
