My new Civic was hit will it be a total loss (write/off). Possible structural / unibody damage.

Asked by Jacyntha Mar 26, 2019 at 02:57 PM about the 2018 Honda Civic LX

Question type: General

I noticed my neighbors had tried to call me
on Sunday morning. They usually only call
when something is up so I looked outside
and thought that my car had been stolen as it
wasn’t where I had parked it the day before.
Upon going outside to investigate I saw a
trail of broken car pieces and saw that it had
been badly hit from behind and pushed
forward about 2-3 car lengths. The lady who
hit it left a note but fled the scene. The police
were called and have since gotten me all of
her information. The car was undriveable due
to a damaged rear quarter panel digging into
the tire. I did not attempt to start the car.

Initially I wasn’t concerned as I have
depreciation coverage meaning that if the
vehicle is a write off (total loss) I will be
reimbursed the amount that I paid for it in
August of 2018. But when my adjuster called
me she said because it’s a 2018 they will
likely repair it (this was before she was aware
of the extent of damages, she was just
basing her opinion on the year of the vehicle).

I’m worried that if they repair it i will lose out
in resale value (this isn’t a factor with our
insurance company here - Canada) and also
that the vehicle may have sustained some
structural damage to the unibody making it
less safe to drive, especially if not properly
repaired.

As you can see from the attached photo the
damage is extensive to the back end. I
actually had two 50lb bags of baking soda in
the trunk (I have a small homebased Bath
products company) and at least one of those
bags exploded on impact as you can see the
baking soda in the ground - that was a funny
conversation with the police hahah.

I did not see her vehicle but it must have
sustained major damage as well. There was
fluid all over the ground so I’m assuming the
was her radiator.

I appreciate any insight as I’m stressed about
this and would prefer it be a total loss. I want
to try to arm myself with any knowledge that I
can in order to keep the insurance company
from taking advantage of me.

Any insight is very much appreciated.

4 Answers

It was a total loss with an $18,000 price tag. Thank God for package policy / depreciation coverage. New Civic time.

Yes. I learned my lesson. I should have taken more photos right away but the police and tow truck showed up and I was just too shaken up to think about it.

I’m actually a very cautious old lady driver (38 years old). I have to admit that this whole insurance process wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been.

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