My Clarity rear ended

Discussion in 'Clarity' started by Dwight Roberts, Feb 24, 2019.

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  1. AlanSqB

    AlanSqB Active Member

    If you did $0 down you may want to take a look at current value of the car. You’ll find that the gap is more than what you are stating.

    I’m ok not taking the gap so I didn’t. I got $12.5 back on the car from the fed and the great state of Colorado. I’m upside down on the loan but it’s more than covered.

    I’ve never had gap so I don’t know how much it is, but guessing by your strong response it must be pretty spendy.
     
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  3. Alex0913

    Alex0913 Member

    I just want to thank you for this post. Probably one of the most educational reads in this forum. I hope I don’t find myself in this situation, but because of this post I’d be better suited to handle it. Cheers!
     
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  4. craze1cars

    craze1cars Well-Known Member

    Eh...I figure insurance based on my resources would agree mine is worth about $26,500, plus they’d pay me sales tax in Indiana. And I owe about $34,000. So I’m short about $6500ish....

    And I could be wrong. That’s the risk. But I think I’m pretty close.

    And as a former insider, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if the insurance company asks for the state and federal rebates before they calculate the true gap they will pay....buyer beware. Customers definition of gap is often far different from the insurance companies definition of gap....trust me on that one.
     
    Last edited: Feb 26, 2019
  5. SkipperT

    SkipperT Member

    I appreciate everything I just learned as well from all these posts.

    However, I fail to see how Gap insurance is a rip off at the cost of $400? I thought that was cheap insurance, relatively speaking.

    -Skip


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  6. oddhack

    oddhack Member

    It's interesting that the dealer asking price on the very few used Claritys I could find on edmunds / KBB were more expensive than the cost of the equivalent new vehicle (counting incentives). I saw some 2018 Base with ca. 10K miles on them at asking prices in excess of $28K. I don't know how that might factor into your claim although the one time I had a car totaled, I was able to get a substantial increase in the offered settlement on the basis of how much was being asked for comparable cars on edmunds.
     
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  8. craze1cars

    craze1cars Well-Known Member

    Many people do not qualify to get anything, or much, from the federal tax credit, yet might want a Clarity. Depends on your personal tax situation. Thus there is some maket for higher priced/lower mileage used Clarities.
     
  9. craze1cars

    craze1cars Well-Known Member

    You assume gap covers the whole gap. It often does not. Lots and lots of fine print in gap policies. If you financed sales taxes or any dealer add ons they are usually not covered. The tax credits and rebates may not be covered, I’m not sure. If you had a trade in at time of purchase the value of the trade and any financing her might have been on that car all plays into the calculations. Extended warranty rolled into loan is not covered. So you may be paying only $400 for gap coverage that actually pays out $350 or $450 at time of a claim, and still leaves you with a $6,000 gap...

    NO lay person understands the full workings of gap coverage. Heck Most professional insurance adjusters don’t understand it and refer gap claims to management or gap specialists to handle. In my 25 year Insurance claims career I have only occasionally seen gap coverage payouts that exceeded the amount of paid premium, and often a gap still remains after gap pays what it owes. That’s why I largely feel it’s a ripoff. There are exceptions to every claim and it might be a good purchase for some.
     
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2019
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  10. Robert_Alabama

    Robert_Alabama Well-Known Member

    It dawns on me that the weight of the Clarity is a driver in the amount of structural damage you see in a rear-end event like this. Instead of transferring much of the the energy into change in momentum of the Clarity (whiplash for passengers), the weight (mass) of the car causes more structural damage to dissipate the energy. Makes the car much safer for the passengers, though.
     
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  11. 4sallypat

    4sallypat Active Member

    Yes, this is true.
    Modern automobiles are designed to have the car take on more of the crush and impact forces than the occupants face in terms of injury.

    So it's natural that the cost of repairs do skyrocket compared to the ancient cars that were made like a tank and caused more human soft tissue damage.
     
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  13. Robert_Alabama

    Robert_Alabama Well-Known Member

    Yes, but I wasn't just talking about modern cars. The higher mass (weight) of the Clarity makes similarly designed crumple zones work better, making it less likely to deploy airbags, stress occupants, etc from collisions. Of course, the crumple zones take the hit and the wreck looks worse at the impact site.
     
  14. Dwight Roberts

    Dwight Roberts New Member

    Thank you for all the posts. It has been very helpful to me in this time. I hate having to drive an All GAS car. But at least no one was injured in the accident. I am still waiting to hear from someone at the insurance, auto body regarding what they are going to do. The adjuster was supposed to look at it today.
     
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  15. Dwight Roberts

    Dwight Roberts New Member


    The vehicle that hit me, a 2005 Chevy Tahoe never braked but it stopped when it hit me. Even with this big vehicle, the Clarity held it’s own, though the backend crumpled up significantly. My tires didn’t roll forward (I was braking at the light). After going through this accident, I think having 4000 lbs Clairty helped to protect us, along with modern designs. It wasn’t as jarring as you would think.
     
  16. Alex0913

    Alex0913 Member

    Good luck to you on this and hopefully you get the best possible outcome!
    Keep us updated.
     
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  17. maguzma

    maguzma New Member

    The last accident I suffered was in my wife's Kia Soul a couple of years ago. I was driving it down the freeway (the car was six months old) and everybody stopped to look at an accident except the guy in the Camry behind me. When he noticed everyone slowing or stopping he hit the brakes but it was too late for the Kia. At 45-50MPH he nailed the back end. It looked similar to the Clarity hit.
    I took down his insurance information and took pictures of his license and headed home. Police would not stop unless it caused a traffic hazard or if someone was hurt.
    When I got home I did not even think to call my insurance company but instead called the Camry's. I told them that the next day I was going to drop off the Kia at their body shop and I need a rental. They too reported an adjuster needed to inspect but I told them I needed a rental the next day. They agreed and asked me to take pictures of the damage to them for their records.
    Next day went to the other insurance body shop (well named franchise) and it took about 20 minutes to assess the damage and come up with an estimate.
    By the time they were done the rental was in the parking lot.
    The driver's insurance called me and told me that the max they would pay, based on the driver's coverage, was $5K. I laughed and said it's not my problem but their's if the damage and rental would exceed. The insurance agent had the worst attitude.
    The day I was suppose to pick up the Kia, after it was fixed, I inspected and found all kinds of issues and debris in the trunk. I told the famous body shop that "act like I never inspected and call me when the car is 100% ready. When I left, the other insurance called me and reported the costs exceed the policy. I again told the agent, it was not my problem and we should not have this conversation and I was going to pick up the car the next day. He threatened not to pay for the damage and I laughed again and reported if I go through my insurance they would ensure the damage was paid for and they would have to dole out the money sooner than later.
    The next day I picked up the car, the original body shop adjuster was there, apologized for the stuff that was missed or left in the trunk and walked me through the car. I noticed a couple of things and he had them fixed on the spot. I left and the other insurance called me and reported that the total bill came out to be $4.995 and I was lucky. I responded, you guys were lucky. I then went home and sent a email to the insurance company's leadership (with the agent's name) describing my experience. I did get a nice response back.

    A couple of years later that damn Kia was hit again, but their insurance company was awesome and I even got a brand new BMW X3 as a loaner. But again I took the imitative to drop off and get a loaner at my convenience and not the other insurance company. Luckily, my wife decided to get rid of the Kia for a better SUV.

    So long story longer, when you get in accident and its not your fault take the matter in your own hands.
    A young girl (single mother) who worked in my firm was hit (a few years ago) and the air bags deployed, the insurance company tried to fix the car and told her she could not right it off. When she reported that to me I got a bit angry and asked if I can call her insurance company to get their reasoning why the car did not fall under the right off threshold. I told the insurance company that the extensive damage negatively affected the car's integrity and if fixed would but the single mother and child at risk. I also asked if they where going to pay extra since the car lost value because of the accident (helps being in California to claim). They person on the phone got a bit confused and had me talk with the manager. Anyway, I found out that the single mother had the option but was never asked if she wanted the car back or they buy back. The good news she did not take the car and the better news they gave her above market price for it. But the sad news she ended up getting a new California PT Cruiser for a replacement.
     
  18. 4sallypat

    4sallypat Active Member


    Glad to hear no one was seriously injured.

    Make sure you do NOT sign off any insurance docs releasing them of liability in the future.

    Case in point:
    My wife was in a rear ender accident but a few days later, she could not lie down because there was soft tissue damage to her neck and spine. Interestingly, their insurance company had mailed us a "settled in full" check of $2,500 for the "cosmetic repairs" and a liability release claims later which I promptly declined and told them that repairs and medical were going to cost a lot more.


    The total costs were actually about $25,000:
    • $12,000 body shop
    • $1,500 car rental for a month
    • $7,500 medical reimbursement (MD & DC)
    • $3,500 Diminished value claim check (my attorney had to help)
     
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  19. chitchatalot

    chitchatalot New Member

    I want to thank everyone for post their experience here...This post is awesome in that it helps Clarity owner know what to expect when getting in an accident.

    I just got rear ended last night on my 2 month old Clarity. :(

    Wondering if anyone know if this look serious or not... the right side (see picture with Red cycle) seem to have bent/warp a bit.
    IMG_0965.JPG IMG_0966.JPG IMG_0967.JPG IMG_0969.JPG IMG_0970.JPG IMG_0971.JPG IMG_0972.JPG IMG_0974.JPG IMG_0975.JPG
     
  20. craze1cars

    craze1cars Well-Known Member

    Ya that’s pretty substantial....let us know where it all ends up. $8k is my guess.
     
  21. MPower

    MPower Well-Known Member

    Oh, dear. I am going to have to stop reading this thread. It makes me sad.

    What Honda sensing really needs is a force field. Where is Dr Who when you need him.

    Hope everyone is OK.
     
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  22. The Gadgeteer

    The Gadgeteer Active Member

    Make sure the body shop is one that can work with aluminum and follow the temperature and time limits baking in the paint booth or your battery will be damage. A shop that is certified for Teslas would have the knowledge and skills to deal with both aluminum and the temperature limits on the traction batteries.
     
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  23. The Gadgeteer

    The Gadgeteer Active Member

    Being the Clarity is a low volume car that has not been out long you may be waiting on parts a long time.
     

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