Wife wrecked my car
- Thread starter eus090474
- Start date
Thesoundofpanic9
New member
When my wife (and I do mean my wife) wrecked our 4th gen it looked a lot like yours, damage-wise, but with no airbags deployed. The estimate came to $13k and it was totaled. It was a 2007. With your airbags, yours could be anywhere from $15K to $20K if I had to guess. I say take your check and move on. Have fun shopping!
FiReBReTHa
New member
also, let me know if you need a hand wrenching off the old parts and swapping OEM stuff back. Not sure what you have done aside from the wheels.
Knight-Errant
New member
I'm glad your family is ok. I'm sure having your truck wrecked is very disappointing.
What daily driver does your wife who "doesn't pay attention well" use? I'm assuming you'd buy something safe, but not terribly expensive.
What daily driver does your wife who "doesn't pay attention well" use? I'm assuming you'd buy something safe, but not terribly expensive.
eus090474
New member
She drives the Jetta that is in the background of one of the pictures. She had to give someone else a ride that day though so she wanted to borrow my car and I was stuck with the Jetta.
Boyds4Runner
New member
Sounds like everyone made it out OK so I am happy to hear that!
As for the car, not only do the airbags make a repair not cost-effective for the Insurance company, the seat-belt pre-tensioners are a one-time use only safety item as well.
My wife rear ended someone in her Maxima years ago and there was no frame damage but with the airbags and seat-belt tensioners going off they totalled the car due to the liability of certifying that the replaced safety equipment would work right again in the future. As the guy said there are a lot of electronic safety components in the mix to get it back to certifiable working condition.
Funny thing about the wife driving the 4Runner...we just (today about an hour ago) had the same exact discussion where I was taking my wife's mini-van for brake service. She did not want to drive the 4Runner to pick me up. She knows it's my most favorite vehicle ever and is afraid to drive it. I asked if we should go to any empty parking lot some day to get comfortable with how it drives.
Anyway, happy that everyone came out unharmed. Sorry about the 4Runner though. I would think it's going to be considered a "total".
As for the car, not only do the airbags make a repair not cost-effective for the Insurance company, the seat-belt pre-tensioners are a one-time use only safety item as well.
My wife rear ended someone in her Maxima years ago and there was no frame damage but with the airbags and seat-belt tensioners going off they totalled the car due to the liability of certifying that the replaced safety equipment would work right again in the future. As the guy said there are a lot of electronic safety components in the mix to get it back to certifiable working condition.
Funny thing about the wife driving the 4Runner...we just (today about an hour ago) had the same exact discussion where I was taking my wife's mini-van for brake service. She did not want to drive the 4Runner to pick me up. She knows it's my most favorite vehicle ever and is afraid to drive it. I asked if we should go to any empty parking lot some day to get comfortable with how it drives.
Anyway, happy that everyone came out unharmed. Sorry about the 4Runner though. I would think it's going to be considered a "total".
Jetboy
New member
Glad everyone is okay. They make more every day. I generally don't like repaired vehicles. If you do go the repair route I can say that I've been really surprised with the knowledge of the toyota certified repair shop as compared to the other shops when I had to repair my 4runner. They knew about the fender design and the crash structure of foam internally and where and how to check if it was damaged or not. They replaced all the clips and hardware with new - and you know how those push in clips never work right again after you take them out. All the little stuff they did right. I think toyota's certified shops are more than just paying a couple bucks for a sign on the wall.
I thought you might laugh at this
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I thought you might laugh at this
<iframe width="854" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AHHpy07AviQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
eus090474
New member
Just got the initial quote for repairs of 11,130. They say they will find more damage once they get it taken apart. He said it is nowhere near what the car is worth so they wont total it out.
Anybody heard of ABRA autobody in Naperville? That is who the insurance guy suggested.
Anybody heard of ABRA autobody in Naperville? That is who the insurance guy suggested.
FiReBReTHa
New member
They will usually refer to a place that gives them the best "Break" / "rate".
So insurance companies will always go with whoever is cheapest. But, since it's your car, you get to pick where she goes to get repaired.
And no joy about ABRA. And lived in naper most my life around auto. Not saying anything negative. Just that I have no clue who they are haha.
Recorderguy
New member
Abra is a chain like Gerber.
They are now owned by a private equity firm.
They're buying up a lot of mom and pop body shops if they have enough revenue as well as some smaller chains. Very profitable.
Read into that what you want.
They are now owned by a private equity firm.
They're buying up a lot of mom and pop body shops if they have enough revenue as well as some smaller chains. Very profitable.
Read into that what you want.
Last edited:
ASU2015
New member
Have not used ABRA. But, if you are in Naperville, check out Accurate Auto Body off Ogden/Quincy. Had my former Lexus repaired there (dealer recommended them) and they did a nice job.
Glad you are all safe.
2nd Chance
New member
I'm glad your family is okay and in the end it's just a vehicle that can easily be replaced.
There is a small shop in downtown Lemont that has repaired a good friends vehicles many times. They have also repaired my sisters cars and all have looked great.
Marty-MJ
There is a small shop in downtown Lemont that has repaired a good friends vehicles many times. They have also repaired my sisters cars and all have looked great.
Marty-MJ
shahsmerdis
New member
Aren't they benefiting if they work on your car, totally they get nothing right?
Ray Dunakin
Senior Member
I have used Birk Holz auto body a few times and have referred everyone I know to them. They work on all the high end cars in the area. You won't be disappointed. They are located on Ogden Ave in Naperville (right by the Toyota dealership and across from Mercedes dealership)
Home | birkholz
Home | birkholz
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