Hit from Behind! Ouch and....towing drivers

[skulless]

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/193/imag0120vx.jpg/I haven't post in a long time and my first post in years/months is going to be this. Car was hit from behind today!

The car behind did not stopped when all the cars in front including mine has came to a halt on a busy road. I saw his car speeding towards me in the rear window and tried to steered mine to the left to avoid/reduce damage. But it did hit me from behind.

So I call up insurance and made a claim. But then came 2 tow drivers and a mechanic who sort of insist that I use their tow service to the repair centre. They stressed that my car has been 'pushed' to the front because of the impact, the gearbox, wheels, airbags might malfunction. And mentioned that if I drive on further and there is damage, my insurance will not pay for the damage because of that.

Now I know chances of something like that might happen. I'm no expert at cars but I looked underneath the car and it barely touch the frame of the car. Just the back bumper and parking sensors are rip out. When I put into reverse, 2 of the sensors still worked. The tone, voice and message sent out by these guys are like 'bullying'. Trying to get me to use their service by scare tactic. I might still be wrong, so I am open to opinions of the experts in this forum. http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/193/imag0120vx.jpg/

Well, the car that hit me has a more extensive damage compare to mine.



http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/9778/imag0120vx.jpg

http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/346/imag0122uc.jpghttp://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/193/imag0120vx.jpg/

[ope11]

pretty sure the bumper would of taken alot of the impact,so i don't believe there would be a proablem ,just check with ur insurance ,they will tell you what 's what,, definetly watch out for most towers ,there out to make money and that's it,they will say anything to get you,
if ur able to drive to ur insurance and you have no majour issues then they can not stop you ,but if you are injuryed that changes again ,hope this helps

[guy 27]

there will be damage under the rear bar. how bad i can't say without looking at it.

All i can tell you though is that odds of having any mechanical issues are very low.

judging by the pic. id say the car is still drivable if insurance ask you to get quotes.

[JohnBu]

What you end up doing?

Those tow trucks are dodgy as.

If it seems fine to drive, it will be fine to drive.

[Bloodnok]

After I hit a kangaroo, my Vec looked pretty bad bodywork wise - quite similar in a way to what the falcon does in that pic - and it was fine to drive. I had no issues with insurance due to driving it afterwards - and that was about 2000km, as I took it home to QLD from Vic, and drove it to work a few times while they got their arses in gear for the actual claim process. They asked me a few questions - did the airbags go off, did any fluid leak out, and did it track straight afterwards - to which the answers "No", "No", and "Yes" were entirely satisfactory. (The bad started after that where I accepted their recommended repairer. That turned out to be a really bad choice.)

All I'd be concerned about for driving in that pic is if there are any bits of plastic poking into the wheelarch - make sure you secure it so it doesn't rub on the tyre.

Oh, just in case you hadn't spotted it, there is a piece of plastic from your bumper still wedged in the falcon's bumper in that pic...

[skulless]

Yeah mine was not that bad. Nothing sticking out underneath or anything near the wheel arch. Even the rear bar was fine. The bumper absorb all the damage. The falcon was hit pretty bad.

I drove to and from work today, no dramas. Only people staring at me, 'thinking poor bugger or wtf?'

Those tow drivers would really make up stories to get you to use their towing service. I thought it was bad in Asian countries. But here it's worst, the level of discomfort they can caused is appalling.

Anyway, car will be taken to insurer tomorrow, so no car for 2-3 weeks at least, and I'm with AAMI, their preferred repairer are not the best in the business. I'm thinking of going back with NRMA or Just Cars which turn out to be cheaper too.

[JohnBu]

AAMI are very hit and miss when it comes to repairs, more misses than hits.

But you wouldn't expect the best repair job if they were the cheapest repairers.