So now I need a new car...

[prjkt]

Been a while since I've posted, have lurked for a little while

Anyway onto my story...

Bright, sunny day, about 30*C, only getting warmer.

Driving into work in Aus (we drive on the left side of the road here) in the left hand turn lane of a three lane road. Two right hand lanes are stopped (peak hour)

All is well.

Until someone coming the opposite direction chooses to turn right in front of me - he must have seen two stopped lanes and didn't look any further.

So now the front of my car is about half it's original length, since written off.
His car has some damage from the front wheel well back to the passenger side front door.

I get out, shaken, takes me ages to write out my details. Call police, insurance, parents tow truck etc.

Police arrive, breath test us both, gets the story. I find out he has no insurance, and lives on the far side of town. Cop issues him a fine for failing to give way and my insurance company will probably be chasing him for the bill for my car (let alone his own)

Funny thing about this is that I was thinking earlier in the drive that I needed a new car. Interior upholstery falling off, plenty of dents from SCs who don't know how to drive in a shopping centre car park - including a front indicator held on with duct tape. Really want to get the photo my dad took of the damage and post with the comment, "going to need more duct tape"

[otakuneko]

Just duct tape the entire car. The mythbusters proved it'll work.

[bhskittykatt]

Man that sucks, but hopefully your insurance coverage is good enough that you can get some cash for a new car. And I hope they get their recompense from the guy.

Just duct tape the entire car. The mythbusters proved it'll work.

I knew someone who snapped an axle out in the county. They walked five miles to the closest convenience store, bought all the duct tape, and then walked back and duct taped the axle back together. It actually worked for the purposes of driving about 30 miles to the closest shop where they could get it more properly repaired. The mechanic was so tickled he even left a little bit of duct tape under there to commemorate it.

[prjkt]

I'm getting a payout for more than the car is probably worth '98 Camry with all the damage and so on, have a deposit down on a new car (my first brand new car) just waiting on the payout cheque and financing to be approved.

I guess this is why you have insurance.

[XCashier]

I'm getting a payout for more than the car is probably worth '98 Camry with all the damage and so on, have a deposit down on a new car (my first brand new car) just waiting on the payout cheque and financing to be approved.

I guess this is why you have insurance.

Yay, new car! You get to discover the new-car smell!

I'm glad you weren't hurt, and that insurance is covering everything. I hope you enjoy your new car for many years to come.

[eltf177]

Just duct tape the entire car. The mythbusters proved it'll work.

Heck, Red Green proved that decades ago!

[It's me]

I'm getting a payout for more than the car is probably worth '98 Camry with all the damage and so on, have a deposit down on a new car (my first brand new car) just waiting on the payout cheque and financing to be approved.

I guess this is why you have insurance.

That, and for any injuries. Hopefully you aren't feeling any after-effects.... soft tissue damage can show up a good while after an accident.

[prjkt]

Surprisingly nothing other than the shakes
Didn't hit hard enough to deploy airbags, yet hard enough to kill the car (better the car than me)

[wolfie]

Surprisingly nothing other than the shakes
Didn't hit hard enough to deploy airbags, yet hard enough to kill the car (better the car than me)

For a car that old, I'm not surprised that a hit that would total it wouldn't trigger the airbags (also, airbag triggers are designed to only go off if the hit is from a direction where the airbags would protect the occupants. "Total" means that it's not worth the expense to repair the car.

As an example, with my car, if someone were to smash the windows (example chosen because it's a form of damage where the repair cost is known in advance, with no chance of hidden additional damage once the shop starts work), that would be a high enough dollar value to write it off. Heck, even slashed tires would be borderline.

[prjkt]

Fair enough, though was a little surprising that a full frontal collision that crumpled the front of the car, shortening it by at least half a metre didn't trigger the airbags... Perhaps they no longer worked. (Like half the car...)
Ah well, go to pick up my new car in the morning tomorrow - can't wait

[Chromatix]

Yes, I'm going to say confidently that the airbags were faulty. They're supposed to go off in any frontal collision above about 5mph - ie. any that can't be absorbed by the bumpers.

[wolfie]

Different jurisdictions had different "phase-in" dates for airbags - in Oz, did the '98 Camry have them? I had been of the impression that '95 was the year they became mandatory (or at least standard equipment for all cars built by the maker of my car) in Canada, but my car (a '96) doesn't have them.

Also, did you buy the car new or used? If used, some people don't like the idea of airbags, so a previous owner might have disabled them.