[bbird]

About six weeks ago, I was at a red light, sunny day bone dry roadsFor a split second I hear skid marks, then it happens I got hit in the back. That's right, before I made my 1st payment:crying:. Guessing this 18 year old kid must have been texting. He was very appolgenic, but I just wanted to strangle him. Bumper was peeled up against the back doors. Two weeks later at the cost of $2,500 it was ninety percent fixedThe plastic peace that covers the back of the floor was on back order and came in last week


Well Friday I was out making my deliveries and I come upto a threeway Intersection, a car was approaching in the opposite direction, I was thinking she was going strait, nope she was bearing left, and you guessed it hit me head on, air bags where deployed I got out of my 2015 van which was about 6" shorter and said you got to be f#@##% kidding me:, she got out of her Camery which was about a foot shorter and yelled at me said "did,nt you see the stop sign", and I said you mean that stop sign which was facing the road that was merging with mine. Nobody was hurt. The state trooper showed up and gave us both a report and I clearly had the right of way

My van was towed to the shop Friday afternoon, I will be going their this afternoon for an update. But the collision manager already told me atleast 3-weeks. Just made my second payment

Well guess what I will be driving this month, a Ram Promaster from Enterprise, picking it up in a few hours, I will post a second thread on this van 'transit vs. Promaster" once I have about a 1,000 miles on her

Well their you have it, two accidents in about 4 weeks, on a brand new van:crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying:, somebody pass me the kleenix

 

[hammerdown]

Bad things come in threes, my friend. 2 collisions and a Promaster, that makes three.

Chin up little buckaroo.

 

[onetwo]

Driving a RamMaster is punishment enough. I really feel sorry for you.....

 

[USMC Vet]

bbird,
Too bad your insurance wouldn't total it, so you could get a new one.
But then, you'd have to enter the waiting game again:-(

So, how did it hold up in the crash? Your speed at the time, hers? Did it crumple into the area of your feet or deflect everything downward?

Any pictures, so the rest of us can see what it did in a head-on collision?

Semper Fi

 

[CrewVanMan]

bbird

Hope you get your insurance company to claim diminished value on the other insurance company as you will lose value on your Transit with the accident, not your fault. If you do not have the first one claimed yet, get it on that one too!

If you traded it in now, you would lose another extra 20% because of the accidents showing up on the CarFax and AutoCheck.

 

[VanMan]

I would want a new one, Its only original once. You will be cursed if you fix it

Enterprise rents Transits why a Pro master? (they do have more room)

Either way, buy the extra insurance

Yes, you will lose more, but over time? which would you want. Everyone I know takes the hit, DUMPS the crashed vehicle and starts over

 

[alarmist]

Depending on what state you live in, diminished value might not be part of the insurance coverage, or even the responsibility of the person who hit you. Doesn't mean you can't sue for it. Happened to my wife in CA. She rear ended an Avalon with her Avalon in a multicar pileup. Tore the other car's bumper skin. The Toyota dealer charged $8500 to replace it and then told the owners the trade-in value of the car was reduced by $6500 because it had been in an accident. They filed a small claims case but later dropped it. Too bad. They and the bride were invited to appear on one of those courtroom shows in Texas. They would have been guaranteed the $6500 win or lose plus free travel, lodging, etc. I suspect the dealer backed down when they realized their "embellishment" of the repair and attempted screwing on the trade might end up on national TV.

 

[bbird]

Update: the dealership called, where upto $12,000.00, no way will this be totaled. I paid $35,000.00 OTD, book on it guessing is about $25,000.00\\


My local Enterprise dealer has only Promasters available, all the Transis are in use, soory no pics

 

[ultane]

That really sucks dirty pond water bbird....

 

[JohnMW]

Thanks for sharing your story, bbird. Accidents are a mess anyway you look at it, but a new vehicle the worst. No, I should say serious injuries or deaths are the worst. With that view we can say, " Its just a van".

 

[Moot]

It will be interesting to read your comparison of the Transit vs. Promaster.

 

[onetwo]

It will be interesting to read your comparison of the Transit vs. Promaster.

Sat in a RamMaster at the autoshow. The view from the drivers seat alone scared the bejeezus out of me. Cheap cheap plastic used on the entire dash. Shockingly bad plastic interior. They used the lowest grade plastic on earth. Seats were very uncomfortable with little support.

Then the radio unit? It looked right out of the 70s......

 

[Damaskinos_of_Athens]

.
Maybe ask the dealer how much money he would want to trade the repaired van for a new one.

Then you might have a good idea of the magnitude of the financial imapct.
.

 

[hammerdown]

I've read on some promaster forums that the diesel and semi auto is a cool drivetrain. But the first gear is practically useless it's so steep. Most guys are manually launching in second gear. Which basically makes it a 5 speed with a granny gear. Still haven't driven one yet.

 

[rickhoran]

Sorry to hear about your bad luck bbird. Your story reminded me about the horrible luck I had when I bought a 2006 BMW Sport Wagon. Nice little stick shift number. Cherry. I bought it in 2009 and was the second owner. Parked it on the street the first night I owned it and a drunk driver lost control (in the middle of the block!) and creamed it. Bent the entire rear half. When I finally got it back from the body shop I was religious about parking it in the driveway.
Shortly thereafter, on a bitter cold January night, my house caught fire. Had it been parked on the street it would have been out of harms way, but instead it was right in the line of fire, literally. Between the flames licking out of the basement window and the collateral damage inflicted by the firemen, the car was a wreck. Back to the body shop for several more weeks. I won't bore you with the details but there were three additional "incidents" with the next year. Like you, I felt targeted.
Finally my luck changed and everything's been cool for at least 3 1/2 years. Best car I've ever owned. All the damage and heartache is but a distant memory and made me love the **** car even more. The only sad part is that I am probably going to have to sell it when my van finally arrives within the next few weeks.

Point of the story? You're getting all the vehicle's bad luck out of the way right off the bat. Just make sure that your Transit is repaired well and it will probably give you many years of trouble-free, enjoyable service. Don't worry about the resale value, who wants to sell it anyway?

 

[VacaMobile]

After reading this, I was hesitant on picking ours up from the dealer's last night!

 

[VanMan]

Update: the dealership called, where upto $12,000.00, no way will this be totaled. I paid $35,000.00 OTD, book on it guessing is about $25,000.00\\


My local Enterprise dealer has only Promasters available, all the Transis are in use, soory no pics

Why does every Transit (Cargo) gets rented out and the pro-masters don't?
What does that tell you....

My Enterprise changed the T350 Transit wagons to Savana Wagons, they told me that everyone complained out the lack of seating space.

 

[bbird]

UPDATE:

Van has been in the shop for over two weeks: waiting on a crossmember( Total damages over $11,000.00:crying:. They found the other party at fault and their Insurance is paying the bill. However she only had the min. property damage coverage, which is $10,000. So my Insurance will cover the rest which is taken out of my $500.00 deductable


I never did get the Promaster, but I got the Transit 150 with the 3.7 motor. I want my E.B. back, got 16.8 MPG with mixed driving

 

[USMC Vet]

bbird,

That's a bummer. Time to hire an attorney to recover your losses, or at least you can take her to civil court.:|

Semper Fi

 

[bbird]

UPDATE

Well this Friday (4/3) than van will be in the shop for 5-weeks:crying::crying:, the crossmember came in Tuesday morning, hoping to pick her up Sat.

Boy do I want my E.B back, the 3.7 has no advantage, not sure why anyone would want the 3.7, its constantly over reving and down shifting, even when empty