I thought I'd start sharing my experience with this situation. Maybe something can be taken away that helps others, obviously I could have used some help. And eventually I will sell and I can transparently point them to this thread that captures the details.
Reflecting at day 25: I've still yet to get a claim number b/c of the insurance company's investigation. Police report and witnesses align with my statement, so I should be getting a claim number soon; TX law says a claim decision should be forthcoming within 15 days or an extension request should be asked of me. I understand there are loopholes here to extend it to ~60 days. While writing this I got a vmail from the driver's insurance that says we're moving forward with a claim...will confirm tomorrow since after business horus.
LESSON'S LEARNED TO THIS POINT:
1. At the accident, I asked to tow directly to my shop, but I would have had to pay the tow truck cash and I didn't have all of it on me. I should have asked them to drive me to an ATM. I didn't, so off to the Storage Lot.
2. Do not leave your car in the Storage Lot for too long. @ $75/day insurance companies will not pay if you leave it there for weeks and you'll get stuck with the excess cost. I paid to take mine out the next day. I used my insurance's emergency roadside service to cover the tow to my shop. Most of you have this, always good to check. The claim representative said that if I was found not at fault, they would reimburse me. [EDIT] Also when I showed up to transfer my car they were relocating a Lexus with a forklift! Apparently this is the preferred method to move your car around their lot. With this in mind, have it taken straight to the shop, avoid storage. I don't think mine was moved this way because it was drive-able and/or could be rolled as needed. Nonetheless I asked the shop to closely inspect for any sign of this activity.
3. The other driver's insurance company called me within an hour and gave me a liability claim (not a property claim) to go to the doctor. I did, even though I was just sore, better safe than sorry.
4. Rental Car! W/o a property claim I waited 9 days to decide to get a rental car. I should have gotten one immediately. Tell rental agency it's due to an accident, they have different (lower) rates knowing that a large insurance company will eventually be paying. My insurance wouldn't give me a rental unless I was ready to open a claim on my insurance...and I wasn't ready at that time. At day 20, the Claim Rep, confirmed they would pay for my rental and reimburse me what I had expended so far. Certain Insurance companies have deals with certain rental agencies, check and go to the right one to make things easier down the line. At day 25 I found out that the Insurance Companies are supposed to offer an equivalent vehicle to that which was damaged AND pay for 'loss of use'...that being the 9 days I didn't have a vehicle. IF I use someone else's car and don't get a rental, I'm still entitled to be paid the daily allotment.
5. At day 20 I was ready to make a claim on my insurance and just pay the deductible. In fact, on that day, I was wishing I had just made a claim on my insurance back on Day 1...that would have made things much easier to this point. However, two things happened that kept this action at bay. First the Insurance Company was leaning toward deciding in my favor and second, I called my shop and asked which insurance company was better when dealing with the adjuster and OEM parts. My shop said they had better experience dealing with the other driver's insurance. So I waited...but there was another variable to consider that I hadn't yet learned about....see #6 below.
6. Diminished Value. I was recommended the name of an expert in managing diminished value of vehicles. It wasn't long ago that TX didn't allow this, but apparently it now does. This activity doesn't start until AFTER the car is repaired. He asked me which insurance was paying and I told him the other driver's insurance. He indicated that was one of the companies that was most difficult to work with. I also found out I can't request diminished value if I was at fault OR (I think I heard correctly) if I go through my insurance. Definitely ask the questions and get this right BEFORE making a claim on your own insurance.
LESSONS LEARNED UPDATES 17FEB2019
7. Maximum Policy Value. There are usually two policies that will be used in a claim: Property and Personal Injury. Before going to for ASK what the policy holder's maximum policy value is for Property. In my case, I find out at the end that the maximum property policy value is $25K. All the repairs ended up costing just under that and it left me holding the bag for the $650 ceramic coat AND the diminished value claim. You have two choices at this point. 1) Sue the driver that is responsible for the accident or 2) Check your own policy to see if you're covered for UNINSURED/UNDERINSURED MOTORIST COVERAGE (property/personal injury). In my case, opening a claim on U/UM does not impact my policy or my zero claim discount. You need to know this value before you start. Luckily all the supplemental claims on my repair had been paid, if not then I might have received a bill from the shop for the remaining cost. Make sure you have this coverage and make sure you know the maximum value so you and the shop can plan appropriately.
8. Rental Car, Again. This cost goes against the property policy, so in my case $36XX of rental car was used with 6-7 weeks of that due to the Insurance Company's investigation. If the property policy is low, manage this aspect. See if your policy will cover this w/o impacting you negatively. There might even be some separate coverage for rental car on your personal policy.
NOTABLE DAMAGE:
1. THE GOOD. She's drive-able around the shop. The leaking coolant at the accident was due to the displaced hoses on the aux radiator (shown dangling). I only have a CEL light and that's due to the intakes being removed. It's not been decided yet, but I don't think this will get totaled...seems unlikely. I'm pretty picky and my shop is equally thorough, so I'm confident this will be put back together 100% if not better. The shop will be helping me organize all documentation to clearly show what was repaired/replaced/etc for future resale.
2. The pic below shows the stack of broken parts on the shelves that were removed from my vehicle, sans big stuff like the hood, aux radiator, front left wheel, front wiring harness, and suspension parts. There are 3 pages of actual parts, fasteners, etc. All of these to be replaced with new OEM parts.
3. The left side apron will need to be replaced. This involves cutting, welding, riveting, and bolting the new apron.
4. The left side frame rail is slightly bent ~1/8". This will need to be realigned back to certified bmw specs. Thankfully this does
not need replacing. (IF it did need replacing, this would require engine removal and would probably tip this over the 65%-70% of cash value).
5. Obvious suspension damage including tie rod, sway bar, and control arm. These will be replaced with new OEM parts. Then an alignment will tell if there are other parts that need replacing.
6. My shop explained that the damage listed above to the apron and rail is not considered insignificant, from a crash damage perspective. But it's all repairable.
