Well, another rainy night here in SoFla, but this time I don't have pretty pictures to share.

Nope...This time, I wrecked my baby on the way home from work. Rain + traffic + new slick pavement = bad.

I was just about to get on the highway on the ride home from work, and it was raining pretty bad. I was in the center lane of a three lane road. This 3 lane road is under construction and has giant concrete barriers on the left and right sides, with no shoulder. I changed lanes to the left lane, and something I don't even remember caused me to lose control and spin, in full rush-hour traffic. I did a complete 360 in the left lane, then hit the left concrete barrier. I bounced off that, still spinning and slid all the way across the road and hit the right barrier, hard. I think I remember spinning around maybe 4 times. I hit the right barrier so hard that the car flew up in the air. I thought I was going to flip for sure, but she landed back on her wheels and rolled to a stop.

The front end is in really bad shape. I had to crawl out the window because neither door would open. My nice wheels are toast. My nice tires are toast. On top of all that, the airbags didn't even deploy. No airbag warning lights had been on, so I don't know how that's feasible, but if you ask me I should have eaten a face full of airbag, or at least the sides should have deployed.

Anyway, no injuries thank god. And thank god my baby son wasn't in the car too. But my other baby, the red one is in bad shape. She's been towed to the shop and I have to wait for the insurance company to give me the news. I hope it's not totaled because I really love this car.

Before you ask, no I wasn't racing, and no I wasn't speeding. And yes, DSC was fully on.
And to top it all off, I had just ordered my AccessPort today. I won't be needing that for a while.

Here's some pics so you can share in my misery.

 

bummer

 

 

Ouch! Glad that you were okay!

 

Shame.

 

Sounds like you hydroplanned.

Been there, done that.

 

bad news man. good luck.

 

wow man, that really sucks...airbags didn't go off either... glad your alright

 

^^+1

you're lucky no one hit you either. hope it gets fixed quick

 

I hope you have a small deductible... so do you think your tires were bad or what... because it's really hard to hydroplane by just changing lanes. You must have hit a pocket of water at the perfect time

 

from the picture , it looks like ur tires are balded out in the front..... i dont kno if its just me but it really looks bald.lol

but good thing you aint hurt. good luck with the fix~

 

Damn that sucks, glad your OK. Too many of these threads popping up...Scary.

Let us know what the insurance says.....I'm a firm believer that all things happen for a reason.

 

is that basically all of the damage? if you hit both the left and right walls and flew up into the air for a second and the front was the only thing tore off, then you sir are damn lucky!

I bet that was one wild ride... glad you're ok though.. I haven't really been looking, but I haven't heard of many people getting seriously hurt even in some pretty major accidents in the 8.

glad you didn't change that!

Now you have an excuse to get an 09!

 

that sux

 

I highly doubt your 8 will be totalled. I'm a licensed claims adjuster / motor vehicle damage appraiser, and the reason your doors will not open is that the frame of the vehicle has been compacted. Easy fix, 4 - 5 hours on a frame machine will get your vehicle back into shape. Other than that, it appears you will need a new bumper assembly, both headlights, possibly one or both fenders (I can't tell the extent of the dmg based upon your pictures), hood. Repair time will be needed on the radiator support and aprons.

I would estimate that with the extent of your damage, it will be around $6,000 - $7,000. Of course, I'm basing this on two pictures, I can't see any damage under your hood.

Any questions, send me a PM. I'd be happy to answer them for you.

 

Thanks for the replies guys.

No, the front tires aren't bald, not even close. The backs are worn a lil more than the fronts. I don't remember exactly what happened, but for some reason the back stepped out and it just cascaded from there. Like I said it was raining, and the road is brand new (and oily as new asphalt can be). I wasn't' going more than 45MPH at the time.

I hope the frame's not bent or compacted. I think the doors wouldn't open because the fenders are kinda overlapping the doors now.

Anyway, considering the headlights are $1000 each in this car, I think I'd be lucky to get off with $6-7k. I see two fenders, two headlights, hood, 4 22" wheels and tires to go with them, and whatever's damaged under the hood. The car still runs, or at least it ran well enough for me to move it out of traffic.

Thanks for the well wishes again everyone. I'll keep you updated.

 

ouch.
I'm seeing waaayyyyy too many smashed up 8's lately.

 

wow, thats horrible..sorry to hear bout that. glad you made it out ok.

 

Well, it's official. The car's considered totaled by the insurance company. I loved the car, and I'm sorry to see it go, but I'm glad I came out of it without a scratch. I'm sure the insurance company is glad of that too...

Anyway, I have to decide if I'm going to get another RX-8. I love the car, but as we all know the fuel economy is horrible. There's several cars that are just as fast, if not faster with better fuel economy. One reason to get another RX-8 is for the back seat. I have an infant, and this is practically the only sportscar I can put the baby seat in, except for the G-35 coupe. Actually I don't think the G-35 can even be considered a sportscar.

I suppose I was dealing with the bad fuel economy, so I could deal with it in a new car too. OK, see...now I'm talking myself into another RX-8 There is a nice Shinka I have my eye on...tee hee hee.

 

get the shinka...if not put those wheels on sale...sorry, couldnt resist. but im glad to hear that your okay and didnt get hurt, i know when i totaled my car two years ago i didnt really care when people said that but now that i look im lucky that i didnt recieve a scratch at all.

 

that sux on the bright side you can get a mazdaspeed front bumper!