Is this repairable or totaled?
I would recommend, as much as you can, to get it totaled, mostly to save time.
Buying a new car might be more costly for you than getting all the repairs paid by the insurance,
but to get the car repaired and all your expenses paid will be a very tedious process.
The repair will be at least $20k to $30k, but the power train and the subframe need to be examined
to determine if there are any structural damages or more important than cosmetic damages.
The fact that the air bags have been deployed can also be determinant for getting the car totaled.
I imagine that the motor relay, with explosive bolts, must have been fused and will have to be replaced.
1. Having a
rental car paid for more than 30 days is something than need to be estimated
and been agreed in advance, and written down, otherwise you will have to go to court to get your expenses paid.
2.
Diminish value is also a difficult issue to deal with. You need to contact a specialized lawyer who will send you
a paper to send to your insurance, after paying a fee for it. The insurance will try to negotiate something
like offering $5k for the $20k asking. Otherwise you will have to go to court, which can take a couple of years
to get it resolved. And the lawyer will take like 40% to 45% of the whole amount the insurance will paid.
So if the insurance paid $20k, the lawyer will take at least $9k, and might ask to cover some other expenses like travel.
Here is my own experience from a low speed accident:
Three years I get rear ended but my car was drivable. The rear quarter panel had to be replaced,
I spent about 6 months to get the parts in order and get a spot available at a body shop.
And then it took about 3 months then to get the car fully repaired, and I had to return the car for minor cleaning
and to get one wheel to be repaired, as one rim must have been damaged by an impact tool when removed or put it back.
If you have your car sent to a body shop, take as many pictures of the rest of the car, especially the wheels.
Make a small mark with a marker, to be sure that your wheels will not be exchanged with another car.
The serial number on my tires were all the same, so not sufficient to check.
Cover all your seats with some tissue wrap, I used some old bed sheets, to avoid any damage or paint traces during the repair.
Finally I had some minor pain from the accident. My health care paid every cost, and deal with the car insurance.
However I also hired a lawyer for pain and suffering, and after three years the case has not yet been closed.
Part of it is that many offices were mostly shut down during Covid.
Recently, like six months ago, my lawyer contacted me to verify my mailing address.
No news so far, so this might take another year to get it solved and closed.
In conclusion, I felt sorry for this accident, but in some ways you were lucking for not been T-bone,
which could have caused more severe injuries.