Audis getting totalled with minor damages--my nightmare

["Lamb, Bill" <Bill_Lamb@kne.com>]

Gee this was my worst fear last May when some drunk
bimbo in a Saturn rearended my '89 200TQ at a stoplight.
The accident insurance game originally started out with
mine (USAA) because the chick did a hit and run act leaving
her car abandoned. She sobered up the next day and confessed.
USAA had already examined my 200 and was close to totalling it.
Their estimate for fixing things was full of used parts too. My
car needed a new bumper, spare tire box, lenses, and exhaust and paint.
There is nothing more troubling than to have some insurance wonk
appraiser tell you that your lovely quattro is only worth $3500
anyway.  This story does have a happy ending though, American
Family insurance did step up and pay for making the car right.
The cost was over 5K with all new parts because there were no
used parts available.
I did have to pay for half the exhaust system though which pi***d
me off due to some sort of insurance game called 'betterment.'"
This was because my car had 120K on the clock which made my exhaust
 "due" for replacement anyway.  The sad part about all of this is my
car does not feel right (weird vibrations at startup) now despite 
having the best body shop in Denver do the work (Stuttgart).

Bill

ps My Audi bumper did eat that Saturn for dinner. Totalled
that plastic piece of sh** bigtime.  When I stepped out of the Audi,
I was wondering where was the styrofoam beer cooler that broke!