Saw my first new Miata in the wild today and it was crashed....

So today at work I get assigned to assist FHP with a crash on a major road here in Florida. I arrive on scene and unfortunately the first thing that catches my eye is the second car in, it is a new Miata. It was hit from behind and pushed into the two vehicles in front of it. Both airbags were deployed and the rear in was crushed in pretty good.

The owner was heartbroken. He had just taken delivery and had driven it less then a mile from the dealership when it was rear-ended. He was wearing a shirt from when he bought his NA in 1989.

I felt terrible for the guy...

Challenge car!

...too soon?

Oh man, that's a rough day.

Raze wrote: Challenge car! ...too soon?

Maybe but... I would imagine that the damage is fixable due to the newness of the car. Still he had already waited months for the car and now has to wait more. On top of that the car was obviously flawless and will never be the same.

Sucks to be that guy!I'm glad he well enough to tell the tale. Hopefully his insurance people will do him right, and hopefully Mazda will help him out if he wants another one.

I'm not at all a Miata guy, but I'm glad to see that Mazda is really promoting the new Miata. I see commercials on TV for it almost every day, they did a promo on the local morning news where several of the cast got to drive one as parts of news segments, and I've seen at least 2 Bill board ads. I don't think I've seen one in the wild yet.

I am not sure he can get another one it was a 6-speed LE which he said were all already accounted for.

One . . . stinkin' (or other similar expression) . . . mile. You know that's what he's thinking. That's a major bummer.

I may need to go watch some cat videos to bring back the happy.

pimpm3 wrote: I am not sure he can get another one it was a 6-speed LE which he said were all already accounted for.

Yup. Limited edition car, all the sticks are sold.

Delivery of the cars started today - Mazda did their best to get all the LEs out at the same time. That's why you probably haven't seen one before.

There is a stick LE in Miami for sale. A guy put a deposit on it but walked when the dealer tried to hit him with inflated doc fees.

Sorry, to hear about this guys terrible luck.

Part out?

Wonder how that will be sorted out with the insurance.

Poor guy. I doubt there's a big part out market for a new model the first week its on sale

What does an insurance company do about replacement if you can not get a replacement. Give you a rental untill the next shipment of them arrives? I should ask my agent that question.

My insurance co "guaranty's" new car replacement of the car if it is 2 model years old or newer according to there adds on tv.

I'm guessing they'd just hand you a check

Yeah they'd probably just hand out a cheque for the replacement cost, best case.

Yow, I thought getting hit in a parking lot was irritating. There's always somebody that has it worse.

dean1484 wrote: What does an insurance company do about replacement if you can not get a replacement. Give you a rental untill the next shipment of them arrives? I should ask my agent that question.

Check. When the new beetle were first out of the gate I had mine almost totaled about 2K miles into ownership. Parts from VW to fix would have been a almost 3 month wait. Easier to cut me a check to buy another one then pay the rental fee and everything else.

Sucks that it happened, less sucky is that everybody walked away from the crash. Which is all that matters.

He can't buy another one.

Fortunately he is able to lament his bad luck. I wouldn't want to be part of any Miata sandwich, new or old.

Hopefully front rear damage + airbag = totalled.

That would suck so bad to have happen.. but arguably worse to have it repaired.

The owner posted this morning on miata.net (sorry someone who knows the interwebz better than me can link it).

Sounds like a pretty violent event. Miata was doing 25-30 when a Ford F150 rear ended (Miata owners worst nightmare) at 50 mph apparently with no attempt to slow down. Suspected drug related DUI.

Owner and wife in the car; both walked away. Both are sore; sounds like the wife is a little worse off. He has a picture of the rear damage. If the hit was as described, the car held up really well. The fact that the Miata was moving probably helped.

The chatter on miata.net is that a few 6spd LEs may be available as a few have/will walk away. As I understand it, there is no obligation to complete the deal and some dealers are throwing big "doc fees" at buyers. Also, one dealer somehow has one not spoken for.

Hopefully the guy can get another one.

Thread is here: http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=583411

If the F150 really hit him going 50mph (so a 15-20 mph speed difference) I would think the ND has held up very well. Still sad to read about something like that.

http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=583411

Edit: Beat to the punch

Some crack head in Jacksonville rear ending someone? Not surprised. Had one hit me a few years ago (in one of the "finer" areas of town) and when I got out to survey the damage she yelled "sorry!" as she drove around me and left. So many horrible drivers, so many with no insurance.