A Honda Element recently rear-ended my C30 while I was at a stop sign. The driver's side of my bumper absorbed most of the impact, and is knocked in pretty far. The rear glass is shattered and the interior back trunk bit is mangled. The airbags did not deploy and the car is drivable. There appears to be some minor damage to the suspension, but I'm not sure whether this necessarily indicates damage to the frame. It's a 2012 C30 with c. 45k miles. Blue Book value c. $12k.

My concern is that the car is (or will be) totalled - which would be heartbreaking. The guy at the yard where they towed it was cautiously optimistic; the police were not.

If anyone has experience with this, or an educated guess about the likely outcome, I'd be very grateful.

 

You need a professional body shop assessment. Totalled implies one of two things - the cost for the repairs exceeds the value of the car or the integrity of the car (ie bent frame) is compromised. My daughter was a passenger in a similar accident in a 2012 Mazda 3. They were able to drive away from the scene with the rear end pushed in. The body shop later pronounced it a total as the frame was bent and could not be repaired to spec. The good news is the insurance company issued a check for more than book value so her friend went out and bought a 2013 model with similar mileage.