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In a nutshell, I drove my car over a parking lot divider and caused extensive damage to the under carriage. A control arm is disconnected, dings and scuffs and bent axle.
Currently, the collision shop is working with the insurance company to provide an estimate. I have signed paperwork with a collision shop stating that I authorize them to go forward.
However, after a second thought...I am thinking that I want to put everything on pause.
I need more time with my insurance agent to talk about my options.
I am considering...
-- Stop work at the collision shop (pictures have been taken for insurance company, parts have been ordered from dealer, but no work has been performed YET).
-- Find a junk yard that will buy my car (2000 Nissan Sentra with 36K miles)
-- or Donate my car to charity (for tax write-off).
My questions...
-- Do I still have the "right" to halt the start of the work after the pictures have been taken?
-- How if at all, will my insurance premium be affected if no insurance $ is paid-out
-- What type of place do I go to sell this car?
Thanks! I'm losing sleep over this. Any and all feedback is much appreciated.
Car_man
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Not great, but I suppose it could have been worse.
The Insurance rep told me exactly what you described. Because the collision shop has started work on the car (taking photos and ordering parts), I or the Insurance Company would still have to pay for the rendered services.
I have decided to go foward with the repairs. Currently, my damage estimate is $3700, up from the initial $2100.
And I will keep everyone posted.
Thanks for all the good advice.
Car_man
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It actually looks *better* in this photo, as they pulled the front end out to try and start the car. The lowest estimate is around $11,000 to fix it, so it is not a total. So the insurance company wants to repair it and call it a day, whereas I am trying to replace it one way or another, as it was a new car. I understand that they only have to repair it by law, but I am one of those guys that tends to fight the system, especially when I feel I have been wronged, and I most certainly do in this case. Ironically, my insurance (unofficially) suggested a third party that deals with these situations a lot. His company buys MANY of the damaged vehicles from the owner while the insurance company pays the damages and diminished value. The idea is that these three things will bring up enough money to replace the car at fair market value.
I will be the very first to acknowledge that this is emotionally motivated. Nevertheless, here are a few points I made to the third party guy:
1. The other party was clearly at fault and is 100% liable. This, according to both the police and the insurance company. They were ticketed for disobeying posted traffic laws.
2. The car was NEW – all of three months to be exact. I had just completed the entertainment system in it three days before the accident.
3. The car will NEVER be the same, and the body shops and dealers acknowledge this. Not only is there at least $7,000 in diminished value (according to the GMC dealer), but also that very real satisfaction of owning a new car is GONE and cannot be repaired. The new car smell will be replaced by the smell of paint and glues. I am a car fanatic, as anyone that even knows me a little can attest. My cars are always spotless and perfectly maintained. This car will always have evidence of previous damage.
4. All replacement mechanical parts are generally covered by a 12 month/12,000 mile warranty – not the vehicle’s original 3/36 or extended warranty coverage.
5. The car may no longer eligible for the General Motors Protection Plan (extended warranty), as there will be permanent marks on the car’s records of extensive damage. This will show up for any Carfax viewer or auto dealership.
6. The car will be very difficult to sell, if it ever comes to that. Even with “diminished value”, there are enough SUV’s on the market that a previously wrecked one will be difficult to sell. That, and just DRIVING a vehicle with extensive repairs when you had a BRAND NEW one three months earlier is simply not acceptable.
Much as it pains me (and it really does), I fully understand what the laws are and my rights under those laws. I may be reluctantly singing that ol' tune: "I fought the law, and the law won..." Is there anything else I should or could be doing? Oh, and there was some injury on my part and I am seeing a doctor for neck and back injuries (the airbags did not deploy!).
Chris
On the bright side, since it wasn't your fault you can demand that they use OEM parts and you can get it fixed at a shop of your choosing. There is a place here in Atlanta that makes the cars look better after the accident than it did before. You'll pay for it but it's definitely worth it if you have to drive the car afterwards.
Thanks again for your suggestion, I just wish my dealer would consider it (not interested they say).
Chris
1. Yes, I suspect a lawsuit would probably be the best way to go, but whom do I sue?
2. I agree I should get more for diminished value, but how? The only site I found that offers any such service wants $90 up front to give me a number.
3. The only rental company that will direct bill is Enterprise. They mostly have low-end cars. When I finally raised a stink I managed to get a beat up Land Rover which reeks of smoke (so the family refuses to ride in it). I can't imagine anybody rents Denali's or anything close. If they did, I would have to pay out of my own pocket and hope to get reimbursed. With the way I am getting treated so far, that is not a risk I wish to take.
4. The $20,000 comes from a company that buys wrecked vehicles. Ironically, the company name was given to me by my insurance company. Unfortunately, even with that $20,000, the repair cost, and a few thousand for diminished value, I am still short $9,000 of my payoff. Not to mention the down payment, 0% financing and everything else that goes away.
And one other semi-amusing note: The car was a head-on (T-bone) collision at roughly 45 mph. Yet the airbags did NOT deploy. I contacted GM and asked them about this repeatedly. They said they would get someone in touch with me and never have. I wrote them again today and filed a complaint with the NHTSA (National Highway & Transportation Safety Administration). I had pipe dreams that between GM and State Farm I could simply replace the vehicle with the same model and move on. No such luck...
Thanks for your help and feel free to let me know anything else you might suggest!
Chris
As for the air bags failure, that is a separate issue with GM. What are the injuries sustained as a result of the failure? Any future correspondance with NHTSA should be cc'd to GM.
Good Luck with a real good attorney.
I call my insurance company every month to follow up on the case to do some justice on the guy but there is yet no action taken. The guy that hit me is dirt poor but I feel he needs to be punished some way for his negligence and actions. Any help from other insurance companies would be helpful.
TN
The insurance policy does not provide Punitive Action against the at fault party so you can't by contract use your company as a whip or pistol.
When the adverse party is judgement proof, it is not profitable for your insurance company to try and get something out of nothing. The company has fulfilled its contract of insurance with you and that is all they are going to do. As to the punishing of the other driver, that too is not up to you. That your car has an accident history is too bad, but that's life and there's not insurance for "accident history".
Here's my question for the adjusters: I think the fenders and trunk can be repaired, the hood is very bad. What do the adjusters normally do when a part is not available new, and hard to find used or in the aftermarket? I suspect a good used hood is about $450-500, but at $60-70 per hour for shop labor, it won't take long for the labor to fix the old one to exceed the cost of a new one.
Any suggestions you can offer will be appreciated.
Joe
The estimate from the shop used by USAA as a direct estimator (they recognize the shop's estimate) is $4200. That's nowhere near the 80-85% value of the car in order to total it. However, my past few claims with USAA have all been very adversarial, so I expect them to come in and REALLY low ball me on the value of the car. When I had a '72 El Camino SS totalled by an uninsured driver, their first offer was $2300. HA!!! Ended up settling for about $7700, but only after I did a TON of research on the value of the truck. See why I expect them to be difficult?
I expect the fun to start soon, with the usual dodges and stalls, such as them insisting their field adjuster come look at the car. This is in spite of the fact that the shop sends a ton of digital photos along with their estimate to USAA.
I'll keep you posted as details develop. The saga continues......
There were only two lanes. The right lane can only make right turns, and the left lane can only make left turns. You cannot go straight on this road. There are blatant signs as well as markings on the road that the right lane turns right and left lane turns left.
So while I am driving down the street coming out of parking lot, I see the trailor stopped at the stop sign COMPLETELY ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE ROAD. Automatically, I assumed that he was going to make a right turn, as that is what the signs say. So I pull up on the left of him, because I wanted to make a left turn. I stopped about halfway to the very front of the trailor, when I realized that I was not able to see oncoming traffic on the right hand side. I came to a complete stop when ALL OF A SUDDEN, the trailor proceeds to make a left turn on the right lane. He completely sideswiped the side of my car and there is SUFFICIENT damage to the entire right side of the car. He didn't even realize what he was doing and I had to honk like crazy for him to stop.
When the officer was talking to me, he kept on saying that you should stay clear of large vehicles and that they make wide turns and that the driver of trailor cannot see me because I was in his blind spot.
Of course, I know they make wide turns. I just thought he was going to make a right instead of left. I did not notice his blinkers, because if I had, I would have stopped behind the truck.
The truck driver claims that I was in his blind spot and points out the sign in the back of the trailor, that says "WIDE TURNS." But my point is that
1. he was in the wrong lane
2. although i may have been in his blind spot, does not mean that nobody is there. Cars have blind spots too, and that is why people turn their heads back and to the side before turning or changing lanes, etc.
Who is at fault here?
Was anyone issued a citation for a traffic violation?
The only thing the trucker had to say was 'I've got to use both lanes to make that turn with the truck and trailer'.
Only thing Wapner said was 'You are legally responsible to keep your vehicle in its marked lanes'. And the trucker lost.
Apparently the USofA has lots of trucks that have no possibility of obeying the 'lane displine' laws of the country.
In some states, you must get a judgment against the party. In others, all you need is an accident report and their failure to file proof of insurance with DMV.
The driver's license of the offender will then be revoked until damages are paid and insurance obtained.
If the person has any property, you can sue in small claims court (with your ins co's permission). Then, levy on any non-exempt assets the person may own.
At least you'll bust his cojones. You can also register the judgment at the courthouse to screw up his credit and make it impossible for him to get a mortgage w/o paying you.
since it is the first car i have to finance(all previous cars were paid cash) i am wondering what will it happen if i get in an accident with that car that i finance and that is not paid off. will the insurance company pay the amount of money owed to the bank or will i get the full value of that car at that time so i can pay off the rest of the loan and get my money back(payment money).
i'd really appreciate your inputs on this matter.
This assumes that you don't have any negative equity in your vehicle, though. I honestly wouldn't expect to recieve any money back within the first year or so, since as soon as you drive off the dealer lot on a new car, you will lose a few grand.
Insurance payouts are based on "replacement value" usually. This means that they will give you what it would cost to replace your vehicle in the current market conditions. If your vehicle is only "worth" 18k on the market when it is totalled, that's how much you get. If you owe 23k on the vehicle, you are on the hook for 5k unless you have GAP insurance which will pay the balance. It shouldn't really matter if you initially paid 23k or 35k for the vehicle, it's what the market conditions call for.
For example, a buddy of mine owe's about 16k on a 4x2 Ranger Edge '01. Should he total it today, he would probably get approx. 11k for the truck, as that is the market value right now, and theoretically, that is how much he can purchase a "comprable replacement vehicle" for.
I think this is accurate. I'm sure someone will post if I am not.
Although I didn't get hurt too badly in the settlement, I'm still dissatisfied; and I want to file a complaint with the appropriate regulatory agencies. My state (TN) has an insurance commission, and I will write them. Are there other regulatory agencies to which my insurance company is accountable?
Anybody read John Grisham's THE RAINMAKER? I've never dealt with an insurance claim that didn't validate some truths in that book.
Should I find a lawyer to handle it or any suggestion will be appreciated.
Thanks in advance
1. They have internal policies and will want to tell you what they will and won't pay for, how long after their offer they will pay for a rental car, what kind of car you can rent etc..
Remember that unlike their policy holders, they don't have a contract with you, so none if this is pre-defined. Their internal policies are nothing more than what they prefer to do. It is all negotiable.
As far as diminished value, all the case law regarding whether insurance companies owe this or not is based on contracts law. The legal questions has always been what does the contract say. With a third party case, its common law torts. Its a no brainer, you're owed diminished value to the extent that you can demonstrate it. This isn't too hard, would you buy a wrecked car for the same as a nonwrecked car is the same condition? When buying a used car, wouldn't you ask if it was wrecked? Just get a dealer to tell you how much less a wrecked and repaired trade in is work vs. a "no stories" car. If you want them to total your car, mention this up front before they do an estimate, this will encourage them to total it. If you don't want them to total it, wait until they've fix that car and then ask for it before you agree to settle.
Here are a couple of things I have learned that may help. Remember any help you give an adjuster will help you. 1.) be nice, these people are human and will be nicer to you if you are nicer to them. 2.) Get a rental and then be patient. Their meter is running then, not yours. Adjusters live in fear of two things: Paying more out in a claim than they have "reserved" this get's the insurance company in troube with auditors. So suggest to them up front a big number so they reserve a big amount of money. This will become a value they base their final settlement against. 2.) Document any and all expenses you claim. Adjusters get in trouble if they pay expenses they cannot document. If you can document it, they can pay you without getting in trouble.
Lastly, remember that their time is money, they want to settle quickly and move on, that is your common interest. Keep that in mind, document everything and remember that it's all negotiable.
I've got some offers on my car. It's a 2003, so there aren't man comparables to work from. They made me an offer 24,100 on a 2003 Subaru Legacy GT. We're about $2000 apart on price, so we'll see.
Unless you have that eye witness, you probably won't have much to stand on.
It kinda goes against your instinct to just slam on the brakes and prepare for impact, but if you swerve into another lane to avoid an accident, and you cause one, you are at fault. Been through it with my insurance co. and found this to be the basic "attitude"... so I buy safer cars/trucks and I'll take the hit from now on... not my fault that there are inattentive drivers on the road, and I am not about to have my rates increase AGAIN for another 3 years because of someones you know what.
My 1st question - if they total it & I don't agree with the price they are giving me for my car, can I refuse it & argue for more money? Example - say he comes back and says "we're cutting you a check for $7,000 for your car." and I KNOW my car is worth at least $10,000 - can I tell them I want $10,000???
2nd question - the insurance company has to give you "retail" value for your car correct? - not trade in or private party sale value, right?
Thanks for your help.
You can usually negotiate with the adjuster. It may require some footwork on your part. Car ads for the exact(best) or similar trim line same year, similar mileage would definitely help you out here. KBB, Blackbook, NADA, TMV, etc are all guides and you may get some help there as well... They may offer you something good at first, though.. you never know.
The insurance co I believe has to pay you out the "replacement value" of your vehicle. This means the current cost of replacing the vehicle with the same model, trim, mileage, etc. So if you have a '02 Taurus, or something like that where all the rental fleets are unloading them, I wouldn't expect to get full book on it at all.
I would start the homework early and you can prevent surprises.
KBB- www.kbb.com
NADA- www.nadaguides.com
blackbook- http://www.cars.com/advice/advice_carprices.jhtml?aff=national
TMV- edmunds
Hope this helps some
I have checked Kelly Blue Book, NADA, Edmunds, Black Book & Carsdirect.com (5 sources!)- the average RETAIL value of my car (2000 Dodge Intrepid) is $12,152. My atty said to insist on retail value because that is what I'll be paying when I replace the car. If they won't do it - I should tell them to either - (1) call my atty or (2) find my exact car for me.
I'm going to call my insurace adjuster now & leave yet another message for him. I'll let you know how things go. Please let me know if you have any additional infor for me that would be helpful. Thanks so much!
Car_man
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Metropolitan was wonderful. Even though my son is 20, they got us a rental on our collision policy. Unfortunately, as explained by the adjuster, replacement value isn't paid in North Carolina. He made an initial offer that we discussed since the car had nearly new Michelin X-One tires and a fancy aftermarket stereo. He was very fair and got me enough to only owe just about my deductible on the loan.
Met is the greatest! Really glad I switched to them about 6 years ago.
Thanks.