Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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Mmm, counselor, allow me to introduce you to my turbulent friend, Jose Cuervo and his refreshingly less-than-demure niece, Margarita. Their Northern compadres, Mr. Daniels and the Walker brothers will be along shortly to mellow things out.
:shades: With enough of their help, you can reach any conclusion you may care to. (and several you'd rather avoid...) :shades:
Still, ya gotta admit a profession that came up with the doctrine of "clean hands" (Har har har, tell me another) can't help but encourage folks to think "I cut corners, you cut corners... Hey, everybody's gotta do it, so why you comin' afta me?"
-Greg, professional Devil's advocate.
The pay's great but the checks always bounce.
Hmm.
Maybe I can make it up on volume...
This is why I carry the maximum deductible I can find - $5,000 if I recall correctly. (I'd rather have a $10,000 deductible, but I can't find anyone to write it)
For some reason that silly elective I had to take as a senior actually burrowed into my brain... What was that... Couldn't have been Business Law, I flunked that hard - too many Margaritas... (Though Margharita's by far the prettier)
Insurance exists to keep responsible people out of bankruptcy... I means not having to look at a mother and say "Sorry, your kid goes to the coal mine 'cause my ship sank. Sorry about your husband."
Insurance is not an installment plan, though many of it's commissioned salespeople and a few congresscritters would prefer it that way. It is there so you can do the right thing when you can't do the right thing.
-Greg
New to you, but not new to the world, if ya know what I mean. Really, this one's been around the block, no?
Her ins. agent and I have been discussing/debating the repairs to my car for the past 2-weeks.
Always a good idea, they will take advantage of you given the opportunity.
I wanted new/not salvaged parts
A reasonably arguable position. They will argue back that they'll have a hard time finding junk yard parts with 100k on them in only 3 years and therefore will have a really hard time bringing you back to "pre-collision" without using new parts.
and no "bondo".
This is where your credibility self-destructs. You don't want a smooth finish on the repair? Alternately, you want them to replace a fender over an easily pullable ding? Bondo, like MIRVs[1], is a tool.
He told me that I was too picky... I may have been a bit over zealous...
I agreed to let Honda Dealer Collision (who[...]felt [he] is a great guy) put on whatever they want
Problem solved, no?
-Greg
{1] MIRV, Multiple Independently targeted Reentry Vehicle, Pentagon-speak for a nuclear (not "nukuulaar") warhead mounted with it's closest friends (2-16-ish) on one rocket. I'm not sure the US ever got to 16 - We liked BBs at 100,000 rounds a minute. The Ruuuuuskies, OTOH liked one really, really big boom. Who knows, they might well have gotten to 32 MIRVs since the late 80s. As usual, someone who knows what they're talking about will come along in a sec and correct me.
She, uninsured, was T Boned by He who ran a red light, but had insurance.
The state financial responsibility law required Her to get a release from him before they would continue her license. He said, "I'll sign the release when you pay the cost of repairing my pickup." To keep her license, she came up with the $ to pay for repairing his truck. All because she drove without insurance. The law says "Thou shalt not be involved without financial responsibility." The key word is "involved". The law doesn't allow for who's at fault. You have the privilege of driving through the process of license when your either post $35,000 cash with the state, provide a $35,000 Bond, or minimum Liability insurance.
Trust this meets your wildest imagination.
I'm following you and up to a few years back I'd have agreed with you.... Problem is I kept getting smacked around a lot for no good reason. Finally I figured out that it didn't matter what I thought about the world, it mattered how the world saw me.
Without credibility your best case is to struggle for what's right. Worst case you just get ignored. In this case random statements about a useful tool (Bondo) got you categorized as a PITA and promptly ignored. Fortunately you seem to have struggled through to success, for which I congratulate you.
Cheers,
-Greg
As the damage is relatively minor, I don't plan on using the insurance--however, I'm wondering whether I'll get a lower (or higher) estimate by telling the shop I might use the insurance.
Beyond this, I'm wondering if the final bill will be likely to be higher (or lower) if I pay on my own, rather than using the insurance.
Thanks!
IME, body shops will be more economical to the private payor than an Ins. Co.
Crashes such as scraping one of those @#$% invisible posts can usually be fixed quickly. The body shop will be economical hoping to get your repeat business.
I took it to 4 shops (told them I wasn't sure whether or not we'd use the insurance), and got estimates ranging from $1115 to $1325.
The difference in price seems mostly due to some shops wanting to replace the left fender liner and mirror assembly, others not thinking one or both of these needed replacing.
"Remove/Install" simply means taking a part off and putting it back on, right? It doesn't involve any repair/refinishing to the part? The two more expensive estimates wanted to replace the left mirror assembly (it had been scraped pretty badly, though the mirror itself is fine). The two less expensive estimates don't mention doing anything to the mirror assembly, except "removing/installing" it. I wonder if they didn't notice the damage - or just didn't think it worth fixing...
The only reason a fender liner would need to be replaced is if it there is a crack to the liner itself or the tabs. If the damage is really only a scrape, this probably would not need to be replaced.
Is the mirror case body colored or black "textured" plastic? If its body colored, the scrapes may be buffed out or if it went through the paint, it can be refinished. If it is black textured plastic, the scrapes can not be buffed out without destroying the textured finish. This would be the only reason to replace the assembly if it wasn't cracked.
Generally, I have found that a shop is willing to work out a better deal with the customer if they are paying out of pocket and not through an insurance company.
Well, it's a really bad scrape -- there's some good denting, an inch or so deep in places. I know the fender liner tabs are bent somewhat, but I'm not sure if they actually cracked.
The mirror case body is colored, and I don't think it got more than a scrape, so maybe it doesn't need to be replaced.
At this point, though, I think we're going to use the insurance after all. My wife and I are both currently students, so I think we're willing to risk a higher premium rather than eat the extra $700-$800.
This would be the first "accident" on her record. Any thoughts on whether reporting it would mean an automatic premium increase? I'm hoping this at least varies by company, so we'd have a shot at staying at our current premium...
It is also my understanding that the first accident only has a small effect on the premium, but the second accident (w/i 3 years) dramatically affects the premium.
YMMV.
Right now I have 250/500/50 but I think its more than needed for someone with my profile and the premium is too much. There is no question that more is better, but that costs me more in premium.
The blue book value of my car is less than $10,000 and my brother, who works at a dealership said they would appraise my car at about $9,000. It has 74,000 miles on it and is in fair condition, at best. The bottom liine is I don't feel comfortable getting a car back that's had almost as much repair work on it as it's true value. I'd like to get rid of it.
Is the common with insurance companies, or should I look for a new insurance company?
In the eyes of the law and logically speaking, you are wrong. I know people who have been in an accident, got arrested for DWI, but the accident they were in was not their fault, so their insurance didn't have to pay.
did you damage the other vehicle? I hope you left a note.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
You may not be worth much now, but a college graduate can start earning over 60,000 a year and a judgement today can garnish your future earnings until it is paid.
The insurance industry is not wired to "feel your desire". They just pay the cost of repair & go to the next claim.
Fix the car and if then you still want another one, trade it in as your brother can surely get you a really good deal, but changing insurance companies will not help in your love or hate affair with your ride.
It there was a policy report, your insurance company will eventually find out about the accident and surcharge your policy, so you might just as well cash in. It all depends on whether or not the car was empty of people and if a policy report was made.
When you change companies, how will you answer the questionnaire regarding prior crashes?
Dont make it a big deal...next time you go to the body shop..just mention theres some stuff that youd like to take. No need to draw attention to it.
I'm in exactly the same situation as you are and cancelled UIM protection because of that. Can anyone think why someone in our situation would need UIM?
You may have a very extensive and wonderful medical insurance plan for you and your family, but your private health insurance will NOT cover the medical bills of your passengers. If you should loan your vehicle to another, the borrower assumes, in this day and age, that you automatically carry UMBI.
IMO a professional insurance agent would never provide a policy without it. Doing so creates a greater possibility of an E & O claim.
Personal Injury Protection, formerly known as Medical Payments, only goes so far in paying the med bills. UMBI is the necessary umbrella for catastrophic med bills.
Orthopedic surgery & it's associated costs are very expensive, often over 100k. Some health insurance plans have up to a 20% deductible on such claims.
If you have UMBI, keep it. If you don't have it, get it. It's prudent to do so.
I don't recall the figure when I cancelled my UMBI but it wasn't chump change. You gave two scenarios when one would need UMBI.
1) I'm in an accident. AND I'm not at fault. AND the at fault party has no insurance or not enough insurance. AND there are non-family members in my vehicle.
2) I loan my vehicle to someone, extremely unlikely. AND they're in an accident. AND the at fault party has no insurance or not enough insurance. I believe in most states the driver's insurance would still kick in. But that wouldn't change my argument.
Sorry but given the chances of any scenario playing out, I just can't justify spending significant money on UMBI. We all don't have a money tree growing in our back yard so we can insure ourselves against every possible scenario. Insurance, not just auto insurance, is about making choices and fitting the best coverage within one's budget.
Does it seem likely this would prevent me from being able to file a claim on my own insurance?
To me, it seems I'm insured against accidents, not lousy repairs. On the other hand, I had nothing to do with the damage he did, either initially or during his "repairs." Any thoughts?
In any case, if you were going through his insurance, yes, they would pay for a rental car. So I would think he should, too.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Personally, I was licensed as a P & C agent back in 1956. I owned and operated four agencies combining them into one location. I was involved in Continuing Education, holding classes for our county association for over 30 years and retired ten years ago. However, the best teacher in my half century of insurance has been Experience which is why I recommend UMBI.
We can agree to disagree. For my hard earned money, as long as my family is covered by a sound medical plan and I can afford the deductible on my comp & collision, for the price of UMBI, it's a waste.
Personal Injury Protection, formerly known as Medical Payments, only goes so far in paying the med bills. UMBI is the necessary umbrella for catastrophic med bills."
While it is my simplistic opinion that any insurance agent that everything should be offered, when someone goes in and says "Just give me the insurance that the law and my lender requires", that is enough...the possibility of an E&O claim against the insurance agent is less than zero.
Also, Personal Injury Protection and Medical Payments co-exist side by side, sort of...if you are in a no-fault state, it is called PIP...if in a fault state it is called Med-Pay...
By purchasing only liability, you have assumed the financial risk for ALL other damages, except those you inflict on another...by "saving" all that $$$ on UM premiums, you will now spend $2K to fix your car...only you can decide if the premium savings was worth the $2K you are about to spend on repairs... :shades:
And who in their right mind would have a valuable vehicle and NOT carry collision? If they're foolish enough not to carry collision, I can't imaging they'd carry something like UMPD.
When a vehicle is worth under $5,000 & you can afford to not carry collision, UMPD is a form of collision coverage at a much lower cost because your are narrowing the damage caused, - by an uninsured, at fault, other driver.
Happy to help broaden your education - again.
Euphonium
No need for sarcastic comments like that pal. We disagree on certain things. You're button is uninsured motorists. You were probably hit by one so I would understand your view point. Let's direct your comments to the issue and not the poster.....OK?
Peace
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Find me at kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name.
2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
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so why is this a "no-fault" accident?? You said he rear-ended you, no? What is more "at-fault" than that??
well, unfortunately, if you have to go through your insurance, and you don't carry rental reimbursement on your policy, there is nothing you can do.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
1) Collision & comp insurance
2) Health insurance paying 100% of all claims in-network with NO limits - this would cover any catastrophic incidents
3) No one else driving my cars
Are there any other situations this insurance would cover? If not, from the previous posts it would seem that I do not need.
Do you need UMBI? That's for you to decide. Do you frequently drive with friends in the car? In rush hour traffic like maybe a car pool? If so, I'd get UMBI.