Car Wreck

sounds fishy to me.

I'm no lawyer or anything but I always go through the other guys insurance company. That way there is a paper trail of the steps taken to fix your car. You have no idea who this guy is and what he could possibly be up to. Why accomodate the guy who's at fault? If he suddenly chooses not to pay, than what? just my $.02

 

Did you file a police report? If not, it is not too late to do this. You will need this in case he tries to deny any responsibility. I would be very skeptical of his plan and try to go through his insurance company if at all possible. He doesn't have the negotiating leverage here -- you do -- and the police report will further reinforce that.

 

go through his insurance and spare yourself the hassle

 

One thing to bear in mind is that regardless of whose fault it is, it could affect your insurance premiums in the future. If enough people run into you, you are deemed a risk and may have issues with your insurance. If you have had accidents in the past, even if they are not your fault, this could affect you as well.

 

I would tell him the only way a report will not be filed is if he were to give you the money to repair it a the place of your choosing. You are already doing the guy a favor by not reporting it, you should not have to live by his rules, it was his fault.

This guy is going to think he can manipulate you. Eihter you get the $2500 or a report is filed, end of story. Depending on the juristiction you only have a certain amount of time to file a report, he could be stalling and then you will be screwed (or at least extremely inconvenienced).

 

It's just best to go through the insurance companies. That's what they're there for. I would: 1) inform the police as soon as possible and see if they can still file an accident report, then 2) file the claim. Otherwise, you could end up in all sorts of trouble and get seriously screwed over for something you didn't do. There are people out there who love to take advantage of those who are young, too nice, and inexperienced in what to do after car wrecks.

I was rear-ended last summer and had very similar damage to my truck (the bed driven into the cab, dangling bumper, bent muffler, "rocking chair"). There was also a little bit at the front because I had gotten pushed into another car. We handled it the usual way (cops, insurance companies) and there was very little hassle. But the damage was over $6000 worth and took over a month to fix... this is serious stuff.

 

Wise words. If you let the guy fix it himself, he may stop when he thinks he is done versus when you think that he is done. Also the shop will not release the car until they get paid in full.

You could get three estimates, with one from a dealership. You could get the guy to escrow the highest estimate (since estimates almost always miss something). When the car gets fixed to your satisfaction, you could pay for it with the escrowed money.

This guy is also responsible for your rent-a-car, which he might be reluctant to pay. This money should be paid upfront.

In the end, going the insurance route will be less hassles and more likely to fix the car completely.

 

RiceRocket,

If ya want, email me @ chrodell@swbell.net . I have been in the insurance claims industry for 10 years and testify quite often in court over fraud cases. I can give you some pretty sound advice.

Whats the name of the body shop?

A few tips:

1) Legally, he can not tell you where to take your truck for repairs. That is illegal. If he wants to pay out of his pocket, I recommend going to a shop that you are comfortable with and getting an estimate from them. Also, dont let him pull the whole "go get 3 estimates" act on you. By law, the person at fault, or their insurance company, have to pay the repair shop that you select to repair your vehicle, as long as their charges are reasonable.

I absolutely would not go to a shop that he does know and that you dont know. More than likely, hes friends with the shop and they will do it for him cheap. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. More than likely, they will do a crappy job on your truck to save him money.

2) Do not sign any type of liability waiver he might give to you. Tell him if you are to sign a waiver, you will not do so until you have been made whole with regards to repairs, loss of use (rental vehicle) and loss of value in your vehicle.

3) Advise him that its highly likely that you have frame damage (on a truck, if the bed hits the cab, the frame is usually bent slightly). Let him know the shop may find hidden damage and will increase the bill. He needs to pay this too.

4) Definately get him to reimburse you for a replacement vehicle. Furthermore, have the rental car company bill him direct for the rental instead of you paying for it and then trying to get reimbursed by him (this is always bad news doing it this way).

5) When you do rent a vehicle, rent one comparable to the one your are in. His insurance company would do that, so he should be required to do so too.

6) Advise him of loss of value. There is a big thing in my industry right now called Diminished Value. That is because when you sell your vehicle, you will lose value because your vehicle as been in an accident. Again, insurance companies pay this, he should too.
Ask Chance McClain. He is very familiar with loss of value claims also.

7) If at all possible, I would just go through his insurance company. You do not have to have his permission to file against his carrier. If he wants to nickel and dime you and try and tell you where to bring your vehicle, let him know that you expect him to afford you the same priveleges that his insurance company would. These "owner pay" wrecks, never are worth the trouble. Just let his insurance handle it.


Email me if you have any questions!

 

They've not done that for me. When a guy rearended me in my Audi A4, his insurance company would only pay for a Pontiac Sunfire. Hardly comparable (even just in terms of size). I was told I would have to pay the difference on any higher-class car.

 

If you were at fault, and its your insurance company, then that is correct. Most policies only have a max of $20-$25 per day on rental vehicles. Anything above that, does come out of your pocket.

However, if you were the claimant, or 3rd party, they did you wrong. Rental vehicles are technically defined as "loss of use". When your vehicle is in the shop, you are still paying for that car, and thus, have lost use of it. Therefore, insurance companies, other than your own, owe you for that loss of use whether its a Geo or a BMW. Most insurance companies that I know of, including State Farm, Farmers, Allstate, etc., will pay you for a comparable vehicle if you are indeed the claimant. Sometimes you have to argue with them a lil, but they almost always pay for it in the end.

One of the best arguements I recommend people use is, that they use the vehicle for work, whether it be for a truck or a luxury car (i.e. I am a lawyer and I have to have a comparable luxury vehicle to drive my clients around in .....or ...im a contractor and I have to have a truck to haul stuff around in).

 

I wasn't at fault, and it was GEICO.

If it happens again, I'll be certain to at least argue the point a little. It was a pain to drive that crappy Pontiac for six weeks or so.

 

You have to remember something about insurance adjusters, they go through alot of schooling to learn how to save their company money. So they will fight tooth and nail over a small amount of money. I dont necessarily disagree with this, because in the end, it helps keep all of our premiums down. However, my theory in this business is, whats owed is owed. Period. So you have to fight them sometimes to get what you are entitled to. The funny thing is, they know they owe you for a comparable rent car. However, most people dont realize this, and these are this is where they save money. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. If you would have kept fighting, they would have given in.

If you were the claimant, they should have paid for a luxury vehicle because 1) thats what you were driving before the accident 2) You are still making your payments on the car, even though it is in the shop and 3) They know if you took them to court, case law says, they owe you for it.

How much damage was done to your Audi dollar wise? What year is your car?

 

It was nearly $5,000 worth of damage when all was said and done. It was a 1998 Audi A4. The accident happened in April of 2000 (I was on my way to the Astros/Rangers preseason game at Enron Field that first year Enron Field was open). I hadn't yet owned the car for two years at the time of the wreck.

Doesn't matter now as I don't even own the Audi anymore. It's just good information for the future should I ever be in the same or similar situation again. Of course, when one needs a car pretty much immediately for transportation, it's hard to spend too much time arguing, especially since the insurance company does have a lot of power in that situation (in regards to the fact that they could simply drag their feet until I have to accept whatever they offer just so I can get where I need to be).

 

Yeah, sometimes its not worth fighting. But adjusters are smart and they know what they have to pay. Sometimes you just have to sweet talk them.

If you still have a high-end car like your Audi, next time you are in an accident that causes significant damage, file a Diminished Value claim. Depending on how much damage there is, you can make several thousand dollars that way.

 

Put the screws to him. File a police report. Threaten to hire a personal injury lawyer. The next time the two of you meet face-to-face, bring 5 people with you. It's time to play HARDBALL.