I can personally attest to the diminished value part on a bent frame. The machine that straightens the frame leaves marks on the frame. They're readily apparant, and that is one of the first things appraisers look for. Those marks would have shaved a couple of grand off at some places. Needless to say, we traded my wife's Maxima in at a place that was less vigilant.
Say "too bad" to the guy and quit worrying about his problems. Get a lawyer! Don't say ANYTHING to his insurance company about the accident, how it happened, and HOW YOU FEEL. Let your attorney handle it, who should handle your case for nothing but a %. SEE A DOCTOR! You may be injured and not realize it. My own doctor's wife was rear-ended, said she was fine, and 2 weeks later woke up with her neck killing her. She had fractured it and was really screwed up. NEVER assume your OK. You may end up regretting it. Just my opinion. I've been through some of this (a guy ran a red light) and wish I had kept my mouth shut. It hurt my settlement. I have 2 titanium screws in my back thanks to that a-hole. Good luck. (just read your post below... looks like you need it. )
The thing about diminished value is, its mostly about perception and has very little to do with the actual damage that was done to your car (i.e. no one wants to buy a car that has been wrecked and repair and hence, loss of value). Frame/unibody repair does hurt value like you said. However, its more a mark from the technician than the repair process. If they repaired your frame/unibody, they clamp it down to the machine by the pinch welds on your rocker panels and this does indeed leave marks. A good tech will go back, repair the marks and refinish them. A bad tech wont. One piece of advice I would give to any of you that are in this situation, never trade it in if you dont have to. Dealers are very unreasonable when it comes to taking in cars that have been wrecked and repaired. Normally, they want to discount the vehicle more than what the insurance company is willing to pay. I always recommend to peopel that they sell outright on the open market. You will lose alot less money this way.
Great words. Whiplash is a very freaky injury. Sometimes, it does indeed take a few days to show up. Weird phenomenon!
No, I have yet to actually talk directly to his insurers' and have considred the possibility that this is some sort of stall tactic on his part. Unfortunately, this whole mess came at the worst possible time for me. This week is probably my hardest schoolwise of the semester. Just tonight, I will likely be up all night finishing a lab paper. I haven't really had the time to explore all this as thoroughly as I'd like which is another reason I appreciate y'alls' advice so much.
Never EVER let someone talk you out of getting the police involved.I was in a similar situation one time and ended up regretting it big time.Good luck with it.
Are insurance companies required to pay this? Seems like I heard that in the state of Texas, insurace companies did not have to pay this. Huge possibility that I'm wrong.
If you have his insurance companies name and policy#, I would suggest (when you have time of course) calling them directly and they will tell you if he has coverage. If you only have bits and pieces of information, email me and I can help you track down the right information.
There is no state law or statute that says they have to pay it. However, case law says they do. In other words, if they refuse to pay it, they are not violating any laws or codes. However, if someone were to sue them over it, they would lose and have to pay. Thats why they usually give people a hard time about it at first, but if you are persistant enough, they will pay the majority of the time because they know they will lose if you take them to court.
I was rear ended several years ago. I got the insurance information of the guy that hit me and then I called my insurance company and gave them this information. My insurance company contacted the other guy's insurance company and everything was taken care of for me. I'm not sure if this is the best way to handle things but it involved very little effort on my part.
