QuestionI was driving in traffic on the highway when it came to a stop. It wasn't a sudden stop, it was a slow stop that has been slowing down for a good two minutes because traffic has been building up with cars coming and going off the highway. I come to a complete stop and actually sit for around 3 seconds and then get hit hard in the back of my Honda Prelude by a small pick up truck.
We go to the side and he claims he is at fault, but didn't want to file a police report (Um, can i say..the guy wanted to come back and possibly put me at fault? LOL, Come on dude, I'm not that stupid to not file a police report. THE POLICE JUSTIFY WHO WAS AT FAULT and I'm not going to get screwed here.) We file a police report, they gave the guy a ticket (I have no idea what for??)
My car is drivable. (My back ass is damaged, the trunk is damaged, the radio has a pop noise, the locks on the car go unlock and lock constantly, the sun roof don't work and the back window shattered) He hit above the axle and everything so it's all good to drive, just looks like shit. LOL.
So i call his insurance company to come out here and get a quote on the car to see how much damages are. Well the quoter gets back to me and says it's a salvaged car. I bought the car 4 months ago for 9,000 and he says repairs are around 8,000. So what they would do is, buy the car for 8,000 and put it towards my loan that i owe on the car which is exactly what they are owing me, so i won't owe anything on the loan. BUT i took it to a body shop and they say it's going to cost only 5,000 to fix it. (I'm taking it is for a tear down on Monday so they can get an exact quote, but if it comes lower than what the estimate says, can't i fight that somehow?) Why would the insurance company not budge and pay 8,000 instead of just paying 5,000 for me to keep the car?
They give us another option, we can keep the car, but they give us salvage value of 800 dollars. OK, well that doesn't help with damages if they are 5,000.
Here is where problems come in....I can go with my insurance company but it costs 1,000 (I am not at fault, so why should i pay) and I'm not even sure yet if they will fix it or look at it exactly how the quoter did. Would they even consider looking at what the auto body can put together?l
ANOTHER THING...I don't have the 2,000-3,000 to put down for a loan for another car, so even though the loan of the salvage car is taken care of, i can't get into another loan because of bad credit and i don't have 2,000 to put down for a loan. SO THAT IS NOT A BENEFIT OF ME SALVAGING MY CAR TO THEM AT ALL!
It gets better...I have a Breathalyzer on the car, and BY LAW i can not drive without it, i only have to have it for 9 more months, BUT if i get rid of the car, i NEED to have the other car available the same day i get rid of the other car because they have to be switched physically the same time while both cars are PRESENT. (WELL I CAN'T BUY A NEW CAR BECAUSE I CAN'T GET INTO A LOAN, AND IT TOOK ME FOREVER TO GET INTO THIS LOAN WITH THE CURRENT CAR I HAVE).
So where are my options, i would actually HAVE to keep the car (WHICH I TRULY WANT TO KEEP IT and just get it fixed) and get a check for 800 dollars and then pay out of my pocket 5,000 to get the car fixed because i don't have the money or loan money to get a new car AT THE SAME TIME, because the Breathalyzer locks me because i can't give up the car for a week and then get a new one with the Breathalyzer installed then. THEY HAVE TO BE INSTALLED AT THE SAME TIME. i would actually have to own two cars at once and i can't do that.
So is there anything i can do to get the other car insurance to redo their evaluation if i sent them the full break down of the auto body's quote? Otherwise, another thing i have is the original parts of the car that the insurance quoter put on the damages list. (Which is the front bumper, back bumper and taillights...these i have the stock to, because i have after market parts on these. BUT he was saying how after market parts are expensive, but i showed him the receipts on how cheap they were and were i got them etc, and he took down what i paid for them. Now is there anyway where i can lower the insurance's quoter to lower their salvage quote thing to where they can just send a check for the repairs. (((EXAMPLE: They want to pay me 8,000 for the car. Let's say they put 1,500 for the tail lights, front and back bumpers. So if i proved that i have the stock parts, they don't have to pay for those parts nor the auto body shop because i have them handy. So that would put the estimate at 6,500. Is that possible?)))
ANY input would be great or any options that you can think of. I'm thinking about going to legal advice, because i can't get another car so I'm screwed, or i can drive a fucked up car that needs 5,000 worth or work done to it that i have to pay out of my pocket with an accident i did not cause. :(
Please help! Thanks so much!!
-Kris
AnswerHi Kris,
Since the insurance company is willing to pay $8,000 to total the car, they should be willing to pay up to about $5,600-$7,000 to have it repaired.
You need to call the claims adjuster and explain your desire to "save" the car and offer to shop around for lower estimates.
Most adjustors are willing to work with you when it's your desire to save the car.
Good luck
Bennie
