QuestionI was at a complete stop in rush hour traffic and was rear ended, smashing the rear bumper and pushing me into the vehicle in front of me. An off-duty non-jurisdiction sheriff witnessed it and stayed with us until FHP arrived. No one appeared physically injured and the woman who struck me was cited for careless driving. I immediately contacted my insurance company, as did the woman cited. The next morning, I received a call from her insurance company accepting liability for both my vehicle and the one in front of me. I was instructed to view a list of her insurance company's approved body shops. Choosing one through various recommendations, the estimator determined my vehicle was unsafe to drive, contacted her insurance company, mailing me a check for 2 weeks toward a rental car. My vehicle is a 2004 Honda Accord with approx. 30,000 miles which I purchased in May 2006. I ran a carfax report at purchase time indicating no previous accidents, and the car was essentially in like-new condition, with several friends asking if in fact the vehicle was new. Now, about 1 week into the restoration process, the insurance company calls to suggest I had been in a previous accident and want me to discuss this with them, which they suggest had not been repaired properly. I'm totally dumbfounded by this, as I have had no problems with the vehicle, ran the carfax report prior to purchase, questioned the sales and service staff as to the integrity of this vehicle etc. and have had no accident with this vehicle the short time I had it. It would seem they are attempting to minimize their exposure on the repairs, which is logical in business, though unfair to me as I had no idea about previous damage. I'm not really even disputing their claim of this, as I am not an expert in this field. Will they be reasonable? Can my insurance cover the difference, if necessary. Or maybe even the dealership who sold me the vehicle, though proving they knowingly sold me a wrecked vehicle would be difficult. The tragedy is that even if there had been a previous accident, as they claim, the vehicle functioned perfectly and looked fantastic, and now, because of this accident, because of their client's negligence, I am in these circumstances. Please give your incite, as I have read several of your informative pieces on this website, and I thank you for your time and assistance.
AnswerHi Mike,
This situation is more common than you might think. CARFAX buys their information from the state department of transportation based on police reports of auto accidents. If there was no police report of the incident, it will not end up in CARFAX. CARFAX is one of many tools consumers can use but is not failsafe. You should also have a used vehicle inspected by someone who is qualified to find evidence or prior collision damage as well as the mechanical soundness of the vehicle.
That having been said, you should obtained photographic evidence. Call the body shop and tell them to stop working on the car. Go to the shop, have them put together a written list of the areas of the vehicle that were previously repaired badly and how much it will cost to make proper repairs. You may also want to get the insurance adjuster to come there at the same time so everybody is on the same page. Once you have photographs of the poor repais and a written estimate of the cost of re-repairs, you should take that to the dealer that sold you the vehicle. (be sure you make at least 2 copies of everything.) You will want to demand that the dealer pay fr the cost of re-repairs. You may also want to contact your state agence that licenses car dealers to see if there are any laws or requirements that a dealer disclose prior damage.
Unfortunately, this is the poind that this could get ugly. You may ultimately have to hire an attorney and file suit againse the dealership to actually get paid.
Your insurance company will not pay for any of the prior damage because you did not own the vehicle when the damage occured.
I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh
