Auto Insurance Claims: AAA tow wrecked my car - whats fair reimbursement considering, minimal compensation, vw beetle

Question
Hello,
This is not a question, I just wanted to let you know that I did not intend to insult you, just provide feedback when prompted.  In my particular situation, I felt I rated correctly on your knowledge, however I did not intend the rating as a comment on your overall knowledge.  I very much appreciate you taking the time to respond to me, and I asked you because your reponses to others seemed very well informed and helpful.  I'm not upset that you didn't have current info about classic VW repairs costs, I just gave feedback I thought you might want to know.  I'm sorry if the rating I gave or my comments caused you any distress.  I did not intend it maliciously or as an insult.  I think you offer a valuable service and I appreciate your time.  Thanks.
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Followup To

Question -
Hi,

Triple A towed my 1970 VW Beetle in gear and destroyed my engine, transmission, rear tires, etc.  The AAA guy who keeps saying he's on my side seems to be working very hard to get me to accept minimal compensation for the repairs, saying the tow company won't pay any more.  I just want a fair deal, I realize that "betterment" comes into play, but I'm not sure what's fair.  

Can you offer an opinion on the following?:

Before it was damaged by the bad tow in March 2006, my VW had a hand-built quality stock engine (not a "crate" engine) with receipts from my mechanic showing the engine had ~40K miles on it.  I provided receipts showing my recent repairs/replacements to several of the damaged parts, all more recently than the 40K miles on the engine overall.  The repairs cost $3071.66 labor & parts by my VW mechanic for same quality engine, tranny, tires etc. as the ruined ones plus $872.45 for the car rental (gotten thru AAA at their special rate)for a total of $3944.11 cost to me.  It took 5 weeks to complete as my mechanic already had several other customers ahead of me in his shop.  

AAA offered the following:  89.90 for tires, 1181.00 for engine parts, 1040.00 labor & 91.24 tax, 404.85 for rental, for a total of $2806.99.  They offered a reduced amount and reduced taxes (due to betterment) for the tires and parts, all the labor, and only half the car rental even though I informed them of the mechanic's schedule in advance and they did not protest up front, only after receiving the receipts for reimbursement.

Is this the best I can do in this situation, or should I demand more, and where?  It's 1137.12 less than I had to spend to fix their screw-up.  It's pretty aggravating.

Thanks for any help you can give!
Sincerely,
Linda M. King

Answer -
Linda,
Just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate the negative feedback on my knowledge.  
No, I'm not very up-to-date on repairing 26 year old, obsolete cars.  That is why I specifically stated that my knowledge was from 10-years ago.  My profile clearly states that I am currently a claims adjuster and a former tech.

The next time that I receive such a question, I'll just have to remember that I'm volunteering my personal time here and will certainly reject it.  



This is a situation involving so many variables that I'm really unable to give a very accurate answer on anything other than the actual engine o/h.

First of all, I'm unsure why it would have ever cost $3,000 to have a Beetle motor overhauled to start with.  There are few cars that are easier to work on with less expensive parts. It is the easiest engine to get in and out and the parts are usually dirt cheap.  If you had 40k on it since the overhaul and you're being given about $2,000 to have it done again, it sounds like it's time to find a new mechanic who won't put you at the back of the line and who will also charge a price that actually reflects what is being done.  Granted that it's been 10 years, but the last Beetle engine that I built took a total of 12 hours in and out and cost $500 in parts/$200 in machine shop fees.

Answer
I appreciate your response.  My main point is that I am not a Classic Beetle expert nor did I claim to be one.  Just for kicks though, I just went to the Mid America website and learned that a complete overhaul kit, including cylinder heads is $599.00.  The time to complete the job will not have changed and labor rates have only increased about 20% in the last 10 years.  I still feel that someone is making one heck of a profit margin on your repairs.  Do remember that there is no easier car than an old Beetle to get the engine out of.  It takes an experienced tech about 30 minutes.