Bad day

[Falcon_LS]

My best friend had the misfortune of walking out the office to see this:

Looking at CCTV recordings, they were able to identify who did it, but unfortunately it doesn't end there. Insurance policies are garbage here at best, because you cannot have comprehensive insurance on a vehicle five years or older, and since this is a 2007, my friend's only got third party insurance and the other party's insurance is not willing to pay for a proper repair.

The other party's insurance is only covers a fraction of what this is going to cost, because of the vehicle's age. Considering this truck's my friend's pride and joy, he's wanting the fender and bumper replaced, instead of fixed - which is what the insurance company wants to do. In principle, they're only offering to replace the headlight, align the hood, "fix" the bumper and the fender.

My boss was rear ended in his '10 Explorer back in March and needed a new rear bumper, passenger side tail light and a dent fixed on the tail gate. Total repair charges were $1,475 at the dealer, and insurance only offered to cover 65% of the total cost of spare parts and $248 for labor - basically $546.

I'm not looking forward to hearing what the insurance is going to pay for this.

 

[Falcon_LS]

What's worse is this truck was delivered on August 2, 2007 and was never involved in an accident. There's only a slight chip in the rear bumper, nothing else.

 

[SrDriver]

Sounds like some legal advice is in order.

Was the driver charged with hit and run?

Is the driver willing to pay the difference?

 

[chubbs1]

Can you sue the driver for the balance or more for pain and suffering?

 

[Falcon_LS]

It was actually a Mercedes Actros than backed into it. The driver is an employee at the same organization my friend works for, so he couldn't really run. They were able to identify who the driver was, and the case is currently being dealt with by a chief investigator.

 

[Falcon_LS]

Originally Posted By: chubbs1
Can you sue the driver for the balance or more for pain and suffering?


Actually my friend's more concerned with the fact that there isn't a designated parking area for light duty vehicles where he works. This was bound to happen at some point, so he might be taking it a bit further.

 

[Astro14]

Originally Posted By: SrDriver
Sounds like some legal advice is in order.

Was the driver charged with hit and run?

Is the driver willing to pay the difference?



Those concepts have a very different meaning in the Middle East. Though Kuwait is more western than many Middle Eastern States, it is still fundamentally different...

 

[brelandt]

Having lived in Kuwait myself back in the 90's I feel your pain and know what your friend is going through!

 

[daves87rs]

Bummer...

 

[GMBoy]

That explains your PM. Sorry to hear about your friends misfortune and even worse how poor the insurance coverage is.

The hood can probably be repaired but the bumper and fender - no. Even if they try to fix them, the hours to do it right would be more than the cost of the new parts.

 

[Falcon_LS]

Thanks for the input and kind words.

An update - when my friend's brother renewed the Tahoe's registration, he took out an additional insurance policy on top of the mandatory third party coverage required to register the vehicle. It's a bit like comprehensive insurance in a way, but what they do is cover what the other party's third party insurance doesn't pay for in the event of an accident.

We're dropping the truck off at the Chevrolet dealer in an hour, and the only thing my friend's paying for is the passenger side headlight assembly. The reason he's replacing that is so that you don't have the driver's side looking nice and new, whilst the passenger side looks a bit dull.

 

[Falcon_LS]

Not exactly clear, but some more pictures:

 

[GMBoy]

Make sure they order a new fender flare too because they are installed with tape and the OEM tape is very strong compared to what they may use if they reuse the flare. I hung up a small locker with some of that tape!

 

[Falcon_LS]

Noted - thanks for pointing that out!

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted By: GMBoy
Make sure they order a new fender flare too because they are installed with tape and the OEM tape is very strong compared to what they may use if they reuse the flare. I hung up a small locker with some of that tape!


I guess the GMT800 Silverado I scraped on a wall either had a strong locker or weaker tape.

That sucks for your friend Falcon. I can see the hood being repaired, but repairing that fender (or even trying to) seems ridiculous.

 

[Falcon_LS]

Certainly does. Insurance companies don't like forking out money for anything they can get away with.

Before my friend discovered his brother took out additional insurance, he was arguing with the manager at the other party's insurance regarding a replacement fender/bumper. The guy finally "gave in" and said used parts could be used, which my friend didn't want. Luckily, that's history.

Had a bit of an issue with the dealership refusing to use paint that we supplied, but that's now sorted as well. My buddy wanted to use the same brand used at the assembly plant, and not what the dealer was using. It's not to say their choice of paint wasn't good, but my buddy's a bit anal about his pride and joy.