Body shop guys--I need help please

Status
Not open for further replies.
I don't know what would happen here if I were an Allstate customer. I do know this is getting worse by the day. My truck is financed with Carmax Auto Finance. I called them about the situation tonight and they made it quite clear in no uncertain terms they will not approve of my (their) truck having a rebuilt title. If the fine folks at Allstate total the truck and then sell it to me for the body shop to fix for a lesser amount, it will have a rebuilt title.

So, I lose. I get the feeling that I can ask for a higher fair market value till I am blue in the face but I won't get it. If I am lucky I will get $4,000.00, $3,700.00 of which will go to Carmax. I get the shaft. I am sure the at-fault driver will pay his deductible, get his GMC Envoy fixed and have a higher premium for a while. But I did not cause the accident and I lose my truck. Insurance companies are one of the purest forms of evil on this planet.
 
Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190
I don't know what would happen here if I were an Allstate customer. I do know this is getting worse by the day. My truck is financed with Carmax Auto Finance. I called them about the situation tonight and they made it quite clear in no uncertain terms they will not approve of my (their) truck having a rebuilt title. If the fine folks at Allstate total the truck and then sell it to me for the body shop to fix for a lesser amount, it will have a rebuilt title.

So, I lose. I get the feeling that I can ask for a higher fair market value till I am blue in the face but I won't get it. If I am lucky I will get $4,000.00, $3,700.00 of which will go to Carmax. I get the shaft. I am sure the at-fault driver will pay his deductible, get his GMC Envoy fixed and have a higher premium for a while. But I did not cause the accident and I lose my truck. Insurance companies are one of the purest forms of evil on this planet.


Get a mouthpiece
 
I already have a lawyer, for the personal injury claim, medical bills and if there is any settlement. Their focus is on bodily injury and pain and suffering. They can not help with the repairs for my truck, other than if there is any settlement there may be money for loss of value of my truck figured on what it was worth before the wreck compared to what it is worth after it is repaired.

At this point I can only hope and pray someone at Allstate has a human heart and will help me, and that the body shop knows some way to fix my truck for less. I even offered to pay the towing charges, $460.00 (which are also outrageous) to reduce the estimate but that only brings the damage to 83% of the value of the truck. Maybe I can get the truck fixed if I give authorization to use cheaper aftermarket or salvage yard parts and sign in my own blood a sworn statement that I won't hold Allstate responsible for any further problems with the truck. The damage is 90% cosmetic, other than it needs a new fan shroud, a radiator and an AC condenser.
 
Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190
I don't know what would happen here if I were an Allstate customer. I do know this is getting worse by the day. My truck is financed with Carmax Auto Finance. I called them about the situation tonight and they made it quite clear in no uncertain terms they will not approve of my (their) truck having a rebuilt title. If the fine folks at Allstate total the truck and then sell it to me for the body shop to fix for a lesser amount, it will have a rebuilt title.

So, I lose. I get the feeling that I can ask for a higher fair market value till I am blue in the face but I won't get it. If I am lucky I will get $4,000.00, $3,700.00 of which will go to Carmax. I get the shaft. I am sure the at-fault driver will pay his deductible, get his GMC Envoy fixed and have a higher premium for a while. But I did not cause the accident and I lose my truck. Insurance companies are one of the purest forms of evil on this planet.


I dont understand this - if you end up getting the truck fixed yourself (ie, a rebuilt title) what the heck can Carmax DO about it - you still owe them what you owe them, and as long as you pay that, what can they do...

Are thy implying they would revoke your financing, and you would owe the full note right away...
 
Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190
Yes, I have a rental and that was no easy process either. Allstate delayed authorization of a rental until they talked to the at-fault driver. It was 2 days before I got a rental and I had to go through the subrgation process with Geico to get it.

It would probably take Geico a couple of days to get involved and get someone to the body shop on this. At this point I think I will wait Allstate out and keep driving the rental car.

I am very disgusted with this process. I did not cause the wreck but I am the one who is being inconvenienced and put on the back burner. I am starting to think maybe this is a sign that I should let them total my truck and get another used truck. It has been so hard finding another Dakota with a manual that I may look at used Nissan Frontier pickups. Most of the Nissans I saw online were 5 speeds. I have read and heard a lot of good reviews on the Frontier, and the Nissan 4 cylinder is said to be very durable and a good engine.

Thanks for the help here.


The hassle that you went through with the rental car is nothing new. The 20 year old kid that slammed into the back of my truck played the "clam up" game for a WEEK and refused to talk to either insurance company, so my claim was in limbo for the WEEK while we waited for this immature little brat to grow up.

Just keep racking up the miles on the rental car, take a road trip this weekend in it. If you want to get even with them, tell them you want a pickup.... you didn't drive a car before, you're not going to drive one now.

They'll initially resist, but they'll cave in and get you a rental truck. (Plus, renting a truck will cost them more than a car. It might be an incentive for them to act quicker on your case).

I was in a rental F-150 Extended Cab 4x4 for nearly a month. It cost the insurance company $9 more a day, over a Camry or an Impala.

I realize you want answers, but they'll get you some answers when they feel like it. Allstate is going to work on Allstate's time frame, not yours.

I've been in your shoes, friend. I know what you're going though.

Don't worry one bit about the subrogation, I'm in with that as well. The insurance companies deal with that every day... they'll sort it out between themselves.
 
Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190
I don't know what would happen here if I were an Allstate customer. I do know this is getting worse by the day. My truck is financed with Carmax Auto Finance. I called them about the situation tonight and they made it quite clear in no uncertain terms they will not approve of my (their) truck having a rebuilt title. If the fine folks at Allstate total the truck and then sell it to me for the body shop to fix for a lesser amount, it will have a rebuilt title.

So, I lose. I get the feeling that I can ask for a higher fair market value till I am blue in the face but I won't get it. If I am lucky I will get $4,000.00, $3,700.00 of which will go to Carmax. I get the shaft.


I don't know why you ever picked up the phone and let your lien holder know that something is up... when you have no firm idea as to what Allstate is going to do at this point...

I think I'd have waited to learn what Allstate intends to do first. Until Allstate makes a final determination on this issue and either makes the decision to repair or not (which we don't have any idea as to when that might happen), Carmax will be fine as long as you continue to make your payments.

Now, they know that something is up.
 
I called Carmax to find out what they thought about totaling my truck and fixing it with a rebuilt title 1. because I am honest and I wanted them in the loop on this. I also called Carmax the day of the accident and let them know about that too, and 2. If Carmax did not approve of having a rebuilt title, I would have used that as ammunition in my fight with Allstate to get my truck repaired.

However, those points don't matter now. I just got a call from the body shop telling me that this morning Allstate has authorized full repair of my truck. Haleleujah!!

I had called in to work this morning and told them I would be late because I was going to stop in at the body shop and talk with them in person to try to come to some kind of understanding about what can be done to fix my truck. I was fully prepared to take their estimate and strike things off of it, like not re-pinstriping the hood, not replacing the Dodge hood ornament, not replacing the fog lights, paying part of the towing bill, anything I could do to reduce the amount of the repair costs, so that if it came down to it that would help make Allstate more wiling to fix my truck.

I am still going to stop by the body shop on the way in to work, there are a couple things I still need to go over with them. But to say I am relieved is a massive understatement. The body shop told me they have the full authorization from Allstate to repair the truck, so there should be no surprises from here on out. The only thing I can think could happen now are problems with locating parts or possibly receiving the wrong part. They said it will probably be 2 weeks to get all the parts in and repair the truck. They also have an online tracking function on their website so I can monitor the progress of the repairs.

This has been a mighty long thread. I really do appreciate all the support and advice I received here. I am a fairly skeptical man but I feel pretty confident this problem has been solved.

Thanks for all your help here.
 
Congratulations dude. Glad to hear it and I'm very, VERY happy for you.

I wasn't questioning your honesty, I'm just not sure why you got the lienholder involved over nothing more than speculation.

Allstate would have been well aware of the rebuilt title with a lien issue, that couldn't have been used against them. Few banks want a vehicle on the books with a rebuilt title.

As we know now, it didn't matter.... as it is getting fixed.

My lienholder still doesn't know what happened to my truck although I doubt they'd really care at this point, since I owed on less than 10% of its book value when it got hit.

Unfortunately, I think there was a whole lot of worry over something that didn't happen here...

Now that your truck is going to be fixed, concentrate now on getting yourself healed. You need to put as much time and effort into YOUR recovery as well.
 
I think the truck will turn out just fine. The damage was 90% cosmetic, and the frame is not bent. The body shop manager took me back to see my truck and went over the process with me. I was very impressed with their shop, it was as clean as an operating room and judging from the other work they had in progress, these guys do excellent work. The shop manager thinks they may have the truck done by next Thursday or Friday, as long as there are no problems getting the parts shipped in.

I have had to deal with lots of garages, body shops and parts stores over the years, but I must say these folks at the body shop were the most courteous and most professional people I have ever encountered in the car rrepair business. I don't think I will have any problems with them, I believe the problem all along was the delay in Allstate deciding what they wanted to do.

Thanks for the help here, and thanks for the well-wishes. My gf and I are both going to the chiropractor 3 times a week, and we will each have an MRI done to see if we need any further treatment. The chiropractic has helped her feel better already, but she is still sore in her back and shoulders. The seat belt caught her pretty hard. My neck and right shoulder are sore and my ankle seems to be healing on its own. We will continue on with medical treatments until we get better.
 
I had someone hit my truck. Going through the entire process was stressful. I was not at fault. All I kept thinking is, why is this so much of a hassle when I didn't even do anything wrong? And after I was done, I ended up spending another $500 or so and many weeks of effort to finish getting it to the point I was happy with it.

Not a fun process. I certainly feel for you. Glad to hear the truck is getting sorted out. And I hope they are good at matching colors. Nothing I hate more than mis-matched paint color or texture, metallic is even harder.
 
Is the body shop doing a direct bill with Allstate?

Is this shop an Allstate "preferred" body shop (these will usually be listed on their website).

With today's good news, maybe you shouldn't hit them up for a rental pickup after all... ;-)

******

Everything about the shop sounds good. It appears that they have nothing to hide from you.

When my truck was in the shop, they had no qualms about showing me the truck and explaining the progress any time that I dropped by. I usually went by 2-3 times a week.

The only time that they wouldn't let me see my truck was when it was in the wash bay.... and that was because of insurance restrictions due to the potential of me falling on a wet, slippery floor.
 
Yeah, they are an Allstate Preferred shop. Really nice people, I think they will do a great job. They also invited me to stop in and check the progress any time I wanted and said they will keep me informed as well.

I am glad to have a rental car, I really don't need to push for a rental truck. I wouldn't want to bite the hand that feeds, anyway. The rental car is a 2010 Hyundai Accent and I am glad to have it. I am just not used to driving an automatic. To me an automatic transmission is just unnatural.
 
Originally Posted By: cchase
I had someone hit my truck. Going through the entire process was stressful. I was not at fault. All I kept thinking is, why is this so much of a hassle when I didn't even do anything wrong? And after I was done, I ended up spending another $500 or so and many weeks of effort to finish getting it to the point I was happy with it.


I felt the same way. It was a nightmare and I hope it is over. Sorry you had such trouble with yours.
 
This thread upsets me. I think it is just wrong if somebody else's insurance company has the right to make the repair/total decision on your truck. I have no problem with insurance company saying they won't pay more than the truck is worth to repair it, but they should give you what you are entitled to and you decide what to do with the money.
 
Originally Posted By: labman
This thread upsets me. I think it is just wrong if somebody else's insurance company has the right to make the repair/total decision on your truck.


Another insurance company doesn't have that right.... at least in my state they don't.

I had someone else hit my truck late last year, and I had the option of making a claim through MY insurance company and having MY insurance company fix my truck and pay my medical bills. Therefore, my insurance company would have had the decision to repair my truck or total it out (and we were within about $1,000 of having to make that decision). I have full coverage on my truck.

Then, my insurance company would go through the process of recovering from the other party's insurance company through subrogation. It happens all of the time between insurance companies.

My insurance company also also advised me that I could start out with the other insurance company, and if things started to go badly, then I could switch over to having MY insurance company handling my losses, and they would proceed with subrogation from that point.

The downside of subrogation is that you will have to pay your deductible to your insurance company, as if you were at fault. However, your insurance will attempt to recollect your deductible on your behalf as part of their subrogation claim to the other insurance company.


So, there is a way from keeping some other insurance company from making these types of decisions.
 
Yeah, I got the shaft about 20 years ago when the guy that rear ended me tried to lie out of it. While waiting to sort things out, I had to rely on State Farm. They were more interested in getting my car fixed cheap than anything else. I eventually got my deductable, but it was a huge hassle. Needless to say, I went elsewhere for insurance.
 
labman-

You were commenting about how a third party can make the decision if your vehicle is repaired or totaled. I mentioned that there is another option.

Apparently, you don't like that option either. I can't help you there. Apparently, you were a State Farm customer back then for some reason, since it was a policy that you bought, with a company that you chose. It's a shame that they disappointed you.

I don't know what else to tell you. Your past experience would suggest that you were apparently aware of subrogation before I ever mentioned it.

A good body shop will fight an insurance company over fixing it "cheap", and will be an advocate for the vehicle owner in getting it fixed "right", especially when the body shop is the one offering a warranty on the repairs that they make.
 
Fortunately it is years between these incidents. Each one is different and I never know how the system works and I think State Farm instead of taking care of their customer, took care of the other insurance company. It was a small claim and I think they didn't want to mess with helping me. I think insurance companies have run roughshod over the insureds for years, but are finding it tougher now.
 
My pal was an adjuster and he told me this, if someone nails you and it is definatley their fault, go visit your doctor and get checked out. Do not admit anything, also tell your doctor your having back aches and head aches, neck stiffness. When the other guys insurance calls tell them you are having medical issues and do not sign anything.

per your car once the other guys insurance realizes you may have medical issues they will be much more likely to give you a good settlement and not haggle you on your vehichle since they will not want to tick you off. He told me that he has been told straight out to settle quickly on these cases. Of course if you sign away the medical side, hurt or not then your only leverage with the vehichle side it out the window so you.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

74DartSport
Auto insurers and older cars
2 3
Replies
43
Views
1K
CKN
D
  • Locked
Insurance rant, what would you do? (long)
Replies
9
Views
1K
maduroman
R
What is the point of home ownership
11 12 13
Replies
241
Views
5K
SC Maintenance
P
Ai call to scam purchase my vehicle
Replies
2
Views
175
ps2cho
T
The first customer I've ever fired
2 3
Replies
44
Views
2K
chazthespaz
Back
Top Bottom