Involved in a wreck

[gulledge]

Guys,

The wife was involved in a small fender bender today. Everyone is OK. The other driver was at fault. The damage was not very much at all, and only resulted in the lower left rear quarter panel (with is a part of a wrap-around type bumper) being knocked off center and scaraps into the paint and plastic thats it's made of.
The car is a 2001 Civic with 325,000 miles on it. I really don't care about getting it fixed and would just like to have the cash it would have cost for the repair and be done with it. How does one go about getting the adjustor/insurance company to settle like this. Is it possible, or do they give you the run around. I need help for those who may have had experience with this. I'm not looking to jack up the price, or do anything unethical. I just want the middle of the road (fair value) of what I am owed. How do I handle this?

 

[Mr Nice]

Glad to hear your wife is OK

325K miles.... Is that correct ?

 

[gulledge]

Yes sir. That is correct 325,000 miles. Haven't been on BITOG for a while, put I have posted quite a bit about this car. Never had anything major happen to it (mechanically). Doesn't burn a drop of oil between changes. Lots of highway miles. This car dives the same a Civic with 50,000 miles on it.

 

[Mr Nice]

You don't have to get your car fixed. The adjuster will just cut you a check for the repair(s). Many people do what you want to do, they just pocket the check and never fix their slightly damaged car.
Some old guy bumped our 1998 Civic and we got $600 for a new bumper, paint and labor. We didn't fix it cause we were about to give the car to my nephew as a highschool graduation present.

Our old 1998 Civic has about 270K miles and its still purring like a kitten, good for another 270K miles no problem.

 

[eljefino]

Go to an offline body shop for an estimate. You want one that doesn't do electronic payment with the insurance company.

I suppose the best way would be to ask the adjuster for a list of their recommended shops to go to then avoid them all.

If the body shop owner catches wind of your scheme he'll throw you out, naturally peeved to have lost your business. Just tell them you want a couple different written estimates.

In my case I called the at fault insurance adjuster with an estimate and a check showed up the NEXT DAY. By endorsing it I agreed not to sue for neck pain etc later. (Might not be enforceable.) Turns out the body shop found a little more work that was needed and I signed something that let them bill the insurance directly... all worked out.

The adjuster or a rep will probably come to your driveway or shop just to verify your VIN and take a picture. Tell them (over the phone; hard to catch in person) you got two estimates and the lower was XXX and you'll take your check now please.

 

[andyd]

Heh heh, get it totalled, buy it back for peanuts, clunkerize it.

 

[Mustang_Cougar]

I used to have the misfortune of working for Safeco (now The Hartford). In an accident where we accepted liability on behalf of our insured, and the claimant vehicle didn't have a lien on it, we'd send them a check based upon the an estimate done by a preferred shop (a shop which writes estimates for Safeco, among other insurance companies). I do remember a few claimants getting excited about that (a Safeco preferred shop estimate), but what they often didn't realize is that body shops often write estimates for multiple insurance companies (ie, ours generally also wrote for Amica...the best insurance company, IMO). Now if the claimant refused a preferred shop inspection, the field examiner assigned to the claim would take a real hardline with their repairs. In that type of situation, where there is no lien on the claimant vehicle, it often mean they didn't have comprehensive on their own policy...and thus they were at the company's will with regards to the final settlement.

BTW: Make sure to get a check for the rental based upon the number of repair days/hours; they generally don't offer that unless you ask for it.

 

[hr1940]

I was lucky when my sons neighbor backed into my car (drivers door and front fender) and left. I called the insurance company and they ask who I wanted to repair the car and the adjustor would meet me there. The adjustor went over the cost of repair with the shop and he left. It was up to me make an appointment for the repairs and the shop provided a free loaner. The check came in my name only. When the insurance company collected from the hit and run driver the sent my deductable back.

 

[JHZR2]

seriously? their insurance company is going to say that with 325k miles, the car is nearly worthless, and theyll offer you a couple hundred dollars - totaling your car while at it (i.e. you have to give it to them or you can buy it back from them for some money).

It will then be your insurance against theirs if yours is willing to vouch for a higher value.

Welcome to the lousiness of car insurance and the legal system.

 

[eljefino]

I got 1.5x what I paid for my car, it was just a hair below retail. I'm sure the body shop knew how to make the estimate come in under blue book-- otherwise they'd lose the business if it were totalled.