Car got hit, insurance won't right off... Advice?

[riander5]

Hey all,

Recently was in a car accident where the other driver t boned / sideswiped our vehicle. We are not at fault for this, other driver has admitted fault to police and insurance.

We got news back that the repairs for our car are ~80% of the cars value, but insurance wants to proceed with repairs even though the body shop stated there could be additional damage underneath once they tear the car apart.

The cars only worth 10k, repairs are 8, plus potential for more, plus the cost of my car rental. Am i crazy in wanting this thing written off and just to be done with it? Do I have any options, or does my insurance hold all the cards?

Any advice would be appreciated

[ercchry]

Do you have collision coverage? If not your insurance company isn't going to do much work for you and you'll have to negotiate with the company of he guy who hit you... if you do have coverage then tell your insurance company that you want it written off... they shouldn't care at all since it's not their tab

[riander5]

Yes i do have collision, so iv been dealing with my insurance, all they said last time i talked was roughly this - ' the appraiser has approved the repairs so you have to book your car in '

Certainly didnt feel like they were in my corner.

[ercchry]

If you told them you prefer it to be written off and they won't help, then time to escalate it to their superior I guess... if you have a broker you could let him know about your issues. I know masked bandit likes to be kept in the loop on claims

[Masked Bandit]

The long and the short of it is that once a claim has been triggered the insurance companies have all the control. From their standpoint, why would they give you $10,000 when they could give the body shop $8,000?

From your side of the equation I absolutely see why you would want the car written off but the insurance company is paying the bill so they get to decide. I'm kind of surprised that they're spending that much though. Usually once you hit about 75% of the market value they dump it.

[riander5]

Originally posted by ercchry
If you told them you prefer it to be written off and they won't help, then time to escalate it to their superior I guess... if you have a broker you could let him know about your issues. I know masked bandit likes to be kept in the loop on claims

I literally just switched to touchstone insurance 2 months ago! lol.

Re-paging masked bandit haha

[ercchry]

Other approach if they don't want to make life easy is to just be an inflexible asshole

Tell them you don't feel comfortable taking your car to their body shop and you want a second opinion from your shop of choice. Pick one that's not under their umbrella of shops, this should give you a higher estimate. Then go back and tell them you rather just have the $10k and they can keep the car. If they give you a hard time ask to speak to the appraiser and try and reason with him... from my experience the appraisers are pretty easy to deal with. My last total loss claim was super easy. He actually called me and was like "yeah you had something pretty rare there, can't find anything comparable" then all I told him was I found one in worst shape with more kms for $xxxx and would like to see $xxxx and he agreed and it was done

[riander5]

I guess tomorrow ill give them a call and try to escalate to their superiors, and if still no luck say I want to take to my own shop. Hopefully get a higher estimate.... What a pain in the ass this all is

[Thaco]

Originally posted by riander5
I guess tomorrow ill give them a call and try to escalate to their superiors, and if still no luck say I want to take to my own shop. Hopefully get a higher estimate.... What a pain in the ass this all is

get more estimates and tell them its an insurance claim *wink*wink*, submit the highest

[G-ZUS]

Originally posted by Thaco
get more estimates and tell them its an insurance claim *wink*wink*, submit the highest

That's what I did last year, Maranellos FTW

[HuMz]

What autoshop did the appraisal? Like mentioned take it to Maranellos or Screamin paintworks.

If it's at Carstars do not let them touch your vehicle.

[riander5]

Well maybe the small amount of fricition I caused either made them throw their hands up, or possibly made them take a second look and realize the car should be written off.

Got a call this morning and they are going forward with total loss!

Appreciate everyones input and advice

[ExtraSlow]

Congratulations. They'll never admit it, but insurance adjusters place a dollar value on being able to close claims quickly. A write-off is so simple from their end. No chance for future issues, unlike a repair where you could either find further damages, or you could have poor work that needs to be re-repaired.

[riander5]

Now do i start a 'what car to buy thread' ?

Seriously considering a golf R, fun enough plus easy to sell at end of lease or if i finance...

Would head to the states and get a cla45 in an instant if our dollar wasnt so bad

[quick_scar]

Originally posted by riander5
Now do i start a 'what car to buy thread' ?

Seriously considering a golf R, fun enough plus easy to sell at end of lease or if i finance...

Would head to the states and get a cla45 in an instant if our dollar wasnt so bad

Not my car but http://forums.beyond.ca/st/401061/fs...swagen-golf-r/

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by riander5
Would head to the states and get a cla45 in an instant if our dollar wasnt so bad

Even when $ was on par, importing a Mercedes was never a good idea unless you found one going for $2-$3k under market.