Joined May 2006
L5: Journeyman
Forum Thread
First car accident... need advice
April 30, 2012 at
02:25 PM
in
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This Saturday I was in an accident that destroyed my Scion XD. I LOVED that car. Was getting about 35MPG in the city and I gad done a BUNCH of upgrades to it. Only 24K miles on it.
Here's what happened:
I was driving through a main road on my way home from work when I 17 year old kid decided to turn right in front of me in a Caravan. It wasn't at an intersection, he was trying to turn into a business from his yellow lane and I guess he didn't see me coming, so I slammed into him a 40MPH. He got cited, I didn't and it obviously was his fault since he should have waited for me to come through. Oh well, there goes my car.......
Few questions:
Now that I submitted the claim through his insurance, they told I need to simply wait since the other driver has not given a statement yet. No rental car. Is this normal? They mentioned that the other person needs to admit liability first.
Also, by what guidelines can I expect my compensation to be for my car? I know insurances have their own 'sources', but I don't want to be screwed. My car was at [I]least[I] worth 14K and it's paid off. Also, I should be compensated for my 2 days off work and medical bills, right?
I never been in a car accident.... so I don't know what my next steps would be.
TIA
Here's what happened:
I was driving through a main road on my way home from work when I 17 year old kid decided to turn right in front of me in a Caravan. It wasn't at an intersection, he was trying to turn into a business from his yellow lane and I guess he didn't see me coming, so I slammed into him a 40MPH. He got cited, I didn't and it obviously was his fault since he should have waited for me to come through. Oh well, there goes my car.......
Few questions:
Now that I submitted the claim through his insurance, they told I need to simply wait since the other driver has not given a statement yet. No rental car. Is this normal? They mentioned that the other person needs to admit liability first.
Also, by what guidelines can I expect my compensation to be for my car? I know insurances have their own 'sources', but I don't want to be screwed. My car was at [I]least[I] worth 14K and it's paid off. Also, I should be compensated for my 2 days off work and medical bills, right?
I never been in a car accident.... so I don't know what my next steps would be.
TIA
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tl;dr wait and see.
You cannot determine what damage was done under that hood by looking at those pictures; but hubby will guestimate that there is a lot more damage under there that can't be seen by that 2nd picture. Plus, OP will want them to total it out - otherwise it will show up on Car Fax if he would ever go to sell the vehicle, as a front end collision and/or he would need to reveal this. Not worth it, I'd rather have them total it out. It's all in how one looks at this, in the long term.
My neighbor's who had three vehicles hit, one totaled - they still have two of them in body shops, and have no idea when they will get them back - due to parts shortages. They will have their rental car(s) for quite a while.
Do rental car companies even keep worse ones? They always seem to have nothing but models from the last year or two.
Do rental car companies even keep worse ones? They always seem to have nothing but models from the last year or two.
That alone should move this along much faster. Plus, if they start hemming and hawing about whatever, and say you only have 10 days or 14 for the Rental Car - start slamming back at them; they tried this with us, and until we settled on my vehicle (since it was in my name), I said we were not giving up the Rental Car until they settled that part of the "claim". I simply stated there was no other vehicle for my son to drive, so what were they going to put him in if they took the Charger away; he certainly wasn't going without a vehicle
We are right near "Auto Row" as we call it - so the rental agencies pretty much have brand new vehicles - and when they get to about two years old - they get put out to pasture - and new vehicles brought in. There is a local place that sells the old "rental car vehicles" downtown. Most vehicles on used cart lots in Philly, if you check the Car Fax reports on them, indicate they were "rental vehicles"; so we know they are being bought up from a location down there; and sold on used car lots.
It pays to keep knowledgeable about what is happening in the business from all aspects.
tl;dr wait and see.
When I was in the business and this car came to my shop I would be pushing hard for the owner to buy the car back from the insurance company and sell it to me so I could avoid the salvage title. Usually could get something like this for 10% of book value plus a couple hundred bucks for the owner for the hassle of buying it back. Buy a used right 3/4 front clip for $1200 to $1500 and have it on the road in a week.
That's assuming the air bags didn't go off. I don't see any signs in the pics that they did but they don't really show that well. If the bags went off that may not make it quite as desirable as a rebuilder.
That alone should move this along much faster. Plus, if they start hemming and hawing about whatever, and say you only have 10 days or 14 for the Rental Car - start slamming back at them; they tried this with us, and until we settled on my vehicle (since it was in my name), I said we were not giving up the Rental Car until they settled that part of the "claim". I simply stated there was no other vehicle for my son to drive, so what were they going to put him in if they took the Charger away; he certainly wasn't going without a vehicle
We are right near "Auto Row" as we call it - so the rental agencies pretty much have brand new vehicles - and when they get to about two years old - they get put out to pasture - and new vehicles brought in. There is a local place that sells the old "rental car vehicles" downtown. Most vehicles on used cart lots in Philly, if you check the Car Fax reports on them, indicate they were "rental vehicles"; so we know they are being bought up from a location down there; and sold on used car lots.
It pays to keep knowledgeable about what is happening in the business from all aspects.
But yeah, that's bogus that there's a "time limit." They can't force you to give up the rental until they cut you a check. You shouldn't have to have any gaps where you're without a set of wheels, especially since their client is the one that F-ed up everything for you! You would think it would be an incentive for them to get their asses in gear and work out the details of the claim, but no!
Oh well. They took three weeks on mine, and told me that I had 3 days after they gave me the offer to turn it in. Worked for me - the day they gave me the offer, I went and picked up the check, and turned it in two days later and went car shopping!
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But yeah, that's bogus that there's a "time limit." They can't force you to give up the rental until they cut you a check. You shouldn't have to have any gaps where you're without a set of wheels, especially since their client is the one that F-ed up everything for you! You would think it would be an incentive for them to get their asses in gear and work out the details of the claim, but no!
Oh well. They took three weeks on mine, and told me that I had 3 days after they gave me the offer to turn it in. Worked for me - the day they gave me the offer, I went and picked up the check, and turned it in two days later and went car shopping!
When I say similar or better; they cannot give OP a vehicle lesser than what he was currently driving - say a compact car - rather than something the size of the Scion itself. Normally they will upgrade you to something bigger and nicer than what you were driving, just to ensure they keep you happy; at least this is what they did with us; when it's "their client's fault".
OP for what it's worth call your State Farm Agent and ask him how much would it cost to have Rental Car put onto your Car Insurance - you will be shocked at how little it cost per six months - if that is how you are billed
When I say similar or better; they cannot give OP a vehicle lesser than what he was currently driving - say a compact car - rather than something the size of the Scion itself. Normally they will upgrade you to something bigger and nicer than what you were driving, just to ensure they keep you happy; at least this is what they did with us; when it's "their client's fault".
OP for what it's worth call your State Farm Agent and ask him how much would it cost to have Rental Car put onto your Car Insurance - you will be shocked at how little it cost per six months - if that is how you are billed
Ugly Duckling Car Rental... that's awesome.
And I see what you mean. I hadn't thought about the vehicle size-wise.
And yes, I agree about rental coverage! I have it on my policy, it's $22 every six months. On the other car, I think it's about $27 or so. Definitely worth having! I don't ever plan to be the at-fault party in an accident... but you never know.
Ugly Duckling Car Rental... that's awesome.
And I see what you mean. I hadn't thought about the vehicle size-wise.
And yes, I agree about rental coverage! I have it on my policy, it's $22 every six months. On the other car, I think it's about $27 or so. Definitely worth having! I don't ever plan to be the at-fault party in an accident... but you never know.
I can count on him to fix it and have it back to me the same day
Plus, we have a spare vehicle, just in case
I can count on him to fix it and have it back to me the same day
Plus, we have a spare vehicle, just in case
That's awesome. I have neither. My dad's pretty handy though, and can usually help me fix whatever the issue is within a day or two. We don't have a spare car, though, just the two. If something should happen to one, we'd be sharing till we got it fixed.
That's awesome. I have neither. My dad's pretty handy though, and can usually help me fix whatever the issue is within a day or two. We don't have a spare car, though, just the two. If something should happen to one, we'd be sharing till we got it fixed.
He ever dies on me, we have already discussed what type of brand new vehicle I should get, after I trade all the others in
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He ever dies on me, we have already discussed what type of brand new vehicle I should get, after I trade all the others in