As many of you know, I was in an accident on June 14th where my car was pretty much destroyed by a drunk driver. I was about to trade the car for an Infiniti G35 Coupe 6MT with NAV. Pics are at http://public.fotki.com/tmk70

Over the past month, I've been haggling with ASSHOLE insurance companies and nobody will total my car. The insurance company of the guy that hit me came out to see the car yesterday....grand total of damages is $11,600.

I went in to my body shop today to talk to the owner about this nightmare and to see where my car was at. NOBODY had touched it yet. He pulls me aside, shows me brand new X5's and Mercedes in the shop that were way more fucked up than my CL and how perfect they looked. Then he turns to me and says, "Todd, I hate to tell you this, but there is no fucking way your car is going to be totalled." (HERE IS WHERE IT GETS GOOD)

Turns out his wife has a Solara and HATES it. Guess what car she's always wanted? A CL TYPE S!!!!!! We go into his office and he asks me my payoff on the car. I owe $18,095. He yells to his assitant, "Get the calculator...give me 18,095-11,600!!!!" She says "6495". He yells, "WRITE THIS GUY A CHECK!!!" HE BOUGHT ME OUT OF THE CAR!!!!

So, I take my plates, my check, and a couple things I forgot in the car back home with me and call my Infiniti Dealer. MY G35 GOT IN 20 MINUTES BEFORE I CALLED!!!!! I did the deal over the phone. I told him since they are not budging from MSRP, I want:

1. Rim Locks....Free
2. Lojack....at cost
3. The Aero Kit....at cost

He says to me "DONE" I go tomorrow to sign all the papers and do my financing and the car will be ready for me on SATURDAY!!!!

I could not be happier!!!!! Out of all this nightmare comes the easiest and best thing that ever could have happened. By the way, the deal I originally struck with Infiniti? They were going to pay off my car!!!!!

I'll post pics as soon as I pick her up!!!!!!

 

cool deal

 

Todd, that's great news!!! I'm glad everything is going to work out the way you wanted. We'll have to start comparing G notes...

I'm at 1000 miles on my G... This weekend is going to be the first WOT test. I'll let you know how it goes! :bubbarubb

Eric

 

Whhhhhoooooorrrraaaaaaahhhhhh!!!


That's tit's...good deal.

 

Interesting. The guy bought your 2001 car for under $7K with clear title. He's also getting paid to fix it (ie: making his labor/paint rate too). Now that's a deal!

Do you think he bought the X5 for $4K?

(I might have taken the same deal if I was in your shoes -- but you just sold your car for WAY under what the market would give)

 

Good shit, glad everything worked out ok.

 

OMG........... that is a fckn unbelievable story!!!!!!!! DOPE! COngrats.......great fckn luck!!

 

good deal,!!!!
I know how you feel about wanting to get it totalled, but from the pics there is no way they would total it.. anyways Congrats!

 

Sounds a little weird to me, maybe i am missing something...
So what r you getting back from the insurance company ? I mean, shoudn't you be reimbursed for the loss of ur cl? ie. the market value? by him paying you the 6k, where is the rest of your equity on the car ?

 

Dude no matter what anybody says, your out of your car and you have your G35. Glad to hear it all worked out, you hear about these horror stories all the time. It all came out good for you

 

You know I'm driving the G next week.

 

He bought the car dude, he's not getting paid to fix it, I'M getting paid by the insurance company AND he gave me another 6495 on top of that which pays my car off. You tell me where I can trade an '01 CL-S for better than 18 grand. That was exactly the deal I was going to get at the dealer.

 

Perhaps I wasn't clear

I'm getting $11,600 from insurance...the cost to fix it because it's not totalled

Instead of using the 11,600 for repair, I'm paying what I owe to American Honda Finance for my payoff

The 6495 that my body guy gave me makes me whole on the payoff...it pays me off exactly. That is the salvage value of a CLS with 30K miles on it and 12K worth of damage.

 

I’m glad this all worked out for you.

The REAL winner here is the body shop guy.
He’s gonna fix up the car for about 4,000 bucks using his discounted parts and FREE labor.
So he gets a great 3-yr old car w/new paint job for about 10-grand.

Shawn S

 

So, you are taking $11K+ of insurance money and not getting the car repaired? and you're posting that on the internet? Does your insurance company know that their money is going for a loan payoff and not repair?

Once again, under similar circumstances, I may have done the same thing too, but it does sound sort of wifty.

 

I’m not positive, but I don’t really think there’s anything to “hide” here.

Usually when there’s a loan on the car, the insurance payoff check is made out to the BANK anyway.
That way they are sure to be aware of the damage to the car.
Then they usually sign it directly over to the body shop so the owner can’t skip town and not repair the car.

Shawn S

 

I'm not sure there's anything to 'hide' either, and I know what you're saying, but TMK said the check is payable to him, not a bank.

The rules probably vary state by state, but I'm not sure if insurance money disbursed for repair can 'officially' go to anything else. Maybe one of the adjusters that post can comment.

Personally, whenever I've had my car repaired, I've requested the moneys go directly to the shop as payment in total for their services. Mostly, I don't want to get into a situation where the cost estimates do not equal the real costs, and more money is required -- and I'd rather not be a middleman for that deal. I've seen it happen to family and it's a PIA. That's all.

 

Nothing wrong here. This is common. Body shops often ask owners if they want to sell their cars IF THE BODY SHOP IS INTERESTED IN THE CAR.

My buddy smashed a Vett and the body shop wanted to buy it big time.

Good luck with the G. If I did not have and love my 6speed, that's what I would have in the garage. Same color, too.

 

Wow, what a beautiful deal! I saw a red G yesterday afternoon and just followed it enroute to my home and I must admit, it looks gorgeous with the 18's and brembo's. No wheel gap - stock. Just beautiful.

 

Its completely legal because they are reimbursing you for property damage. I once had a lady hit my bumper and the damage was estimated at $450. Went to the body shop and they polished it up and the bumper looked great except for a small crack in the paint (almost unnoticeable). I kept the money for a new suspension

 

I know a lot of people DO IT, but I'd like to hear what an adjuster or attorney thinks. Are you reading r10apple or Chief F1 Fan?

 

See good things come to those who wait. Congrats man.

 

Congrats! Make sure you come to the next MA meet, sucka!

 

sounds to me like everyone made out

 

how much is the G35 coupe msrp these days? and also, do you think you got a good deal? (minus the payoff on your CL)