I just hit someone who blew a red light. I was heading south on a street when a guy coming off the expressway, to my right, jumped into the intersection while his light was red. I swerved as fast as I could to avoid t-boning him (the front of the beak would have literally hit the middle of the driver's side door). He ended hitting my front, passenger quarterpanel & wheel. My car was undriveable, had to be towed.

He had his front bumper completely ripped off & to the untrained eye, nothing else. His car was drivable.

When he finally moved his car to where I was at, I got out and asked him if was ok, he said yes. Then I asked him why the heck he pulled into the intersection and went through the red light; his response was he wasn't sure if he let off he brake or hit the gas. When he cop showed up, he admitted to the cop as well that he blew the light, so at least he was honest.

His insurance is KAI Advantage or Kingsway America Insurance, pretty sketchy. The body shop I towed it to basically said they are known to approve used & aftermarket parts.

The body shop guy basically to involve my insurance because of the possibility of the BS, but I don't want my insurance to know about it. My broker said hold off until you talk to the adjuster to see what they'll tell about replacement parts. But my other school of thought is too involve my insurance, I pay good money for my insurance so I think I should be entitled to get my car fixed right away & have my rental paid for.

Surprisingly, I hit the guy doing 30-35; all-in-all, the damage could have been a lot worse.

Cheers,

Nick

PS-how can I upload multiple pics from my iPad? I attach 3 pics, but only one shows up.

Same exact thing the body shop said; one way or another they'll find out.

Thanks for the advice.

Nick

Mods-can you combine the pics for me?

Cheers,

Nick

 

It doesn't matter if you are going thru his insurance or yours, you have a right to pick the shop of your choice. Don't be afraid of going thru your own insurance, they will know about this accident either way because all insurance company share information. FYI, I work in the insurance industry and you can PM me if you have any questions.

 

1. report to insurance
2. do your research to find a good shop to tow the car to
3. get a date to set up adjuster to inspect car
4. get car inspected, drop it off, and hope it comes out good.
5. upon picking up car, inspect it, drive it, check every inch of it. sign papers.

that is all you really have to do. insurance will do the rest, you pay them the money, they should do the job.

 

why wouldnt you want to go through your own insurance!?

 

His insurance will pay since he was at fault. Your premiums won't go up. Go to whatever body shop you want. The thing I'd be pissed about is the value of the car will drop significantly since it has been in an accident.

 

price will, and you will take the hit for the diminished value.. i would sue. or at least have the other party's insurance pay some type of compensation for the diminished value.

but yea.. the bigger question is, why are you going through your own insurance.

 

Sorry to hear and glad you are okay. Get your car fixed where and how you want, it shouldn't cost you anything.

 

Auto insurance companies will start rating you differently with a couple of no fault accidents. Not that I have any previous accidents.

But I think I'm going to go through them and have them subrogate through the other insurance company.

Don't want to have to deal with a bad insurance co.

Cheers,

Nick

If the crappy company has a policy of using aftermarket vs oem, then the only way to get your car fixed properly is to have your own company fix it and go after them.

 

Almost every insurance company will want aftermarket parts used if they are available as long as they meet spec. They may allow you to pay the difference for OEM parts.

 

I'm not sure why anyone would be concerned about notifying their own insurance company (you have insurance to use it as well as have them do all of the work for you)- if you don't, you're at the mercy of the other driver's insurance company, and I'm sure they will do everything they can to deny liability or have you get your car repaired as least expensive to them as possible. I always immediately call my insurance (we've had a CTS hit when parked as well as my wife's SRX hit from behind in the past 2 years), and let them do all of the work. I had to pay the deductible but got it back shortly from the other insurance company thereafter.

 

dont give the insurance any break...glad y'all are ok

 

Sorry to see, Nick. I've merged your pics/post together for you.

 

What?? Not the case at all in my experience - you are entitled to have your car repaired the way you want. Sure they might try to push aftermarket parts but after being firm on OEM parts only they should give. If not then its time for a new insurance provider.

If you are getting hassled by the other parties insurance then use your own. They will be happy to repair it exactly how you want and your rates should not increase one bit for a no-fault claim. Perhaps if you have a couple accidents like this then they might go up.

In the end you need to decide if its worth your time to deal with the other parties insurance or just use the insurance that you pay for as they will likely be far more helpful in getting your problems resolved in a timely manner.

 

I believe in most states you should be able to get compensation from the at-fault party's insurance for "diminished value", in addition to the repairs. You most likely won't, though, if you don't ask for it or fight for it.

 

Eh-um, do you know OP or are you just being polite?
Are really "glad?"

 

The insurance company will probably say no at first but if you are presistent and fight back they will compensate you. The harder part is determining the amount of diminished value you are entitled too. Good Luck!

 

Can you expand on this process at all? How is this figured out? I'm dealing with an issue where a kid on a bike ran into the side of our other car and we have two options. PDR, which will remove the 2 small dents, but not the "rock chip" sized paint chip. This process is cheaper than the father's deductible for home owners insurance, and he would pay out of pocket. Or if we have to go through insurance, they'll machine out the quarter panel and the have to respray and blend paint. If we go the insurance route the vehicles value will be affected by the incident when we trade it in next year.

 

I called my own company & got a claim going. They said that oem parts go on only if the car is 1 year old or less & has less than 15K miles; I was surprised to hear that. I'm going to look through my policy to see what it says. Otherwise, they recommended going through them because they can guarantee the repairs.

I made it known that I'm only accepting Acura parts & not aftermarket & I also told the body shop guy I want Acura parts.

This whole process sucks because I have a $1K deductible. So basically I have to get my car fixed and pay $1K. They are going to work with the other company and when they get paid, I'll get my deductible back.

The adjuster from Met Life (my insurance) will be there tomorrow to give an estimate. I guess the other adjuster may not be there until next week, how's that for a shitbag ins co?

It looks like I'm going to have a battle on my hands.

Cheers,

Nick

 

get it inspected by a shop that would overcharge, have them send you the check, you take your business elsewhere that you can pay to buy oem parts and have things done properly at a cheaper price.. keep the remaining balance. that is what i did few years back.. kept 2300 and it was done at a higher end shop.

 

Sorry to see you were in an accident.

Your insurance policy says that you agree to use USED or A/M parts if you are involved in an accident. Unless you pay extra for the OEM parts upgrade. You don't have much say at all with your own insurance company. You are better off using the other insurance companies and demanding OEM parts. You never signed anything with them saying you will use A/M parts. You want your car back the way it was pre accident condition. If you do use your insurance company you go by their rules. Your deductible should be covered by the other insurance company before you pick up your car if the driver has already said he was at fault.

Things are a lot different these days then they were in the past. You can't bully your insurance into giving you what you want. You can't get a direct repair body shop to over write an estimate to give you more money and take it somewhere else cheaper. Every line on an estimate is questioned by the insurance company auditors before and after repairs are made.

Good luck and remember Met life is a good insurance company and they will make sure your car drives and looks great when it is all done. They want you to stay as their customer by making sure you are happy with the repairs.

 

Say what? OP was in an accident. Would you have preferred I say too bad, you were able to avoid t-boning him and breaking you back??

 

i wouldnt say that is completely true.. you dont have to repair the car at the shop they want it to.. you have the option to take the money and go elsewhere.. ive done it more then once and im sure i can do it again.

 

Yes, you pick the shop you want to use. The thing is the insurance inspector will go to the shop you designate to inspect your car, look over the list of repairs/cost, and issue a check to the shop. I don't think most shops will then give you the money and let you go to another shop(unless maybe because you know them). First they would lose your business and second it's fraud for them to charge higher. It all goes back to if you know them or not through for them to take the risk.

 

i guess it varies from insurance companies.. AAA (my insurance company) will inspect the car, calculate the damage, and ask if you want the check to be issued to shop or to you, it is really up to you if you want to repair the car. Insurance will not force you to repair if you do not wish to.. It is not about a shop purposely overcharging, you just got to pick a shop that has a higher rate then most.. like higher end shops.

I guess you guys have not tried it yet, there are loopholes around insurance for different insurance companies.. you just have to find those loopholes.. I have personally done it more then once and it is completely fine with the insurance company. There is nothing ILLEGAL about it at all and like i said.. you do not have to repair the car if you do not wish to, you can technically take the money and run.. well atleast for my insurance company you can.

 

i wouldn't have even spoken with my insurance company. fuck that. your rates will go up for sure. i've had that happen to my parents. 0% at fault and they rates mysteriously went up significantly the following renewal.

 

then your parents have shitty insurance company... your rates should not increase if you are not at fault..

 

Sorry OP about your accident. I got into an accident not too long ago. A lady blew by a stop sign and I had the right of way. I went to a body shop that I had done business with before. The body shop took care of everything for me. I had a cracked bumper and they made the other insurance replace it with OEM parts. Since I was not at fault the other insurance company replaced everything for me. I didn't even bother to call my insurance company since it was clearly not my fault. I got a report from the adjuster after the repairs were done and in his report he suggested the body shop use aftermarket or used parts and they refused. Replaced everything OEM. Just make sure you go to a body shop you can trust. Most of the time they will use aftermarket parts the insurance companies give them and pocket the rest. I tried to claim diminished value but I had to send them a report. There are companies who write these reports for a fee but not sure if it's worth it. If anybody has ever claimed diminished value and got money I would appreciate it if they share what they did. In my state I have one year to claim diminished value before it is dismissed.

 

I talked to my company first before filing a claim & they said its easier for them to fight the other company than it is for you, so they recommend they get involved. At the end of the day they are going to find out that you were involved in an accident.

With that being said, the adjuster from MetLife showed up this morning (less than 24 hours after calling). The damages, without taking anything apart, were $6,200. He said once the car is taken apart, there will probably be more damage. Total will probably be between $7k & $8k. The saving grace is that he wrote the estimate using Acura parts. He said he was going to drop a check for $5,200 in the mail; total minus my deductible. Whatever other things come up after taking the apart the car can most likely be handled via phone. He'll send a check to me after talking to the body shop. He also said the other company was considered sub-standard.

As for scamming the system, not sure that's possible anymore. Everyone has access to the same info, how different can an estimate be? It basically comes own to the parts used; oem being most expensive, then aftermarket, then used.

What really gets me is the BS rules of having insurance. What good is it when the common man gets screwed when it wasn't his/her fault. I guess at the end of the day, that's why I pay more.

Also, MetLife said my rates won't go up because it's a no-fault.

I'm wondering how hard it would be to claim diminished value. The value of my car was X before the accident and after the accident it's Y. I'm going to call my company and ask them how t works.

Cheers,

Nick

 

Had the same exact thing happened. Your spindle knuckle is bent and it affects the VDS. I'm sure you saw the light come on. I replaced the spindle, bought it for $180 and the car is 100% okay.

If its not your fault go through insurance, it won't affect it on your end. If it is your fault, still get everything done by insurance, just well...for insurance. They'll get you back on your feet, 3rd party repairs start to add up and can sometimes go wrong.

 

Just got the final total; it's going to be $7,200 on the final bill & I get my car back next Friday. I just hope that I have no issues with it. I've been driving a Ford Explorer limited, I don't what I did to deserve that! LOL

Cheers,

Nick

 

Are they giving you anything for the diminished value?

 

I talked to my insurance company's adjuster and she said they never pay for diminished value. She suggested I talk to the other insurance company. I called them & their adjuster basically said they don't pay for diminished value. They said my car will supposedly be fixed as it was pre-accident, which we all know isn't 100% true. I know the adjuster told me he put OEM parts on the estimate & to the best of my knowledge, that is what the body shop will do. My cousin, who is the manager of a auto-repair shop, refers a lot of business to this body shop. When the manager found this out, he told me they'll take god care of my car. So I'm hoping there will be no issues.

So it looks like if I want to pursue it, it would be from a legal standpoint, which at some point, you have to wonder if its worth it. I may have a lawyer friend write a letter to them to see what that will accomplish.

Cheers,

Nick

 

Ah, untortunately I am in the same boat as you. Just got rear-ended from some woman texting 1 week ago. I also just dealt with the worst nightmare of an appraiser; now waiting on what the adjuster can do for me - this is all through the lady's insurance and not my own (although I have notified mine).

I guess diminished value is something most insurance companies won't give out until you take legal action? Seems to be the agenda around here..

 

If you notified your ins company why wouldn't you just let them handle it? I went through mine because at the end of the day, if the shitbag ins co from the guy who hit me starting giving me grief, they are better equipped to handle it legally.

Unfortunately, if I want to pursue diminished value, it will cost me to retain a lawyer; I have to ask myself what is the cost benefit of pursuing it. How much will it cost to get a lawyer and how much will I end up getting. These companies know that so they're going to fight it knowing not many people will pursue it.

Nick

 

I've been in auto body repair for 25 years and I have never heard of anyone ever getting diminished value because of an accident. I am in California so maybe some areas are different. The only way I have ever heard it was possible was if you bought a marked up valued car and while it down and out from an accident that marked up value dropped. I never saw any ever get that either. My body shop does not repair cars to less of a value then they were before an accident. If you think a car that was in a fender bender isn't worth buying that is your personal opinion and has nothing to due with the value being less for that car. A lot of cars have already had body work done to them long before they even make it to the dealership sales floor.

 

I have gotten diminished value twice here in Georgia. Back in 1999 when my car was t-boned then in 2006 when I rear ended someone. Both times the diminished value settlement was in the $2500 range. First time it was easy to get, second time I had to pay about $300 for a third party appraisal that specializes in diminished value claims.

 

Keith-

I was looking up diminished value last night & I ran into a couple of legal/lawyer websites that indicated if an individual wants to pursue it that a 3rd party appraisal is probably required. When you you got it the first time, did you get a lawyer or did you do it on your own?

Thanks,

Nick

 

This and an earlier post about suing the other guy. Why should it surprise me? Hilarious. And, we all wonder why insurance rates and the legal system are screwed up. Piece of work.