PING: Nathan Collier

we're still fighting about it. the montana insurance commissioner is currently investigating my claim, and we go into arbitration in the next couple of weeks. right now the truck is the same as it was when it was hit.

that sucks... well, lemme know how it ends, I used to sell car insurance long time ago..

It is going to be a loooooong battle.

Weren't you one of the ones saying Nate shouldn't need a lawyer?

Nope. He doesn't need a lawyer for the actual damages but he has a slim chance getting what he wants and the insurance company is going to fight it for all it's worth.

heh....silly tbone.....i _always_ get what i want. :-)

Well, we both know that is not always true. While I do wish you luck, you will not have an easy time of this one. The insurance company has a lot of room to fight you here.

the truck is drivable, so its not hurting us to leave it as is while we fight it all out. as soon as its all over and they fix the truck like i want it fixed, we're trading it.

.....so why go through all this? principle.

I ageree, The reason my dad got out of practicing law (after a full rugby scholarship to oxford) with a real estate company lawyer, and left to be an independent law teacher and writer was because of the "crooked" insurance companies -- he said they are most crooked of the lot -- now does IMF contracts at age 60+

Good luck but don't count on it. They are simply not responsible for the resale value of your vehicle, only to return it to the same condition it was before the accident. Make sure that it is not rusting because they may refuse to fix that as well if is adds to the cost as they will determine that to be YOUR fault for delaying the repairs.

Basically Nate, I think that your principles are a bit skewed here. Why should they be held responsible for the value of your vehicle or the paranoia of others who may buy it? You had these same principles with your Jeep site and look where that got you. Just be careful dude, I would hate to see you get completely burned for being stubborn.

exactly! prior to the accident my truck did not have body filler, or a frankensteined panel. i only want them to replace the uniside, instead of hacking up and replacing half a uniside.

I must say that I find this surprising coming form an experienced welder. If done properly, it will be every bit as strong as the original and need minimal body filler. If you are going to trade it in as soon as it is fixed, what difference does it make. Regardless of the repair method, it will still be listed as damaged and will have the same effect on the price if traded in. Either way, good luck and let us know what happened.

why would this surprise you? i have NEVER met a bodyshop welder who was AWS certified.

i dont want ANY body filler. NONE.

principle.

thanks, ill certainly update when its over. the wifey has taking a liking to an '06 F150 crew cab short bed....we'll see where that goes. id like to get her into an H1, but she cant park what she has now. :-)