Accident question

Good luck with that one Paul. There really is no diminished value if the car is properly repaired. Insurance is obligated to restore a vehicle to its pre-accident condition. Nothing more. Assuming they do that, the car will still have the book value that it had before the accident. If you look at Kelly Blue Book or NADA, there is no category for "car has never been in an accident".

Paul, I know of 2 such "adjustments"; both were on relatively high-dollar vehicles. First one I ever saw was a current-year model Cadillac, along about 1990-'92. The owner was a high-horsepower national business-owner--of a trucking company (which later declared bankruptcy!). He normally bought a new car every year, and was awarded a luxury-car depreciation due to its having been in an accident. This was a liability claim. Don't think CarFax would have had access to that type info at the time. The 2nd was a Jaguar, again a current-year model, and the owner(self-employed Bible retailer) provided Jaguars for his salesmen who reached a certain plateau; he received the same type of adjustment on a liability claim. On the same note, another friend asked for the same, on like a 2-3-year old Caddy, and was denied any such adjustment. HTH, s

I too just got finished with a similar situation. My 07 was broadsided by a limo. Since I had collision, I was paid for the damage minus the deductible. At this point, since I've been adjudged during subrogation as not at fault, I'm now waiting for the other guy's insurance to reimburse my thousand deductible. I'm just glad I'm not holding my breath while I wait for the check though.

Most states require disclosure of such things as a car having been totaled. This is a far different issue. Once totaled, they can only be issued a salvage title and not a normal title. This disclosure though, does not reduce the value of the car for "normal" accident repairs. The intent of this disclosure is to prevent the Katrina type of scams where cars that have been flooded (for example), are brought to another part of the country, cleaned up a bit, and sold.

I don't know about California, since a lot of "different" things happen there, but generally speaking, most states don't really care if the car has been in minor accidents. They only care if the car has been totaled.

People sometimes tend to labor under the erroneous notion that "totaled" is equivalent to "irreparable". The former only means that the cost of repairing a vehicle to restore full functionality exceeds its market value but neither necessarily implies structural nor catastrophic damage. Case in point, of two vehicles (one an older model, the other brand new) experiencing collisions and identical resultant repair costs, one might well be considered totaled by an insurance company while the other would be restored to its previous condition, no questions asked by or of the policy holder.

Another thing many erroneously assume is that on must turn a vehicle, that the insurance company totals, over to the insurance company. That is your vehicle, you can do with it what you wish. If you decide to keep the vehicle and repair it yourself you can do so. All you loose is the salvage value and the tax on the salvage value. The salvage value, even on a late model car is generally, no more than $50 to $250.

I sat on a jury in just such a case and what Mike says below is exactly what the jury's conclusion was. In this case it was a 3 mo old BMW that was hit and repaired.

Liz

Quite true, I did that very thing (paid the salvage value) in the late 70's for a sports car I owned at the time.

How much was the estimate???

Remember also that in most states you are allowed to take it where you want for repairs and request genuine OEM parts, not made in China repair parts. If you want it done right without any worries of lost value take it to a reputable body shop or a dealer to have it repaired. Owning several commercial vehicles with hired drivers I have dealt with insurance companies too much. Even your insurance adjuster will smile, shake your hand and promise to treat you right only to bend you over in the end. Remember, a adjusters job is to satisfy a claim legally and at the lowest cost to his boss the insurance company. Don't take any BS from your or the at fault parties insurance adjuster. Most states also allow you to get a rental at the at faults expense. I've had diffrent experiences in diffrent states, some set up the rental for you and some have you rent a car and reimburse you.

Something is not right here Paul. You state that the adjuster looked at your car and now you say you won't know what the estimated repairs are until Wednesday? Sorry - I'm calling bullshit on this one. When the adjuster looks at the car he tells you exactly what his estimate for repairs are. Right then and there. You're telling parts of stories here Paul.

You can request anything you want, but the insurance companies are in no way obligated to fulfill your request. They are required to restore your car to pre-accident condition. That can indeed mean that if you have a rusted out fender, that's what they replace it with - a rusted out fender. No OEM part, no nothing. Pre-accident condition. Insurance companies are fully within their lawful right to use aftermarket parts that meet OEM specifications, junk yard parts, or OEM. Your request means absolutely nothing in determining what parts go on your car.

Both of which will just as likely use the same parts as what the insurance company authorized. Even dealers use aftermarket parts. Many aftermarket parts (all, if they are certified) are equal to OEM in every respect - except price. If you want to insist on forking over your own money for OEM when the same part can be obtained for 1/2, then go ahead - spend your money.

All of that says a lot of nothing. Insurance is regulated in almost every state. Rather than talk about vague statements, it would serve the conversation better to speak specifics. So the adjuster's job is to satisfy both his company and the legal requirements of your policy. Big deal. What is that supposed to mean? That you are in some way short changed? Please explain how. How does your adjuster bend you over in the end? He offers you an estimate. You have the opportunity to intelligently dispute it right then and there. If you can't intelligently dispute it, you have no ground to stand on. But... you claim he says one thing and does another. Bullshit. When they tell you what the appraised damage is, you get the check. No getting bent over a barrel, no shenanigans. If you don't know what the adjuster is appraising your damage at within 15 minutes of his arrival, it's your fault - not some adjuster bending you over.

I never said we could not take out vehicles to any repair facility we want. In fact - we don't even have to take them to a licensed repair facility. Here, you can do the work yourself, have someone else who is not a registered repair facility do the work, or even... not do the work at all.

My point was not that the 07 had rust already - my point was that the insurance companies are only obligated to restore a vehicle to its pre-accident condition. The extreme example of what they *could* do (though it is not a common practice) was to use rusty parts on a rusty car.

I don't work for an insurance company. My best friend is an adjuster for one of the bigger ones, and I have gained a lot of insight into that world through him. As well, I've had my own dealings with insurance claims and am aware of what the laws in NY and many other states really allow. Many people think they have more authority over the insurance companies than they really do.

If your state allows you to specify OEM parts, then you live in a somewhat rare state. Most do not allow the policy holder to make that stipulation. Most do however, require "of like kind".

Almost every adjuster on the road today - if not *every* adjuster, has a laptop computer right in his car. They all use the same adjusting software that prices out the work. They may call around for better pricing, but that takes minutes. They typically know right then and there what the damage total is. Some companies still authorize the adjuster to write a check on the spot. My son just hit a deer on Christmas eve. His vehicle was looked at the day after Christmas. The adjuster looked at the vehicle in the body shop where it will be repaired. Went out to his own vehicle, cut a check and handed it to my son.

That's not so unusual Dave. Hell 20 years ago you could drive up to a Nationwide claims center, have someone look at the car and cut you a check.

Looking up parts prices is a pretty simple exercise for an adjuster. A couple of phones calls at the worst, plug those numbers in and his estimate is printed out right there. And... if the company he works for still authorizes the adjuster to write, then he cuts you a check if you accep the estimate.

A lot of companies are not allowing adjusters to carry check books these days though, so it could be a day or two before you actually receive a check. That however, is different than not knowing the estimated damage amount fairly immediately.

So does the adjuster. He has all of the information he needs to estimate the labor and parts to make the repair on his laptop and it will likely be the same as the repair estimate, you submitted to the company he represents, because they all use the same software today.

In any event he is NOT the final arbitrator, a local judge and case law is final arbitrator.

If you are not satisfied with his opinion tell him so, a bring an action against the owner in small claims court. The filing cost is generally less than $100. You do not need an attorney, all you need to do is present three notarized repair estimates from local repair shops and three estimates of the value of the vehicle from three reputable dealers to show the repair cost is reasonable based on the value of your vehicle and you will win a judgment against the at fault owner which will include the cost of the litigation. What I have found is when the insurance company receives notice of the legal action they will sent you a check for the amount of the repair estimate you originally submitted to them rather than send an attorney to fight the claim ;)