Well, I am pretty screwed by my insurance

[hades]

If anyone remembers my post in May when my car got hit, it has been a battle ever since. The entire lower frame rail is damaged, the repair is at $20,200 and my insurance will not total it! I paid 29,900 for the car, but they think it is worth 33,500, so the repair is not enough % wise to justify totalling it. I have pleaded I only want what I paid for the car, but they do not care.

The person who hit me was at fault, police report backs that up, but she was 15, no insurance and no drivers license. Her Grandma owns the car, she did not have permission to drive it, so her insurance denies paying for the repairs, so my insurance is covering it under uninsured. I had a rental for 30 days, insurance will only pay for 30 days, so now I have no rental car also!

The BMW shop it is at said it will take about another month to finish it, they got the car May 20th.

I have talked to 5 attorneys about trying to get them to convince my insurance to total it, but none will take it on since there were no injuries, not enough money in it they said!

So here I am, have the car for about a month, go to lunch and get hit, the kid who hit me just gets to wash her hands of the whole deal and now I am stuck with a car that won't get me jack squat on trade in with all the damages carfax will report. It's like honest people get screwed each time! If I would have faked an injury, this would be a different deal all together! (Oh, my neck hurts, my back is hurt...)

Oh yeah, and she ran after she hit my car, but the polcie aren't doing jack about it. Leaving the scene of an accident is a felony, but I guess since she is 15, it is OK??? Doesn't mater she left when she was at fault, has no insurance or drivers license, she got a slap on the wrist and that's it!

I am sooooo mad!!!

rant off

 

[Kirby]

That really sucks. I understand your pain, although my recent situation is not nearly as bad as yours, but it just shows how the honest person gets screwed.

My daughter got rear-ended in April in a traffic jam. It was at night and rainy. There was no visible damage, but she insisted on exchanging insurance info. The other driver wrote down her info, and my daughter made a note of the license plate and model of car. The police would not respond because there was no damage or injuries.

When we looked at it the next day, the metal bumper under the plastic cover was bent, the plastic cover was scratched, and the trunk would not close right. We filed with THEIR insurance.

It was the girl's mother's car. They are denying that she was ever there - stating that the car was at home!!! The insurance company insisted on taking a legal statement from the daughter and the mother said (and continues to say) the girl is in the hospital with an infection and is unable to talk - for 6 weeks!!!!!! Coincidentally, my wife is an Infectious Disease doctor and says its total BS. She would be out of the hospital - or dead - after 6 weeks.

SO I had to file with my insurance, pay $500 deductible, and now we wait for an investigation....

 

[hades]

That is crazy Kirby! Good luck with it.

I swear, people can sue over anything these days, but if you are an honest hard working person, you don't get anything in return.

Maybe I should call Judge Judy!

 

[hades]

Well, I sent an email to the ofcier that responded to the scene of the accident, and she replied today. They will add the charge of no insuracne to her since her Grandma's insurance will not cover it. At least a little justice!!!

She also suggested I call the City Procescutors office and in her words...

"make sure that they are aware of your interest in prosecuting the driver to the fullest extent for the citations that were issued.'

 

[Pete K]

Your insurance company should be going after the grandma's. The policy is attached to the car, not the person. Keep bugging your insurance co. Grandma's insurance co should pay for all your repairs and a rental for as long as it takes. Keep making noise until someone does something. Squeeky wheel gets the grease.

 

[hades]

Your insurance company should be going after the grandma's. The policy is attached to the car, not the person. Keep bugging your insurance co. Grandma's insurance co should pay for all your repairs and a rental for as long as it takes. Keep making noise until someone does something. Squeeky wheel gets the grease.

Trust me, I have spent countless hours on the phone with them. Her insurance can deny it because the granddaughter did not have permissive use of the vehicle. She did not live there, so she did not offically have access to the keys. it was almost like it was stolen, but since grandma does not want to press charges for a stolen car, the police can not do anything.

My insurance will go after her parents, but the thing I am most pissed about is a car that isn't going to be worth jack squat after all this repair work is done.

Who would want to buy a car that has had an entire frame rail replaced, a shock tower and part of the firewall was bent, along with all the other items. The damage report is 14 pages long, 2 pages are pictures and 2 pages describe the factory stuff on it and parts BMW says HAVE to be replaced if an airbag is deployed.

One local BMW dealership said he would not even take the car on trade in. My main concern is how much I am loosing on this car now, and if it will be repaired to where it even drives right.

When I was at the body shop and they had everything pretty much pulled off the car, the back portion of the frame rail was bent in a good 1 1/2 inches (portion behind where the tire mounts)

 

[Pete K]

It's a bad spot to be in....You might just have to hold on to the car for a long time until it's only worth a few thousand anyway.

 

[Bmw 325i 7803]

So sad.

Hi hades. I was browsing and felt compelled to respond to your situation because I had a similar one in the past.

Is the body shop you are using BMW certified and will they use only new BMW certified parts? If the answer is yes I wouldn't worry.

Since there is damage to the front frame rail, let them replace the whole rail, if the other one is bent, let them replace it as well. I can say that I have had experience with having both frame rails replaced on an E46 and if they do the job right, the car will drive just fine. Ask the shop if they can repair the firewall and anything else that was affected to 100% they will likely say yes because they can. Also have them use all new parts on the affected wheel well and suspension components. It is a car remember, not a person.

I also understand why they would rather repair it than total it, 20k is less than 29k or 32k. I had an incident where an insurer tried to deny a $50 claim for a scratch to my car, the adjuster told me to have my insurer contact them. Interestingly, the police report was in my favor and the other driver was cited, so I decided it wasn't worth my time to file suit, and I was satisfied with the other drivers citation as fair justice. Keeping the above in mind, you can see clearly why 10,000 is a fortune for an insurance company. These days you get the boxing gloves especially from farmers, statefarm, and allstate.

My advice to you is to let them fix the vehicle, and have faith that they will do a good job. Don't let yourself fall victim to picky-car syndrome, and don't believe for a minute that you're driving around a broken toy. BMW dealers love to act snooty and elitist. I've heard that if you track the car, it's worthless on trade-in, or if its been painted, so obviously if you ask a salesman who takes his cue from you what your car is worth after all this horrible terrible awful damage, obviously he will say oh no we wouldn't even take it. They do have a reputation to preserve after all. Someone will always want the car, it's a late model BMW... Also the insurance company and the shop must fix that car to spec and safety. You can always trade it into a different dealer.

If it gives you can comfort, after the whole front frame was replaced on that E46 I told you about, it still traded for 1/2 its purchase price years down the line and many many miles later. Chill out, relax, and take care.

 

[hades]

OK, I take back everything bad I said about Allstate.

I got called by a District manager and they are going to total out the car. I got a call from a local manager, and he kept calling me by the wrong name, over and over. I got more and more frustrated, and eventually asked if he could read, becuase there is no K in my last name, it is not WALKER, it is WALTER, then I said I was done talking to him and hung up.

District manager called about 2 hours later. I am very pleased with the amount they are giving me for the car, so this is a good ending.

Now the hunt for a replacement. Hopefully there will be some good 4th of July sales!

 

[boswell]

that sucks man sorry to hear that