What should I do in this situation? Last Friday my was hit in the Left rear 1/4 panel. Some moron, tried to cut off someone and ended up running straight into me.

His insurance gave me a quote of $1,100. They won't fix it, they rather write it off. He said the quote of $1,100 is the value of the car now. check out the pics and let me know what you think.

 

First off, get your own quote from a body shop you trust. Insurance companies are really good at lying and covering thier asses..

If they say it's totaled, you can get your check and buy it back to fix yourself. If it was your insurance company, I'd give them a rundown of upgrades/improvements to show that the value is higher than the book price. I don't think his insurance will be interested in that tho,as they are looking for the cheap way out.
Last resort is sue them for the repair costs.

 

http://www.kbb.com/KBB/UsedCars/Pric...uizConditions=

car value is $1,555 at least, according to kbb. I made some assumptions on the car to get that value, but they are generalizations.

but if the car is being considered totaled, I would consider buying another car.
show the insurance company cars being sold locally, and make them pay the values being asked. I say this, because the car may not ever be quite right again.

(most of this is to be the devil's advocate, so don't take it to heart as what you should do)

 

Use retail car lot prices as your guide. And use examples in good condition. Why? Because I guarantee you his insurance is using the most craptastic examples in order to lowball you. It's all negotiable so don't accept the first offer.

I'd say total and buy it back but it looks like the rear might be bend judging by the crinkle in the quarter and the ill fitting trunk.

 

Fixing that rear quarter right is gonna cost you. I would harass them for $1500 and let it go minus any mods you have in it.

 

i would say get the money..and take out ur all mods like CAI or rims if u have them watever u have basically and...buy another maxima and enjoy putting bak stuff in that....was that auto? and wat mods did u have in it?

 

I don't have any major Mods, just a pop charger, Y-pipe, dual aftermarket muffler. I would take the $1500 and get another Max, but not $1100.

 

ya it wasnt ur fault...by law they cant force u to have 1100....jus keep denying their offer and tell them to give u 1600..cuz u have spent alot of money on it...

 

does the rear door line up?

 

the trunk opens and closes fine. its seems to be still aligned. the passenger(rear) door does the same. I just can't help but laugh my a** off when I see how messed up the other car is. By the way it is/was a 2008 Honda Accord. HA HA HA!!!

 

It drives me crazy when people say stuff like this. New cars are made to crumple on impact into as many pieces as possible to protect the driver, not because they aren't built as well.

 

I already know that about new cars. I'm just more in love with my 3rd gen to take a hit like that. And it wasn't a light impact either, he was coming pretty fast.

 

update: I just got off the phone with guys Insur. company. They told me that there is a salvage fee that they have to deduct from the $1100. WTF! I can't believe the BullS**t I have to go through.

 

what a mission you are going through. at least your 3rd gen and my 3rd gen can relate to the accident with a Honda. my damages came out to about $7500. the adjuster told me he was supposed to total my car but he felt bad and saw that i had invested so much on it and kept the car looking clean that he thought it was newer than '93, he just went ahead and got my car fixed and repaired. the accord that i smashed into was out of luck though. that thing looked like a crumpled coke can.

 

insurance companies are good at BS, search CL for a similar mileage/condition max and see how much it is going for and present that to the insurance company as the cars value. you do not have any obligation to accept anything from the other person's insurance. If they want to total the car, you do not have to accept that.

 

......

 

so it's basically all a scare tactic to get you to think you have to submit to their will?

Hopefully i'll never come across this issue..... I told the officer i had zero damage when that chevy driver hit me last year, to avoid being in that kind of situation. Technically i 'need' a new door, because there is a .5mm indention where the metal got pushed in near the hinge..... but you can't see it unless you pay REALLY close attention to the reflection, and you can feel it a LITTLE but barely. I still am convinced she committed insurance fraud. But i have no way to prove it.

sucks to see what's happened to you tho mang. good luck getting it all taken care of.

 

I know what you mean, regardless of the crumple zone stuff, it's nice to have a solid car that can take a hit. I bought a car off of a fellow orger last year, he had crashed it in 2004 when he was active on the forum. T-Boned another car doing 50mph and walked away with a scratch on his face from the airbag throwing his hand up and his ring nicking him. Everything on the car was pretty much flawless (body/mechanical) from the front doors back. And I still managed to take an untouched 5-spd and everything it entails, and my neighbor took the engine and swapped it into his VE.

Good, solid cars they are.

 

if that's the case then it's just cut and paste of the qtr and pulling the trunk area straight again.

 

Have you even started research yet? Look. No one is going to hand you extra money here. YOU have to go out and earn it by research and stating your case. Put it this way, you could be paid $500-$1000 per hour here. Still want to relax and take what they offer? BTW detail any mods or maintanance you have done. It counts

BTW. Been there, done that. More than once:

 

I stated the Mods to them. Even with the mods they still want to jerk me. Repairs done to the car are not covered by them. I've homework, I printed the Kelly Blue Book values, showed other listings for the max. Yet still they want to be jerks.

Get this! my brother just called me. His max(2000) was rear ended today!!! All this within a week, damn! Now I really got to laugh about this Sh*t.

On a somewhat lighter note, there is a used car lot that is selling a 2000 SE, 182K, 5spd for $2995!

 

As I stated, HIS insurance will not be willing to hear what you say about value... They will see a 1992 (or so) Nissan, and say, that's worth $1100, go away..... You have to fight for your cars worth..
You could tell them you plated the frame with 24k gold... They'd say, $1100 book value.
Get actual replacement values. Give that to them. Then file a suit if they complain. $150 for a lawyer to type a letter can go along ways.
No matter what, you shouldn't (DON'T HAVE TO) accept any less than what it will take you to replace what you have. HE HIT YOU....

 

My car was hit and run at the same spot. But my damage look like it was grazed by a Corvette compared to yours.

 

A letter to the insurance commissioner in your state also helps.

If their insurance company disagrees to the value, then ask them to find a car exactly like yours in the same/better condition and give it to you.

They will say "we aren't in the car buying business". Then you will say, "I'm not either but you client is forcing me to be". "And this is what it's going to take to buy myself another maxima similar to mine". "If you can find one exactly like mine for cheaper do it and show me."

Time to play hardball.

 

you available for hire jeff?

 

exactly. u r right jeff.......till u dont play hardball wit them they think u r jus another trapped bird...if u know any lawyer then get an advice from him...

 

Maybe I've been away from the U.S. too long and I'm thinking in Canadian terms, but I was under the impression your own insurance company pays you out and then goes after their insurance company for cost.

I've never heard of the victim having to negotiate terms with the offender's insurance company. What the hell do we have insurance for if we're on our own when the chips are down?

Can you not at least secure assistance from your own insurer to help you negotiate with the offending insurer to get you a fair payout on your car?

 

Not the case when it happened to me about two years ago either. Chevy pickup towing a construction trailer merged into my lane and crumpled my fender, dented the door and popped a tire. I had to chase him down beeping and honking while taking plate numbers just to get him to stop, then he said he didn't even feel it. Regardless, I had to go around to different shops and get estimates (the priceyest shops in town of course) and present them to his insurance, took pictures of the car and they had an adjuster come out and mailed the check. My insurance didn't do anything.

 

i got into an accident and the guy who hit me was from Seattle, U.S.....and my insurance company paid for my everything and they went after the company in states but they never paid them anything so i think they were in loss or something but ya it wasn't my fault and they had to pay for everything simple as that....as HADMAN said....but i dunno about states how it works down dere...but in British Columbia, Canada....insurance in under provincial Government....no private insurance companies....but still I THINK rule is the same everywhere if u r not at fault then u dont pay for anything...

 

Sounds like you guys in Canada have full coverage/comprehensive/collision. From what it looks like the OP seems to have liability but regardless he should not have to go through his insurance.

Considering he apparently is NOT at fault (dont see why he would be) he should demand exactly what Jeff suggested. What insurance company does that Accord driver have?

 

not really tho....we have basic insurance and full insurance...in basic if u r at fault they dont cover u at all but if u arent then they cover everything...but in full insurance, if u r at fault they will still pay ur damage but pump ur monthly insurance up...

 

Sorry for the thread jack. I didn't know British Columbia only offers government issued auto insurance. Interesting. Ontario is private insurance only. There is no government option.

Back to the topic, yeah we are at liberty to go and find a shop of our choice and get quotes for collision repair, but we don't have to negotiate with claims adjusters from the other insurance company. The only difference being if we go to a shop recommended by our insurer the quote is accepted automatically without an adjuster having to come out for approval, whereas if I choose a shop that isn't approved by my insurer an adjuster comes out to assess damages and approve the work.