madmadeleine Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 Hello. I'm new to the forums. I'm here because I think I need help. 2 days before Christmas a pickup truck made a left turn right in front of me. I hit my brakes and slid into him, almost stopping. I hit the back of his huge truck, which continued on, crunching and tearing the passenger side front of my beautiful red 95 si. I pulled over then parked my car and got out, but by then the truck was gone. I didn't even get a look at the driver or the plates. I was only a mile from home, so after checking out the damage and wandering the streets looking for the other driver, I carefully drove it home. The headlight still worked, but all the plastic was in pieces on the road. The hood was untouched (and opens and closes perfectly.) The passenger fender is buckled. The front bumper is torn and hanging. I have collision coverage and my insurance arranged for a tow to their adjuster/auto shop. I went with the flatbed. When the driver was unloading the car, the adjuster came over and told me he intended to TOTAL my car. Without really getting a look at the damage. I told him that I thought he was being unreasonable, that it was a good car, this seemed to be a minor accident and I was prepared to dispute him about it. After I filled out some paperwork, he and another buddy came out and showed me the damage. They were patronizing, explaining to the little woman that her car wasn't worth much and that the frame was bent. I could see the frame, and it looked the same as the other side. The adjuster was saying that since the truck's tire rode over my car, the frame was bent downward. As I recall, I hit the truck behind the rear wheel. No tire rode over my car. (oops, I was wrong, the auto guy who saw the accident said the tire exploded and the rim was damaged when it hit my car.) I think these guys are not being truthful. They were saying that the unibody frame if it gets bent at all the car is a total loss because it is not fixable. I countered that I could not believe this was true. That cars are built with some understanding that there may be fender benders that can be repaired. Any information or experience you can share with me would be appreciated. Thanks, Maddy Update: A witness came forward. He saw the accident. He owns the auto repair shop across the street from where it happened and he noticed what kind of car, special details (custom rims, color, etc) and partial plate. Then a few days later he saw the same car at a local restaurant. He got the rest of the plate number, and called me. I cruised by the restaurant and had a look. I even took a couple of photos. The damage is still there, but the guy painted over it. And he put on a new tire and custom rim. I will upload a photo of the damage. Can I go after him? I filed a police report last week, but the cops in LA don't seem to care... What do you think? Here is a link to my new photobucket album: http://photobucket.com/madmadeleinesdelsol?albumview=link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubbith Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 If you can, get pics of the damage and post them up. It will help us give you a better opinion. One thing you need to look at is the value of yoru car vs. the cost to repair it. If it cost more to fix your car, than it is being valued at, they will total it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmadeleine Posted December 29, 2008 Author Share Posted December 29, 2008 If you can, get pics of the damage and post them up. It will help us give you a better opinion. One thing you need to look at is the value of yoru car vs. the cost to repair it. If it cost more to fix your car, than it is being valued at, they will total it out. Thanks, I will get photos tomorrow and post them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tallhamer88 Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 no matter what they all say there totaled he totaled 2 of mine. But i got good money form them for bitchen and arguin. Yah i believe one was not total but the one i got hit in recently deff was totaled. which i miss that car already. Just show him pix of what del sols go for around here and see what he says maybe he can give u a good price like i got 5 grand and u can buy the car back and all u will get is a salvage title now tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cranny Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 doesnt matter if the body if the car is bent , it can still be fixed. if it cant be straightened on a rack , it can be cut out and new pieces put in. but to insurance company , a 95 honda civic is worth about as much in the books as a good sh!t , lol. good luck. if they do write it off , buy it back from them for cheap. fix it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xeryon Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 Don't take the quote from the adjuster as the final word. Call another shop, or two, and invite them to come and evaluate the car. Most places will send someone out free of charge. Take their quotes, and the value the adjuster wants to give you and make your argument. In some cases you might be better to let them total the car, accept the check, buy the damaged car back from them, then take it to the shop that gave you a fair price for repairing it (this is not always an option in all states). Even though you might be the little lady to them you do not need to have much knowledge of cars to pull this off. All you need are a few signed quotes from a couple other people that DO know about cars... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DelSolSweetie Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 i wrecked mine back in june and bent the frame, cracked my block, tranny, and radiator, and messed up both fenders and the side skirt and i fixed mine so you CAN fix the frame if its bent and it will still ride fine.. but you need to look at how much money you have in it and add the money to fix it and see if it makes sense to have that much in it when you'll have a rebuilt/salvage title on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmadeleine Posted December 30, 2008 Author Share Posted December 30, 2008 How do I post the photos? I would think it would be obvious, but I can't seem to find out how. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubbith Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 Load them on photo bucket, and use the link they give to post them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmadeleine Posted January 9, 2009 Author Share Posted January 9, 2009 Load them on photo bucket, and use the link they give to post them. I finally uploaded the photos to Photobucket. Here is a link. http://photobucket.com/madmadeleinesdelsol?albumview=link I think the adjuster is trying to pull a fast one on me. He wants to total my car, saying it was only worth $3400. He says that the oxidized paint is one of the reasons it has such a low value. He even said the car was not worth much because it was not clean and cited the dog hair on the passenger seat! I tried to point out how irrational he was. If I had wanted to sell my car, I would clean it before showing it to a buyer. It is a 95 Si with auto transmission. He says it would cost over $3000 to fix it. I want to differ. Any suggestions on how I can get my car back and fixed without a salvage title and a huge hassle would be appreciated! Maddy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmadeleine Posted January 9, 2009 Author Share Posted January 9, 2009 i wrecked mine back in june and bent the frame, cracked my block, tranny, and radiator, and messed up both fenders and the side skirt and i fixed mine so you CAN fix the frame if its bent and it will still ride fine.. but you need to look at how much money you have in it and add the money to fix it and see if it makes sense to have that much in it when you'll have a rebuilt/salvage title on it this is your car! It is gorgeous! Thanks for the reply. It reminds me how much I love my car. I hope I can get it fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmadeleine Posted January 9, 2009 Author Share Posted January 9, 2009 no matter what they all say there totaled he totaled 2 of mine. But i got good money form them for bitchen and arguin. Yah i believe one was not total but the one i got hit in recently deff was totaled. which i miss that car already. Just show him pix of what del sols go for around here and see what he says maybe he can give u a good price like i got 5 grand and u can buy the car back and all u will get is a salvage title now tho. I've tried to complain, submit comps to prove the value and even made what I thought was a good offer. Now I've had it. I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmadeleine Posted January 9, 2009 Author Share Posted January 9, 2009 doesnt matter if the body if the car is bent , it can still be fixed. if it cant be straightened on a rack , it can be cut out and new pieces put in. but to insurance company , a 95 honda civic is worth about as much in the books as a good sh!t , lol. good luck. if they do write it off , buy it back from them for cheap. fix it. Thanks for the encouragement! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmadeleine Posted January 9, 2009 Author Share Posted January 9, 2009 Don't take the quote from the adjuster as the final word. Call another shop, or two, and invite them to come and evaluate the car. Most places will send someone out free of charge. Take their quotes, and the value the adjuster wants to give you and make your argument. In some cases you might be better to let them total the car, accept the check, buy the damaged car back from them, then take it to the shop that gave you a fair price for repairing it (this is not always an option in all states). Even though you might be the little lady to them you do not need to have much knowledge of cars to pull this off. All you need are a few signed quotes from a couple other people that DO know about cars... I'm gonna try to get my car back from them and take it to some other shops. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xeryon Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 It actually doesn't look that bad. One thing the insurance companies do, to get out of fixing a car they do not want to fix, is they write up the quote using brand new factory parts for pricing. Face it, the car is 13/14 years old and doesn't need every part to be brand new. A used fender and other non-essential parts will suit the car just fine. They have all kinds of tricks like this. Finding other quotes is a great next step. Make sure not to actually get angry, just be determined and persistent. In the end the adjuster is just doing the job that the insurance company trained and paid him to do. If you have made it clear what you want to do and are not getting satisfaction ask for your claim to be escalated to the level person up the hierarchy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmadeleine Posted January 10, 2009 Author Share Posted January 10, 2009 i wrecked mine back in june and bent the frame, cracked my block, tranny, and radiator, and messed up both fenders and the side skirt and i fixed mine so you CAN fix the frame if its bent and it will still ride fine.. but you need to look at how much money you have in it and add the money to fix it and see if it makes sense to have that much in it when you'll have a rebuilt/salvage title on it The adjuster is trying to bully me. He said my car will never be the same. That it would be a big risk to fix it because I would have multiple mechanical problems. I've been fighting him on this and may even be able to get my car back without having to suck it up and take a salvage title, but I would be stuck if there were more damage than the estimate from another shop. Or I can take the little cash they are offering to total my car. I feel like I am being lied to every time I speak to him. The impact for this accident was pretty low speed. I drove home after I wandered around a while looking for the other driver. Do you have any idea of the speed, velocity of your accident? Does it matter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex37211 Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 We could repair that body damage for like $500 including parts, paint and labour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmadeleine Posted January 10, 2009 Author Share Posted January 10, 2009 It actually doesn't look that bad. One thing the insurance companies do, to get out of fixing a car they do not want to fix, is they write up the quote using brand new factory parts for pricing. Face it, the car is 13/14 years old and doesn't need every part to be brand new. A used fender and other non-essential parts will suit the car just fine. They have all kinds of tricks like this. Finding other quotes is a great next step. Make sure not to actually get angry, just be determined and persistent. In the end the adjuster is just doing the job that the insurance company trained and paid him to do. If you have made it clear what you want to do and are not getting satisfaction ask for your claim to be escalated to the level person up the hierarchy. I am determined and persistent. But I am so angry! Maybe the adjuster is doing the job that the insurance company trained and paid him to do. However, I have caught him lying to me. Is that what the insurance company pays him to do? I doubt it. I think he is taking things too far. So I have taken it to the next level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmadeleine Posted January 10, 2009 Author Share Posted January 10, 2009 We could repair that body damage for like $500 including parts, paint and labour. Seriously? The adjuster gave me an estimate for $4011.02 for the repairs! This is how he broke it down: Parts 1678.32 Boby Labor 874.00 23.0 hrs at 38 Paint Labor 406.60 10.7 hrs at 38 Mech labor 390.00 5.2 hrs at 75 Frame labor 200.00 4.0 hrs at 50 Paint supplies 278.00 10.7 hrs at 26 (why is this an hourly thing?) Misc 18.00 (This is for anti-freeze!) other 3.00 and ca tax 162.90 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmadeleine Posted January 10, 2009 Author Share Posted January 10, 2009 no matter what they all say there totaled he totaled 2 of mine. But i got good money form them for bitchen and arguin. Yah i believe one was not total but the one i got hit in recently deff was totaled. which i miss that car already. Just show him pix of what del sols go for around here and see what he says maybe he can give u a good price like i got 5 grand and u can buy the car back and all u will get is a salvage title now tho. A 95 si on autotrader sold for 8000 less than 30 miles from where I live, but the adjuster refuses to include the info for that car in the "comparibles." Says it is because the mileage wasnt listed. I paid for Carfax, put in the Vin # and found out the mileage. Last reported at 128,000. http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u...&cardist=28 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex37211 Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 Seriously? The adjuster gave me an estimate for $4011.02 for the repairs! This is how he broke it down: Parts 1678.32 Boby Labor 874.00 23.0 hrs at 38 Paint Labor 406.60 10.7 hrs at 38 Mech labor 390.00 5.2 hrs at 75 Frame labor 200.00 4.0 hrs at 50 Paint supplies 278.00 10.7 hrs at 26 (why is this an hourly thing?) Misc 18.00 (This is for anti-freeze!) other 3.00 and ca tax 162.90 A semi-trained chimpanzee could replace those parts in less than 23 hours. Those insurance companies are out of their f*cking minds. And the fender, bumper, and headlight would run less than $250 aftermarket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DelSolSweetie Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 The adjuster is trying to bully me. He said my car will never be the same. That it would be a big risk to fix it because I would have multiple mechanical problems. I've been fighting him on this and may even be able to get my car back without having to suck it up and take a salvage title, but I would be stuck if there were more damage than the estimate from another shop. Or I can take the little cash they are offering to total my car. I feel like I am being lied to every time I speak to him. The impact for this accident was pretty low speed. I drove home after I wandered around a while looking for the other driver. Do you have any idea of the speed, velocity of your accident? Does it matter? mine was anything but low impact haha i ended up with two staples from it and amazed i didnt get hurt worse but i really kinda wish i would have just gotten another car cause i wont get my money back outta mine probably.. but yours doesnt look that bad.. mine was pretty bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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