[jdoll]

Got hit on the interstate this morning. Thoughts on assessment? Both wheels are trashed, car has 3500 miles on it and I haven't even made my first payment yet....

[jdoll]

Here's the pics for it...idk what happened with the first one.

[Childs Play]

Dang man. That sucks. :(

But at least it doesn't look too terrible as far as the over all severity of damage is concerned.

I'd get it fixed and go after the other insurance company for diminished value.

[jdoll]

Originally Posted by Childs Play

Dang man. That sucks. :(

But at least it doesn't look too terrible as far as the severity of damage is concerned.

I'd get it fixed and go after the other insurance company for diminished value.

How exactly do you do that? Also, how do you know it's a fair judge of how much it diminished? There's suspension problems because of the crash as well. Steering wheel is turned to go straight, and wobbles a bit past like 30mph. No bags deployed though.

[cigarfan]

That's horrible. Hope you're OK.
Insurance can be the only thing that will make it right.
Worst part, car may never feel the same again after all the repairs.
Hate to be in your position moving forward but something like this looms in my mind.

[jdoll]

Originally Posted by cigarfan

That's horrible. Hope you're OK.
Insurance can be the only thing that will make it right.
Worst part, car may never feel the same again after all the repairs.
Hate to be in your position moving forward but something like this looms in my mind.

Yeah I'm gonna try to get them to buy the car or whatever, because I mean it's brand new and now like you say will never feel the same. Hopefully I can get it done like that, otherwise idk what will happen. Adjuster is looking at it Monday morning.

[Childs Play]

Originally Posted by jdoll

How exactly do you do that? Also, how do you know it's a fair judge of how much it diminished? There's suspension problems because of the crash as well. Steering wheel is turned to go straight, and wobbles a bit past like 30mph. No bags deployed though.

You just tell them you want to file a diminished value claim.

It wasn't a Camaro... But we recently bought a new Equinox and with less than 600 miles some lady turned into my wife thinking it was a turning lane at an intersection.

Long story short. The lady who hit her didn't have insurance. We filed through our insurance as uninsured and got it repaired. After that we filed a diminished value claim. You can do the same through their insurance. Be prepared to be low balled however. I negotiated for double their first offer mainly because I didn't want to bother getting a lawyer or hiring an appraiser and that's as much as they'd offer without me going through all that. But, you can get someone to appraise the lost value and see if they'd accept that. You'll still have to fight it most likely. Insurance companies are generally the bane of the universe...)

Ours had suspension issues as well and drifted to the right. It turned out it was just an alignment issue though and I just paid for it out of pocket. Also, because I'm lazy and didn't want to argue about it. It was an Equinox... If it was a brand new Camaro though I'd probably been more apt to go after them. That's just me though.

The wobbling could be just a bent rim (hopefully).

Best of luck man. Wrecks are never fun to deal with. :/


Edit: When you get them to fix it, make sure to tell them you want only OEM parts wherever you get it repaired. Sometimes they'll try to use aftermarket crap to save money.

On my crappy DD Nissan Versa I couldn't care less if they used aftermarket parts to fix it. But on yours... I'd demand OEM.

You could also try to argue for new rims instead of them just refinishing them. But usually refinishing them isn't an issue and they end up just fine.

[Eric SS]

They won't buy it. It is far from a total loss. That sucks about your accident. Shops now-a-days are awesome at making them as good as new and it will feel just like it did before the loss. My wife's Infiniti was involved in an accident right after we got it with $6,500 worth of damage very similar to yours (not our fault) and we picked a very good shop and it looked and drove as good as new afterwards. I'm in the accident repair business and was very critical and it turned out great. Good luck!!

[ssrs2lt]

Sorry that stinks!

[activepat]

Pick your own shop based on recommendations. DO NOT USE the insurance company's body shop unless you really get great reviews or recommendations about them. They will not work for you.

[Childs Play]

Originally Posted by activepat

Pick your own shop based on recommendations. DO NOT USE the insurance company's body shop unless you really get great reviews or recommendations about them. They will not work for you.

The only thing I'd add to this (mostly expanding on the "unless they have good reviews part)...

I have Allstate and they have pre-approved body shops. You drop your car off and don't have to fight with them over repair costs.

The one they had as a recommended place was the one I've taken 3 vehicles to now. They did a great job on all of them.

Now... That may just be me getting lucky.

Definitely research and reviews of places in your area before you drop it off.

[Eric SS]

Originally Posted by activepat

Pick your own shop based on recommendations. DO NOT USE the insurance company's body shop unless you really get great reviews or recommendations about them. They will not work for you.

That's just not true. Some of the best body shops in my city are direct repair shops with large insurance carriers (including he only shop here that is certified by Ferrari, Rolls, Bentley, etc). Remember, these body shops aren't owned by the insurance companies, they just have contracts with them which will benefit you in the long run. Like anything else though, pick a good one. Some won't be as good as others. But you do get benefits like a lifetime warranty and if you ever move to another city that transfers with you.

[bybcous]

Sorry bro, i know the feeling, i just went through the same thing. I got my car back but everytime i drive it im worried about someone hitting me again.

[nbryant]

Originally Posted by Eric SS

That's just not true. Some of the best body shops in my city are direct repair shops with large insurance carriers (including he only shop here that is certified by Ferrari, Rolls, Bentley, etc). Remember, these body shops aren't owned by the insurance companies, they just have contracts with them which will benefit you in the long run. Like anything else though, pick a good one. Some won't be as good as others. But you do get benefits like a lifetime warranty and if you ever move to another city that transfers with you.

This! Good advice.