Sue got hit (need a body shop)

[Alycone]

Some lady backed into Sue's driver's side corner and hurt my baby; at least she took responsibility for it. I had my car parked on the street for a few hours between errands, just enough time out of the garage for her to hit it, sigh. The corner light is shattered, the fender is completely mangled and the bumper is dented.

I'm guessing I need a good body shop. I'm a little afraid of the estimate, considering the low book value of our cars. Any advice on the whole repair process and insurance thing?

(cries)

[shelfy]

aly, glad to hear you're not dead.

[Hondasucks]

What color is you car? you might be able to get a fender from a salvage yard that matches your car, along with a marker light, and pocket the difference. You also might be able to, say, have the estimate written up using salvage parts vs. new, so as to not total it.
You might be surprised though, blue book is pretty high on our cars depending on the year, it might not be totaled... (And even if it is, you can just buy it back and fix it yourself, or talk to one of us...)

[ensteele]

Ebony Pearl

Signature line - I'm in love with a sixteen-year-old black girl named Sue.

[Alycone]

Originally posted by shelfy
aly, glad to hear you're not dead.

Only on the inside, shelf. ( j/k )

Originally posted by ensteele
Ebony Pearl
Signature line - I'm in love with a sixteen-year-old black girl named Sue.

Actually Sue's an ebony mica, not that there's enough sun (or enough lack of dirt) to tell most of the time.

Every year my signature line gets a little less creepy

[BeneathNorthernSkys]

That's all I can do reading that...wow!

[WestCoastSVX]

Hi Aly, you have almost the exact same damage I had when a lady hit mine in a parking garage 7 years ago. Yours sounds like it may be a bit more severe, but I'm guessing the parts being replaced/fixed/painted are exactly the same as mine. My insurance quote was for replacing both the fender and the bumper and the corner signal light and then paint for both parts as well as "blend". A good shop will blend the paint so that the newly painted parts match the rest of the car. Good news here is your "starry night" hood can become "pitch black" if you want it too, the shop quote will probably cover half of it in blending and the rest they can call overspray.

Anyway, I don't have the quote in front of me, but the original shop estimate was something around $2,000. The lady's insurance company flipped, and sent out their own adjuster to take a look at it. Their own adjuster ended up with a cost of $2,300 or so. Needless to say, they cut me a check for my shop's amount.

Not sure if 7 years' inflation can affect that price or not, but certainly the 7 years of depreciation might come into play.

[STORMINORMAN]

The other insurance company has no right to declare your vehicle totalled without your consent. Let their adjuster come up with a figure and let us know what the result is: you can get a couple repair estimates on your own...

You are entitled to a rental car while yours is unavailable for your use.

The absolute "value" for most vehicles is PRESUMED to be those in AVERAGE condition: your vehicle may be in better than average condition. You are entitled to retain your car. You can ask them to try and find a car in essentially the same condition as your car for valuation purposes. Is it not nice and convenient that you happen to know one (or more) of the experts in SVX values in North America?

The other insurance company has the absolute duty to put you in the position you were in prior to the negligent actions of their insured.

I've handled 10's of thousands of these kinds of claims and am available to help you: do not sign anything unless they offer you more than you think your car is worth AND allow you to retain your car!

Feel free to e-mail or PM me!

STORMINORMAN@aol.com

[Alycone]

Thanks for the info storm!

Sue is now back home looking better than before, the body shop the folks at Smart Service recommended did a great job. The woman's insurance paid up with a minimal amount of reluctance.

[WestCoastSVX]

Yay!!!!! Glad everything worked out good with the insurance. And I'm sure Sue is looking better than ever!

[ensteele]

Good to hear it.

[STORMINORMAN]

I'm satisfied if you are, just wanted to help if I could.

[Alycone]

Same prob, dif car

While Sue was getting fixed I borrowed my mother's car and some old bat backed into it while parked. The really obnoxious thing is she left her car parked a foot up onto my front hood, so I was stuck. Then when she showed up I said "excuse me, you hit my car" she replied "no I didnt" so I said "uh, you're parked ON TOP of my car, yes you did"

She doesnt want me contacting her insurance, I dont know about that, I dont think I'm inclined to do her any favors.

I am now afraid to park.

[Crazy_pilot]

Wow. I guess it's kind of hard for her to argue the point then. But seriously, how do you park on top of someone's car and not notice? Are all of her stops abrupt enough to feel like a minor traffic collision?