Car wrecked - let the fun begin..

[robert843]

Well I decided to do a little deer hunting tonight and it was successful. Some people like to use a rifle some a bow but I figured but why be like everyone else so I decided to use my car.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Wow! I've had many close calls with deer but never lucky enough to bag one.

How was the airbag deployment experience? Scary? Loud? So quick you didn't notice?

 

[robert843]

Wow! I've had many close calls with deer but never lucky enough to bag one.

How was the airbag deployment experience? Scary? Loud? So quick you didn't notice?

The whole thing happened so fast I didn't know what was going on. The thing was like a ghost deer that just appeared out of no where lol. This was my first airbag experience and it was so fast that I didn't think about them deploying just trying to get over to the side of the road quickly as there was smoke coming through the vents so wasn't sure sure if fire was a concern but it was probably just antifreeze hitting the engine or some kind of stuff from the airbags that appeared to smoke coming into the car. The seat belt did its job well though I never even hit the air bag it locked so tight I couldn't even move my body. Heck I didn't even realize till I was out of the car a lower airbag around my knees had deployed as well.

 

[Ronnie]

How big was the deer you hit?

I new a guy that hit a small deer here on the freeway in NorCal (messed his Saturn up), when he called the local police to report it they said the freeway isn't there jurisdiction call the highway patrol, caltrans or forget about it.

 

[OCMD]

Insurance companies, contrary to what many think, are not your best friend. They only look out for their bottom line. They do not care if you are their customer or not. The bottom line is all that matters. Get out of a claim as cheap as possible. An adjuster may try to be your friend; just remember, he can only work within his guidelines. I've been in the business of fighting these entities since 1987. Bottom line is you will probably need to make a claim for diminished value. Google this term in your state, for a company that can document this value. It might cost 4-500 bucks for the opinion, so depending upon the disputed value amount, it may not be worth the trouble. I will say this. If it were my kid complaining of injury, I'd be sure to document this with a visit to the doc. Especially an injury involving the head. Then make 'em pay, as the law will permit you to recover not only your documented medical damages, but your non-economic damages as well. Contrary to some of the prior posts, making a claim does not cause your rates to rise, as you were not at fault. If this causes the ass clown who caused the accident rates to increase? Not my problem. They need to pay better attention to their driving habits so they don't cause others anguish, money and time because of their careless actions. The person should feel blessed their reckless driving didn't kill someone, like it did to a friend of mine last week who was just starting to enjoy his retirement.

 

[waterboy]

@OCMD Sorry for the loss of your friend. On another note, thanks for the comments on the claim, still waiting to hear from the insurance company.

 

[waterboy]

@robert843 Wow, that's quite a hit there. You bagged a good one!! Glad you weren't hurt. Now it's your turn with the insurance. Good luck. In my case, my insurance company stays in good name so far as I am fighting the other drivers insurance.

You do remind me of a news story a few years ago here in Raleigh. They were reporting the number of deer killed during hunting season across the state and with what weapon was used. They actually reported that in Wake County (Raleigh), the car was the weapon most used to kill deer and they Wake County killed more deer than any other county in the state with said weapon. Cracked me up that they were actually calling the car a weapon!!!

 

[robert843]

Well @waterboy I may be fighting with my insurance company as well. They estimated my repair at $7200 on a car that probably only has a value of $8400 due to high milage. They want to repair it but at that amount I would rather they total it and cut me a check. Heck I'm half tempted to take the check for $7200 and part out the battery pack for $1500-$2000 and the gas motor, Electric motor and transmission for another couple of thousand. I just cant believe they want to repair the car at that percent to value.

 

[waterboy]

Hey Robert, yeah that sucks... State law in NC is 75% of the value and it gets totaled. I just looked it up online and it says SC is 75% also. That is state law. If you would prefer them to total it, push back to get what you want. Ask them for the documentation of repair costs and how they valued the car.

Keep in mind though that the $7200 total amount is for them to keep the car. They part it out and make money on it. If you want to keep the car, they will deduct the residual value of parts off of the check they give you. In my case the residual parts value was $1400. You can fight that value too, but keep that in mind...

Just verbally settled mine yesterday, waiting for paperwork. They offered $5000 totaled, car needed $4000-$5000 in repairs. I gave them comparables showing the car was worth $8000. They said OK, but the car is still totaled. I said OK with that. I am extremely happy with the offer they gave. But now I have to go buy a car dammit...

 

[robert843]

Hey Robert, yeah that sucks... State law in NC is 75% of the value and it gets totaled. I just looked it up online and it says SC is 75% also. That is state law. If you would prefer them to total it, push back to get what you want. Ask them for the documentation of repair costs and how they valued the car.

Keep in mind though that the $7200 total amount is for them to keep the car. They part it out and make money on it. If you want to keep the car, they will deduct the residual value of parts off of the check they give you. In my case the residual parts value was $1400. You can fight that value too, but keep that in mind...

Just verbally settled mine yesterday, waiting for paperwork. They offered $5000 totaled, car needed $4000-$5000 in repairs. I gave them comparables showing the car was worth $8000. They said OK, but the car is still totaled. I said OK with that. I am extremely happy with the offer they gave. But now I have to go buy a car dammit...

The $7200 is just cost to repair. As of now they want to repair it for $7200 what I'm thinking is instead of them cutting that check to the shop they cut it to me and I keep the car same as if they repaired it. If they total it out the settlement would be higher then $7200 probably somewhere in the $8400 to $9000 range.

 

[robert843]

@waterboy you will laugh I'm having the exact opposite issue now my insurance company won't total mine as they are giving the car an astronomical value they are saying my 2012 prius with 125,000 miles has a book value of $12,700. The highest trade in value I have seen for a level 2 prius with those miles is 9800 they must be using retail value lol

 

[Lextacy03]

@robert843 , I ran the numbers thru our companies Insurance system and this is what I came up with without the Vin # using SC zipcode.
Values

Clean
Retail 15,025 - Less Mileage (125,000) - Total Base Price = $12,375

Clean
Trade-In -$12,525- Less Mileage (125,000) -$2,650 - Total Base Price = $ 9,875

 

[waterboy]

@robert843 I don;t know if the numbers will work for you, but I used Autotrader to find comparables. In my case it drove the value higher. In your case, it may drive it lower and force a total. Yes they will use retail value. Cherry pick the cars you want them to use. Pick 4 or so of the lowest value cars and see if that gets what you want. I think they have to use the comparables you give them to settle the case.

 

[robert843]

@Lextacy03 and @waterboy thanks! I'm going to let them fix it for now and see what happens if they shop finds anything else wrong and tries to up the quote I may push the issue a little more.

 

[BigN8]

Well I decided to do a little deer hunting tonight and it was successful. Some people like to use a rifle some a bow but I figured but why be like everyone else so I decided to use my car.

View attachment 31120 View attachment 31121 View attachment 31121 View attachment 31122 View attachment 31120 View attachment 31121 View attachment 31122

Damn! That had to be a good size deer! @Ronnie you better hope you don't hit one that big in your new ride!!!

 

[Billtex2000]

So I'm driving home last night on I78 (3 lane highway) in my "unmarked". I'm in the center lane going with the flow (70-75) and the driver in the fast lane decides she would like to be in the center lane as well! Out of the corner of my eye, I see the MB 350SUV that's right next to me get larger fast in my side window. There's a truck next to me in the right lane so there's no escape. CRUNCH and I see my side view mirror swinging by the wires. I slowed and she moved over in front of me. When I lit her up (so we could get over to the shoulder) she must have shit! We pulled to the shoulder and I walked up on her passenger side. She was white as a ghost! lol I asked if the was OK and couldn't help but chuckle a little. She said she didn't see me and in all truth it was pretty dark and with her height she may have looked right over my roof (if she looked at all). Trooper rolled up and took the report. He asked if I wanted to write her but I gave her a pass. She was embarrassed enough. Some scrapes and dents along my driver side, a little duct tape on the mirror and I'm waiting for her adjuster. At least she has a good story to tell!

 

[Big Shasta]

So I'm driving home last night on I78 (3 lane highway) in my "unmarked". I'm in the center lane going with the flow (70-75) and the driver in the fast lane decides she would like to be in the center lane as well! Out of the corner of my eye, I see the MB 350SUV that's right next to me get larger fast in my side window. There's a truck next to me in the right lane so there's no escape. CRUNCH and I see my side view mirror swinging by the wires. I slowed and she moved over in front of me. When I lit her up (so we could get over to the shoulder) she must have shit! We pulled to the shoulder and I walked up on her passenger side. She was white as a ghost! lol I asked if the was OK and couldn't help but chuckle a little. She said she didn't see me and in all truth it was pretty dark and with her height she may have looked right over my roof (if she looked at all). Trooper rolled up and took the report. He asked if I wanted to write her but I gave her a pass. She was embarrassed enough. Some scrapes and dents along my driver side, a little duct tape on the mirror and I'm waiting for her adjuster. At least she has a good story to tell!

LOL...The only thing worse than getting in an accident....Hitting an officer.

Good for you giving her a pass. She went through enough. So this is a personal vehicle that they let you use for work? I always thought those unmarked were owned by the city/county/state.

 

[waterboy]

holy crap... at least no one was hurt. At those speeds, any crunch can be really bad and it's not usually the initial crunch but the reaction afterwards (over correction) that causes the worse wreck. Glad all turned out generally well!!

 

[Billtex2000]

So this is a personal vehicle that they let you use for work? I always thought those unmarked were owned by the city/county/state.

It's a "take-home" car. Town owned.

 

[Ronnie]

Damn! That had to be a good size deer! @Ronnie you better hope you don't hit one that big in your new ride!!!

Yeah, definitely don't want to hit anything especially anything bigger or heavier than the smart car I'm driving. After driving it for a week I honestly feel safe and comfortable in it. However I'm not entirely used to seeing it before I get in it and still think, "Am i really about to get on the freeway in an enclosed golf cart and a small one at that?"


It's no corvette that's for sure.