I'm freaking pissed!

[pickerdd]

I need to vent a bit and need a bit of advice...

Last Thursday morning someone side swiped me on the way to work. I wasn't able to examine the truck until I got to work (it was 6:45 am and still dark). It appeared that only the left (driver) side plastic molding and the left side of the front bumper has been damaged. It looks like both have been scraped as opposed to cracked. That's good news I suppose...

When the insurance examiner went over the damage with me this afternoon he said they wouldn't replace the molding or the bumper as I requested, but would authorize the dealer where I will have the work performed to remove the molding and repair it and repaint it so that it looks like the other side of the truck - i.e. brand new.

In addition while examine the truck today it appears the left headlight lens was scratched and my new bug shield was cracked. He said there's no way the damage to the headlight and bug shield could be caused by the same car that damaged the molding and bumper. Needless to say I was PISSED!

Back to the repairs - I'm just not comfortable that the repair will look like no damage has occurred without the side molding being replaced. I'm also pissed that the truck will lose value if I ever decide to sell it.

Any advise?

Thanks for listening,
David

 

[jpalaska]

Hey David,
Sorry to hear about this happening to you.
My first question is, does the insurance adjustor (examiner) work for your insurance company or the insurance company of the doofus that hit you?
Which insurance company does the adjuster work for?
You live in Georgia, right? Probably your state has a department or division of insurance in the state government. That state agency should have regulations and methods of recourse for you to use to appeal the treatment you're getting from the insurance company's agent (the adjustor/inspecter, whatever they call him).
Bottom line.... you do not have "take it or leave it" when an insurance company's agent is trying to blow you off with a cheap, unacceptable fix of the damages that you suffered.
Call your city, county, and state government offices to find out which government agency can help you from being screwed by the insurance company.
BTW, get yourself a copy of the police report regarding the accident ASAP.

good luck, you are not powerless,
JP

 

[007Runner]

Call your insurance agent and discuss your concerns with him. You can also ask for a different insurance adjuster to look at the damage again. The insurance adjuster should be from your insurance company.
Call the corporate insurance office if the situation does not improve. Explain the situation to them.
You can always threaten to cancel with them. Not all insurance companies have crappy customer service.

 

[pickerdd]

JP,

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I'm in Georgia. Unfortunately, we both have the same insurance company, Allstate.

David

 

[rook]

If the damage is all on the same side of the truck, there is no way they can deny the damage claim. What the adjuster is trying to do is avoid having to replace expensive oem parts. You are entitled to this repair (or at least the money so you can buy some hid's!!!)

Keep on top of them. Your claim is valid.

 

[jpalaska]

David,
That's not unfortunate that both of you have the same insurance company, it could be a blessing.
Since you are an Allstate customer too, you can use this to your advantage.
I ask you again (this is important), was the insurance adjuster representing the other guy's insurance policy, or your insurance policy? If you're not sure, call the adjuster and ask him.
Allstate should be more interested in satisfying you than just a person who's a customer of their competiters.

JP

JP

 

[pickerdd]

Rook, thanks for the reply. The damage is all on the same side of the truck. They aren't trying to deny it, they are trying to minimize and cloud the issue (in my opinion) by repairing the molding instead of replacing it.

 

[pickerdd]

JP,

I think he was representing the other person policy because the claim is on their policy. I made it clear that I wasn't happy with the result - not sure if that helped. I will talk to the adjuster and find out who he was representing so we're clear.

Thanks for the help!

 

[sbbamafan]

FYI - I am in GA too. You brought up a lot of interesting points. First, GA law does require that you are compensated for diminished value, however the amount usually calculated is too low in my opinion.
Second, GA does have a State Insurance Commissioners Office. The commissioner is John Oxendine. Not that they will not be helpful, but contacting them is truly a last resort.
Third, do you have a long-term relationship with your insurance agent? This could be a hugely helpful to you. They will frequently work on your behalf and act as sort of an intermediary between you and the claims people.
Fourth, I think it will be to your benefit that you and the other driver have the same insurance company. It is definitely in their best interest to try to satisfy you.
Fifth, as for the old repair vs replace debate, this will never end. Many body shops do really good work and you trully cannot tell the difference.
Sixth (and you didnt bring this up) Allstate isn't self performing the work (unless they have started something new), a body shop OF YOUR CHOICE is. Once you agree to whatever you agree to, it is contingent on the body shop not finding further damage. Any subsequent damage found WILL be paid for as part of the same incident. The body shop can usually be a better judge of what should/can be replaced and are frequently more convincing that you might be with the adjuster.
Seventh - I dont know where you are but (by far) the best body shop I have found (near metro Atlanta) is:

Automaster Precision Collision
4509 Canton Rd
Marietta, GA 30066
770/517-6010

No - I dont work for them or know anybody that does but they did such a wonderful job on a friends Volvo that I sent my wife's Odyssey to them when she was rear ended by an F-150. You can't find any damage (even on a lift), the car was spotless and the color match (gold) is unbelievable. It has now been about 3 years and there is still no fade difference.

Sorry this is long - Good Luck.

 

[jpalaska]

OK, David
Wow, read and follow sbbamafan's advice.
He's the man!

PS:
I'm not a lawyer, I just stayed at a Day's Inn last night.

JP

 

[pickerdd]

sbbamafan,

Thanks for the great advice, which I will follow. I'll contact the shop you recommended and get their opinion on the work. I had planned to have my dealer (Marietta Toyota) do the work, but if I can have the work performed at a shop that does better quality work, I'm all for it!

Thanks everyone for your help!

David

 

[sbbamafan]

You're welcome. Another thing that impressed me about the shop that i recommended is that they used to do all the Bentley factory repairs. I figure if they can rework a wrecked $200,000 car, they can do mine...

 

[LV4R]

If they try to screw you then I would get a lawyer because thats usually when the BS stops.

 

[N8G]

Last spring I had some damage to passenger side plastic door cladding from some guys work truck who let the door swing open and bash into my 4Runner. You wouldn't think it would have done that much damage, but it was pretty deeply gouged. (The funny part is that when I came of the store no one was in the truck and the door was wide open wedged against my truck. I guess he tried to close it but it was a very windy day and the wind much have caught it and slammed it against my car.)

Anyway, since it was a work truck I was able to call the number on the side and talked to the company owner who is the one who was driving the truck. He agreed to pay for the repairs out of pocket with no insurance involved. The body shop I took it to who had done good work for me before was able to remove and repair the panel and match the paint perfectly for about a quarter of what it would have cost to replace it. There is no way to tell it had ever been damaged, so it can be done. Just so you don't dismiss the repair instead of replace option all together.

 

[pickerdd]

N8G - thanks for the advice. I would prefer to have the parts replaced, but since they aren't cracked or gouged, I can see that they could look good if they were repainted correctly. I plan to visit the Automaster Precision Collision on Friday to have look over the truck and to look over some of their work. I spoke with Jack from Automaster yesterday and I was comfortable with the information he gave me about the repair and dealing with my insurance company. I'll report back after the truck has been repaired.

Thanks for the advice, folks. It's VERY much appreciated!

David