On Sunday someone pulled out in front of me and my 2013 Toyota Corolla S. So far the estimate I've received is about $7000 for repairs. According to the collision center they are not able to check the axle without obtaining a wheel first. Being that this was entirely the fault of the other driver who admitted that to myself and the officer at the scene I am pushing to have her company replace the vehicle. She hit me right on the passenger rear tire. The bumper fell off and the tire split. I know for fact that the rear panel, rear passenger door, wheel, tire, and bumper all need to be replaced, but what as far as mechanical should they also be looking at. Forgive me, I'm clueless about auto mechanics, but I'm trying to prove here that there's no sense in spending $10000 to fix a car worth $15000. I only had this car for 8 days so I could use some help as to what mechanical features in that area of the car may have been damaged other than the axle and obviously the wheel. Or at least what they should be looking at. So far the estimate I saw only included cosmetic items and nothing mechanical and I am absolutely certain that the repairs can't all be cosmetic. I certainly wouldn't want to have them fix everything to learn that there's some mechanical problem that they didn't check out that may have made the difference between the car being totaled and repaired. I appreciate the help. Thanks.
Accident - Need Repair Advice
- Thread starter ksgirl73
- Start date
I hope you weren't hurt?
You'll need the advice of a competent auto body shop. Call around, inquire and see what they tell you. They may even be able to look at the car for you.
Personally, I have to believe that a car with $10,000 worth of damage from an accident is going to have to have a bent frame and subsequent wheel alignment problems, like it may never again be able to have a proper wheel alignment because of the frame being bent.
Another aspect of this is that your virtually brand new, undamaged car is now no longer new and undamaged. That has got to be worth something. To check into this, you're best bet is to call a few attorney's and see what they advise. Most attorney's will provide you a free consultation. Look in your local phone books Yellow Pages for attorney's that have experience with property damage cases, particularly with vehicles.
I hope this has been of help.
You'll need the advice of a competent auto body shop. Call around, inquire and see what they tell you. They may even be able to look at the car for you.
Personally, I have to believe that a car with $10,000 worth of damage from an accident is going to have to have a bent frame and subsequent wheel alignment problems, like it may never again be able to have a proper wheel alignment because of the frame being bent.
Another aspect of this is that your virtually brand new, undamaged car is now no longer new and undamaged. That has got to be worth something. To check into this, you're best bet is to call a few attorney's and see what they advise. Most attorney's will provide you a free consultation. Look in your local phone books Yellow Pages for attorney's that have experience with property damage cases, particularly with vehicles.
I hope this has been of help.
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It's at a body shop now, that's the problem, they haven't included anything mechanical in their repair quote. The whole point is I'm trying to get a complete estimate including mechanical repairs to take it back to their insurance company. I'm fighting hard in trying to get them to replace the car for the same reasons you mentioned, the car will never drive the same. The body shop isn't helping me any so I need to know what to point out to the next one.
A few things I've learned, when in an accident, if its the other drivers fault, and was cited, I NEVER, call my ins. company, I call theirs....
Take it to at least 3 different shops, get a full estimate at each shop.
I've been hit twice, never my fault, and both times the police cited the other drivers, I called their ins. company, and was taken care of, this has worked for me in the past, bottom line its just a car and can be repaired/replaced, you cant...
Take it to at least 3 different shops, get a full estimate at each shop.
I've been hit twice, never my fault, and both times the police cited the other drivers, I called their ins. company, and was taken care of, this has worked for me in the past, bottom line its just a car and can be repaired/replaced, you cant...
That DOES NOT help me. I'm not going to settle for a car that has suddenly depriciated in value by $5000 and will never hold an alignment again and will wear down tires much much faster than it should. If I'd known what I know now I wouldn't have swerved to avoid her. I had the car for only 8 days. There's gap insurance on it. Plus I would never deal with the other party's insurance company directly. That's what you pay your insurance company for. It's their job to represent you in these situations. My insurance company is going to treat me a whole lot better as a customer than theirs ever will. You probably would have done a lot better if you'd dealt only with your insurance company.
I understand where you coming from but I am not a repair shop I would not know what to look for. As advised get more than one estimate form different shops. Believe it or not a reputable shop will know what to look for and advise you and the insurance company what it will cost. I don't think any one of use would like a car that will not hold alignment and be worthless but if it is damaged that much then no one will repair it and you will get an insurance payout. It also depends on the insurance company, if it is a cut rate insurance company than the result will not be the same as a good one. Unfortunately this is likely not the answer you looking for but I don't think anyone here has the answer you want to hear.
I know it's going to be a hard battle getting the car replaced, but that doesn't mean I'm going to give up. Everything someone tells me it's not going to happen that just pushes me harder to make it happen. The car has been moved to the 2nd body shop which happens to be a Toyota dealership so I'm hoping they can give more insight as to what mechanical aspects need to be replaced. I also feel more comfortable having someone more familiar with Toyotas look at it vs the last place. As much as the last body shop was trying to kiss my a** to get the repair business they lost it by not listening to me. The first one only put cosmetic items on their estimate and that really bothered me considering I was hit directly in the passenger rear tire. I'm hoping if another $3000 worth of damages can be found and the other insurance company understands I'll sue for diminished value that they'll come to some agreement.
I've already paid $5000 in to Nationwide in the time I've had insurance with them. They owe me to fight for me now that I've been in an accident through no fault of my own. They are also fully aware that if they don't I'll drop them. It depends on how the claim is handled. Either way Farmers is going to eat it.
Good luck, I know what you are going through. I had a 2010 S, and totaled it hitting a deer in December. The whole car was smashed in the front. I couldn't believe the damage on my car. Anyways, A cop saw the whole thing (thank god, he was there). I kept telling everyone that I wanted to get the car declared totaled, I was told that that more than likely the car was going to get fixed, cause the car was still worth $$. The Insurance appraiser ended up totaling my car, and I ended up getting a 2013 S. I'm sure everything will work out for you. Good luck, let us know how you do.
Thanks. I had a 2010 S too and had just traded it off for a 2013. Through a streak of unfortunate events I was looking at about $3000 in repairs on my 2010 and decided it would be better to trade off rather than repair since my car had some high miles anyway. I'm just glad I didn't change my insurance coverage like I had been thinking about doing.