Brutalized by a Dodge! -- need advice

[dswalterwi at gmail.com (Don Walter)]

I had to tangle with American Family about mine.  I ended up going
through my own insurance (State Farm) and they subragated it back to
American Family (Took them a year to get their money) but I got paid
up front.  That was without some struggles as well.  Initially My
insurance company totaled my car at $2200 ( I had over $8000 invested
into it).  So I took it to an appraiser and for $90 it was appraised
at over $4000.00  Using this I convinced my insurance company to pay
me the total cost of repair at$3800 and total my car but I get to keep
the car.  I must have had at least 6 of their apprassiers look at my
car, none of them know what the hell they are doing.  Get it inspected
and appraised by someone you trust and you will have much better luck
getting back a "fair" amount.

HTH


On Thu, 16 Dec 2004 02:09:05 -0800 (PST), T. Reed <treed2@wsu.edu> wrote:
> Dang it.
> 
> Night time, headlights on.
> 
> I was stopped in a parking lot, and so was this guy in a 2000 black Dodge
> Dakota. He was talking on his cell phone.. and he was on the wrong side of
> the road, about to turn left (on to the road I was coming from).  I sure
> as hell saw him, but he didn't see me. He stepped on the gas, and..
> 
> Crunch.
> 
> Here's the damage:
> http://www.wsu.edu/~treed2/pic1.jpg
> http://www.wsu.edu/~treed2/pic2.jpg
> 
> I was livid that someone could be so careless as to not look in the
> direction they were turning.
> 
> After I chilled out a bit, I got his license and insurance info. My buddy
> suggested that I should call the police so I could have a third party
> witness and a police report to reference. So I did. The officer showed up,
> took a report and some photos of the damage, gave the guy an breath test
> so his insurance couldn't accuse him of being drunk, and we all parted
> ways.
> 
> I'm obviously pissed about the whole incident, but at least the guy
> was cool about it and didn't try to drive away or claim that I hit him
> (amazingly, there was no damage to his car.. just flecks of my paint
> stuck to the underside of his bumper).
> 
> I haven't filed a claim yet, but I will soon.
> 
> The damage is more extensive than it looks in the photos. The whole hood
> is slightly bent in a V. It's touching the passenger side fender and the
> front cowling (the metal section under the windshield), where it cracked
> the paint and exposed bare metal. In order to fix it right, that piece is
> going to need to be repainted (which, unless you're Earl Schieb, means
> removing the windshield first).
> 
> I couldn't open the hood until I removed the grille clips through the
> gap with my pinky fingers and yanked the grille out, then monkeyed with
> the release mechanisms a bunch. Only one side would release at a time.
> Then I figured out that if I held the release lever away from the latch
> while pulling the hood up really hard, I could get the hood to pop open.
> What a pain in the ass, I hope I don't need to open my hood any time
> soon.
> 
> Looks like at a minimum, I'm going to need a new hood, new euro light
> bracket, new adjusters, new euro light mainbeam, new core support, and
> paint for the hood, core support, and the metal section under the
> windshield.
> 
> I don't know how much all that stuff is going to cost, but I really hope
> it's not enough to total my car. I don't need to deal with all the
> associated "salvage title" and "here's $700 for your 17-year old car" B.S.
> 
> I've put a lot of money and hours in to this car.
> 
> So I'm asking the list.. what should I do?
> 
> I guess I need to go find some body shops that can prepare estimates for
> me. I don't know whether to go to good shops or cheap shops (obviously,
> good, but they might just decide to total it if the quote is too high,
> right?)
> 
> I'm not sure if they're going to send a "damage inspector" to look at the
> car (haven't talked to the insurance company yet). His insurance company,
> by the way, is the "Financial Indemnity Company" in Van Nuys, CA.
> 
> I just want the car back to the way it was before this jerkoff hit me.
> 
> I don't want a $200 paint job, however, nor do I want a hood that will
> never close right again (or one that will fly open some day).
> 
> I figure the euro lights are going to be my loss, because the insurance
> won't pay for them unless they cut me a check for some reason. Any advice
> here?
> 
> Damn, I knew I should have just stayed home tonight.
> 
> -Toby
> 
> (I'm looking for a used euro mainbeam for the driver side, if anyone has
> got one. Actually I'm interested in both sides since my other one was
> already cracked.)
> 
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-- 
Don Walter - Waukesha, WI
1986 1.8 16V Black Scirocco
1986 2L 16V Toronado Red Scirocco (under repair)
1988 1.8 16V Toronado Red Scirocco (sold on 3/29/04)
1984 1.8 8V Pewter Scirocco (sold years ago)
1971 Karman Ghia (sold)
1969 Karman Ghia (sold)
1969 Beetle (sold)