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accident update, paint questions
1st off - is it a reputable insurance company? Geico / progressive / state
farm, or some little ma & pa organization.
If it's a reputable company, don't sweat it. They will work with you.
They will lose more by giving you poor service than they will gain trying to
screw you.
Before you have them come look at it, get an estimate from a reputable body
shop. Heck - get two. Then have their estimator come out and take a look
at it. He will pull out a laptop with your car on it, poke at it for a
while, and give you a total. If the total doesn't jive with your estimates,
pull them out and show them to him. This lets him know that you are
informed, and you may be able to reach a settlement. Don't accept any money
until you are happy with the deal, but don't be silly about it - it's a
$2500 car. They know that, and sentimentality means nothing to them.
If it's a ma & pa shop, definintely get at least two estimates. Hold the
insurance co to them. They are all about saving as much on claims as
possible.
Now - if it is a VERY good company (State Farm or USAA) they may have
recommended shops in the area that they work with on a regular basis. This
takes the hassle out for you. Any unforseen problems do not require you to
get additional money from the insurance company.... etc. They will take
care of it all amongst themselves.
As for the interview - if the police report says the other guy is at fault,
then take that in, show it to them, and ask when you can have your money. I
have had insurance companies call me just to make sure that I am OK, and not
suffering from any lingering health problems. Don't admit to anything you
aren't prepared to settle for.
Don't sweat it until they try to screw you.
As for transporation - they should supply you with a rental car until your
car is fixed. No more, no less. You may have to make a trip to return the
rental and get your car, but they aren't going to pay for a rental due to
paint curing time.
The biggest hassle I see is getting your euro headlight replaced. If you
have a receipt, or can bring in a catalog showing prices that would be good.
Otherwise you will be getting a stock VW Scirocco quad light replacement.
Have them call Potterman if they don't believe the cost.
Oh - and finally - be willing to let the car go. It shouldn't come to that,
but if they do offer to buy you out at a price that you are happy with,
don't let your emotions get in the way. There are still many sciroccos that
need love out there. But get all your goodies out before they take it away.
And that's what I've learned from my 5 or 6 accidents. Hope it helps.
>From: "T. Reed" <treed2@wsu.edu>
>To: scirocco-l@scirocco.org
>Subject: accident update, paint questions
>Date: Tue, 21 Dec 2004 12:39:41 -0800 (PST)
>
>Hi everyone,
>
>So I've been in touch with the insurance company of the guy that drove in
>to my baby. They still haven't "established" which party is at fault but
>it's pretty obvious, and I believe it's even in the police report that the
>other driver admitted fault.
>
>A rep called and said he needs to take a statement from me, and that "if
>you desire to have us inspect the car", he needs its daytime address and a
>phone number.
>
>"If"? That sounds optional. I'm not sure what to do here. If I don't have
>them inspect it, he may simply offer a puny settlement. If they do inspect
>it, they will either total the car or offer me a puny settlement, or both.
>Part of me thinks that if I don't have them come, they might give me the
>money they would have paid their insurance goon to come look at it, but the
>other part of me thinks that's ridiculous and acknowledges that they are
>greedy scum-sucking bastards who don't want to give me a dime.
>
>The damage really isn't -that- bad, I'd like to think they won't total it..
>the hood can just be unbolted and replaced. The most difficult-to-fix
>damage is that the top "tray" part of the core support is bent in an inch
>or two and pinching the driver side hood latch. Incidentally, this is where
>the headlight bracket attaches at the top, so I can't "fix" my headlight
>situation until this gets repaired. In the mean time I'm trying to avoid
>driving at night, how convenient.
>
>It seems to me that the shop can just cut a core support "tray" out of a
>junkyard car, strip it, prime it and paint it and weld it in place. Of
>course I'd like brand new parts but lets be realistic. Still, it seems
>within the realm of any half-decent body shop's capability.
>
>But that's only what I can see; it'll be up to the body shop to determine
>whether the hood hinges are bent, and whether the core support is a
>candidate for full replacement (not sure if the bottom mounting point for
>the headlight bracket is bent too.. though certainly not as much).
>
>I can't foresee any "surprise" damage to anything other than the core
>support, hood, headlight, hood hinges, fender edges, and the piece under
>the windshield. But the later three would be relatively minor compare to
>the first of those three. Who knows..
>
>Again, see:
>
>http://www.wsu.edu/~treed2/pic1.jpg
>http://www.wsu.edu/~treed2/pic2.jpg
>
>Obviously, the next step here is to take the car for estimates to several
>different shops in the area so I can "arm" myself with some real numbers.
>
>I've heard that I should also wash + vacuum if the guy is coming over.
>Sounds like a good idea but I need to be careful not to damage the crash
>area further (the paint in that area is peeling off like skin on a bad
>sunburn)
>
>
>...
>
>
>So here's the next question.
>
>Let's assume they agree to fix it, and the core support (maybe just the top
>stamped tray piece) gets painted, the chips on the under-windshield-piece
>and the fender(s) get touched up, and the hood gets replaced and painted.
>
>Now the problem is, I need to take this car back to school around January
>5th. Right now I'm in Seattle, which has moderate 35-45 F winter temps.
>School is an icy frozen tundra, where the temperature frequently drops to
>5-15 F and a foot or more of snow falls overnight.
>
>It can't be the best thing for new paint to wind up in this kind of
>environment a week after it is sprayed on..
>
>I searched the net and couldn't find any specific advice against taking a
>freshly painted car (or just "hood") to a very cold place, but common sense
>tells me that if it's not fully cured, the evaporation of the volatiles in
>the paint will be on "hold" until it returns to a warmer climate. Also, any
>moisture in the paint could freeze and expand, introducing small
>imperfections in the paint job.
>
>It's out of the question to leave the car in Seattle and "go without"; it's
>my daily driver and only car. I have a feeling that the insurance company
>will not pay for a rental for a month while my paint cures in a garage.
>
>So, any recommendations? I'm trying to make my life not-miserable as a
>result of this not-my-fault accident, but at the same time, I don't want a
>car with thousands of tiny cracks in its hood and core support paint.
>
>Thanks for any advice
>
>-Toby
>
>(and thanks to those that responded to my earlier post)
>
>
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