Hit and run rip off by...PROGRESSIVE insurance...

[Tom Schindler]

Chris,



What if your vehicle is 10 years old and worth $4,000.00? Are you still going to get $7,000 in new parts? How expensive is your insurance?



In the USA, different states have different rules.



In Ohio, you are allowed to take youir car to whomever you want to for repair. You are not required to let the insurance company tell you where you can take it.



As new vs used parts. Lets look at this a little more in depth.



If a used part, lets say a hood, is not dented, rusted, or bent in any way, could you tell it from a new part? Nope. Will the new part be stronger then the used one? Nope. You could specify you want new aftermarket parts. The metal is usually cheaper, rusts faster, and is not as strong as the OE or used parts are.



Again, I ask you, How much does your insurance cost?





Tom

 

[Alan Peters]

When I was rear ended in December, I requested all OEM parts. Allstate made sure any body panels, bumpers, or anything was replaced OEM sure enough, all the parts had the OEM parts bin stickers on them. I explained the ST was purchased and paid for. The adjuster said their will be no problem with requesting new. Allstate new put a new Ford Hidden Hitch on.



I've been in a couple of accidents and only once with allstate they didn't replace with new. Thats because they couldn't find any OEM parts plus the car was out of production.



FYI - Honda's sheet metal is by far the worst on the planet next to Toyota. Their paper thin to reduce weight.

 

[Rick Kent]

Raserx,



Yes, your reply to me was more spouting off.... And yes, I can follow the simplistic logic you are putting forward, just understand you are wrong, take a deep breath and you will be ok. No one has told you to roll over and take it like a man. You can fight it out with your company and the other persons company. Just understand that when fighting a legal battle, it helps if the contract language is on your side not theirs...



Now for some useful advice, after the repairs are completed with new or used parts, however you work that out with your insurance company, make a claim for Diminished Value. This allows you to be compensated for any loss in value due to the accident. You will have to make that claim against the other persons insurance company. They will make you prove the dollar amount of the loss since that is how the court systems in the US work.



As for Canada, my experience with their insurance industry is you get what you pay for. They may have contracts that require the use of all new "oem" parts but you pay more for it. Canada also has "free" health insurance. I would not want to be the guy waiting for a medical procedure in Canada. I know many people that come to the US to have their medical care taken care of, at their own expense, instead of being put on the waiting list to have an MRI in 6 months or more....

 

[Raser x]

Thanks Guys...Yes..I'm still pi$$ed. Because my vehicle does have diminished value...hell its wrecked isn't it?



I already know that I will get all new oem parts from the insurance of the person who hit the Sport trac...it'll be a fight but I'll win in the end.



The reason I'm so aggravated is that my insurance should represent my interest. After all they are going to be repayed by the other insurance.



I guess I'm too idealistic. I thought my insurance was on my side but as always they are on there side...



It been a fun thread though...

 

[Michelle Widell]

I don't blame you for being upset - I would too. But really, a used body part is as good as a new part. My concern would be the correct bumper cover - as the older ST's had a different texture to the cover, as they were not painted like yours.



My brother's wife was in an accident that did a major amount of damage to her 3 week old Acura. He dealt with the insurance company of the person who hit her. He insisted all parts be new, and managed to jack up the repair costs so high that they finally agreed to total it. It took about a month of ranting and raving to accomplish that, tho.

 

[Frank Marano]

I dont understand........ if the other car hit you, the only thing you should be doing is going to a body shop of YOUR choice, getting an estimate and submitting it to the OTHER insurance company.......

 

[Tom Schindler]

Frank,



Many people call their insurance company to have them repair their vehicle and let their insurance company get the money from the at fault person's insurance.





Tom

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

Racerx, sorry about the vehicle but there isn't anything you can do about it. I had posted awhile ago about a friend of mine who had a 2006 Escape and hit a deer. Her insurance would only pay to have it plastic welded and not put on a new front bumper cover. They fought for 3 months and it is now plastic welded. So, fight the good fight if ya want. I agree with you. Unfortunately, the company has all the power there.

 

[Scott Atwater]

You would be surprised how much junk aftermarket parts are sold as OE from most salvage yards because they have already been installed on a vehicle and the parts guys don't know or care as long as they are getting a sale. I lived in AZ for 15 years and ran a shop for a large chain of used car dealerships. I was always ordering fenders, bumpers ect from yards and some of the time I got the tinny sounding, flimsy Tiawan junk. If it was going on a cheesy 100k car then I went ultra cheap. If it had less then 50k on it I got the OE parts. There is nothing worse than cheapening up a car with knock off parts.

For example Lexus uses a special metal on their cars which is "quieter" than most other cars. replacing a door or fender with a junky one will definetly makes things like road noise ect more noticible. I have owned a few nice cars in the past and these are so quiet you can hear a mouse fart in one. I also have an Adrenalin and I am quite sure that those doors may have something like dynamat or something inside of them to keep the speakers from rattling the sheetmetal.(Now I am wondering if this is true anyone know for sure?) Again service comes down to you get what you pay for. I have had State farm for almost 25 years and have had NO PROBLEMS with them. I got into a wreck with my Jeep because I swerved to keep from running over 4 kids on their bikes. I creamed a brand new 300M (had 2500 miles on it)with the racecar trailer and totaled the Jeep. They actually forgave that accident due to my customer status as never had an at fault accident. It probably cost them in excess of 35,000 for this whole deal and I haven't paid once cent more than normal. It's funny cause when I moved to WI my rates are less than $650 a yr for full coverage for both vehicles and with a $250 deductable.

 

[2]

Chris, as a fellow Albertan I can tell you A) insurance varies from province to province, in BC for example the provincial gov. tells you how your car is being fixed, used, new, etc. B) They can too stick used parts on your car here in Alberta, I just had a buddy go through that with a couple of year old car, the door was replaced with a used one, he tried to fight it and didn't get anywhere other then getting the bodyshop to warrany it against premature rust.

 

[walter clark]

Raserx you might be dissapointed to read your home owners policy. Often in cases when to use yor examples an item is damaged (especialy contents of a home ) a insurance will only pay off the fair market value of the damaged item. Therefore yes you would only recive the ammount of $ to go out and buy a used set from a pawn shop. And if your roof has consideriable age then they might require you to pay for part of the replacement. The roof repacement though tends to more often pay all as this is protecting the the financial instutions investments and they require the lender to have said insurance hence this leads to many people carrying policies that normaly wouldent. It sucks but that is the way of the world. But I do agree that if the body part is free of defects , installed properly and painted corectly there is no problem with reused parts. After all it isnt a wear item like tires or shingles.

 

[Dale Carter]

Regarding Seattle Sport Tracs comment about mods, if you have an expensive stereo, wheels, bed cover, etc etc you need to contact your insurer and ask if it is cpvered. If they say yes, get it in writing. Also, ask if it is replacement or fair market value.



For the heavily modified vehicle, like 23ballistic for example, you can buy a "stated value" policy where you tell the insurance company the value and they charge you accordingly. After all, is it fair to pay premiums based on a potential loss of $ 15,000 when your truck is really $ 100,000?

 

[Tom Schindler]

The really sad thing about insurance is when your vehicle gets older, the premimums of colision do lot lower, but the liability does.



For example, if you buy a new vehicle today and replacement is $20,000, you pay 500/year for colision. 5 years later, the value is only $8,000, but the premimum is still the same.



Sometimes I wonder if everyone is better off buying a policy based on the actual value and have it apraised once a year.





Tom

 

[Richard L]

RaserX,

If your wife's truck was hit by someone else, you have the right to take the vehicle to any repair service for repairs. You may be required to get 2 or 3 estimates and they will only pay the lowest estimate for the repairs, but they still must pay. By law you are not required to have the other guys insurance company even see your car, however they still must pay your lowest estimate. If they want to see your car, tell them to come to your house and see it. You are not required to go to their claims adjuster. The only time you will encounter problems is when there is a lot of damage that may approach the value of the vehicle.



It's handled differently if you claim the damage on your collision insurance policy. That's where you have to accept what they offer you. If you claim the damage on your own insurance, then you have to pay the deductable, rental cars (unless you paid for that coverage) and they can force you to take used parts or non-OEM parts. Plus that counts as a loss on your insurance regardless of who was at fault, and you are subject to higher insurance premiums. If the other guy has insurance, go after him and his insurance, not yours, and if you have a good insurance company they will stand by you to insure that the other guy's insurance company does not try to screw you over.



Unfortunately, Progressive has a bad reputation for denying some parts of the claim or requiring you to accept cheap or shoddy workmanship.



...Rich

 

[Raser x]

Thanks Richard...I'm trying to get in contact with their insurance right now. Funny I called them and left a message with my number to contact me. Today I received a letter from them asking me to contact them....sounds like more run around BS to me....But the three estimate thing sounds like the trick. I'll just mail them the estimates....



Progressive would really charge me? Even after they get paid back? F"in insurance companies....

 

[Raser x]

Thanks Richard...I'm trying to get in contact with their insurance right now. Funny I called them and left a message with my number to contact me. Today I received a letter from them asking me to contact them....sounds like more run around BS to me....But the three estimate thing sounds like the trick. I'll just mail them the estimates....



Progressive would really charge me? Even after they get paid back? F"in insurance companies....

 

[Dale Carter]

Progressive had to pay millions because of shoddy repairs and low quality parts in Alabama. They would even look a t a part, say a power steering pump, that cost $ 200 and say that the damaged one was 60% through it's normal life and pay $ 80 toward a new one. Ridiculous.



Keep in mind that was not for using used OEM parts but for using sub-stabdard third party replacements. That game has improved dramatically in the last few years.

 

[Tom Schindler]

Progressive does nothing different that other companies such as Allstate (Youre in good hands? Yea, they got you by the balls. I wouldn't say the hands are good though. Theresa worked there for 5 years. She has seen some real doosies.), Nationwide (on your side..."Mkay"), State Farm, Geico, and more. They all try to screw you any way possible.



Here are some things you might not know...



When you file a colision claim, it goes against you. Lets say your deductable is $500.00 and the repair is $400.00. You get a claim on your policy and the insurance company pays nothing. Your rates will increase because of a claim. There is no reason to contact your insurance company in the even of an accident if you do not live in a "no fault state". If you are not liable for the accident, you file the claim against the other guys insurance. Your insurance company is not your employee. The only reason you would ever need to contact your insurance company is if the other guy is under insured/not insured. The insurance company will them recover their money via a lawsuit against the owner of the other vehicle.



Too many people will file a claim before damage has happened. For example, a Hurricane is on it's way towards your home. People will start to call before the storm hits. They think it is first come, first served. Sorry, that isn't the way it is. Those with a missing shutter are last in line then those that lost everything. Rates are increased once a claim is filed. Even if no damage is sustained, you still have a claim.





Tom

 

[Chris Kulbaba]

Woah woah woah!



I havent looked at this thread for a while., but I just did, and I see I have some answering to do.



Im talking about HIS vehicle, if I had HIS vehicle and it was $7000 to repair, and it was worth $15,000.00 I could get it repaired anywhere I want, with the parts I wanted. I can even take the cash and not even repair it.



Of course I cant have a $4000 vehicle repaired for $7000... as I said, that would be 'written off'



Im talking in relativity... Im sure there is a percentage even below the value that they wont repair it, and just buy it out from you.... But, if the damage is only 1/2 the cost of the vehicle, it is my choice where to get it fixed, and what parts are to be used.

 

[Chris Kulbaba]

Q,



I have been in accidents before... I have lived in Alberta all my life. I have not always had new cars, but when I smashed them, I got NEW PARTS.... Weather it was my 1981 Buick, or the 97 Dakota, or whatever. I have always taken them to a body shop of my choice.



I beleive what they are saying is " PRE ACCIDENT CONDITION " It was a NEW Fender when it was hit, so they put a NEW fender on. If it was a USED fender at the time of hte accident, they would put a USED fender on, but even at that rate, they dont really check into it. I think they go by NEW part replacement values. If the NEW parts or more than the car is worth, they write it off, they dont say: well if he gets a used tire, and a new caliper, and a used fender, and a used brake line, it will be cheaper than paying him the value of his car...



My very first car was a buncha parts from 10 vehicles, painted mind you, it looked nice... but when I spun around on the highway cause I was jackin around and smashed the rear panel to peices, we put BRAND NEW parts on it....



Do you really think im making this up just to be a pain in everyones ass? Im not.



EDIT: I currently pay $160/month for a 2005 Pacifica Touring AWD(FULL LOAD) and a 2001 ST 2WD, I dont not own either of them yet, so I have FULL COVERAGE, excluding glass.



Another EDIT: Q, also in regards to too much for insurance, insurance is ONLY bad for BAD drivers... the way it should be. I have been good for the past 5 years and my rates dropped HUGE.