OT: Accident today with wife's new car

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Thomas Rogers

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Everyone is alright, no one seems to be hurt.



She was driving the 07 Pacifica back from the doctor's, two of our kids in the car with her.



Going down a two lane road, with center, shared turning lane and wide shoulders; your typical commericial drive.



A "young kid" (early 20s at most) driving a 95 Ford Focus Lx was on the shoulder on the right, with turning signal on preparing to make a turn onto a sideroad. My wife saw him, and just drove by normally (yes, the shoulders are that wide, she didn't have to move over much if at all), and as she did the guy decided not to take the turn, and pulled back into traffic without looking.



His left front clipped her right rear. Damage to his vehicle was a busted up plastic fender on the left corner, wiped out headlight assembly, and minor dent to the hood.



He hit the wife's Pacifica on the rear passenger door, pretty bad damage there, and it appears since she was moving then his front slid down from there across the front of the rear fender (before the wheel well), across the 19" alloy wheel (major scuffs) and then gouged across the side of the back bumper. Lots of tupperware damage (three pieces of gray rocker panel). I suspect the door will be replaced, along with the plastic bumper, the rear quater panel doctored with filler, and all the tupperware replaced.



The other driver said to the police lady on the scene, and I quote: "It's my fault". He also said that he would rather we not get our insurance companies involved. Frankly, with a 4 month old car, an accident that was his fault, and probably over $2K worth of damage I told him at the scene that we "would be going through the insurance company."



PA is NOT a no-fault, and as such I already turned the claim into his insurance company (Geico), and they have already assumed liability and responsibility. I first called my insurance company (Allstate) and they said that if I am sure that he was at fault, that I should make the claim with his insurance company directly. It all seems to be going well...so far.



An adjuster will be contacting us. We get a rental car from Enterprise paid by Geico.



I can post a pic if you guys really want to see one.



I drove her away from the scene for my wife, but am taking it to the dealer's service center soon just for a quick visual inspection of the wheel...it looks, feels, and sounds good when you drive, so I think all is okay.



TJR
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Yeah, sorry to hear it, Glad everyone is ok !!.....



I am waiting for the money from my neighbor for when they hit me, IF not by this weekend, I call the cops..



Todd Z
 
TJR,



Glad all are O.K.! And again, document everything just to be safe. And some good

pics wouldn't hurt, either. Not necessarily for us, but for your records.

Let us know how the repairs turn out.



TnB...
 
Years ago, I got into a accident with a Asian couple from New York on I95 in Md. They could barely speak english but kept saying over and over, no call insurance, no call insurance. Being that i was 24 and the car was a heap to begin with and I could still drive it, I figured what the hell. Got the estimate, mailed it to them, they mailed it back promptly with payment. Later, I got hit by a south american dude, same story, I ended up having to contact local police buddies to find out his insurance info and then went through them because he wouldn't return my phone calls.



It's a roll of the dice. Glad family was safe though.
 
Glad to hear that everyone's ok. Also, if Geico already assumed liability and responsibility, this should help bring the stress level down a bit, I hope.
 
Here is the pic...no, it doesn't look that bad. I haven't had the adjuster look at it yet, but I did take it to the collision center where I will likely get it worked on.



He said since it is 4 years old that we should push for: a new door, a new tire, a new wheel, a new bumper, and all new tupperware. They will take off both doors on that side and prep and repaint both so they blend, paint the bumper then put it on, then mask and redo the entire rear quarter, even where it wraps around up to the roof and runs along to the front.



[Broken External Image]:



TJR
 
Push for new. Is it leased to purchase? If a lease, they may bump out the damage are refinish the wheel. That really stinks since the car is so new. He is responsible since he hit you. The police report should speak volumes.
 
Big Al,



It is a purchased vehicle, we took delivery the end of April of this year.



The police report I haven't seen yet, only an incident report. The report takes 24 hrs. However, as I think I said, the kid said to the police: "It's my fault!".



BTW, as for the picture...



There is a crease on the rear door above the cladding...it starts on the first third of the door, and that ends in a big dent and bulge on the far left side of the door...and the inside wall of the door is bent up too. The inside of door jam doesn't appear to be messed up at all, but you can see quite a bit of damage on the fender, again above the cladding on the right side...then it's all wheel damage (which the picture doesn't show, but it is really messed up on the surface with blue paint and scratches), rubs on the tire sidewall, and the bumper.



TJR
 
TJR,



Now that I see the pic, it doesn't look all that bad. Not that I don't agree with you and

others here, but the insurance company is probably going to get out of it "On The Cheap"

on this one, or try to, anyway. Again, document this with pictures and anything written

that you can get (you have a right to it all). And you have the right to request all new

factory parts for anything replaced. Also, as most of us know, anything red, among other colors, is hard to match. You may not have much problem with this, as it's new, and the paint probably does not suffer from any fading yet, but I'd still make sure you get a good

guarantee from the shop where you have your work done.



Good Luck, again, and let us know...;)
 
I'm glad no one was hurt.



I think you have things under good control.



TrackNBlack brings up a good point: I have seen red vehicles repaired/repainted and look great when done, but a few years later the fading is way different and they look horrible. You may want to get it repaired and then plan to trade it within a year so you don't have to deal with the long-term stuff that such a repair is likely to bring.



Good luck.
 
TJR,



Don't fall into the trap of insisting on a new door shell if this one can be repaired. The new door comes as a shell only. All the guts and trim have to be transfered. Many opportunities for squeaks and rattles once it is reassembled.



Talk to the body shop and if they are reputable go with the repair technique they recommend.



Once the repairs are done you can attempt to present a diminished value claim by having the car appraised for any residual loss in value.
 
Glad she's okay.

Last week my wife stopped when the car in front of her was waiting to turn left and got rear ended. This is the second time this has happened. Two years ago she was sitting at a red light, same thing. Damage isn't too bad, just need to get the bumper painted. Again.
 
Glad to hear everyone is OK.



One thing that annoys me w/your story...



YOUR insurance company told you that you should deal directly w/the kids insurance company. Is it just me or is something wrong here? You pay your insurance company a signifigant amount of cash every year to provide a service. Wether it's your fault or not, it shouldn't matter. It should be up to them to contact that kid's insurance company and work things out, not you. Maybe this is how it works for all insurance companies, IDK, but frankly, it's BS.



Steve
 
Steve,



Your own insurance company telling you to go to the other company may constitute bad faith. Each state has statutes on how insurance companies must operate and if you violate those statutes it is bad faith.



If TJR explained to his agent/company the facts of the loss and his own company told him go to Geico, bad faith.



If he called his company and told them Geico already is handling the claim then no their is no bad faith since you can only make the claim against one company or the other.



There are benefits and drawbacks to both routes. Use your own company and it should (theoretically) go smoothly but you will pay a deductible regardless of fault. You may/may not carry rental coverage while your car is under repair. It will take a while for your company to get your deductible back and it may not always be the full amount.



Have the other company handle it, no deductible but their primary obligation is to their insured not you and they will do what is in their customers best interest.
 
Fkent, Steve,



I called my insurance company first. They explained that since it was clear that the other driver was at fault, and that he had insurance through Geico, a company that they have had good claims experience with, that I should work directly with Geico and not open a claim with them.



My insurance company indicated that they can help if needed, but that they would not open a claim.



I was expecting the insurance companies to battle it out, but frankly I think this is more of a "customer service" issue than a "bad faith" issue.



TJR
 

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