tony732

So this happened this past Wednesday. Uninsured driver hit me while I was in the process of making a left turn (he was at fault). Body shop is awaiting a formal appraisal from the insurance company, however, the shop guy stated he believed it was repairable (it needs a new hood, driver's side door, tire/wheel, suspension repair, and a few other things). I'm simply looking for opinions from others at this point.

caged

usually only written off if there's frame damage, or the damage exceeds the blue book value. so it looks repairable.

did the uninsured driver stick around? did you get his name? and is there any way you can sue him for the damage, or probably not possible since the insurance company is gonna pay. i just hope your rates don't go up just for some cheap jackass not buying insurance. i hope he got charged for driving with no insurance. up here it's minimum 5000.00 fine just for that.

tony732

Oddly enough he stuck around. The guy said he was insured but didn't have an insurance card handy (that's a red flag right there). He gave me his agent's name/phone number who later verified that there was no active coverage on the vehicle he hit me with, however, he did have active coverage on two other vehicles. The police gave him two tickets: failure to yield and no proof of insurance. I spoke to an attorney about the issue, and his advice was to sit back and let my insurance (State Farm) go after him. They would only step in if State Farm dropped the ball on something.

The preliminary damage estimate given by insurance was around $6,100, however, the body shop said it would likely be closer to $10-11k once the repairs are done.

Despite this accident being "no fault", I wouldn't be surprised if they raise my rates when the next six months renew. Prior to this, I had no accidents or traffic tickets, yet they raised it $15 dollars last renewal period for some unknown reason.

94zj318

As long as there's no structural damage (frame, etc.) and the airbags haven't been deployed, I don't see why it wouldn't be repairable. You should DEFINITELY hire a lawyer to negotiate with the insurance company, and DON'T try to do it yourself or let the body shop do it.

tony732

According to the body shop, there's no frame damage but it will need some suspension and axle work. The impact occurred at rather low speeds <20 mph, so the airbags didn't deploy. So far the 4 lawyers I've spoken to want nothing to do with the case. They believe it's not worth it money-wise to pursue the matter.

fb97xj1

Appears to be mostly cosmetic and suspension, but did the body shop take measurements? That is the only way to really know for sure if the frame is 100%. It may look ok, but can still be tweaked just enough to need a pull, even if it is only minor. Hopefully the suspension took all of it and the frame really is ok, which it very well could be. Just throwing that out there.

tony732

Appreciate the input. I'm fairly certain they did take measurements. This particular body shop I'm dealing with is quite reputable, honest, and thorough (the PD I work for does business with them on a regular basis, so I trust them). They actually shot me an e-mail this morning stating that the suspension work is already done. That and the electrical components were double checked by an outside mechanic. They're now starting on the body work. All of the repairs should be wrapped up in another week or so. We'll see what happens when they test drive it.

Astro Anon

It doesn't look like it is totaled to me. I would have to agree with others that it looks mostly cosmetic.

tony732

Aside from a bent wheel and broken axle (hard to see in the pics), everything else appears to be ok according to the body shop.

94zj318

I think you need to hire a laywer that focuses mostly on auto accidents and will deal with insurance companies... go to your lawyers and ask if they know of anyone, or do a quick Google search.

tony732

All patched up! Still working on the legal end of things, but at least I have it back.

94zj318

Looks good! Sometimes when a car is fixed it's better and tighter than the factory could put it together. Hope the legal stuff all works out.