dfinnegan

Howard, so sorry to hear this. What a bummer. Glad you are okay.

Did this guy drift so far into your lane that you had to move left to avoid him? Scary.

Hope it all works out.

It appears to me from reading on-line that the negotiation with the insurance company is just that; a negotiation. I've had very few claims, thank goodness, but have always just assumed that what they offer is what I get. Apparently that is far from the case. Push them for every penny and hopefully you'll come close to being whole in the end.

Wow. That sucks.

Jeremy Pinsly

That sucks....I'm really glad you are ok though..........

One of Twenty

VERY sorry to hear about and see your loss. Glad you were not hurt (physically). Get her fixed up and she will be good as new. it pains me to see any injury to any P-car.......

Kahdmus

Garrett, it was a monster pick-up (if that makes sense).

Guy went right across my lane.

Would have been a head-on if I was driving anything other than a P-car or other high performance car. I was able to accelerate and swerve left onto the other side of the road at the last moment to avoid full impact. The guy slightly changed direction after hitting me and slammed into a telephone pole, caught on fire and totaled his truck. If he had MISSED me he would have driven through a fence, down an embankment and onto the freeway!!! he ran from the scene and the cops had to chase him on foot for an hour till they caught him.

In my opinion and that of the police officer at the scene, my car saved our lives and his! She now deserves to be treated properly and restored to 100%

Cody D

Maybe they can sell some of his internal organs to pay for the repairs.

velocitylover

Sorry to see your car hurt,but I'm glad you're OK.
1.Would go thru my Insurance Company and let them take it with the other party(It will not go against your driving record)
2.Take the list of recommended shops by fellow rennlisters and cross match it with recommended shops from your insurance company in the area and then check their record with Better Business Bureau - http://welcome.bbb.org/
3.Negotiate loss of value of your baby with Insurance Carrier.
4.Document as best as you can the amount of damage(pictures) in case you want to sell in the future(Doesn't look like any type of structural damage and thats good !!)
5.Make sure that front windshield frame is repaired real well = no future leak and widshield installer doesn't scrape any painted areas under the seal as they will rust eventually.

Good luck !!

Kahdmus

All really good advice gents thank you. Its really, really helpful to get this type of input as I have a few decisions to make fairly quickly.

I am considering using Cars Dawydiak in San Franciso as there reputation is seemingly second to none even though they are a bit pricey and may make me wait to get it in queue. I feel a shop with such a revered reputation may help with the long term value and perhaps just psychologocally if nothing else.

Personally, I feel that the whole car should be repainted. I can't imagine 30% being sprayed and it ever looking right! Would this be too much to hope for?

colo993

Kahdmus,

I'm very sorry about your car! I feel your pain. About a year ago some idiot hit my p-car in a parking garage when he was backing out of a parking place. He never bothered to see if the area behind his rented SUV was clear and just started backing up and hit in front of my passenger side rear wheel. I was so mad at the time but ultimately his insurance paid for everything and I got my baby fixed

Hang in there!

Paul

GothingNC

Ouch,

Sorry to hear the news but i'm glad nobody got hurt.

Good luck with getting your car fixed.

There was an elderly couple drivng a Vette on a two lane road that were killed by a drunk kid (no license, ins , papers etc) behind the wheel of a Chevy Avalanche crossed the line and hit them hit head on, they did not have a chance

I think they need to bring the death penalty for DUI offenders

John

Kahdmus

Paul, did you use your insurance to pursue after the fact or did you go straight to his insurance company?

TR6

Kahdmus, at the risk of repeating myself, make sure you google diminished value claims (if you aren't familiar with it). Even if you have no intention of ever selling it, the car now has an accident history and will be worth less than one that has never been in an accident. The other guy (or his insurance) should have to make up that gap in addition to paying to restore the car to its previous state. I wish I had known about that option years ago when my non P-car was hit. When I went to sell it later, I took a financial hit because it had an accident history.

kgorman

Glad to hear your ok! Sounds like a sketchy situation. Good luck on fixing the car.

Kahdmus

Greg, it certainly is a fair claim imo:

http://www.ican2000.com/dvfaqs.html

However, I think my immediate concern is that I want to keep my car on the road and I fear that repair costs alone may make the insurance company balk and move to write-off the car. It doesn't look like much of an accident but replacing those panels and repainting will surely be very costly. I had always had it in my mind that if someone else did the damage their insurance would HAVE to pay to repair but I don't think this is the case and believe they can write-off. Any insurance experts?

Uber 911

Kahdmus, that is a real a*se.. Picking up on your point of concern regarding write-off, this may help. Its in the UK but insurance is insurance. FYI the company buys from insurance companies and sells them on either complete or parts, the reference Cat D, is a write off.

Not dissimilar to your nasty shunt..
http://www.douglasvalley.co.uk/item....&spg=34&pgid=1

Others
http://www.douglasvalley.co.uk/resul...?pgid=1&spg=34

colo993

Kahdmus,

The day of my accident I went straight to his insurance company. They paid for everything.

Paul