Edgy01

Glad to hear everyone survived intact. On Saturday I had two cars attempt to ram me by making illegal lane changes from a left lane into mine (right) which was moving, compared to theirs which were at a standstill. The second one NEARLY got nailed had I not been on top of things and radically brake. It was a pickup truck that never bothered (apparently) to check the right rear before proceeding to change lanes at an intersection. If we could get everyone to follow the rules it would be so much easier!

Streamlined

Glad things didn't turn out worse then they did and its great that you have a solid witness, that can make all the difference. Do see a doctor though asap, it may not feel like much right now but the effect of the accident can have a variety of rammifications on your body over time (I still have times where my neck/disc are painful). A good exam and physical therapy might prevent or help mitigate any issues you might have.

THPorsche

Glad you are OK, State Fram has been good for me also. Hope you will get your car back soon!

rbjbbb

E,
Don't forget to push hard for Diminished Value. You will have to go against the other insurance as a 3rd party. Doubtful St. Fm. will help you out much. I am fighting a case now.
As a frame of reference,
My wife's 2004 325 CI Cabr. was rear ended. Car's worth about 28k or so. Suffered $9500 in repairs. All damages had been repaired and I wanted to make sure I was going to recover as much of the value of the car in the event I sold it. I had an independant company assess the DV. They stated $11,500 or about 40%, factors contributing were frame damage and the fact most will have to go on the wholesale block with this extensive record of repair. The other parties insurance CO hired their own DV assessor, and this guy came in around $4500. I kicked back at them for the mid point which was around 7500 or so. I just heard back and they are rigid at 6000 or 21.5% of value. I will probably settle vs going to court since this is such a subjective aspect. All my handlings were directly with the other parties insurance company since they were at fault. This was even without a police ticket given. Just admitted fault.
Hope this helps,
RB

Eharrison

Apparently you did not miss one close call, but missed another....

boolala

The brakes on my p-car (and I have the standard not turbo brakes) have saved me on at least two occasions. Whenever I drive my Benz by comparison I feels like the brakes don't even work properly by comparison (fewer miles than the pcar).

Coochas

Eilig,
Pleased that you are OK but of course sad for you and your p-car. Everything will turn out fine in the end and if they can't fix the car then you'll just have to get a new one!

xeron

go to the body shop that fixes the Ferraris and lambos. You can take the car anywhere you want.

crg1717

eilig , Today, a customer at my parking garage told the car wash guy that a porsche with yellow calipers was involved in a bad accident (he thought it was my car)near the cbot. glad to hear that everyone was ok . a split second can change lives forever . crg

mglobe

No reason to not post other than not boring folks with stuff I think I've posted before. I prefer to not post the dollar amounts on my claim, but otherwise...

In some states the diminution of value of a vehicle as a result of an accident is recognized. Other states apparently don't recognize this, though I can't tell you which ones those are. I do know that policies in Texas do cover this provided it is the other driver's fault.

My experience was that I had to tell my insurance company that I was going to claim diminished value. They were not going to offer it volunarily (duh). When I first talked to them about it, they acted like that was something that they did not typically do, then tried to tell me that it would be a nominal amount. They never said "no", they just were a bit evasive in my opinion. This is the only time in almost 36 years with State Farm that I've ever had to press them on a claim, and I can understand why to some extent, as it is a subjective thing.

The decrease in value to your car is determined AFTER the car has been repaired. This is required so that appraisers can determine the condition of the vehicle post-accident. The appraisers basically look at your car, come up with the value of the car if it had not been hit, and then somehow give you a value for the car with the accident on the record. It's very subjective, and because I was expecting a negotiation, I employed a third party appraiser in addition to my insurance company. After I got the car back from the body shop, both appraisers estimated the car at essentially the same amount. However, my third party appraiser estimated the diminution in value at four times what insurance offered me. I used this information to negotiate the insurance settlement to double what they originally offered.

The DV settlement came out to almost exactly the same amount as the body shop invoice. From what I've been told, expecting a settlement of that size is a fairly good rule of thumb to go by.

Hope that helps everyone, & I hope few ever need to use this information!

rbjbbb

Hey Globe, I know you don't want to give out too many details but I wondered if you could share whether the final DV claim exceeded 22% of the pre-accident cash value of your car.

Just trying to feel out my deal before settling. Repair amounts are one way, but the % of ACV is typically what I hear targeted.

Thanks,
RB

911Dave

Excellent Mike, thanks. That's useful info.

mglobe

Somewhat less than that. Based on my experience 22% would be a pretty good settlement. Your mileage may vary.

You've got a PM.

DJ23

Eilig hope all goes well. If you can remember I had a similar situation to the rear of my car last December. Restoration company was able to fix like new. If they couldn't I would have gotten a new one. Glad everyone is doing well, hang in there.

Jay

jimmc8

Same thing happened to me last year only it was me that got broadsided. Advice, get it fixed and then get another car. It'll never be the same.