Another insurance question

[vicki]

Ok, so the *****'s insurance company called me today. They said that they'd send an appraisal guy out because she claims that my car had damages before she hit it. At the scene, she was on the phone with her mom and said, "But mom, the car is old so it probably already had dents and stuff." So I guess that's what she told her insurance company.

Anyway, my question is: Should I go ahead and get an estimate anyway?

Any other advice as to what I should do?

Thanks a lot guys!

[Sirikool]

Thats messed up. So how are they gonna fix ur dents? Figure out which dents she made? Take it to a forensic lab?

[gabossie]

Man, I don't understand people. If I was a dumb *****, and I ****ed up someone elses car because I'm so dumb, I'd feel bad and get it taken care of as quickly as possible. What's she trying to do? Save her insurrance company money??? Not like it'll make any difference to her anyway... but she's probably to dumb to figure that out too.

[240Knightrider]

hey, she is just trying to make the ins. happier.

The have to check for prior damage anyway with or without you knowing. Yes get the estimate done and let them know exactly what was hers and not. Be honest though. Cause most that I have seen that are not havent gotten very far. Hope this helps.

[Anand]

Get your own estimate...

regardless, it was her fault, you can take her to court if you wanted to... You should be compensated for the damage that she did to your car.

She can say all the crap that she wants... The insurace companies will try to bend you over... but don't let them.

If all fails, get a lawyer and sue her arse...

[DAEDALUS]

"But mom, the car is old so it probably already had dents and stuff."

"In that case, my neck was just fine before you put a kink in it, you pompous b1tch!"

[C-Kwik]

It can't hurt to let them inspect the car. If there was no prior damage it will be rather difficult to prove there was. If the damage is consistent with the loss, then it should look pretty clear. It's not the girl's decision what gets paid. The insurance company decides that.

Getting an estimate on your own does not change the case. You go to 10 different shops you will get 10 different estimates. An insurance company will generally pay based on their own estimate and then negotiate any differences with the shop you use directly.

Getting a lawyer doesn't change the case either. People threaten me with this all day long. The damages are still the damages. If it will stand up in court without an attorney, it will stand up on court with one...and vice versa.

And it may not be an issue of trying to save the insurance company money. But should someone get compensated for something that was not owed to them? There is nothing wrong with trying to make sure a person is paid only what they are owed. Perhaps the girl's opinion on whether there is prior damage or not is incorrect, but the reasoning behind her pointing it out is not. And if insurance companies save money, we all save money.

[gabossie]

True. The way I took it though, was that this girl was just trying to make things difficult. Since there was never any mention of previous damage, and I am 99% sure there wasn't, I saw what this girl is doing, just annoying. Granted, when the insurance appraiser gets out there, he will see whether there was or not, and Vicki will be compensated appropriatly.

Quote »But mom, the car is old so it probably already had dents and stuff.[/quote]That's what really bothered me. It PROBABLY already had dents and stuff. Even if it did, why does it matter? A few dings here and there in an area which she has now completely molested is not going to make a difference anyway. When they fix the damage, they will have to pull the dings that happened in the same area previously as well. Of course, I'm sure this is not a direct quote either, and I took it too literally. I'm all for saving insurance companies money. The more they spend, the more they charge the rest of us.

[vicki]

I completely understand what you're saying. My annoyance is that she's been trying to lowball me and get me to not contact her insurance company and now that I have, she is making it difficult to get what I deserve. And insurance appraisals are generally lower than the estimate I'd get at a shop. There was no previous damage there except for a small scratch or two. I just don't understand why she won't take responsibility for what she did.

Oh and this was a hit and run? Is there anything I can do to screw her over on that basis?

[MinisterofDOOM]

I've had a similar experience. When I first got my driver's lisence, I hit some kid in a parking lot. The fault was neither of ours, but rather the fault of some illegally parked cars so we couldn't see eachother. My car climbed up on his, so his whole front right fender was destroyed. My car suffered only a crack in the left of the front bumper.

After the insurance claims were made, he tried to make it look as though some previous damage--a cracked block--to his car was sustained during the crash with me. The insurance company didn't buy it to begin with, but after appraisal of his car, the completely wrote it off as bullsh!t. My point is that the insurance company is amazingly good at discriminating (heh...stangely applicable example for another thread right now...) between what is claimed to be damage from your crash, and what really is damage from that crash. I wouldn't worry too much.

[Altiman94]

post pics of the said damage, I'm just curious.

I hope it all gets worked out.

[Anand]

call the cops.. file a hit and run report

[Sirikool]

"In that case, my neck was just fine before you put a kink in it, you pompous b1tch!"

lmao. *CLAP* *CLAP*