As some of you may recall, I had a wee bit of a fender bender on the expressway a couple months ago. Well I just got done finalizing the settlement on the total loss of the GTP. It was a pretty messy roller coaster ride to the end, so I've provided a timeline of the ordeal below.
4/9 - I get into an accident on my way to work as described here. I called in the accident to the insurance company, and was told an adjuster would get back to me shortly. The adjuster called and told me they'd send an inspector out to assess if the car is worth repairing. She informed me that they would try, but chances are they couldn't get anyone out Friday to look at the car since it was Good Friday, and they were only working till 11:00 AM.
4/10 - The inspector calls me to inform me that she can't get out to see the car till Monday.
4/13 - The inspector calls me to inform me she's looked at the car, and it will be a total loss. The car is valued at $6,050 according to NADA, and she assessed the repairs to be $6,700. I was also informed that under Illinois state law, you can't buy back a totaled car that's 9 years or newer. She tells me that she will talk to the salvage yard to find out what they'll give the insurance company for it (not sure why that would matter since I was told I can't keep the car), and will get back to me with her offer for the car. At this point, I'm at a total loss as to what I'm going to do. I'm renting a car out of my pocket, and have 0 time to go looking for a new car, not to mention I won't be left with jack for money to buy another one with.
4/14 - I call the inspector's manager to tell him about my dissatisfaction with the decision, and how I've been having anxiety attacks since being told I wasn't going to be able to keep the car on top of all this. I told him my car's being valued too low, and the repairs are estimated WAY too high, and we haven't discussed cheaper alternatives. None OEM parts, used parts, or even taking off some of the repairs, like the wheels and front bumper, so we could get it under the total loss marker. He tells me to let him familiarize himself with my case, and he'd get back to me.
4/14 - Later that day, the inspector calls me back rather than the manager, and informs me that I WILL be able to "retain" the car. She also goes over the numbers with me for their offer on the car. If I decided to keep the car, I would be left with $3,600. I told her I'd have to think over what I was going to do. The break down of the numbers she gave me is below. It wasn't until I sat down a day or two later and wrote out the numbers that I realized somewhere along the way, $500 magically disappeared in her math.
$6,050.00 starting value
- $959.49 prior damage/conditioning
- $500.00 for ???
- $100.00 my deductible
$4,490.51 total without car
- $900.00 to retain the car
$3,590.51 total with car
4/14 - I ask Haggerty Pontiac (where the car has been sitting since the accident) if they could at least inspect the car for suspension damage for me to see if it would be safe to drive away. I was 99% sure it was fine, but I wanted to be positive. They inform me it will be $150 to do such an inspection, so I hesitate on letting them do it. That evening, I decided I was going to throw on some spare wheels I had laying around the next day, and try to drive it home to at least get it off the dealer's lot, where storage charges were being assessed daily. I was told several times I wouldn't be responsible for those, but again, I didn't want to take a chance, and I had no idea how much longer this was going to go on. Not to mention, I wasn't about to continue renting a car for another few weeks if I could help it.
4/15 - I take everything with me that I will need to swap out the wheels after work. Upon removing the wheels, I couldn't see anything bent or broken on the suspension. I would have to wait till the next night to attempt to drive it home since I had no way of getting the rental car and the GTP home that night. I also signed the form releasing the dealership from any responsibility if anything happens after the car leaves the lot since I wasn't heeding their warning that the car is dangerous to drive (which wasn't based on anything since the car wasn't inspected).
4/16 - I drop off the rental car, and get a ride to work. After work, I walked over to Haggerty Pontiac (it's right next door to the strip mall I work in), and cautiously drove the car off. Everything felt fine except that it was pulling to the left significantly. I was confident enough to drive it from there on out, which afforded me the ability to take my time with the settlement. I've had the frame and suspension thoroughly checked in the air 3 times since then, and everything actually looks solid. The pulling is either due to the alignment being thrown out of whack, or the ancient, unevenly worn tires I put on.
I won't bore you with any further details about everything that transpired from this point on, but it involved me putting together a strong case for why the starting value of the car is too low in my opinion, and them sticking to the "we have to go off of NADA" company line. After pleading my case, this is the best the inspector could offer me:
$6,050.00 starting value
- $759.49 prior damage/conditioning
- $100.00 my deductible
$5,290.51 total without car
- $700.00 to retain the car
$4,490.51 total with car
From that point on, I had to go through the manager since the inspector told me she can't give anything more than that. I again plead my case to him, and he told me they were already giving me a more than fair amount considering what their research says the value of this car is. He offered another $200 ($4,700 total) just so "we can end this", and I told him I'd think it over again. Last Friday, I called him again and put the final offer on the table. I had a towing bill of $174 that they were responsible for reimbursing. I asked with that included, would he do an even $5,000. After reviewing my case and thinking it over a few minutes, he called back and said fine, we can do that. And so, I got my 2 checks totaling $5k Saturday, and I got to keep the car. :mrgreen:
So the accident kind of turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I wasn't hurt, the car is pretty easily repairable for fairly cheap, and I'll have a decent chunk of change left over, even after I get the repairs taken care of. I already found a nearly mint rear black door with everything in tact (pwr window regulator, glass, door panel, etc) the Saturday after I got the car home.......for $75!!! Now to get to work on the little bastard. *cracks his knuckles*
hogan 3inch DP u bend delete ,180*tstat, autolite 104s, LED interior, 4" FWI, 2000watt system, bullitt rims, zzp pistons, pems, alt rewire, thrush muffs, 3.4 zzp mps, transgo shift kit, triple edge performance trans. autometer triple pod :SOON: urlosn HPT PCM tune, HEADERS, 1.9's
It's about time the little guys win one against the giants.
Originally Posted by RareGMFan
