Need insurance advice....Just wrecked my Black Beauty!

[VeNumb]

Cold weather, cold tires, shifted 1st to 2nd second, lost rear-end...So I spun around and hit tree and curb....

I am dealing with Farmers Insurance. I agreed to have sent to one of their "providers" at least for an estimate. Huffines Body shop in Lewisville. I know Huffines has a Dodge dealership, so I assume it was safe place.

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Sorry, pic was from camera phone

Any ways, the estimate so far is sloe to $40,000, and the shop manager is still giving me the impression that the insurance company will pay for repair and not total the car.

No frame damage and air bags didnt even deply. Just expensive body panels/headlight/wheels and rear axle bent.

I am afraid the value of my car will be less due to carfax. Someone told me that I can ask my insurance company about "Loss of Value" reimb. if they insist on repair. Does anyone know about this?

Thanks in advance for any / all help.

-George

 

[Racer Robbie]

Once the car has been repaired and paid for by your insurance company then it will be in a CarFax report. the report will show that the car has been crashed and repaired. There for it will be worth less money. You have the right to have the car repaired at any body shop of your choice. The law says so. You should have the car taken to another shop that specializes in Vipers for a second estimate. It is hard to believe that you did not bend the frame or at least bend where the upper and lower control arms mount. If the estimate goes to the high side of $40,000-$50,000 I would be admazed that they do not total it as there are some great deals to be had now on new vipers.

 

[DodgeViper01]

Sorry to hear about the crash. Wish you all the best regarding the repair situation.

 

[Brad04Mamba]

If the repair is over $40K ask the ins carrier to write you a check, with as little damage as you said, you could part out the car for 30K and be ahead of the deal

 

[Lee00blacksilverGTS]

You need to get that car totaled, you will lose your rear with a carfax report on it when you sell. Call JonB at partsRack regarding the cars value and how to get it totaled, it you ask for original body parts, a frame alignement check and that it goes to a show car level body shop AND ask for diminished value it should total it for sure.
You also might want to look at this thread from the RT10/GTS forum from recent days.

http://www4.forum.viperclub.org/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=752406&an=0&page=0#Post752406

 

[Bill Pemberton Woodhouse]

Keep in mind that the vehicle will be worth alot less, as Lee noted, but you need to check your policy, as many no longer will give you diminished value ( in fact many companies specifically exclude this provision , now )

 

[boplaw]

Bill is correct. Most policies specifically exclude depreciation on first party property damage claims. Carriers will usually total it if the repairs exceed 70% of the fair market value of the vehicle. Of course these are numbers that can be skewed one way or the other by both sides. Good luck.

 

[KepRght]

If the repair is over $40K ask the ins carrier to write you a check, with as little damage as you said, you could part out the car for 30K and be ahead of the deal

this is sound advice, if the ins company will indeed cut you a check; most want to see the car once its repaired to release the funds.

 

[JonB]

You need to get that car totaled, you will lose your rear with a carfax report on it when you sell. Call JonB at partsRack regarding the cars value and how to get it totaled, it you ask for original body parts, a frame alignement check and that it goes to a show car level body shop AND ask for diminished value it should total it for sure.

George, (Sadly) I've been able to help quite a few folks here in your predicament. Lee and others are correct, your goal should be a total. What year is your car? I checked your profile and post and I dont see a YEAR. THE YEAR MATTERS:

If this is an '03, it will probably TOTAL. If this is an '06 we will need to work at it to get it totalled. I'm here Mon-Tue only.....then to Detroit.

 

[my viper]

Man, that *****. Sorry to hear about the crash. Hope everything sorts out well and soon.

 

[Finally got it !]

Don't be to sure about the Carfax. 30k for cosmetic repairs on my Viper. Two years later and it was still not on Carfax. Same with my friend Dave. He too had about 26k on a gen I. Also never reported to Carfax.
I always thought about selling my car to my wife and collecting there so called 5k guarantee....

 

[zen garage]

if the insurance company has not been out yet, slip the shop owner 1grr to turn his head and start beating the living crap out of it with a bat to make sure it totals. once that car is repaired and it appears on carfax it is worth 10 if not 20% less than a no story car.

airbags are easy to deploy, but I dont know this from first hand knowledge.

 

[V10SpeedLuvr]

Don't be to sure about the Carfax. 30k for cosmetic repairs on my Viper. Two years later and it was still not on Carfax. Same with my friend Dave. He too had about 26k on a gen I. Also never reported to Carfax.
I always thought about selling my car to my wife and collecting there so called 5k guarantee....

Was your car totalled? I think the Carfax guarantee is only good if the car has a salvage title and they don't show it on their report. Many states don't report non-totalled accidents, etc. to Carfax, so unless its a salvage vehicle, Carfax never finds out about it

 

[KEast]

Just curious. Was it a spirited shift or just very casual? It may be helpful to re-state how little traction cold tires have. I would like to know as I also have just a little seat time in the Viper, and this is my first cold weather season with it.

 

[Warfang]

You need to get that car totaled, you will lose your rear with a carfax report on it when you sell. Call JonB at partsRack regarding the cars value and how to get it totaled, it you ask for original body parts, a frame alignement check and that it goes to a show car level body shop AND ask for diminished value it should total it for sure.

George, (Sadly) I've been able to help quite a few folks here in your predicament. Lee and others are correct, your goal should be a total. What year is your car? I checked your profile and post and I dont see a YEAR. THE YEAR MATTERS:

If this is an '03, it will probably TOTAL. If this is an '06 we will need to work at it to get it totalled. I'm here Mon-Tue only.....then to Detroit.

Don't mean to get off-topic, but what's JonB gonna do in Detroit??? Pickin up another snake... or checking out the new ones? hmmmm...

I see black helicopters.

 

[VENOMAHOLIC]

My deepest sympathies to you and your Viper. Hope you get treated well and back on the road asap.

 

[ROCKET62]

George,

Just PM'ed ya.

ROCKET

 

[NHL2133]

Like Lee said, look at this thread, and BEWARE of HUFFINES!
http://www4.forum.viperclub.org/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=752406&an=0&page=0#Post752406

 

[Racer Robbie]

Don't be to sure about the Carfax. 30k for cosmetic repairs on my Viper. Two years later and it was still not on Carfax. Same with my friend Dave. He too had about 26k on a gen I. Also never reported to Carfax.
I always thought about selling my car to my wife and collecting there so called 5k guarantee....

I had this happen on one of the Ferraris I bought. It turned out that the owner paid for the repair out of his own pocket in green cash there for it was never reported to CarFax as there was no insurance claim.

 

[zorroespanol]

Like Lee said, look at this thread, and BEWARE of HUFFINES!
http://www4.forum.viperclub.org/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=752406&an=0&page=0#Post752406

Informative thread, but what's the relevance...?

 

[Racer Robbie]

It is a good post as Zorro says. I will tell you this much, when I took my viper in for warranty service on the lights I insisted that I stand right there while they worked on it. I even drove it into and out of the dealers shop.

 

[FrankBarba]

Sorry about your Loss.....BUT REMEMBER THE OUTSIDE TEMPERATURES ARE GETTING COLDER. PLEASE LET YOUR TIRES WARM UP BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO DO SOMETHING
S T U P I D.... IF YOU MUST DO SOME SPIRITED START SLOW.....

 

[VNMOUS]

Wife had a wreck recently in our Expedition, about 3K worth of damage. Paid the deductible and got the car repaired. Two weeks later got a letter from State Farm saying that there was a law recently enacted and they were required to pay me for the decreased value of the car. I was shocked, but there was a check with the letter that I very happily cashed. It wasn't much, but the car isn't worth much either. If I can find the letter and the applicalble law, I will post it.

 

[zen garage]

Certain bodyshops are required by agreement to report all repairs to carfax. becareful. although you do not pay, or nobody pays for repairs there is a chance it will end up on carfax if the bodyshop reports to carfax.

just my .02 i own a bodyshop

 

[Andrew/USPWR]

If the repair is over $40K ask the ins carrier to write you a check, with as little damage as you said, you could part out the car for 30K and be ahead of the deal

this is sound advice, if the ins company will indeed cut you a check; most want to see the car once its repaired to release the funds.

Been there did that. Worked out well.

Very sorry about the ride though.

 

[Racer Robbie]

Wife had a wreck recently in our Expedition, about 3K worth of damage. Paid the deductible and got the car repaired. Two weeks later got a letter from State Farm saying that there was a law recently enacted and they were required to pay me for the decreased value of the car. I was shocked, but there was a check with the letter that I very happily cashed. It wasn't much, but the car isn't worth much either. If I can find the letter and the applicalble law, I will post it.

Please do us all the honor of following thru on this one as I have not heard of this new law. If you can find that letter and post it that would be of great help to all of us here and I will post it in my shop too.

Robbie

 

[KepRght]

that must be a state law? i cant imagine GA being that progressive

 

[Leslie]

WOW sooo sorry! I cannot even BEGIN to imagine what you are going through.

Hope everything works out

 

[Andrew/USPWR]

The temps have dropped down to the 60s here in FL and the SRT/10 is loving it, but the back end done get squirrelly on cooler tyres.

 

[BDZ1984]

First Huffines Body shop is worse than there service...

call me I can help you out. I sponser the North Texas Club... PM for a Number