Somuch for an accident free car.

[HLN A55]

So, I am out washing the car in my condo complex, preparing to enjoy the beautifull weather, when all of a sudden a neighbor comes screaming around the corner and plows into the Viper at a good 15 mph. She was not paying attention and didn't even have time to hit the brakes.

She was driving a rental car because her car was getting fixed from the last accident she was in. My bumper is all out of shape and scratched all to hell. It was pushed up and way out of line. Her bumper is all [*****] up. We called both insurance companies on the spot-just a waiting game now.

I soo damn furious right now. I paid to get a perfect accident free car, now it's going to show an accident on it's record. Just [*****] great.

 

[Neil - UK]

that stinks, some people shouldnt be allowed to drive !

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

Get everything new. The body shop will say they can repair a panel, bumper cover, etc. but insist on all new parts.

Also get a diminished value judgement.

 

[2BADD 4U]

Get everything new. The body shop will say they can repair a panel, bumper cover, etc. but insist on all new parts.

Also get a diminished value judgement.

DITTO....don't settle for less.

 

[Supercharged Vipermad]

And remember two other words....civil litigation.

 

[WILDASP]

So, I am out washing the car in my condo complex, preparing to enjoy the beautifull weather, when all of a sudden a neighbor comes screaming around the corner and plows into the Viper at a good 15 mph. She was not paying attention and didn't even have time to hit the brakes.

She was driving a rental car because her car was getting fixed from the last accident she was in. My bumper is all out of shape and scratched all to hell. It was pushed up and way out of line. Her bumper is all f*cked up. We called both insurance companies on the spot-just a waiting game now.

I soo damn furious right now. I paid to get a perfect accident free car, now it's going to show an accident on it's record. Just f*cking great.

No matter what else we may run out of,we'll never have a shortage of idiots!

 

[HLN A55]

Get everything new. The body shop will say they can repair a panel, bumper cover, etc. but insist on all new parts.

Also get a diminished value judgement.

Trust me, no problem there. I will defin. be going after diminished value, but have no idea what to ask.

Any of y'all have to deal with this before?

 

[96GTS]

I agree, get new parts. If you do sell the car in the future and the buyer finds that it has been wrecked, at least you can say it was repaired using new parts. Even if it's not all that bad, get pictures and have them on hand to show the next owner. Get the frame and suspension checked as well. I'm sure you know, but '96 and up Vipers have aluminum suspension components and they don't do well in accidents.

 

[Midwest Muscle]

That would piss me off more than I could put into words. How long do they expect her to be in intensive care from the beating you gave her?!

Mike M

 

[V10SpeedLuvr]

The best I remember the way diminished value works is, get an estimate from a Dodge dealer on the value of the car WITH IT WRECKED (before any repairs--or atleast take pics so u can show them) and then get an estimate for the same car if the wreck had never occured. You should get the difference. Example--car is worth $45k wrecked, $50k not wrecked. You should get a seperate check for $5k plus the check for the repairs.

 

[plumcrazy]

and it might NOT show up on carfax so dont worry too much

 

[George Farris]

Was she, also, on the phone???

 

[Jay Herbert]

Parking lots are ugly places. Hopefully TX is not a "No-Fault" insurance state, and the officer ticketed her for inattentive driving. The diminished value is a "for sure", you may need letters from a few reputable sources to proove it. Dealers that sell a lot of Vipers can be a good source.

Be sure to fully document the damage, and the work done to correct it. How well the repair is documented will make a difference at sale time. If all is fixed with new parts and no-frame damage is prooven (or fully corrected) it will have less impact on the sales price.

Sadly (as you found out in your hunt) there are a lot of reworked Vipers out there, and not all have been fixed correcdtly.

 

[got one]

Grayson, it didn't look too bad. But Joe will take care of you. HOpefully he can get you in and out before the drive

But yes...don't settle on anything.

 

[mit]

I used JonB at Parts Rack for a diminished value claim. Maxwell Dodge would not write one for whatever reason.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

Diminished value is relatively unheard of. You should try to get as many DV letters as possible. If a dealer is uncertain of how to write one provide a DV letter for them to use as an example.

 

[Andrew/USPWR]

[******], is all I can say.
[******]! I'm going to be pissed for a few days for you.

 

[HLN A55]

[******], is all I can say.
[******]! I'm going to be pissed for a few days for you.

Same here.

After finishing the wash job, and really looking at it, it does not look THAT bad, as Ryans stated earlier. The bumper is pretty scratched, but it looks a lot better and is not all that out of shape.

I drove it over to her claims adjuster, a 5 min drive and talked with him about it. Here are the results:

He wants to refinish the bumper, just sand out the gouges, and respray it.
He wants to touch up where the bumper scraped the seem in the hood.
He was pushing me to take it to one of there network shops-claiming that that is where the lexus dealer sends cars to get refinished-so they do good work. (I have never heard of them though)
The temp gauge is all over the place. When I was driving home, it went up to almost 250. We shut it off and pulled over. No leaks, and the fan was working, but the gauge is showing that it is overheating.

So, I called him and talked about having the car flatbeded up to a shop that is well known in the local community for doing top notch work. He now is pushing me even harder to take it to his local shop.

Ugh, this is all just really f*cking annoying. I want it done the right way, and no pushing from him to take it to his network shop. I think that I am done talking with him. I will let my insurance company deal with him and go after him for diminished value.

Thanks all.

G

 

[got one]

do it!

 

[cgmaster]

Do not bring it to one of there shops. Bring it to one you trust. The shops they deal with give a discounted rate and do just what the insurance co. wants. I have had some experience with this and it is not good. They tride to take shortcuts and I had to fight with them to get it redone properly. This was just on a normal car. They have no say in what shop you take it to and they must pay. If the insured does not have enough insurance to cover the claim then you can take her to court or your insurance co. can deal with it under your uninsured motorist coverage. If you can I would keep your insurance out of it and just deal with her insurance. In Mississippi they can not raise your insurance for a not at fault accident. I don't know how it is in other states.

 

[GR8_ASP]

I say no. Deal with your insurance company and make choices that are best for YOU. Let your insurance company deal with theirs. I would insist, make that demand a new fascia and not reworked.

 

[JUCD VPR]

[******], is all I can say.
[******]! I'm going to be pissed for a few days for you.

Same here.

After finishing the wash job, and really looking at it, it does not look THAT bad, as Ryans stated earlier. The bumper is pretty scratched, but it looks a lot better and is not all that out of shape.

I drove it over to her claims adjuster, a 5 min drive and talked with him about it. Here are the results:

He wants to refinish the bumper, just sand out the gouges, and respray it.
He wants to touch up where the bumper scraped the seem in the hood.
He was pushing me to take it to one of there network shops-claiming that that is where the lexus dealer sends cars to get refinished-so they do good work. (I have never heard of them though)
The temp gauge is all over the place. When I was driving home, it went up to almost 250. We shut it off and pulled over. No leaks, and the fan was working, but the gauge is showing that it is overheating.

So, I called him and talked about having the car flatbeded up to a shop that is well known in the local community for doing top notch work. He now is pushing me even harder to take it to his local shop.

Ugh, this is all just really f*cking annoying. I want it done the right way, and no pushing from him to take it to his network shop. I think that I am done talking with him. I will let my insurance company deal with him and go after him for diminished value.

Thanks all.

G

The hell with that, SHE hit you. ALL her fault. Get everything NEW don't settle for less. Sorry for your misfortune

 

[got one]

do it!

Let me clarify do it means just go around this chump of a guy and let your insurance folks deal with and get your car in the shop asap

 

[V10SpeedLuvr]

I say no. Deal with your insurance company and make choices that are best for YOU. Let your insurance company deal with theirs. I would insist, make that demand a new fascia and not reworked.

EXACTLY. I tried to deal with Progressive one time after being in an accident b/c one of their insured were moving and all the crap fell off their truck (they had not tied it down at all) and i hit it one night (before i bought my Viper). Progressive balked and balked about paying, so I finally got steamed, slammed the phone down in the face of the Progressive adjuster (after making a few suggestions of where he can go on his next vacation...) and called Geico, who is my insurance company. I met with the Geico adjuster the next day and she cut me a check right there on the spot, minus my deductible. Geico then sued Progressive and sent me a check for my deductible when the case was settled. Just deal with your insurance company, get your car fixed the way YOU want and let the attornies for the ins. co.'s fight it out. You pay your premiums for a reason, part of it is to have legal representation when you need it due to accidents.

 

[Gerald Levin]

Have we ever seen this many accidents in a 6 week period before???? Dang, sure seems 2006 has been a devastating year so far. HLN, my heart goes out to you. I would be devastated if someone smacked my car. And now your car is overheating? Do it your way, take the car to YOUR repair shop and go for diminished damages. Good luck to you.

 

[Janni]

Honestly - tell her insurance agent you were FREAKING STANDING THERE WASHING YOUR CAR AND SHE HIT YOU. You are "zero" at fault and should be 100% whole by the time this is over. Tell them their client is a menace and she's lucky she didn't hit YOU - since stationary objects don't seem to be safe around her.

You are completely innocent and need to be made whole - period. And you'll choose the body shop, thankyouverymuch, as that is your prerogative.

Amazing- and insurance adjusters and other folks wonder why they get a bad reputation.

I'd be seriously pissed.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

He wants to refinish the bumper, just sand out the gouges, and respray it.

No. Get new bumper.

He wants to touch up where the bumper scraped the seem in the hood.

No. The hood is composite. Get a new one. There may be spider cracks under the paint that may not show up for another year or so.

The temp gauge is all over the place. When I was driving home, it went up to almost 250. We shut it off and pulled over. No leaks, and the fan was working, but the gauge is showing that it is overheating.

It wasn't doing that before correct? Get it fixed.

And don't forget an alignment.

 

[Supercharged Vipermad]

Yeah.....and to be a real hard-asp.....insist on a NEW OEM hood! She'll love her premiums after that....since the hood will cost more than her f-ing car (most likely)! LOL! Good luck!

 

[HLN A55]

Thanks for all of the kind words guys. I will talk with my insurance company tomorrow morning, USAA (thank god for them-the best customer service I have ever experienced-well worth the few extra dollars for circumstances like this), and see how things pan out.

I am just so angry, sad, etc. It's my baby. I have worked my ass off to get this car, and now it's damaged.

 

[99 R/T 10]

Ex-military or still in?