chamaile0n

So I snagged a killer parking spot in the neighborhood streets near my office this morning, and was loving the day - everything was going my way. Lunchtime rolls in, and right as I'm goin to grab some food, the Palo Alto police call me to ask if I have a silver 2009 Mercedes parked on High St. - naturally, I reply yes (Palo Alto requires you to park in the hood - all lots have 2hr limits). Turns out some special person driving a Jeep Cherokee - for no explainable reason - plowed into my car and their wheels + rate of speed propelled them UP on my car, then FLIPPED the Cherokee over.

Now, it pushed my baby into the curbs, ruining my 18" AMG rims on the right, totally killing the ones on the left, whacked the right side mirror into those stupid wooden poles that support baby trees (PA is famous for that crap), took off the left side mirror, jacked the length of the left side of the car, and possibly bent both the axles (it's driving funny - go figure).

While I'm glad I wasn't in the car, I'm not happy, since this thing is months old. My insurance towed it and it's in the shop now, but I've got a sneaking suspicion that this car's now worth CONSIDERABLY less than what it was this morning. Anyone have ideas on how I can recoup the lost $ from the other persons insurance company??

len56

aww.... that sucks. I'm sorry...

that would really **** me off.


I'm not good with insurance companies, but I would ask yours if they could make the Cherokee driver's one pay.

It's his fault, so shouldn't his premiums go up?

jstaneff

It's been a while since I had to get a car fixed due to something like this, but ...

Contact their agent. Leave your agent out of it unless you get nowhere fast. They will be bending double trying to make you whole again. They'll deal with his rates, etc.

If you have to bring in your insurance company, it's for things they didn't cover, or to put pressure on their company. Probably not needed at all.

Good luck getting it fixed. Any aftermarket parts will be harder to get replaced at full value.

Krytech

Oh man, my condolences to you and your new car. I hope their insurance makes you whole again. Hopefully the damage isn't so deep that even after being fixed, it's worth less than it should be.

Good luck. Iif you have time, keep us posted on the repair process.

C300Sport

Hopefully the internal damage will be enough to total the car. If not make sure the insurance company compensates you for the reduced residual value of your vehicle. I had an 01 Millenia that had it's hood, front fendor and headlight replaced due to an idiot in a Saturn. I ended up getting about $900 for the residual value reduction. It was 1.5 years old at the time.
Good Luck!!

nyca

You can make a diminished value claim on top of your cost to repair, but be prepared for a fight which might (will) delay your claim for the actual repairs. Prepare possibly to have to lay out that money (if you can), and dig in for a tough negotiation with the insurance company, you can win.

Get a police report with as much information about the person who hit you as possible. Was it a DUI?

aowhaus

It wouldn't hurt to get your insurance company involved, but you must insist that you don't want to pay for anything (not a penny, so don't even talk about deductables) as it was the driver's fault. In my experience they will help you in collecting from the other driver as they have a lot of influence and legal experience (and will put the pressure on the other driver) and if you are covered by a large reputable insurance company, the process should go fairly quickly.

Other things to keep in mind:
- get as much information from the police as possible. The police will provide contact information on the driver and their insurance company, you and your insurance company could use this information to put sure the other party when neccessary.
- insist on OEM parts, don't even think about aftermarket parts.
- find the most reputable and best body shop you could find and insist on using them. It will save on a lot of headaches later on.
- make sure you get a comparible car rental while your car is in the shop.
- a diminished value claim is absolutely fair and appropriate, especially when your car is so new. It will put at least a grand or two in your pocket.

Sorry to hear about your troubles, but at least you know who hit you.

SebringSilver

Whoa, sorry to see what's happened to your car.

Hope everything works out in the end. Good luck.

RLE

Your contract probably requires that your company be advised of the accident but that's all. Do not involve them unless the other driver's insurer balks or he is uninsured. Calling his agent won't get you much (he sold the policy and has no say how claims will be settled) but rather you must call the company and speak to the claims adjuster.

I think you will be surprised how expensive this repair will be (very high) but that is not your problem. You are not required to take the car to a shop the adjuster recommends (there are reasons for this) but instead ask your dealer who does their work. Let that shop know what you expect and ask what their workmanship warranty is.

You are entitled to be made whole again (a legal term) which means put back where you were before the accident.

Yes, you can recover diminished value in addition to the accident repairs. It will be difficult but vital because a car with a damage history will be worth less at trade-in time.

Forget about after market parts because there aren't any.

And if you are lucky and because both sides have damage, they may total it. MAYBE. If the suspension really is bent, the cost skyrockets.

junkfoodz

Yes you can recoup damages to your car...it's call diminished value...correct me if I'm wrong guys, but you can only claim that when you sell your car...i believe the length of time can be up to 5 years...you will need to contact your insurance company and find out.

hopes this help...and good luck

I feel ur pain...argg!!!

RLE

Well, you are wrong. Diminished value is part of the collision claim and is paid by the other insurer when the claim is settled. When the car is later sold, the last thing you want to do, unless asked, is to volunteer that the car was wrecked. If the car is repaired perfectly, and it can be, then keep silent.

If traded, the dealer may ask you to sign a form declaring no past collision damage. And if they do and you tell them about it, that's where the diminished value will hit you, heavily. That's why you need to know what this number is to establish your claim because they need to pay, now.

I signed one of these forms when I traded my W202 so I know they exist.

chamaile0n

I've got the police report # and I'll be getting a copy of it tomorrow. As far as the insurance companies, once I get the other parties insurance details, I'll get them on the horn (the officer didn't provide that since they had to go take the statements of some other witnesses). I have had the car towed to my preferred shop, and have made sure they understand I only want OEM parts.

Appreciate everyone's thoughts on this - hopefully the car will be deemed totaled or there will be some insane compensation for this madness. Will keep everyone posted!

AMGTestDriverNJ

Thanks for that.

Saks_C350_Sport

RLE, once the claim is closed, the accident will be listed with CarFax, which most smart people check when buying a used vehicle.

cvkatigbak

Fender bender.. So get a good shop that would custom wide body the bit**! Don't look at it as a loss, look at it as an opportunity to pioneer something nice.

cvkatigbak

Sorry to hear about the incident though. Don't say "if only I did this". It will not do anything positive for you. Hope you get through it as quick as possible man. Good luck.

Ron Jr

This sucks. When I worked in Queens we had to park on the side street. One day when we were leaving work we saw cars along the street smashed on the street side first the left side of the street then the right so on. Looked like the driver had been bouncing from side to side. About 30 cars were damaged and no one saw who did it. Of course mine was one of the unlucky cars the whole drivers side was smashed, mirror gone and both rims ruined.

C300Sport

Mine was paid out about 2 months after I got my car back from the body shop. Not sure if state laws come into play with this but mine was in South Carolina in 2002.

JimPap

I'd go buy a new car using the wrecked one as trade in then sue the driver for the difference.

tanktube67

^+1
This is a fact I got rear ended on my G35 coupe and I took it to the dealer’s body shop and the accident was reported to CarFax.

Ron Jr

I was at a stop light in my Sebring and a kid rode into my front bumper and fell. I was not moving but the engine was running so technically I was driving the car. Anyway the kid was a minor and tried to blackmail me with calling the cops claiming I moved and that is why he got hit. He asked for 100.00 to go away. I called the police and made him wait thinking this would scare this kid straight. As he was a minor and was injured he had to be taken to the nearest emergancy room and his parent had to pick him up. BTW the police took our statements and I mentioned the attempted blackmail but a sleezy looking guy in a crappy jeep said he saw the whole thing, I never saw him till he came up to the police officer. To make a long story short to cover my butt I reported the incident to my insurance company. Thye insisted on inspecting the car well I had already used a pre-wax cleaner to remove the tire marks and had rewaxed the bumper total damage to my car two scratches about 1/8 inch long each. Estimate from insurance to fix was 485.00 USD my deductable 500.00 USd so needless to say I never had it done. I had worse from parking at the supermarket. Well when I got me C300 I traded in the Sebring and when they ran the CarFax there it was they dropped my trade in by 1000.00 USD. I was not happy.

Krytech

Wow, a $1000 drop for what could of been fixed for less than $500. Damn stealerships...

Egonvdv

Damn... sorry for your "loss".

chamaile0n

Update: Palo Alto PD charges $10 for releasing a copy of the report, plus you have to come in person (despite not having a car). I'll have a car tomorrow, and will swing by so I can get this thing moving again.

BTW, I love the idea of getting a new one and using the old one as trade-in hahahaha

chamaile0n

Just heard from the body shop and the prelim estimate is $11k. The rear axle may be bent, and they're not sure about the engine, so they're shipping my baby off to the local dealership to see how many other things are jacked (they suspect the engine, too).

Interestingly enough, turns out the owner of the body shop's had to deal with a few new cars in recent history and provided a nice morsel of insurance knowledge: the insurance companies will repair vehicles up to 70% of their value. So if repairs exceed that $25k mark, looks like it'll be written off as a loss. Regardless, sounds like this car's going to be sustaining a pretty significant value hit if we're already at 27% of it's value before MB gets their meat paws on it! This will truly be interesting.