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No updates to this as of yesterday. I spoke with the other parties insurance yesterday for about 20 minutes. I was told by the person that they are going to escalate this higher up, because he agrees with me that I have to be made whole and that it is dragging on. He placed me on hold and called their client (the other driver) and told him that he needs to get that insurance info so my car can be repaired. We are still waiting on the other drivers insurance info from his employer. They are the ones that rented the car, and provided the insurance for him. That is what the hold up is. Again they confirmed to me that it is noted that their driver is 100% at fault.
2015 SL400 (M276 Turbo), 2014 C350 Sport (M276 NA), 2004 SL500 (M113), 2004 Audi TT225 (BEA)
Get their “confession” in writing. Verbal assurances mean nothing.
You should contact Maryland’s Insurance Commissioner office and file a complaint by this time. They will send a letter to the other party’s insurance (or yours), which has an amazing effect on getting issues resolved. I’ve used them before very effectively.
Honestly, your car should be fixed by now and YOUR insurance company should be handling this.
Yeah this should have been resolved by now.
I am going to work on this a lot this week, because I'm tired of the delays. Not sure how I would get his confession in writing, or how that would make any difference. I don't want to speak with him again, because I am worried that I will become angry on the phone and say the wrong things. Each time we have spoken it has been cordial. I have been hit plenty of times in plenty of cars over the years and never have I had an issues of fault once they reported that they were at fault. USAA has said multiple times that there is no question of fault.
Anyway, I am going to work on it more this week incurring your suggestion of calling the MIC office. Thanks for the feedback...
Originally Posted by JettaRed
Get their “confession” in writing. Verbal assurances mean nothing.
You should contact Maryland’s Insurance Commissioner office and file a complaint by this time. They will send a letter to the other party’s insurance (or yours), which has an amazing effect on getting issues resolved. I’ve used them before very effectively.
Honestly, your car should be fixed by now and YOUR insurance company should be handling this.
2015 SL400 (M276 Turbo), 2014 C350 Sport (M276 NA), 2004 SL500 (M113), 2004 Audi TT225 (BEA)
I would go ahead and contact the MIC office, but I would also turn this over to your insurance company. They should be handling this completely for you, to include getting your deductible back. USAA is generally a stand-up company, but like all insurance companies, their job is not to pay when someone else should. Even if your insurance company won't get the deductible amount back, you can always go small-claims against the other driver. It's clearly his liability.
(EDIT: The link above is used to file complaints against your own insurer. However, I would still contact them and describe your situation and ask what you should/can do.)
WRT "getting their confession in writing", I was more trying to make the point that unless it's in writing, it doesn't exist. When I worked for my federal agency's records division it was commonly understood that if something wasn't written down and recorded in the records management system, it didn't exist.
Last edited by JettaRed; Oct 16, 2023 at 07:36 AM.
I could have let my insurance handle it from the start, but it is not as simple as black, or white.
In the past I never cared about loaner cars/rental cars because I had a Range Rover SUV in addition to whatever car I was driving. I would just drive my Range if my car was being serviced. I sold my Range Rover earlier this year and now we only have my SL and my wife’s BMW suv. I do not have rental car coverage on my insurance, so if I let my insurance company handle the claim they will not provide a rental car. When/if the other parties insurance ever steps up they must provide me a rental car while the SL is in for repairs.
My wife and I have conflicting work schedules, so we cannot get by with only her SUV if my SL is in the shop.
At some point in the future I will have to add rental coverage to my insurance plan.
This entire thing is a pain for sure. It comes down to I don’t think the other party told his job he hit me, so he doesn’t have their insurance info to provide. He did tell HIS personal insurance about hitting me, but that policy wasn’t on the rental. The rental was provided and paid for by his employer. Insurance and all. This is the info that I do not have and the other party is not proving and is why my car has not been repaired yet.
I personally think this will hurt him more when his employer finds out he did not report the accident to them, if that is the case.
Originally Posted by JettaRed
I would go ahead and contact the MIC office, but I would also turn this over to your insurance company. They should be handling this completely for you, to include getting your deductible back. USAA is generally a stand-up company, but like all insurance companies, their job is not to pay when someone else should. Even if your insurance company won't get the deductible amount back, you can always go small-claims against the other driver. It's clearly his liability.
(EDIT: The link above is used to file complaints against your own insurer. However, I would still contact them and describe your situation and ask what you should/can do.)
WRT "getting their confession in writing", I was more trying to make the point that unless it's in writing, it doesn't exist. When I worked for my federal agency's records division it was commonly understood that if something wasn't written down and recorded in the records management system, it didn't exist.
2015 SL400 (M276 Turbo), 2014 C350 Sport (M276 NA), 2004 SL500 (M113), 2004 Audi TT225 (BEA)
This is why you need to contact the Maryland Insurance Administration or do other research. You are conflating his liability with his insurance coverage. He caused you a harm and is responsible for making it right. How he does that is his problem. Your "harm" includes expenses for a car rental, so whether you pay out of pocket and get reimbursed later should not keep you from getting your car fixed through your own insurance.
I have USAA and they cover my liabilities whether I am in a rental or not. It's likely he has homeowner's insurance, as well, which may provide him additional liability coverage. He may even have an Umbrella Policy for all liabilities. Regardless, he has liability insurance with his auto policy as required by Maryland law.
Have you gotten a quote for the repairs? If it's under $5000 (including the car rental or only including the car rental) you can file a small claim in Maryland.
One more thing and then I will shut up and mind my own business. Having insurance is a waste of money if you don't or can't use it when you need to.
2015 SL400 (M276 Turbo), 2014 C350 Sport (M276 NA), 2004 SL500 (M113), 2004 Audi TT225 (BEA)
Originally Posted by Streamliner
That’s certainly a part of it. I ordered my 2004 SL500 new and kept it for 12 years. When I sold it, it only had 22,000 miles on it and was like brand new...
My 2004 SL500 was the same Mars Red and just as immaculate. I bought it used from a co-worker and had the whole history. The underside looked like it had been steam-cleaned and you could eat off it (though that would be hard if you had to be up-side-down).
Mine had the wood steering wheel, also. I never thought about wood vs leather until having a wood one. I'm not sure I would ever want to go back. There is just something luxurious about it. My 2015 has a wood steering wheel (black ash tree), as well.
So I have an update:
But I am curious what you guys think the update will state? I wish I could add a poll after the fact, but I can't so this will have to be good enough.
Which one will my update say?
#1 I am tired of waiting and getting lip service and have just filed a claim with my insurance, so I can have my car fixed and they can go after the other party?
#2 The insurance has officially rejected my claim, because the other party is non responsive and the time to file has elapsed?
#3 The other parties insurance is now ready to have my car repaired and provide me a rental?
#4 The other party has changed their admission of fault and now say my car was illegally parked, or they never hit my car?
Do tell.....
Last edited by ThatsMyDawg; Nov 2, 2023 at 07:03 AM.
So I have an update:
But I am curious what you guys think the update will state? I wish I could add a poll after the fact, but I can't so this will have to be good enough.
Which one will my update say?
#1 I am tired of waiting and getting lip service and have just filed a claim with my insurance, so I can have my car fixed and they can go after the other party?
#2 They insurance has officially rejected my claim, because the other party is non responsive and the time to file has elapsed?
#3 The other parties insurance is now ready to have my car repaired and provide me a rental?
#4 The other party has changed their admission of fault and now say my car was illegally, or they never hit my car?
Do tell.....
Me? #1. I would have submitted a claim to my own insurer long ago. I too have often pursued the other party when they're at fault but at the first sign of trouble* I let my insurer (Arbella, FWIW) do the work.
*once it was a taxi company; too many people to call; another time a tenant of mine drove into the house. they had Geiko and offered me about half what the brick folks wanted.
2015 SL400 (M276 Turbo), 2014 C350 Sport (M276 NA), 2004 SL500 (M113), 2004 Audi TT225 (BEA)
Originally Posted by ThatsMyDawg
So I have an update:
But I am curious what you guys think the update will state? I wish I could add a poll after the fact, but I can't so this will have to be good enough.
Which one will my update say?
#1 I am tired of waiting and getting lip service and have just filed a claim with my insurance, so I can have my car fixed and they can go after the other party?
#2 They insurance has officially rejected my claim, because the other party is non responsive and the time to file has elapsed?
#3 The other parties insurance is now ready to have my car repaired and provide me a rental?
#4 The other party has changed their admission of fault and now say my car was illegally, or they never hit my car?
Do tell.....
1, 2, and 4. You didn't say we could only pick one. (Well, actually you did. But I don't care.)
I've advised my daughter and anyone else that'll listen: when shopping for insurance, cheapest should not be among your decision criteria. Do you drive the cheapest car? Eat the cheapest food? Wear the cheapest clothes?? I learned long ago that everyone has something(s) that they consider a commodity, not worth shopping beyond price. Some Mercedes owners wear the cheapest watches and some Rolex wearers drive the cheapest cars. Me, I'm not fussy about the brand name on the wine I drink or the (premium) fuel I use, but I tend to pay "extra" for better in most buying decisions, insurance among them.
2015 SL400 (M276 Turbo), 2014 C350 Sport (M276 NA), 2004 SL500 (M113), 2004 Audi TT225 (BEA)
Originally Posted by eddieo45
I've advised my daughter and anyone else that'll listen: when shopping for insurance, cheapest should not be among your decision criteria. Do you drive the cheapest car? Eat the cheapest food? Wear the cheapest clothes?? I learned long ago that everyone has something(s) that they consider a commodity, not worth shopping beyond price. Some Mercedes owners wear the cheapest watches and some Rolex wearers drive the cheapest cars. Me, I'm not fussy about the brand name on the wine I drink or the (premium) fuel I use, but I tend to pay "extra" for better in most buying decisions, insurance among them.
Couldn't have said it better! I would also add, "Don't go cheap on shoes or tires."
Cheap insurance is a waste of money if the insurance company doesn't make you whole when you need to use it. I also keep low deductibles so that I'm not afraid to use my insurance when needed. Many people would be surprised to discover that the difference between their high deductible and a more comfortable low deductible is less than the cost of that bottle of wine per month (unless you buy Winking Owl wine from Aldi for $3.49 per bottle). For example, if I go from $250 to $1000 deductible for Collision, my monthly premium changes only $13, and for Comprehensive, going from $50 to $500 drops the monthly premium only $6. So, going from "comfortable" deductibles to "painful" deductibles will save me about $20 per month (or $4.61 per week, or less than 66 cents per day). For me, I'll pay 66 cents per day for better coverage and deductibles.
Waiting to see if more will chime in on what the update will say. Maybe over the weekend more members will chime in.
Which # will my update be?
#1 I am tired of waiting and getting lip service and have just filed a claim with my insurance, so I can have my car fixed and they can go after the other party?
#2 The insurance has officially rejected my claim, because the other party is non responsive and the time to file has elapsed?
#3 The other parties insurance is now ready to have my car repaired and provide me a rental?
#4 The other party has changed their admission of fault and now say my car was illegally parked, or they never hit my car?
That’s certainly a part of it. I ordered my 2004 SL500 new and kept it for 12 years. When I sold it, it only had 22,000 miles on it and was like brand new. It still had the original tires on it, which was dumb, but I never drove it hard and they seemed fine. Here are a couple of photos I took right before I sold it. It was as clean underneath as it was inside! My 2019 makes this car look filthy!
With my 2019 SL450, I am driving it even less, like 1,000 miles per year. That and my lack of garage space makes me feel that it needs a new owner. Oh well.
Wooooo @Streamliner that is BEAUTIFUL. What red is it; the red MB’s I see around here seem to be something less pretty than this.
Wooooo @Streamliner that is BEAUTIFUL. What red is it; the red MB’s I see around here seem to be something less pretty than this.
[/QUOTE]
Wooooo @Streamliner that is BEAUTIFUL. What red is it; the red MB’s I see around here seem to be something less pretty than this.
[/QUOTE]
Wooooo @Streamliner that is BEAUTIFUL. What red is it; the red MB’s I see around here seem to be something less pretty than this.
[/QUOTE]
Wooooo @Streamliner that red is so gorgeous! Do you remember the name of the color? The red MB’s I see around here are not as nice looking.
It’s cool, just annoying. Already filed the claim and gave my insurance the guys info yesterday.
On a side note so many kids were failing parallel parking on the drivers test here in Maryland that they actually removed it from the test. Can you believe that? Rather than make the driving schools, or parents spend more time teaching the rookies how to do it they just removed the requirement. Just another reason many can’t drive well. They didn’t have to learn all the basics. Yeah my car can parallel park on it's own (ha ha, just low key bragging lol), but parallel parking was literally nothing to learn back when I was a kid. It is and always has been so freaking easy. Anyway, just ranting here. The guy wasn’t even parallel parking when he backed into my car, but clearly there are many people that aren’t good at basic driving. Thanks for the well wishes.
Updates to come.
AHHHHHHhhh this is so true @ThatsMyDawg !!! I go to this gym that is mostly millennials and it takes me forever to get out of the parking lot. They can’t reverse at all. It’s maddening to spend 10 minutes waiting because they never learned to turn and reverse at the same time. I always get the only parallel space because I’m the only one who knows how to use it (not by letting the car do it LOL) @Streamliner i saw after I asked that someone else called out the Mars Red so I guess that’s the color of your gorgeous 2012.
Waiting for others to chime in on what the update will say.
Which # will my update be?
#1 I am tired of waiting and getting lip service and have just filed a claim with my insurance, so I can have my car fixed and they can go after the other party?
#2 The insurance has officially rejected my claim, because the other party is non responsive and the time to file has elapsed?
#3 The other parties insurance is now ready to have my car repaired and provide me a rental?
#4 The other party has changed their admission of fault and now say my car was illegally parked, or they never hit my car?
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