On September 1st my parked E63S was rammed/pushed from behind by a moron with no driver's license. The driver was the niece of the owner. They drove to the place where it happened together. The owner gave the keys to the niece to charge her phone, not drive. Somehow the idiot puts it into gear and rams my car, pushing into 20yr old Chevy Impala in front of me. That then pushed into a G37 Infiniti. Her car was bad and was impounded, airbags even deployed. There were dozens of witnesses (end of summer community day event) and this was at a firehouse and the police were also present on site the whole time. No question as to liability or facts. My car sustained about 13K of damages (thank god it is leased!). No bad damage, no metal damage, no frame issues, just bumper covers, sensors, radiator, and a tailpipe (and misc stuff). The car that hit me was insured with State Farm and had $25K of liability. No worries...or so I thought.

State Farm accepts liability and I choose to have the car repaired at a high-end specialty shop in Delaware. State Farm insists on using their tow company to move the car there. They also put me in a $46 a day Buick Encana rental after I complained that I needed something larger than the compact cheapo they said that I was entitled to. Allstate, my insurer, said it was best to use them since they accepted liability and all costs would be 100% covered.

The other two cars on the police report sustained no real damage. Just me. Other car owners personally told us no damage and they are making no claims.

Here is the sad outline of all the problems.

1) State Farm tow company damages car ( I have pictures and vid of the car at the accident scene and after first tow showing zero-damage, thus proving this) The right rear wheel was scuffed up, the tire had chunk pinched out on the sidewall, and the rocker panel in front had minor scuffing. Probably a tow rail incident.
2) State Farm suspends the claim about 16 days into the repair, after paying out $8500 and a second $4500 supplement saying they never should have approved since there is a question of permissive use. In addition, there is a coverage limit issue as they have paid half of the $25K out to me and the other two car owners have not responded to State Farms requests. Of course, since they had no damage. I sent pics to State Farm showing zero damage to no avail. They rudely said my rental is terminated immediately as well. Jerks. So, they say it could take 60 days to decide what to do. They also have refused to provide the name of the tow subcontractor. My body shop returned the payment to them and Allstate (my company - see 3) reimbursed before the repair could continue. My rental shows State Farm paying for 15 days of rental on direct billing. So I have proof they accepted liability.
3) I immediately call Allstate and have them take the claim over. Good move since as of today, State Farm has still not accepted nor denied the claim.
4) The State Farm negligence caused at least 3+ weeks of additional time on the repair. I got the car back on Tuesday this week.
5) Allstate insisted on refurbing the rim since the "rash" was minor. My body shop emphatically insisted on a new rim. I let Allstate win since this was dragging on so long and the car is leased. With the understanding, it had to be 100% visually identical to stock.
6) Refurb rim is a horrid POS. They lathed the shiny flat part next to the bead in two different passes and different angles. There is a several mm lip as a result as well. The black was refinished in not the same satin-matte finish. Close but different. They refinished with some dirt under the black! wow,,
7) Allstate's adjuster came out today and was shocked at the crap job (we used Allstate's suggested amazing wheel place so they had no argument). They immediately cut me a check for almost $2700 for a new rim.
8) The body shop did not realize I had non-Mercedes OEM Michelin Pilot Sports on the car and replaced my tire with an M01 code OEM. It has a wider rim guard. So, one tire is visually different. My left tread depth was only a mm lower than the right so we did not shave the right. Plus, my old Michelin had a Mr. Tire road hazard on it ($17). Now, I have a different tire so no road hazard. I was promised that would be covered so we are working on it. I think if I can save $$ on the rim (they sent a check I can spend as I see fit), I can buy a left M01 code with a warranty so my rears match visually and size wise, even though the tread depth is in spec now. Just slightly different.

So, how can I replace the right rim for the least $$ possible??

I can upload pics of all of the torrid tale...... Truly amazing!

Lastly, State Farm was so unprofessional, rude, negligent, etc. I am filing a grievance with the state insurance regulator. I may also take them to small claims for loss of use of my expensive car for two months. I may be entitled to the differential in my rental cost to a like vehicle rental cost. Any lawyers feel free to chime in. Only to F them since they F'ed me.....

I am out of pocket for two $500 deductibles (accident and tow damage) and $2100 for the rental. If State Farm winds up paying, I get it all back. If not, Allstate files as uninsured motorist coverage in NJ and I get the rental completely back and my $500 deductible waiver benefit would reimburse that. Plus they would subrogate and sue State Far and the car owner since they feel there was legal permissive use and State Farm should cover this. Fortunately, I can afford to wait months if need be.

Just glad it is almost over.

Any help would be appreciated. Rim advise especially. 20-inch forged black AMG..... Thanks!!

 

angled cuts

snagged on lip

Perfect stock rim

Dirt glob in paint

Inconsistant spray finish, not even in coat and a little glossier than stock

 

Worse for me than him.... No damage, bumper was already all scuffed up.

No damage at all to Infiniti

Tow truck tire damage

Tow truck wheel damage

Tow truck rocker damage


Picture showing undamaged rim and tire, plus how far she pushed my car. Note the skid on the ground. I was at the grass line 4 feet back!

 

Lease car?, chuck the check in your bank and go out for a nice meal, lifes too short, and the new lease car when this one expires will make you smile again

 

You're doing it right. Allstate will eventually get State Farm to pay. It just takes time.

 

Yeah, of course... But on what planet is what they are doing ethical or right? They were really nice at first and apologetic. As soon as damages escalated and they know they will likely have another $10K of diminished value, they became a-holes. I am the victim here and their insured was 100% at fault.

 

Looking from the outside I see that there are mistakes made on both sides here, First mistake is by you thinking that someone else's insurance company is your friend, they are a insurance company they will get out of it as cheap as they possibly can.

The first thing you should have done on the day is call YOUR insurance company and make a claim, don't listen to their insurance company as they are working for them not you, you would have avoided everything you are talking about now.

Your insurance will not care what damages they have to pay out for, they will claim the whole lot from the other insurance company so whatever you point out as damaged would have been fixed and replaced, you could have claimed a car similar or the same as the car you drive while yours is being fixed and the other insurance company would have to pay, that is how it works when you use the company you pay for and are not at fault.

The way you have gone about getting your car fixed has just complicated things, you might still be a little out of pocket at the end because of it.

The moral of this story is to use your own insurance company, that's why you pay for them every year, if your not at fault, let them do all the running around, it should not cost you a cent.

 

I called my company first. They recommended having State Farm fix it. Also, I have no rental coverage if I used my company. Both company's said they won't spend more than $30 a day on a rental. Just needs to be transportation from point a to b. Not an exotic car....

Fwiw, State Farm authorized more $ than Allstate. This was not a cutting corners situation. Their insured is being really aggressive that she gave no permission, even if that means Allstate sues the crap out of her! She is a moron too...

I am in the middle....

 

Ok I can see some differences from Aus to US, here if you are crashed into their insurance company pays for everything through your insurance company, If you are not insured and not at fault you can do a 3rd party claim through the other persons insurance, you can claim for everything, you can hire a car the same or similar to yours, you can even claim the taxi to go get it no matter the cost, also if the insurance company is not handling you claim in a timely fashion, or not doing the job properly, you can contact the insurance ombudsman and it gets sorted pretty quick, I think they even get fined by the ombudsman for not sorting it out.

It is a unusual practice for them to recommend you go through the other persons insurance, what are you paying them for then?, I would be changing insurance companies if that's the way they want you to do a claim.

 

What he said. More often than not you'll end up being unhappy with insurance companies after an accident. They are not in the business of making you whole. They are in the business of paying you as little as they think they can get away with and increase from there the more you *****. I dealt with State Farm for 2 years after a massive accident before finally settling and I had experienced help that guided me through the process. If not for the help, I would have been taken serious advantage of.

FWIW if you have access to USAA absolutely take advantage of it. They're constantly rated at the very top and for good reason. Fantastic to deal with, responsible or not.

 

My only experience with State Farm was when I was in college. I was riding with a friend and we were in a parking lot. Someone pulled out of a parking spot just in front of us, too close to stop in time. It was obvious who was at fault. Both vehicles were insured with State Farm. My friend's car had liability coverage only. The other had full coverage. Guess what happened? State Farm decided that in parking lots there are no traffic laws that applied, so it was equal fault. Since it was equal fault neither driver was liable, so only if the driver had full coverage would they pay for repairs.

I was unfair and unethical. They looked for the tiniest bit of "logic" to deny whatever they could. Any court would say they have to pay. But my friend, being a college student, had no funds to hire a lawyer and the amount of damage wouldn't have made sense even if he had. I've never even considered State Farm as an insurer after that. My friend on the other hand, did continue to buy his insurance from them.