Author Topic: Car accident -send lawyers (guns and money)  (Read 4378 times)

needmyfi

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 213
Car accident -send lawyers (guns and money)
« on: December 14, 2013, 02:28:43 PM »
Hit by drunk driver day after Thanksgiving-5 hours away from home.  Significant damage to 2007 Nissan Versa with 147000 miles   We were told repair estimate was $4350 and collision center offered $1200 to buy it.  Talked to State Farm, pointed out that we were 5 hours away, State Farm  was also responsible for not only for repairs, but also expenses getting the car to us, continuing rental car fees and diminished value.  State Farm agreed it was probably in the best interest of all to go ahead and pay us an extra $500-win win win all around.  4350 + 500 + 1200 = 6050. 
We already figured if the car had been totaled we should be entitled to $6000 so we felt made whole.

Talked to guy at collision center today-apparently the estimate for $4350 includes $700 in towing fees that he says we are liable for!  Haven't signed anything yet did email a bill of sale but dh didn't fill indollar amount.  There is a longer story behind towing fees-car got towed to the wrong place once and lost for a week.

State Farm is company of guy who hit us.  Any suggestions?

Daleth

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1201
Re: Car accident -send lawyers (guns and money)
« Reply #1 on: December 14, 2013, 02:35:25 PM »
If the total estimate was $4350 including repairs and State Farm is giving you the full $4350, what's the problem?

needmyfi

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 213
Re: Car accident -send lawyers (guns and money)
« Reply #2 on: December 14, 2013, 03:09:13 PM »
State Farm is paying us $500 MORE than the repair, but we are not repairing the car.  At $4350, we told State Farm to fix it ship it and pay us diminished value.  They came back and offered us more.  We would not have agreed to sell the car for $1200 savage if we weren't made whole at the end of the day.  The understanding all around is that it was good for everyone-State Farm off the hook in delivering it 300 plus mile , didn't have to pay diminished value and we agreed to turn in rental car as soon as check got to us  The agreement saves State Farm a ton, we were made whole and collision cente3r got car for a price they could fix and sell. We agreed to an extra $500 not realizing we were expected to pay $700 in towing fees out of the settlement

Now-everyone is happy except us.  Rescind the deal?  Not real keen on getting the car fixed with a guarentee out of state.

Indio

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 471
Re: Car accident -send lawyers (guns and money)
« Reply #3 on: December 14, 2013, 03:49:05 PM »
Its a good thing you didnt get hurt in the accident. Is the insurance comp covering you for the time and inconvenience associated with not having a car? I would be really annoyed if i had to spend my unreimbursed time shopping for a new car and all of the time on the phone with car rental, repair, towing, insurance, etc. im sure there were plenty of other activities you could be doing besides being hassled with all of the details. I would definitely point out how many hours it has cost you and what you get paid an hour at work, and i would insist on being reimbursed for towing costs. Thers no reason you should be out of pocket for that when it wasnt your fault.

needmyfi

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 213
Re: Car accident -send lawyers (guns and money)
« Reply #4 on: December 14, 2013, 04:59:11 PM »
Update!!!!!  We have priced the cost of towing to our house-6 to 7 hundred.  The guy who called us from the collision center about the 700 towing charge  is also the guy who offered 1200 for the salvaged car.  His first offer was $600 , now he  is asking us to pay him 700 for the tow that never happened and never will happen.  I think it was an attempt at a swindle.  The more we thought about it there is no way State Farm would pay for $700  for the 3 tows total and even if they did, why would the guy at the last place it was towed be wondering about who was getting reimbursed for the first two tows that had nothing to do with him.


We have been hoodooed! 
Anybody in TN need a versa for $1200? 

Honestly we weren't trying for profit-just break even. 

Daleth

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1201
Re: Car accident -send lawyers (guns and money)
« Reply #5 on: December 14, 2013, 05:15:46 PM »
Update!!!!!  We have priced the cost of towing to our house-6 to 7 hundred.  The guy who called us from the collision center about the 700 towing charge  is also the guy who offered 1200 for the salvaged car.  His first offer was $600 , now he  is asking us to pay him 700 for the tow that never happened and never will happen. 

Wait, he never towed it?! What's the $700 for, then?

needmyfi

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 213
Re: Car accident -send lawyers (guns and money)
« Reply #6 on: December 14, 2013, 05:49:19 PM »
Collision center  said we owed the 700 for towing -it did get towed three times -when we called State Farm we couldn,t get the guy who finally settled with us, but we were told $700 was already part of the estimate and therefore State Farm didn,t owe us any more.  Wasn't until we cooled down and thought about it-the fact the collision center said towing fees were 700 and we owed it to them-and after we priced towing it 350 miile that it started to make sense that the 700 was the tow to our house that never happened.  In other words-state farm is telling us we paid x for a fender y for a headlight and z  for tow.  From their point of view they are correct.  But just because they pay us for a headlight doesn't mean we owe the collision center for a headlight when we are getting salvage from them and not fixing the car. The disconnect came when we thought our State Farm settlement wasn't paying for the 3 around town tows and didn't let us know when we decided on selling for salvage

It wasn't until we asked ourselves why the guy wanted 700 -only towed it once and would have had no business in the other tows  that we realized he was trying to screw us and charge us for a tow he put in the estimate that never happened, Original offer 600-two days later 1200-today oh yah but you owe 700 for "towing"  Will  confirm on Monday. 

needmyfi

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 213
Re: Car accident -send lawyers (guns and money)
« Reply #7 on: December 14, 2013, 06:02:14 PM »
sorry  dalethshort story got long-he towed it once across town-thanks indio-if we are correct in our assumptions SF threw in an extra 500 paid all three local tows and  we owe them an apology

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!