edged out Posted October 6, 2011 Report Share Posted October 6, 2011 So, I had my beautiful 2011 Edge 3 weeks 3 days still with paper-plates, and was rear-ended. He was going close to 40 mph I was nearly stopped in traffic and was sent into the car in front of me and bounced between them 3 times. Good news, no one got too seriously hurt, especially since I had my 3 and 4 year olds in the car. It was un-drivable sent to the dealership for repairs and only cost $7400 (I was surprised). Well I'm concerned about safety and was already considering trading it in. I got the car back less then a week ago and yesterday the drivers door would not close, it kept hitting the latch. Then I inspected the whole car and found the doors and panels on the passengers side are all sticking out, while the drivers side is all flush (although had the issue with the drivers door). Then looked further and the whole lift gate is off center, some of the moldings are not installed properly, there is a missing screw on the lift-gate, and these are only problems that I can see, and I have very little knowledge about cars. I'm assuming that the body is bent or out of alignment (mechanic told me that they tested it with weights but didn't give me any print out of such). I think the job they did for a brand new vehicle was sub-par. What should I do? The other driver's insurance is paying for everything and has been surprisingly great, but the dealership (same one I bought vehicle) is letting me down. How can they not see this stuff? Why would they not claim it to the insurance? I'm not sure who I should talk to first, the original dealership, the insurance agent, or bring it to another dealership for a review of all of their work first. I'm for sure now trading it in after all of this is complete and of course I'm submitting for diminished value, so what should I do? Should I trade in as-is with hopefully recouping the diminished value personally? Should I ask agent what she would recommend? Should I get another opinion before going back to original repair shop? (Oh, and the catch with the original dealership is that I handed them over the insurance check for repairs and they forgot to have me sign it, before I do is there any leverage in this?) Any suggestions or similar experiences is greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 6, 2011 Report Share Posted October 6, 2011 So, I had my beautiful 2011 Edge 3 weeks 3 days still with paper-plates, and was rear-ended. He was going close to 40 mph I was nearly stopped in traffic and was sent into the car in front of me and bounced between them 3 times. Good news, no one got too seriously hurt, especially since I had my 3 and 4 year olds in the car. It was un-drivable sent to the dealership for repairs and only cost $7400 (I was surprised). Well I'm concerned about safety and was already considering trading it in. I got the car back less then a week ago and yesterday the drivers door would not close, it kept hitting the latch. Then I inspected the whole car and found the doors and panels on the passengers side are all sticking out, while the drivers side is all flush (although had the issue with the drivers door). Then looked further and the whole lift gate is off center, some of the moldings are not installed properly, there is a missing screw on the lift-gate, and these are only problems that I can see, and I have very little knowledge about cars. I'm assuming that the body is bent or out of alignment (mechanic told me that they tested it with weights but didn't give me any print out of such). I think the job they did for a brand new vehicle was sub-par. What should I do? The other driver's insurance is paying for everything and has been surprisingly great, but the dealership (same one I bought vehicle) is letting me down. How can they not see this stuff? Why would they not claim it to the insurance? I'm not sure who I should talk to first, the original dealership, the insurance agent, or bring it to another dealership for a review of all of their work first. I'm for sure now trading it in after all of this is complete and of course I'm submitting for diminished value, so what should I do? Should I trade in as-is with hopefully recouping the diminished value personally? Should I ask agent what she would recommend? Should I get another opinion before going back to original repair shop? (Oh, and the catch with the original dealership is that I handed them over the insurance check for repairs and they forgot to have me sign it, before I do is there any leverage in this?) Any suggestions or similar experiences is greatly appreciated. Thank goodness you didn't endorse the check. You have all the leverage in the world. Go back and tell them it's not fixed and give them one more chance to fix it before you take it somewhere else. Also let the insurance agent know what happened. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpm419419 Posted October 6, 2011 Report Share Posted October 6, 2011 Edged out Is the dealership doing the work or are they sending it out to a auto-body repair shop? Seems to me you should take it to a reputable repair facility and have them tell you whats wrong. Even if it costs you 100.00 for a written estimate you will have piece of mind plus you will get any money laid out back if they find fault with the repairs made Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorpio Posted October 6, 2011 Report Share Posted October 6, 2011 That just does not sound right, car doors out of whack like that is a sure sign you still have some serious underlying damage. One other thing is to claim "loss of value" that the car has suffered since it's been in an accident. This is a separate check issued to cover the subsequent decrease in book value caused by the accident. Good luck! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladybell Posted October 6, 2011 Report Share Posted October 6, 2011 First, there should be a warranty from the repair facility for the work they performed. The estimate provided to the insurance company should have beenbased on the repairs deemed needed but there are provisions for an adjustment if the repair facitly properly documents the new findings on the vehicle. There is LOADS of leverage with regards to the check endorsement. I would recommend you pay a visit to the repair shop, take photographs of the affected areas and then point them out to the dealerhship and ask them about their warranty policy on the repairs and if the possible underlying damage can also be repaired and sent bak to the insurance company to notify them of further damage not detected upon the initial inspection. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igcitng Posted October 6, 2011 Report Share Posted October 6, 2011 Your own insurance company should be able to offer you help also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NatG Posted October 6, 2011 Report Share Posted October 6, 2011 Edge Out, I agree with the other poster's here on this one. Get your insurance involved, and make both insurers aware of the issues. You have the right. A door closing properly is kind of a basic safety necessity, as well as an operational necessity. Although a misaligned door can be remedied simply, it is likely, as another poster stated, the sign of something bigger. I haven't had any major accidents (very fortunate), but family and friends have. Among my family and friends, we all use the same body shop and the owner would never deliver a car back to a customer like that. However, I am happy to hear the Edge protected you and your family. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edged out Posted October 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2011 Update: so I am even more frustrated by situation. I brought it into another dealership to get another opinion and basically he agreed it isn't the best work. But he suggested I get it appraised and see if it would be easier to just request the diminished value instead of fixing a car I don't want. So brought it in, the pros is the said that it has absolutely every option expect headrest DVD's that a Edge can have, so up'ed the price a bit, although they said any reputable dealership wouldn't buy in with concerns of lost integrity and said its only an auction vehicle. Then offered $24000 which is great for an auction vehicle so, so bad in that it cost about double that. I think it may be time to consult legal advice. It diminished about 15-16K from the used market price, $8K in repairs, rental car, and then perusing more damage on the vehicle. Seems like close to a total loss right? Nope, Texas has 100% at total loss threshold. Ahh.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igcitng Posted October 6, 2011 Report Share Posted October 6, 2011 This is where your insurance comes in. An adjuster should look at it and your insurance can pay for repairs and sue if the other guy won't pony up for more/better work. Your insurance company has a legal team that can step in also. That is what we pay all of this money for to buy insurance. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cal3thousand Posted October 6, 2011 Report Share Posted October 6, 2011 This is where your insurance comes in. An adjuster should look at it and your insurance can pay for repairs and sue if the other guy won't pony up for more/better work. Your insurance company has a legal team that can step in also. That is what we pay all of this money for to buy insurance. Yup... make your insurance do some work. And let them know that their service on this matter will have bearing on your decision to renew at end of term. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edged out Posted October 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2011 Yup... make your insurance do some work. And let them know that their service on this matter will have bearing on your decision to renew at end of term. Well I did actually call my insurance and they didn't have too much to offer, besides the advice, "seek representation." I guess they are pretty hands off when the other person is insured. Even though not one of there best help in customer service, I have USAA and really do love the services I have. So I guess I have to take a little downside with all the good things. Then since I have absolutely every other service with them canceling it would not effect them much, but I might lose some other discounts I get for having multiple services. But I did call them, and sent a message out to the Insurance claim agent, basically giving her the numbers and the choice how to proceed. Although this whole process is exhausting, I enjoy being a simple person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyerjmr33 Posted October 7, 2011 Report Share Posted October 7, 2011 Well I did actually call my insurance and they didn't have too much to offer, besides the advice, "seek representation." I guess they are pretty hands off when the other person is insured. Even though not one of there best help in customer service, I have USAA and really do love the services I have. So I guess I have to take a little downside with all the good things. Then since I have absolutely every other service with them canceling it would not effect them much, but I might lose some other discounts I get for having multiple services. But I did call them, and sent a message out to the Insurance claim agent, basically giving her the numbers and the choice how to proceed. Although this whole process is exhausting, I enjoy being a simple person. Their advice to "seek representation" is spot on--- get an attorney to do the work -- he'll probably do it at no cost to you if the accident was the fault of the other driver. You could have had USAA suggest a shop for the repair. They have nothing but good facilities that have to report back to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chingon Posted October 9, 2011 Report Share Posted October 9, 2011 I'm currently going through this exact issue. I bought a brand new 2011 Fusion and was hit the 2nd day I had it (middle of 5-car pileup). My advice to you: First thing - Work with the other driver's insurance to get it into a different shop and get it fixed correctly. This applies even if you don't plan to keep it after. You need the vehicle to be worth as much as possible. You also want the other insurance company to work with you as much as possible, and once you hire a lawyer things slow to a crawl because they cannot talk directly with you. Meanwhile, you can use an online diminished value site to find out what they estimate your diminished value is. My guess is around $3k IF IT'S REPAIRED. This will give you a bottom line amount you are entitled to, but will more than likely not be sufficient. Go to other dealers in the area and get a written estimate of the trade-in value. If they're cool, and understand they may get another sale out of this, they'll give you written estimates of trade-in value with and without the accident history. This will be around $10k is my guess. Finally, you can put together this package and talk to a lawyer. They'll let you know how you sit, and will most likely type up a demand letter for you and take 1/3 of the settlement. My mistake was not getting the car repaired correctly the first time. Depending on how this goes, you might be better off purchasing a demand letter along with your online assessment (I used dvassess.com) and cutting the shark out of the equation. These things will almost never go to court... Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edged out Posted October 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2011 I'm currently going through this exact issue. I bought a brand new 2011 Fusion and was hit the 2nd day I had it (middle of 5-car pileup). My advice to you: First thing - Work with the other driver's insurance to get it into a different shop and get it fixed correctly. This applies even if you don't plan to keep it after. You need the vehicle to be worth as much as possible. You also want the other insurance company to work with you as much as possible, and once you hire a lawyer things slow to a crawl because they cannot talk directly with you. Meanwhile, you can use an online diminished value site to find out what they estimate your diminished value is. My guess is around $3k IF IT'S REPAIRED. This will give you a bottom line amount you are entitled to, but will more than likely not be sufficient. Go to other dealers in the area and get a written estimate of the trade-in value. If they're cool, and understand they may get another sale out of this, they'll give you written estimates of trade-in value with and without the accident history. This will be around $10k is my guess. Finally, you can put together this package and talk to a lawyer. They'll let you know how you sit, and will most likely type up a demand letter for you and take 1/3 of the settlement. My mistake was not getting the car repaired correctly the first time. Depending on how this goes, you might be better off purchasing a demand letter along with your online assessment (I used dvassess.com) and cutting the shark out of the equation. These things will almost never go to court... Good luck! Thank You for your input. That is what I was assuming was like 3K or so diminished value, and I would be fine with that because I think the Insurance would agree to that. I really just want another car and feel I shouldn't be responsible for 15K worth of depreciation. The estimator said that it was a pretty substantial accident. I even asked about the possibility of an increase with more of better repairs, and they said no it would be minimal increases. One thing I am a bit worried about still, I think that there is mild frame shifting or things out of alignment although I know very little about cars. But... the dealership said the only reason we wouldn't be able to sell a car on there lot would be if there was frame damage. So they gave me the run down of good engine and interior with comments attached, on exterior they commented about the repairs that were done, although the frame question they marked it as ok, with no comment. Does this seem weird? They say they can't sell it on their lot and say there is no frame damage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chingon Posted October 10, 2011 Report Share Posted October 10, 2011 If a car has a dirty carfax, a lot of dealers won't touch the car. Kills the value and turns off way too many customers, even if no frame damage is reported. I know this from trying to sell my gf's nice Lexus is250 with a single accident reported... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traeapodaca Posted November 26, 2016 Report Share Posted November 26, 2016 Several govt laws are made to prevent accidents but if you meet with and accident and catch in police process then you must contact to legal attorney or good Bail Bonds Agent for the further bailing process as well as with prosecution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwf78155 Posted November 26, 2016 Report Share Posted November 26, 2016 Your own insurance company should be able to offer you help also. Unless it's Guico...In that case you are on your own. After all is done and it's time to renew, if it's Guico.....prepare to be dropped by them, because they had to pay out to you. Guico likes the insurance money to only flow one way, to them !!! Guico SUX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted November 26, 2016 Report Share Posted November 26, 2016 Unless it's Guico...In that case you are on your own. After all is done and it's time to renew, if it's Guico.....prepare to be dropped by them, because they had to pay out to you. Guico likes the insurance money to only flow one way, to them !!! Guico SUX Not true. My 16 yr old daughter totaled her 6 month old 2012 Focus and damaged 2 other vehicles. Geico gave us full replacement value no questions asked, paid for the other repairs and not only did they not drop us our rates didn't go up. Also, it's Geico not Guico. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.