Rear Ended, what should I do

14SLTZ71 · August 14, 2014

Well the truck is at the dealership to get repaired. Manager of Collision shop told me, that they were basically just going to throw out the allstate estimate and start from scratch to verify everything that is needed. (Said he could do this, because they are an Allstate Good hands, collision shop) Explained that I want all OEM parts. Manager told me i would probably hear from him tomorrow with their estimate and time to completion. All state originally quoted 8 days so I'm going to be counting the days till it's fixed. Also an update on Diminished value, they are still giving me the run around on Diminished value, explaining that it takes a few days for a rep to be assigned to my claim.

They are trained to give you the run around and save the insurance company money. They are banking that most people will just give up.

obrien19 · August 14, 2014

Yeah they are. Even the manager at the collision shop tried telling me that NY doesn't recognize Diminished value claims, when everything I have found says they do, and they are classified as "torts and have a 3 eat statue of limitations. I'll probably have to go through all the steps I have read from other forums. "Send the insurance company a certified letter with all my appraisals of before and after the accident, and tell them if they don't respond in 10 days I'll be taking them to small claims court"

14SLTZ71 · August 14, 2014

Yeah they are. Even the manager at the collision shop tried telling me that NY doesn't recognize Diminished value claims, when everything I have found says they do, and they are classified as "torts and have a 3 eat statue of limitations. I'll probably have to go through all the steps I have read from other forums. "Send the insurance company a certified letter with all my appraisals of before and after the accident, and tell them if they don't respond in 10 days I'll be taking them to small claims court"

I think you have to give them a little longer than 10 days to respond, I think its more like 45 days.

EDIT: what if you had a certified document from a dealership saying that the trade in valve of your vehicle is less due to the accident?

obrien19 · August 14, 2014

From everything I've read I basically goto a couple different dealerships and have them appraise my truck and compare it to the trade in value of my truck if there were no accidents. And then give all of that info to the insurance company.

14SLTZ71 · August 14, 2014

From everything I've read I basically goto a couple different dealerships and have them appraise my truck and compare it to the trade in value of my truck if there were no accidents. And then give all of that info to the insurance company.

Cosmetic damage repairs in the vehicles history usually shouldn't make much difference in the trade in or resale value, but structural damage will.

Go to a few dealerships and get their opinion on it.

Edit: the problem with accidents in the vehicles history is that they don't get documented correctly, making it hard to tell what the damage actually was when someone looks into the history file of a particular vehicle.

ShotgunZ71 · August 14, 2014

Cosmetic damage repairs in the vehicles history usually shouldn't make much difference in the trade in or resale value, but structural damage will.

Go to a few dealerships and get their opinion on it.

Edit: the problem with accidents in the vehicles history is that they don't get documented correctly, making it hard to tell what the damage actually was when someone looks into the history file of a particular vehicle.

This is true in most cases. A split or dented plastic bumper that was replaced, etc., will likely have no impact on resale value. Same could be said about a windshield or busted taillight. Good used car appraisers can usually spot real damage versus minor body repairs.

obrien19 · August 14, 2014

From my experiences, Dealerships like to find whatever they can. The car i actually traded in for my Silverado, showed that the Mileage was "rolled" back on the car fax report because the Delta Sonic i went to for an inspection put in the wrong mileage, and Dealership instantly offered me $1000 less than what they originally quoted, but luckily i was able to verify that it was the mistake of Delta Sonic entering the wrong mileage, and got it cleared it up. I'm not saying that the Diminished value is going to be thousands of dollars. It very well could be $500 dollars, but to me, that $500 dollars is worth calling the insurance company a few times, going to a few dealership and getting my vehicle appraised after the damage is repaired. I never even heard of "diminished value" before I started this thread, but if there is "diminished value" on my two month old truck, why not try and recuperate that loss, it's not going to cost me any money, and just takes a few minutes of my day to call and talk to the insurance company. I'm just mainly trying to detail my experience of this process, because from my research, there is not really a lot of detailed info out there, and this could prove useful to a forum member down the road.

Txmade · August 15, 2014

I am in the same situation as you. I have a 2014 silverado and my wife has a 2014 altima that was rear ended on our street while it was parked. I mentioned the " value being diminished" today when the adjuster came. First he played dumb, then i said that the vaule won't be the same since it will show an accident, and I should get something in return for that. Then he said there is another claim department that handles those claims.

Let me know how your claim goes and I will do the same hopefully we both will get compensated for loss in value.

bass mechanic · August 15, 2014

without reading all the replies here let me just say a couple things.

first off the internet and a enthusiast site such as this is the last place you want to get insurance advice unless your talking to someone who has a producer license such as myself.

I've been an agent for 11 years! it never ceases to amaze me how many know it alls there are online! following the average joes advice is the worst mistake you can make.

first off your truck is too new, they don't have anything but OEM parts available so you don't need to worry about that.

also DO NOT take the truck to your body shop of choice. The first thing you need to do is ask her insurance company for a list of body shops they use as a direct repair facility.

if you take it to your own shop you run the risk of there being a problem afterwords that the insurance will not approve a supplemental for. but if your preferred shop is on their list then go for it.

if they pick the shop, that shop will make it right with you because they have a reputation to keep with the insurance company, and therefore an incentive to do the work right the first time and for the price they agreed to.

if they fail to do that and require additional money (supplemental) to finish the job that gets death with between them and the insurance company.

if you use your shop, and the repair is not up to your standards the insurance company will say "well too bad you picked them!" and then you get to fight with a body shop whom you might get pissed off at you as 1 customer, but in the case of a DRF they want to continue working with that ins company and they want to make it right in the eyes of you and the company.

about diminished value, you are entitled to something. each state calculates it a little different but just based on experience i would say about 3000-4000 bucks. fact is there are a lot of trucks and with so much supply it may take a while for you to find a buyer if your asking the same as a truck with no prior damage.

car fax is the devil half the time it's inaccurate but it will destroy the resale value of a car wether it is a trade in or private sale.

remember you are to "be made whole again" your truck needs to be put back to a pre accident condition and you need to be made whole again with regard to it's diminished value

be prepared the insurance company will fight and argue with you but if your persistent they will give in.

if you get much resistance contact your local department of insurance in your state. threaten the company that you will report them for a bad fait claim if they refuse to make you whole again.

they will get fined tens of thousands of dollars if they can find fault with the insurance company.. so likely they will take the path of least resistance.

hopefully her insurance company is neither allstate, state farm or farmers they are among the top 10 worst insurance companies in america The Ten Worst Insurance Companies In America

and for future reference, you got lucky 9 out of 10 times in accidents the guilty party will always lie! i have dash cams in all my cars recording 1080p 30 frame per sec while i am driving and while parked.

if you decide to buy one, some day you'll thank me.

a small investment of 300 bucks can save you thousands on attorney fees or worse yet a driver who fleas the scene of the accident. or accuses you of being at fault when the evidence clearly shows otherwise.

ALWAYS call the cops if your in an accident (unless it's your fault lol) its always best to have an independent 3rd party there to write the ticket and determine fault. if you end up going to court you'll find whoever gets the ticket usually gets the entire mess pinned on them and their company to pay for. so if your not at fault hang that police report will get the claim processed faster because without the evidence, the other person will tell a big fat lie and with no witnesses and no evidence you'll end up having your ins company fix yours (and you have to pay your deductible) and their insurance pays theirs. having that ticket at the scene virtually guarantees the guilt party pays the damages.

and for those who mentioned this body shop uses OEM bla bla bla here's the deal...

let's say your vehicle is wrecked, remember this very important fact YOU ARE NEVER TO PROFIT FROM AN INSURANCE CLAIM!!! doing so is INSURANCE FRAUD!! plain and simple!

that said and clearly understood, the insurance company has every right to reassemble or repair your vehicle with similar make kind and quality parts. that could be OEM, could be reproduction or even salvage yard part.

if it were me and OEM was not going to be an option i would choose salvage parts because they are exactly the same part your vehicle came with, and they are USED just like the USED part that came off your car!

i don't like reproduction or CAPA parts because often times they don't fit correctly.

now another thing to make clear, in this case your the victim here or the claimant because this was not your fault you have the upper hand! as such you may have some bargaining power because if you get rubbed the wrong way by the insurance company on something you can and should either ego to court or at least contact the department of insurance to find resolution.

on the other hand when your at fault your insurance company doesn't need to give you any special treatment because you still have to pay your deductible and unless you paid extra for the endorsement on your policy to only use certified OEM equipment they will not use that if lesser but equal value parts are available.

the insurance company is only obligated to put your vehicle in a pre accident situation, nothing more, nothing less.

if you did something stupid and damaged your car, well to f-ing bad! deal with it..

oh and on that subject your rates only go up if your at fault, if any other claim is made and you see an increase, switch companies.

hope this helps, feel free to contact via PM if you need anything else.

obrien19 · August 15, 2014

Thanks for all that great info! I did end up taking my truck to "my preferred Collision" shop, but the Shop is a preferred partner with Allstate, so the shop manager already explained that they have a reputation to keep with them. I was suppose to receive an update from the collision shop yesterday, regarding any additional damage that was found, and a better estimate of when the work will be completed, but never heard from any one. I will be calling the shop later today to find out what the status is, I'm hoping that I wont be with out my truck long, but in the mean time, i get to experience driving a turbo chevy cruze.

galliher_nc · August 15, 2014

You need to tell them you intend to file a claim for diminished value, they are under no obligation to tell you that you're entitled to compensation for the loss in value of your vehicle. I also had to fax them a typed up letter letting them know of my intention. They then sent one of their folks out to look at my truck to determine loss in value. Don't expect $3-$4-$5k either. I didn't get anywhere near that and my truck was hit almost identically to yours. I won't divulge what they settled for, I'll also tell you the damage to my truck was just over $3k. My truck was repaired with Genuine GM (they gave me receipts) parts by the Chevy dealer I purchased it from. They partner with both my insurance (USAA) and the at-fault drivers (Erie). My truck had to have the rear bumper replaced, the left (drivers side) box side, some trim, a 4x4 decal and some other misc stuff, plus paint.

obrien19 · August 15, 2014

So just an update, spoke with the body shop, there are in process if replacing my driver side truck bed panel. And the only adjustment they needed to make on repairs is a little extra paint time. Collision shop said they were going to work over the weekend and hopefully get my truck to me by Tuesday or Wednesday next week. Now for the bad news, insurance company is still playing dumb, I've called three times now, and each time it's been a different version of the same story, I tell the agent I want to speak to someone about diminshed value, they ask me I repeat myself a few times, then they say "ok" then place me on hold for a 5-10 minutes and come back and insist it's a different department and they will have someone call me back.

bass mechanic · August 15, 2014

So just an update, spoke with the body shop, there are in process if replacing my driver side truck bed panel. And the only adjustment they needed to make on repairs is a little extra paint time. Collision shop said they were going to work over the weekend and hopefully get my truck to me by Tuesday or Wednesday next week. Now for the bad news, insurance company is still playing dumb, I've called three times now, and each time it's been a different version of the same story, I tell the agent I want to speak to someone about diminshed value, they ask me I repeat myself a few times, then they say "ok" then place me on hold for a 5-10 minutes and come back and insist it's a different department and they will have someone call me back.

as i mentioned before this is not uncommon. the best way to determine the diminished value is to going to be a battle. i had a 2008 corvette Z06 that had about 12,000 worth of damage and i got 4500 bucks. as it turned out when i sold it i probably took about 1/2 that much in lost value so i made out pretty good.

but you may want to wait till after the repairs are done sometimes diminished value is determined based on the amount of the repair. the guidelines vary by state.

galliher_nc · August 16, 2014

but you may want to wait till after the repairs are done sometimes diminished value is determined based on the amount of the repair. the guidelines vary by state.

Yup, they came and looked at mine after the repairs had been completed.