Well I made it to NC alive tonight. But the crossfire is not in quite so good of shape. A tractor-trailer tire retread flew off and headed right for the crossfire. The bumper is scratched up and gouged, the side skirt is scratched, and the inner fender lining is missing on one side. My marker light also fell out, but seemed to snap back in without a problem. It looks like mostly just paint is needed on the lower half of the front bumper, and the side skirt under the driver's door.

Does anybody know who is liable for this damage? I got all the info off the truck (US DOT #, Plate, Company name, time, date, mile marker, route, truck #, etc). He did not pull over and I do not have a police report. I'm thinking I may get stuck with the bill. Anybody have experience with this?

 

Tough luck, sorry to hear that. It's been my experience you bite the bullet on stuff like that. The driver is not required to pull over after blowing a tire and probably didn't even know he damaged your vehicle. You might try and call the trucking company and see what they have to say. Most companies I've drove for would politely tell you, "oh well". You may want to call the police and see what they have to say.

BTW: I took AZXFIRE to the body shop this afternoon. On the way to the dealers this morning for warranty work, I got hit by something that fell off one of our "illegal" friends from south of the boader fly by night contruction crew pick-up truck. Small ding in bumper just inboard of fog light, missing black plastic grill piece and broken splash guard. $823.00 to fix... 2-3 week wait for parts.
A year or so ago I dropped my deductible on all three of my vehicles from $500 to $100. It only raised my monthly payment by $28. Glad I did...

I feel your pain... let us know what happens. Good luck.

 

Heb80: It seems like fixing it may be relatively expensive. If it were me, I would call the police and try to make a police report. I'd give all the information to my insurance company, together with the police report if it happens, and get it fixed on my insurance company's nickel (and hope they didn't slam me the next time they calculated my premium).

If my deductible was enough to make me wince, I'd take a shot at the trucking company in small claims court after first coordinating with my insurance company to see if they are going to try to recoup their expenses against the trucking company. The trucking company most likely has insurance that they will forward the claim to (or pay me so they won't have to), and their insurance company may well pay me rather than have to spend more money to go to small claims court.

Depending on the cost to repair, in the alternative, I might decide my insurance company will make it harder on me than I would like if I report it to them (different companies have different policies in this respect, some harsh and some reasonable). So then I would pay for it myself and take it to small claims court, etc., hoping either the trucking company or its insurer would pay me to make me go away, or failing that, that the court would rule in my favor.

Just my two cents. Good luck.

 

your insurance Co. will go after the trucking Co,other wise it's hit & run .Covered under comp.not coll.

 

I'm not trying to start an argument here... just giving my opinion. I've driven big trucks since '92 when I retired from the Air Force and have almost one million miles under my belt. You "may" get the trucking company to pay "if" you're really lucky but I doubt it. Trucks blow tires all the time and are under no obligation to stop after a blowout, however most will pull over once they find a safe place to do so and check their equipment. Even if they hear the blowout, the rearward line of vision in a big truck is very limited, chances are the driver never knew a blown tire caused damage to another vehicle, especialy if it happened at night. IMO hit and run does not apply. Sometimes a tire will come apart and the driver will never know it.

If he can collect without a big hassle, by all means go for it. If not and his deductable wasn't real high go with your own insurance. You never know when something will happen... that's why I carry only a $100.00 deductable on my vehicles.

Just yesterday my XF was hit by an object that fell off a pick-up truck loaded with construction stuff. I didn't even bother chasing him down... my word against his and the time and effort to recoupe my loss wasn't worth it. (Damage to my car is $823.00) Such are the hazards a road warrior faces... the 2-3 week wait for parts is a far worse feeling than the $100.00 I have to shell out and by no means am I a wealty man. :wink:

 

I have had quite a few cars repaired from similar situations, albeit stones or pieces of the load, never tires though. Every single time I reported it to my insurance company and they repaired my car under my comprehensive coverage. I only had to pay my deductible ($50 ) and my rates never went up. If you have all the info give it to your ins company and let them go after the trucking company. That is what you pay all the money for on your comp anyway, why not use it? Just dont make 3 claims within a 1 year period though.

In fact my Z06 is in the paint shop right now getting a whole repaint because of some gravel that fell off the back of a dump truck on I-70 in Ohio on my drive back to NJ from CA. Cost to me.... $50, knowing I have the right coverage for my car... priceless.

 

This sounds strange, but I heard it was important to tell the insurance company that the object hitting your car flew directly off the vehicle in front of you, and did not hit the ground first. Apparently if the object is on the ground, then some insurance companies assign the fault to you...that you hit the object. Whereas, if it never hit the ground, then technically it hit you.

I don't know if this is true or not, but it can't hurt in a pinch.

 

AZ and Heb:

Really sorry to hear about your cars......

I am surprised to hear it is taking so ojg to get parts.

I just had my rear bumper replaced, and it was here in only three days! Some idiot hit me in a parking lot. Not for the best part. He is now claiming that I hit him!

Ain't life grand?????

 

Here is the update:

I contacted the Virginia State Police for a police report and they said they don't write reports for this kind of "incident". The officer was really nice and took all my info over the phone and said he will get in contact with the trucking company and have them call me. He said that it is unlikely that any progress will be made as it is my word versus theirs, but I figured its worth a shot.

After I got all the black rubber removed from the bumper, the damage isn't too bad. There are a few deep scratches into the plastic below the lower ridge of the bumper. They are not noticable unless you get down on your knees and stand within 10 feet of the car. The sideskirt is scratched in 2 spots too but down low, and also isn't very noticeable.

The fender lining in front of the driver's side tire is missing, along with the access door for the driving light. Does anybody with a FSM have a blowup of what parts I will need. I may just replace these parts on my own and live with the scratches since they aren't that noticable. They are nothing that a little careful touch up painting can't fix.

 

There's some great touch up guys out here that come to you .maybe you can find one out there? I would still try the comp. on your policy check it .Got nothing to loose.Same day toch up guys work for dealers too so ask them if you can't find one.

 

Update... 4 business days to get the parts in. IMO not bad at all. The insurance company was what held every thing up... holiday weekend and all.

I took AZXFIRE to the body shop tonight, will get her back Thursday. Final bill for a new front bumper, black plastic grill on right side, splash guard... $855.00.

Looks like I'll have a used XF bumper hanging on my garage wall in a few days.... :wink: :wink: :wink:

 

:cry: :cry: OUCH :cry: :cry:

 

Heb80
One problem with your "complaint" to the Virgina State Police was the delay in your reporting the incident. The police most often will not take a report on this type of incident if there has been any significant time delay.

Also the trucking company is responsible for any other vehicle's damage that is a result of ANY object that come off the truck, including a tire part.

The problem is actually proving that the tire part that struck your vehicle came from that specific truck.

 

Hi...


Before reporting this to your insurance co... ask them or your agent what their polcy is re. number and/or $ amount of claims within a certain time frame...

Each co. has their rules as to what triggers a rate increase... or dropping you from coverage...

Like... 3 reported incidents within 2 years... and the rate goes up 25%...


Dave...