Here's a little update on how good its going...

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And here's my response letter:

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Your response was very appropriate. When someone try’s to feed you s**t, ask them to taste it first.

 

Sounds good to me. Good luck in your efforts and keep us updated on how it goes. I hope I never have to deal with that but you never know.

 

It certainly is no surprise to me that this issue is ongoing but I feel that your reply leaves them no room for denial of diminishment reward to you.
We all will be watching this progress if you continue to share it here.
Best of luck to you and I truly mean this.
It was a great misfortune to have this happen just days after getting this car.
Gary

 

That is absolute suckage. I feel for you. God bless.

 

I had the same thing happen to another car I had... I made them buy me a new replacement auto and they kept mine...worked for me.

 

Galves guide indicates the deduction for major collision damage (> $2,500). Granted that's sub-wholesale but it's some proof from an authoritative source. Many of the free appraisal sites do as well. You should not be asked to provide a release just by virtue of having them pay for the collision repair so worse case you can always threaten or even bring a small claims case for the diminution once the car is fixed. It's a pain bringing it, as you'll need an "expert" to testify as to the diminution, but it's cheap to file and that can often get them to cough up a few bucks. Many folks also find that when they mention their prior but fading hesitancy to bring a personal injury claim for the back pain they've experienced since the accident, the carrier gets more reasonable. I'm not suggesting you make anything up but if you did sustain some injury it doesn't hurt to make that known. It may bring a higher level claim handler into the mix.

 

Well done; your response is level-headed, well thought out, not belligerent or threatening, professional but don't you wish you could just grab someone by their collar & scream at them?
Keep us posted!

 

AtomHeart,

Now I'm nervous. The other guy that hit me has AllState and my insurace company will not assist me in any way. I must deal directly with AllState on my own to get repairs on my SRT. Granted my repairs are only $1700 - $2000 it will have an accident on it's record. Any ideas and/or dealings you can share will undoubtly help me and maybe other members.

Good luck my friend.

 

Get a lawyer!!!!

 

Yea get a lawyer and give them a third of whatever you get.... The lawyer is the only one that wins

 

Yeah, unfortunately, I may have no choice but to take the girl who hit me to court directly, but I will persue the matter with the insurance as long as I can. I did sustain back injuries from the accident and went to the doctor for them. I haven't gone for an MRI because of the $500 deductible I would have to pay to have one. But you're right, No1Piranha...my hesitance is lessening.

 

I will take the other side of the argument for now and ask how and why you should be treated differently than anyone else. From what I understand from what I have read so far any time a car is involved in a significant accident it will lose value on resale as compared to the same car without an accident record. Why should you be awarded extra money because of " diminished value"? You think the SRT6 is a special situation because it may be valuable some day? Right now the SRT6s are selling at a pretty low price in the teens to low twenty thousand even with low mileage. This "special value" right now is in your mind and not in the reality of the market place. You may be right that 10 or 20 years from now it will be considered a collector's car but no one has any way of determining that right now. For that matter; any one who has an accident with their car can make the same claim about their car. I do not know of any laws that could force the insurance company to pay more because the car may be valuable in the future. If I am missing something here in your argument then I apologize; otherwise please clarify.

 

I dont think I should be special. I think EVERYONE deserves this money when in a not-at-fault wreck, and it is sickening that I have to fight to get it, when it is clearly owed to me by the person who did financial damage to me out of their negligence.

This has nothing to do with my specific car. If some idiot on a cell-phone comes out of the blue and screws up your life, anyone in that situation deserves to be made whole. I am merely stating the particulars of my situation in my argument to Allstate. I am not excluding everyone else who also has a full right to be made financially whole when someone causes them financial hardship. I plan to trade or sell my car immediately, however, I can not do that without this supplemental money from the insurance company or from the negligent driver, because I now have a car that's worth less than my loan, after I put a large sum of money down to purchase the thing and be assured of being "right side up".

So yes, you are missing something in my argument.

 

In that case then I do not believe Allstate owes you anything more than the costs of repairing your car. If there is an intangible value associated with the accident then the driver responsible for the accident should owe you the money. The only way to collect is to take that person to court. You will most likely need a lawyer and in that case you will never fully collect the money due you due to the legal and court fees. In most every way I am on your side; but I am also a rather practical person. I truly wish you luck if you pursue this case further. I doubt you will get any where with Allstate; but again; I wish you the best.

Dennis

 

You're right, I may not get anywhere with allstate, which is sad since they accepted money from the girl who hit me in exchange for covering her liability in the case of a negligent accident. Had she knocked my car into someone's yard and crushed their yard gnomes, Allstate would have made those people financially whole again, instead of just glueing their yard gnomes back together and giving them back to them...so it seems odd that they would have a problem making the direct victim financially whole...but that's ok, my back is hurting pretty bad, and a few MRI's cant be cheap, so Allstate isn't off the hook yet. Everyone is going to be treated fairly here, one way or another. If they won't cover my financial pain, they'll cover my physical pain...and the law is very explicit about them being liable for THAT.

Serves me right to expect an insurance company to do what is right. They aren't in business to do what's right, and follow logic...they're in business to make money. Allstate has sure scammed this poor girl who thought she was covered in the event of an accident.

 

I think AH is entitled to a diminished value reimbursement. To me the issue is the degree of damage that was done to his car. If his car had been totaled then he would have received full value from the payoff. If his car merely suffered a dented fender then the fender would have been replaced and repainted and the impact on future resale value would have been minimal. But his car wasn't totaled or suffered a dent - it had structural damage that has now had a major effect on his car value. He has suffered a financial loss that can be documented. Now who is going to cover that? Either Allstate or the negligent driver who ran into him. Allstate is the logical choice to collect from but if Allstate balks then the driver is on the hook. And if she doesn't like coughing up $8K to cover her negligence then she is free to sue Allstate for failing to financial cover her.

 

Yea, sadly, in this day and age, you dont purchase insurance, you purchase the right to sue your insurance company.

 

AH, I was in a similar situation a couple years ago with Allstate. I was slammed into from behind while stopped on a highway off-ramp. Needless to say, this pushed me into the stationary vehicle at my front, etc. etc. My $40k SUV sustained ~$25k in damage, while <1yr old, <12k miles.

Advice #1- Sell the car immediately, especially if ANY work was done to the frame. Although I have a lifetime warranty on repairs through my insurance Co. (who was paid by Allstate for the repairs), the truck's been back at the body shop 6 times, and still isn't right.

Advice #2- Fight hard to give them your damaged car, and get a new one (in similar condition to yours pre-accident). Although I asked that they total my vehicle many times, I wasn't persistent enough on this one. BIG mistake.

Diminution of Value- Long story short, I went through the same crap you'll experience. It seemed to me that the job of the adjuster was to come up with any possible excuse to say no. I beleive many people give up when at this stage of the settlement negotiation, or hire a lawyer. In my opinion (I'm not a lawyer; this is not legal advice), and in my experience, neither is the correct decision.

Through consistent, regular calls, I was able to (many months after the accident) get Allstate to cut a small check.

Still haven't received reimbursment for my medical expenses, I'm hoping that will happen (without a lawyer) in the next 24 months.

The simple reality is that your vehicle is not in pre-accident condition. You want to buy one in pre-accident condition, and must sell yours to do so. Allstate needs to do the right thing, and cover the difference in price between the one you sell and the one you buy.

Call them, and offer this simple explanation. If it seems the agent you're speaking with doesn't understand what you're communicating, it may be worth seeing if you can communicate more effectively with their supervisor.

It may take 18-25 calls to make it happen, but eventually they'll do the right thing.


Good luck

 

Your response was extremely professional and direct. If Allstate does not grant your request, I believe all SRT6 owners with Allstate should switch to another company. You couldn't have done a better job of deflecting their dismissal. Keep us posted.