Yet another NSX accident..

[Paul91]

This time it was me. Some fool wasn't paying attention and side-swiped me here in the city. I saw him coming with 3 passengers in his Honda CRV, straight for my drivers' side door. I accelerated and attempted to get out of the way. I almost avoided him, but as you can see, he clipped me good.

The good news: His ins. co. is paying for the whole claim and nobody is hurt.
The bad news: The joker who wrote the estimate at the Allstate Drive in Claim Center writes an initial check for $1,200, stating that the fender can be molded back into form....LOL :frown: My response to that was "Oh really?!!? Have you ever tried to reshape an aluminum beer can that has a hole in it (note 2 inch gash in fender)?!?"

I took the car to a recommended shop in the suburbs, Schaumburg Auto Body (Thanks Ken). The lead body man (who has worked on several NSXs) takes one look and says "new fender. 4 days shipping from California" Of course Allstate will have to come out and re-inspect the vehicle. Allstate won't be out for at least 5 business days. Shop can't order fender until Allstate approves. All in all, I'm guessing I'll be out 3 weeks. I usually have nice things to post. Sorry for the rant.:frown:

 

[Benelli90]

Those pics make me sick to my stomach. Even so, sounds like your excellent defensive driving saved the car from much worse damage.

Please keep us updated on the insurance company response. My wife and I are wanting to switch from State Farm to Allstate, and I want to make sure they would handle a possible claim properly.

 

[drew]

The first mistake was to use the other parties insurance, even though they admitted fault.

You are likely to get better service from YOUR insurance. Just have your insurance take care of it and they will bill Allstate. Doesn't go against your insurance record regardless of which insurance you have handle the claim.

They can specify "used parts" and you can't do much about that...mostly due to the age of the car.

 

[MashimaroNSX]

Wow! I'm glad no one was hurt, the accident could have been worse if you hadn't taken your actions to avoid him. Just make sure you have a good body shop to do the repairs and you'll be driving again in no time.

 

[CL65 Captain]

If your car had FI, then you would have missed him. :biggrin:

See, SC & Turbos are actually safety features.

 

[TURBO2GO]

The first mistake was to use the other parties insurance, even though they admitted fault.

You are likely to get better service from YOUR insurance. Just have your insurance take care of it and they will bill Allstate. Doesn't go against your insurance record regardless of which insurance you have handle the claim.

They can specify "used parts" and you can't do much about that...mostly due to the age of the car.

You can do that?! really? if this happens you should really go through your own insurance company? won't they just say "go see the other guy's insurance company"?

 

[TURBO2GO]

If your car had FI, then you would have missed him. :biggrin:

See, SC & Turbos are actually safety features.

lol... :biggrin:

I don't know about a turbo, it may have been worse he would be waiting for boost...

Sorry to hear Paul, I hope it all gets taken care of. I know how you must feel.

 

[slamstrom]

Glad no one is hurt, and the other party is insured. Damages look relatively minor, but it's still your baby, and it still hurts. Hope your baby recovers in 3 to 4 weeks.

 

[drew]

You can do that?! really? if this happens you should really go through your own insurance company? won't they just say "go see the other guy's insurance company"?

Yes, you can really do that.

And it will work.

Your car is covered by YOUR insurance policy.

The other party has insurance to protect HIS liability concerns....not necessarily your fulfillment. This tactic also gives you good leverage...as our victim-to-be is discovering for himself.

This presumes you have good coverage with a high end insurance company. Not a good tactic if you have 20th Century which specifies reproduction, aftermarket or repair whenever *possible* and the at-fault party has AAA which specifies OEM replacement whenever possible.

 

[drew]

Oh, I forgot:

You are entitled to a "like vehicle" (at least in California) to drive when you are deprived of your car.

If Allstate starts giving crap: ask them where you get a "like car"...corvette, Viper or even another NSX. These cars rent out at $500-$900/day. It will tune up their attitude real quick. You do not have to put up with a rental econobox.

They will phreak and may convince you that an additional cash payout might be better than you getting a "like vehicle"

Drew

 

[FuryNSX]

A car other than my NSX was hit two months ago by another driver. That driver's insurance was Wawanesa. My insurance is State Farm. An initial estimate was from Wawanesa's preferred shop. The estimate included repair to a damage bumper. Total estimate: $700. I took it to a different shop, recommended by my own agent. They don't like repairing plastic bumpers, so their estimate included a new factory bumper, plus repair and replace of the bracing underneath the bumper skin, which was not included in the Wawanesa estimate. Total cost: $1800.

My agent recommended I go through the other driver's insurance. Wawanesa signed off on everything, and provided a rental (since it was part of the other driver's coverage). Total cost of the rental: $400. I believe if I went through my insurance, I would have been required to pay my deductible first, then be compensated. In any case, it was an easy process, his insurance handled ALL of the payment portion, AND I was able to use the shop I wanted.

Keep in mind this was for a small 4-5 inch dent in my xB, caused by a < 5 MPH crash.

It's nice having my own personal insurance agent.

-Randy

 

[RSO 34]

You can do that?! really? if this happens you should really go through your own insurance company? won't they just say "go see the other guy's insurance company"?

Yes, but consider my situation.

I was hit by a rental car driver as we all watched him back into my car at the hotel in Watkins Glen (and then try to take off). I filed the claim with my company just in case he provided bogus rental information (he had Texas plates on the car) but was paid in full by the rental company so I never collected a dime from my carrier (Allstate).

I am now shopping around my coverage and was told that I was declined by two other companies so far because of the "frequency of claims" and type of of cars that I have. In the last ten years, I have been paid on one claim for $2500 when I hit a deer this past February and have 3 other claims in 10 years similar to the NSX where I filed a "just in case" claim. Just because I put in a claim that cost Allstate NOTHING I find myself in a situation where I have a "bad record" of filing claims.

However, to answer your question directly you can always go through your own carrier but you will have to pay your deductible up front. Your carrier will then bring a subrogation claim against the other driver/carrier (usually in an inter-company arbitration). Unfortunately, most carriers will settle for less than 100 cents on the dollar and, although they get your deductible back for you in that subro claim, you will receive only the percentage they settle for on the entire claim. Thus, you could lose money in the process.

 

[Paul91]

Drew- I'm going to have to go ahead and disagree with most of the things you said. Not sure how things work in CA., but requesting 'like' vehicles from the ins. co. just because you have an exotic/luxury isn't going to fly. Some negotiation can and was done, but not to the extent your stating. Those silly threats will fall on deaf ears.

Hmmm...you really think using the other parties' ins. company was a mistake?!?? Let's see...100% liability was determined 1hr and 20 minutes after the incident. 99% of all accidents will get re-inspected anyway (by the paying ins. co.) once the car is at the shop. ALL insurance companies try to go low on the original estimate. Why wouldn't they!?!?
Just because you get into an accident that isn't your fault, doesn't mean your rates are NOT going to go up. By using my own ins. co. to fix the damage, that requires man hours to do the research/legwork to process the claim. When they turn around and sue Allstate for the money, they are not suing for their time put into processing the claim. That's where the rate hikes come in. That's basic insurance 101.
Replacement parts?!? Really??!? How many salvaged NSXs do you know that are laying around with their fenders in tact that I can use?

 

[Paul91]

No. He's wrong. You should always attempt to go through the other insurance carrier if it their fault, and if it's a reputable company, which Allstate is.

 

[ImolaOrange03]

I just had my Porsche repaired when I was rear-ended by a careless driver in a SUV. I had a very similar situation where her insurance company repair appraiser... State Farm, gave me a very low estimate, $1900 for repairs. But before I went to see them, I contacted my insurance co. and they said to let the other party take care of it and my insurance would jump in if the other insurance didnt cooperate. My insurance company gave me advice as to the proper proceedure in getting my Porsche repaired.

I then went to a reputable body shop and had gotten an estimate estimate of $4100 before proceeding to see State Farm appraiser.

So when I got the $1900 estimate from State Farm, I knew immediately that I there were out to screwed me over with this lowball estimate. State Farm then quickly rushed me a check and basically wanted me to sign the check and then that would be the end of it. But I went back to the reputable body shop and they informed me of my legal rights and that I can choose any body shop to do the work. So I told the reputable body shop to take care of the repairs and gave them the check that State Farm mailed to me. They contacted State Farm and told them their estimate was way off and went over the details with them.

At this point, I was now out of the loop. I got a cheapo rental car from State Farm and as long as my car was in the shop, I had the rental car. Meanwhile, my reputable body shop had started the work on my Porsche and told me to just sit tight while they duke it out with State Farm. Well, the hard negotiations between my body shop and State Farm took weeks. The body shop wouldnt proceed with any further work until State Farm approved the upcharges. Meanwhile I continued to rack up the costs on the rental car.

So finally my car was finished, it cost State Farm the $4000 anyway, + the cost of a rental car for a month.

So my advise to you is to go to a reputable body shop who will defend you and get the job done right.

It appears that all insurance companies are hoping that you just take the money they give you and run but legally, they HAVE to fix your car, whatever the costs is, unless they decide to TOTAL your car but that's a whole different problem.

 

[Paul91]

Oh, I forgot:

You are entitled to a "like vehicle" (at least in California) to drive when you are deprived of your car.

If Allstate starts giving crap: ask them where you get a "like car"...corvette, Viper or even another NSX. These cars rent out at $500-$900/day. It will tune up their attitude real quick. You do not have to put up with a rental econobox.

They will phreak and may convince you that an additional cash payout might be better than you getting a "like vehicle"

Drew

Yes, but consider my situation.

I was hit by a rental car driver as we all watched him back into my car at the hotel in Watkins Glen (and then try to take off). I filed the claim with my company just in case he provided bogus rental information (he had Texas plates on the car) but was paid in full by the rental company so I never collected a dime from my carrier (Allstate).

I am now shopping around my coverage and was told that I was declined by two other companies so far because of the "frequency of claims" and type of of cars that I have. In the last ten years, I have been paid on one claim for $2500 when I hit a deer this past February and have 3 other claims in 10 years similar to the NSX where I filed a "just in case" claim. Just because I put in a claim that cost Allstate NOTHING I find myself in a situation where I have a "bad record" of filing claims.

However, to answer your question directly you can always go through your own carrier but you will have to pay your deductible up front. Your carrier with then bring a subrogation claim against the other driver/carrier (usually in an inter-company arbitration). Unfortunately, most carriers will settle for less than 100 cents on the dollar and, although they get your deductible back for you in that subro claim, you will receive only the percentage they settle for on the entire claim. Thus, you could lose money in the process.

-Exactly

 

[RSO 34]

The bad news: The joker who wrote the estimate at the Allstate Drive in Claim Center writes an initial check for $1,200, stating that the fender can be molded back into form....LOL :frown:

The "Drive In Claim Centers" should be avoided wherever possible. It is a much wiser decision to make the other carrier's adjuster go to YOUR body shop of choice to inspect the car. I declined the request to have the rental company see my car anywhere other than at Vince's Auto Body (shameless plug inserted here) who was then able to use the lift and explain to the uninformed adjuster about the difficulties of working with aluminum. My "minor" dent that the other adjuster thought should have been worth $1200 ended up costing approximately $4500.

 

[lrsudog]

You can do that?! really? if this happens you should really go through your own insurance company? won't they just say "go see the other guy's insurance company"?

Not in my experience. They are your advocates.

Last time I got hit, I tried going through the other driver's insurance company, but got so much static (and essential incompetence) that I gave up and alerted my own carrier. The other company wanted me to get three estimates, wanted to use the cheapest and farthest away, etc...

My carrier set up my appointment through one of their associated (and guaranteed) body shops a mile from my home, got me a rental, paid the tab, and then went after the other insurance company for the $$.

 

[drew]

Drew- I'm going to have to go ahead and disagree with most of the things you said. Not sure how things work in CA., but requesting 'like' vehicles from the ins. co. just because you have an exotic/luxury isn't going to fly. Some negotiation can and was done, but not to the extent your stating. Those silly threats will fall on deaf ears.

Yes, I have plenty of experience on car insurance in CA. On both ends of the process.

And yes you are entitled to a "like car". I have personally taken advantage of this.

Drew

 

[Big_D]

Sorry to hear about the accident.:frown: Hope everything works out okay. Its too bad that you have to deal with all the aggrivation when it was no fault of your own. Best of Luck

 

[cliffud]

glad you're ok man. an nsx can be replaced - you can't. good thinking about speeding up too - the crv guy was probably enteraining people from out of town and was too busy giving them a tour to see a sweet ride pass in front of him. oh well.

 

[mickeylex]

You can do that?! really? if this happens you should really go through your own insurance company? won't they just say "go see the other guy's insurance company"?

I've done it and will always ONLY deal w/ my insurance company when it comes to someone damaging my cars. I don't want to screw around w/ some other person's insurance company that is going to try to give me the short end of the stick.

Let the insurance companies duke it out and I just get my car fixed. Yes, I pay the deductible up front, but I get that back later...and if I ever don't get it back, I'll consider it a "fee" I pay for not having to dick around w/ the situation.

---------------------
Paul91,

Glad nobody was hurt. I hope it all works out ok for you.

 

[redsuns3838]

ouch..glad to hear your okay atleast, but this honda on honda crime is a greusome one. hopefully everything goes smoothly with insurance and the cars back and better than ever in a few weeks

 

[redsuns3838]

You can do that?! really? if this happens you should really go through your own insurance company? won't they just say "go see the other guy's insurance company"?

I dunno, I have always been told to go through my insurance company because its less hassle.

 

[PAL]

Why was this guy coming straight at your driver's door?