Got in an accident today

Originally Posted by wassy

Although she's at fault, it's still an "accident", especially since she had 2 kids, her dog, and 2 other adults in the car, sure she didn't intend for this to happen. I'd hate to sue, win, and cause detrement for a few thousand.
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your a good man wassy

Wassy, did not realize you had no real intentions of keeping the car after the lease, and DUH it should have clicked in my head before this was a short term lease anyway.

Being that it's a lease and you don't intend to keep the car, if all else fails this stupid accident is really gonna be BMWs and the next owner's problem to worry about in 20 months, that's a VERY short term and liveable lease to just deal with until the whole charade is just over.

I hope you get all you want, but being that you don't own this thing outright, at least you know the nightmare will eventually end and you're handing over the keys.

I have owned/leased and continue to trade in cars on a much too often basis. Although most people would say a 24 month lease is short, and it is, I have yet to own anything much longer than about 18 months. it's just me getting bored. the irony is that I keep getting he same cars, maybe with a little color change here or there, some options, etc. very expensive hobby that I just can't afford to keep doing. it's getting more costsly each time (not rolling negative equity).. just the hit on the car is a killer, since I'm takign the brunt of it.

waiting this morning to speak with State Farm.

...gotta love that "new car smell!"

Any news?

Just saw the pics and read your story.

Glad you're okay and really f*cked up
Best of luck!!!

I assume the insurance will pay for a new one? since yours is just 4 months? In The Netherlands the BMW insurance pays the amount of purchase in the first year.

Do you guys not have under/uninsured motorist coverage??? I think in DE we have that as mandatory on all insurance policies or you have to sign a waiver to get it taken off (i.e. Motorcycle Policies). That would've covered any losses incurred to you and covered like hit/runs or sideswiping while your car is parked.

I although feel that since your leasing (as long as you/your family's health is ok) you should just get it fixed as you will spend many meaningless cycles with the insurance company b/c they are cheap, but if you have to pay your deductible regardless then fight for them to pay every dollar your out.

Good Luck

Originally Posted by Playdrive4me

Any news?

yes. not good. they won't replace vehicle and in fact gave me a ballbuster time on the interior replacements. wouldn't even replace carpet.

had 3 supervisor's go out, and the 3rd finally realized that the dust in the car, all over it, was soot, not dust and that alone was ground into the holes in the ventilated seats. he also relied on the picture for the proof of water since it was all dry after 9 days before they looked at it. he is taking full care of the exterior and relacing front carpets, front driver seat entirely and all components in it, door panel and all components in that as well.

He suggested just having me sell the car to dealer as is, having them do their own repairs and taking the money from State Farm to cover the neg equity. problem is, even with a $20,000 check or thereabouts, as the dealer said after 2 days of researching -"that ain't gonna cover the neg. equity."... I owe $74k on the lease. they are saying car worth $65k WITHOUT an accident. I think that is quite low, but they may be right!

so with an accident, they didnt' even comment, but figure what, $5000-$10000 under that, even though repaired? I'm too far in to negative territory for me to even consider this.

any suggestions.

Originally Posted by wassy

any suggestions.

Get a lawyer or ...

Originally Posted by wassy

yes. not good. they won't replace vehicle and in fact gave me a ballbuster time on the interior replacements. wouldn't even replace carpet.

had 3 supervisor's go out, and the 3rd finally realized that the dust in the car, all over it, was soot, not dust and that alone was ground into the holes in the ventilated seats. he also relied on the picture for the proof of water since it was all dry after 9 days before they looked at it. he is taking full care of the exterior and relacing front carpets, front driver seat entirely and all components in it, door panel and all components in that as well.

He suggested just having me sell the car to dealer as is, having them do their own repairs and taking the money from State Farm to cover the neg equity. problem is, even with a $20,000 check or thereabouts, as the dealer said after 2 days of researching -"that ain't gonna cover the neg. equity."... I owe $74k on the lease. they are saying car worth $65k WITHOUT an accident. I think that is quite low, but they may be right!

so with an accident, they didnt' even comment, but figure what, $5000-$10000 under that, even though repaired? I'm too far in to negative territory for me to even consider this.

any suggestions.

Wow, I'm surprised that SOB even had the balls to suggest such a stupid idea. He's basically saying "Hey take the rape on trade-in, here's a 20k check hope that covers the difference!".

MAYBE if this was a HOT NEW car like say the F01 in the first few months of it being out that would be a semi-not-stupid-ass scenario, but this car is at the END of its model run and is already being discounted heavily right from the get-go. Dealers DON'T WANT them, and less in damaged or pre-damaged condition.

This is extremely frustrating I'm sure, however at this point I would get as much of the interior replaced as possible and call it a day. I suspect there will not be any driveability concerns because the damage was isolated to body panels and the interior, and once it's all fixed up nice and back to its normal self, your enjoyment of the car will hopefully return for the time left on the lease. Like I said before, I know you said you are used to short-term leases, but this will all be over in 20 months and the keys are just handed over.

Originally Posted by wassy

yes. not good. they won't replace vehicle and in fact gave me a ballbuster time on the interior replacements. wouldn't even replace carpet.


any suggestions.

Keep always in the back of your mind that the insurance appraisers are their not to make things right or give you a fair deal. Their job is to minimize their company's payout. What ever it takes.

I am in the process of getting compensation for my totaled 328. I expect compensation not just for the wholesale (aka loan) value of the car, or even the Private Party value, but rather the retail, as that is what I would have to do to replace it. Also, since my car is pretty rare, replacement would include some shipping costs. And the cost of a rental till I get the replacement. That all adds up to a lot more than just the Blue Book value.

I had this happen to me about 15 years ago, and like then, I'll have to get a lawyer to threaten them with a civil suit to leverage them. And the lawyer's fees go into the pot too.

It's all such a hassle, and I wish I could get compensated for that too, as it's all the fault of the inattentive driver who whacked me. But that's just too hard to prove and collect.

Find a lawyer and get them to write on their letterhead that you feel that all should be done to your car to take it back to the quality, value and condition before the wreck, or the difference be paid back to you.

Good luck!

Wassy,

Glad you are OK. Did you talk to a lawyer? My wife was in a similar situation years ago by some idiot falling asleep on the wheels. She did get some latent back injuries later on. His car got totaled while they fixed our for $10k. Car was not same ever after so I sold it later at a loss. Interesting point is Police was to eager to issue a ticket and asked me to settle through insurance company and don't file a report.

The at fault party agent Allstate ask us to use my health coverage to pay for my wife/kid medical, rent a crappy car for us, won't replace new or pay the redux so I get new vehicle....etc. Their job is to minimize cost. Interesting point is the Allstate 1st question to me is, are we engaging an attorney. I was not smart enough to say depending on how it goes.

Years later while attending a legal class, the professor told me I should speak to a lawyer or let the insurance agent know you might get an attorney as they will react better in minimizing their settlement cost. Usually they have a budget for $20-30k to settle. Interesting note is after the car was fixed, I was advised I have 1 year to dispute. About a year later Allstate actually contacted us its our last chance to dispute.

I also learnt from 3 others in their case they told the agent either you make it right or we have no choice but to seek legal advice. In all cases the agent became nicer and paid them off under pain and suffering, more than differences between the market value of the preaccident vehicle and market value of repaired vehicle. One of them actually kept the money and drive the repaired car.

The lady may not have enough coverage, how about the guy who ran the red light? You should get the insurance company to pay you the value of new car minus 2 months depreciation. They can recover their money by fixing up the car and sell at market value.

I know accident happens but thats why we buy insurance to make us whole...

Good luck.

Originally Posted by Mech_Man

Keep always in the back of your mind that the insurance appraisers are their not to make things right or give you a fair deal. Their job is to minimize their company's payout. What ever it takes.

I am in the process of getting compensation for my totaled 328. I expect compensation not just for the wholesale (aka loan) value of the car, or even the Private Party value, but rather the retail, as that is what I would have to do to replace it. Also, since my car is pretty rare, replacement would include some shipping costs. And the cost of a rental till I get the replacement. That all adds up to a lot more than just the Blue Book value.

I had this happen to me about 15 years ago, and like then, I'll have to get a lawyer to threaten them with a civil suit to leverage them. And the lawyer's fees go into the pot too.

It's all such a hassle, and I wish I could get compensated for that too, as it's all the fault of the inattentive driver who whacked me. But that's just too hard to prove and collect.

Find a lawyer and get them to write on their letterhead that you feel that all should be done to your car to take it back to the quality, value and condition before the wreck, or the difference be paid back to you.

Good luck!

While it is nice to assume that it is our insurance companies' responsibility to make us financially whole, that is simply not the case. Most judges will side with the insurance company on a diminished value case no matter how good your lawyer is because the sole responsibility of the insurance company is to return your insured interest to its pre-accident condition, to provide you an alternate means of transportation from the at-fault party OR if you are at fault and you have specific rental coverage, and finally to cover any injuries sustained during the course of the accident.

I'm not trying to be the bearer of bad news here... Just saying you really have to weigh the options heavily before you involve litigation and then end up LOSING the case AND all the court costs/lawyer fees (if you don't get an out of court settlement which also can occur) that were associated with it. I notice in every car accident thread I ever read there's always the group of people who screams "get a lawyer get a lawyer!" as if it is the end all be all solution.

That is why I suggested that once one decides that he/she wants to pursue legal action, there are SPECIFIC attorneys out there who specialize in these unique vehicle value cases, however there is no guarantee of a win, and at the very least you are in for a long battle and depending on how much you value your time (which you won't get reimbursed for) you really have to ask yourself if it's worth it.

the plot thickens! was going to head over to the body shop to take a peek at the car. called first, told new doors being put on, probably go to paint later today. WOW. nice and quick. He says should be another 3 weeks, as they authorized new carpet, new front driver seat and new door panel. advisor tells me in order to replace carpet, they have to remove entire dash. I said the ENTIRE dash, he said yep, and the center console, seats, etc.

I just melted. he said this way he can blow out the vents real good. I laughed this off.. called State Farm, got the wrecking ball rolling again, and may have some more progress in this regard on Monday.

stay tuned....

Originally Posted by wassy

the plot thickens! was going to head over to the body shop to take a peek at the car. called first, told new doors being put on, probably go to paint later today. WOW. nice and quick. He says should be another 3 weeks, as they authorized new carpet, new front driver seat and new door panel. advisor tells me in order to replace carpet, they have to remove entire dash. I said the ENTIRE dash, he said yep, and the center console, seats, etc.

I just melted. he said this way he can blow out the vents real good. I laughed this off.. called State Farm, got the wrecking ball rolling again, and may have some more progress in this regard on Monday.

stay tuned....

I can't tell from your post if this is good news or bad news? It seems now that they have to take the entire interior apart they might be able to find if there were any other hidden damages which sounds like a good thing to do me, at the very least its going to get cleaned out REAL good!

went to body shop. Here's how we look at this moment -

-that just sad, it's just not the same again. I would prefer not to visit the shop so not to see it like that.

Originally Posted by rafa7

-that just sad, it's just not the same again. I would prefer not to visit the shop so not to see it like that.

I tend to agree, but had I not, I would have been able to tell them the fender is off, and need to be realigned to the a-pillar and hood, and a few other things. I expected him to tell me that they weren't set yet, but he didn't and in fact was glad i pointed it out.. eesh.. I konw they will do a great job.

I was also informed, in a round about way, that alot of parts pertaining to the new seat that are on back order. no time commitment, but when i asked him if we we looking at another month, he said "yeah, at least..."

paint should be done by end of week, if all goes well he said.. so maybe next weekend I'll take another peek at the panels.. they are doing the interior last he said..

that is true, you can only but help yourself by going there every so often.

wasy, what are you driving in the mean time?

That seat is in bad shape. Im glad theyre replacing it!

Originally Posted by Playdrive4me

While it is nice to assume that it is our insurance companies' responsibility to make us financially whole, that is simply not the case. Most judges will side with the insurance company on a diminished value case no matter how good your lawyer is because the sole responsibility of the insurance company is to return your insured interest to its pre-accident condition, to provide you an alternate means of transportation from the at-fault party OR if you are at fault and you have specific rental coverage, and finally to cover any injuries sustained during the course of the accident.

I'm not trying to be the bearer of bad news here... Just saying you really have to weigh the options heavily before you involve litigation and then end up LOSING the case AND all the court costs/lawyer fees (if you don't get an out of court settlement which also can occur) that were associated with it. I notice in every car accident thread I ever read there's always the group of people who screams "get a lawyer get a lawyer!" as if it is the end all be all solution.

That is why I suggested that once one decides that he/she wants to pursue legal action, there are SPECIFIC attorneys out there who specialize in these unique vehicle value cases, however there is no guarantee of a win, and at the very least you are in for a long battle and depending on how much you value your time (which you won't get reimbursed for) you really have to ask yourself if it's worth it.

I don't wish to get into a legal argument, as I'm not a lawyer, but I think your response was correct if you were dealing with your own insurance company. If the fault is provable to be the other car (as in the OP, and my own two previous similar situations, and third currently ongoing situation), then you are dealing with their insurance company, who is open to civil suit for all damages incurred. (That's where the pain-and-suffering huge settlements come from, and why I've already been contacted by 5 law firms anxious to represent me).

I'm not suggesting that the OP get a lawyer and sue for 7-figures, but rather (in this, the real world), the other insurance adjuster will be more likely to provide restitution for beyond the minimum. My two previous experiences with being hit were that the other insurance adjusters were hard-nosed until they got a letter from a lawyer, and they their responses became more comprehensive. The letter alone was enough, (and cost me a total of $50 for my lawyer to write the letter).

recieved a call from insurance company today. they are going to "total loss" the vehicle.

thanks for all your help, guidance and feedback. Now the quest for a replacement starts. As you know, I'll almost never get that same payment or close to it again, and can't afford more, so any suggestions? (or should I start a new thread?)

Yippeee, finally!!! Did you ask what prompted this decision?

Good to hear Wassy

Originally Posted by wassy

recieved a call from insurance company today. they are going to "total loss" the vehicle.

thanks for all your help, guidance and feedback. Now the quest for a replacement starts. As you know, I'll almost never get that same payment or close to it again, and can't afford more, so any suggestions? (or should I start a new thread?)

congrats.... wait for the F01 then make your decision