by Guest » Tue Mar 23, 2010 07:11 pm
Hi, as you may have seen I answered another topic earlier. Now I'm down to specifics and need advice.
Today the Towing company that has held my car hostage finally got paid and towed the car to a local body shop. The insurance co totaled out the car and I'm not 100% sure how much they cut a check for. Right now the leinholder of the car is holding a check expecting only 2500 dollars worth of repairs. The bodyshop re-did the estimate and added another 500 dollars worth of labor to the estimate.
Now, because the accident wasn't my fault and the insurance co. has already settled for less than repair and payoff can I sue the driver for out of pocket expenses?
If you need more specifics please by all means ask. I live in WV.
Today the Towing company that has held my car hostage finally got paid and towed the car to a local body shop. The insurance co totaled out the car and I'm not 100% sure how much they cut a check for. Right now the leinholder of the car is holding a check expecting only 2500 dollars worth of repairs. The bodyshop re-did the estimate and added another 500 dollars worth of labor to the estimate.
Now, because the accident wasn't my fault and the insurance co. has already settled for less than repair and payoff can I sue the driver for out of pocket expenses?
If you need more specifics please by all means ask. I live in WV.
Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 09:38 pm Post Subject:
This is your vehicle? If so, the insurance company would need to discuss the amount being paid with you before issuing the payment.
Who's check the the lien holder holding? If the vehicle is a total loss why does the lien holder think it's going to be repaired? If the vehicle is a total loss why is the body shop adding on more repair costs? Is it this additional $500 that caused it to be considered a total loss?
The amount you owe has _nothing_ to do with that the other party owes. The other party owes you for the value of the vehicle and loss of use. Technically the other carrier should be getting a release of claims from you before issuing payment, which means you'd need to accept that amount before a payment was issued. Most carriers will bypass this and just issue the payment. You can feel free to sue the other driver but you'd need to show that you are entitled to more then what was being paid. As mentioned, your deal with your lien holder has nothing to do with what it owed. I could by a 1995 Escort and finance $50,000 on it. This does not mean someone would owe me that amount if they caused it to be a total loss.
Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 11:54 pm Post Subject:
Ok, here's the deal.
Yes, this is my vehicle. I bought it and 4 days later an older gentelman pulled out in front of me (yes I now it's irrelevant).
After arguing with Allstate for a week, Allstate would not budge and offered me 2600 dollars.. less than payoff of the vehicle (a 2001 Dodge neon) Thusly i'm forced to either swallow the 2000 dollar down payment and no vehicle or keep paying on the car and get it fixed. (it IS reparable)
Allstate would not issue me the check for the settlement.. only to the lein holder (a used car dealer).
I accepted because that is all they'd offer. Furthermore I asked the adjuster (as a lawyer and my own insurance carrier suggested) to speak to his supervisor. He refused. And yes, I was polite.
All I've wanted since this whole ordeal started was my vehicle repaired.
Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 12:10 am Post Subject: insurance
(I can answer PART of this..) If you still have a 'lein' on the car, the check will be issued to the 'leinholder'. You said it was YOUR car. It's not YOUR car unless the Title is in YOUR name (kind of know this info from an accident I was in).
Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 12:29 am Post Subject:
After arguing with Allstate for a week, Allstate would not budge and offered me 2600 dollars.. less than payoff of the vehicle (a 2001 Dodge neon) Thusly i'm forced to either swallow the 2000 dollar down payment and no vehicle or keep paying on the car and get it fixed. (it IS reparable)
Allstate would not issue me the check for the settlement.. only to the lein holder (a used car dealer).
As they should. You owe more on the car than it's worth. That is your problem, not Allstate's. You bought the car 4 days before the accident?
How did you end up paying that much for a Neon?
Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 12:31 am Post Subject:
I see no mention of a salvage deduction. Since you owe more then they are offering I doubt your lien holder would allow you to keep the vehicle and have Allstate deduct the salvage value from their offer. So I doubt keeping the vehicle is an option (certainly not at this point).
Did you review the valuation that Allstate performed in order to obtain the value? You should have to make sure it was accurate. Many of these issues should have been addressed prior to the payment being made.
But to answer your initial question, yes you can sue the driver. You can sue your next door neighbor for this loss as well. But you'd need to show that the driver owes more then Allstate paid. What they owe is the value of the vehicle and a loss of use payment.
Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 12:48 am Post Subject:
It was a rather nice car. All the sources I've found value it at around what I bought it for ($4,495)
With this area it was a nice deal.
Yes the dealer is allowing me to keep the car.. it was either that or continue paying it off, having no car.
I have a copy of the valuation. They had 1 car in state,the rest out, averaged the value to $3,442. Then they devalued the car to $2,677. I never had the option to get one until after I settled. I just don't think it's fair to chuck up that much money to have it basically flushed down the toilet. No, I didn't have collision, although I wish I had. I've never heard of a "Loss of use payment"
Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 01:48 am Post Subject:
what I bought it for ($4,495)
That would have been an asking price not the actual cash value.
I just don't think it's fair to chuck up that much money to have it basically flushed down the toilet.
They don't owe you for what you paid for it.
Then they devalued the car to $2,677
If that's the acv, then they didn't "devaule" it. They paid you for what the vehicle was worth.
With this area it was a nice deal.
I'm no math wizard by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't think it was.
Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 03:36 am Post Subject:
Gap insurance anyone?
To answer your original question, yes you can sue whomever you want for whatever reason you want to. Would this sort of thing hold up in court? Maybe, but here's what I can guarantee, you'll owe more afterwards if there's an attorney involved.
Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 11:10 am Post Subject:
That would have been an asking price not the actual cash value.
I know the difference
They don't owe you for what you paid for it.
I never once asked for them to pay it off. Just repair it.
If that's the acv, then they didn't "devaule" it. They paid you for what the vehicle was worth.
ACV = a nice name to DEVALUE something of worth to a consumer, due to any number of reasons. Be them legitimate or not.
I'm no math wizard by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't think it was.
You obviously don't live in this area. According to NADA and KBB (I've read about this forum's dislike of these valuing systems) But those are the bibles for pricing a car in this area. BOTH state around the price I agreed to for this car. But I've also read about the dislike for the "valuation" (Autosource/CCC)system's fraudulent methods to place this so called ACV on a vehicle.
I get it. Bend over Sally. Take it all like a good girl.
Yes this post was meant to be condescending. But the ooze of "you're ignorant" from yours was too hard to see through.
Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 12:14 pm Post Subject: insurance
I don't know about any other state ( I live in PA),..however,..if you finance a car, you are paying 'Full Coverage' on it. When I bought my Jeep (1997) and had it financed through a finance company, they had 'Full Coverage' considered into my payment (until I got Insurance through my 'private' lender).
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