Insurance claim help please!

[HLN A55]

On February 12th, my PARKED Viper got hit on the driver's side bumper. The lady was simply not watching where she was going and hit it smack on the bumper. After arguing about where I wanted to take it, I finally got it repaired. What was done was the following:

-Repair and refinish the bumper cover
-Replace bumper support (thanks to Jon B for getting one)
-Repair bumper support bracket
-Replace fog lamps

So, all in all, not that bad-although it has been tragic to me! The ladies insurance company paid for the repair (with some arm twistin). Now, when it came time to get other stuff repaired here is what happened.

1) The water pump went out on impact. I paid for my mechanic to have it fixed because I wanted the car for the weekend. Insurance company refuses to pay saying that I cannot prove that it was accident related. Anything I can do about this? The car ran perfectly before, and as soon as I started it up after the accident, it overheated.

2) Loss of use. Originally, the claims adjuster and I agreed to him paying me instead of renting me a car. I told him that I would much rather drive my other car(first mistake) than drive a neon. He said no worries, I will pay you. When I picked up the car, he decided that he was only going to pay for 4 days. I have not received a check yet and the only way that they will pay me is if I sign a PD release-and then they will only pay for 4 days, even though the car was out of commision for about 2 months. What can I do?

3) Diminished Value. When I come around to selling this car, I have to advise that it was in an accident. From what I have found, and what I believe to be the norm, nobody will pay market value on this car anymore-no matter the severity of the accident. The insurance company refuses to pay anything as they believe that there is no DV in the car. Further, they state that the vehicle has prior damage and that they should even request to be paid for making my car "better." About the prior damage, it had the sides scrapped a little and there was one or two rock chips. Am I right in thinking that there is DV? What can I do about it?

Sorry for the long post-just trying to get all of the facts out there.

Any advice on any of the above?

 

[V10SpeedLuvr]

You may want to look into hiring an attorney if you think it'd be worth it. ALL insurance companies are crooks and I hate having to deal with them!

 

[Saint_Spinner]

What insurance company was the lady with? Progressive? Mercury?

 

[HLN A55]

What insurance company was the lady with? Progressive? Mercury?

Sorry-good point. She has Progressive.

 

[Saint_Spinner]

Yeah..I got progressive. I heard they were rated as one of the worst insurance companies to deal with when it came to claims. I'm in the process of switching companies. Good luck, bro.

 

[zen garage]

I own a car rental company and deal with this crap all the time. You will be hard pressed to get diminished value for a repair that was under $1000. No insurance company will pay for the water pump as for they will say that the point of impact would not hurt the water pump. As far as loss of use/rental car, why did the repairs take two months. That repair probably only booked out 9 hours of repair total. thats why e is only paying you for four days. Hell, if you want a rental bill, let me know, I would be happy to supply you with one.
Accidents ****, especially when it happens to your baby and its someone elses fault. Take your lumps, be happy it was only a bumper cover and nothing major. As far as disclosing the damage, in all reality, most vipers have had their front bumper painted. If you have pics, keep um, so you can show any interested buyers how small it was.
My .02

 

[HLN A55]

I own a car rental company and deal with this crap all the time. You will be hard pressed to get diminished value for a repair that was under $1000. No insurance company will pay for the water pump as for they will say that the point of impact would not hurt the water pump. As far as loss of use/rental car, why did the repairs take two months. That repair probably only booked out 9 hours of repair total. thats why e is only paying you for four days. Hell, if you want a rental bill, let me know, I would be happy to supply you with one.
Accidents ****, especially when it happens to your baby and its someone elses fault. Take your lumps, be happy it was only a bumper cover and nothing major. As far as disclosing the damage, in all reality, most vipers have had their front bumper painted. If you have pics, keep um, so you can show any interested buyers how small it was.
My .02

The repair actually ended up costing right around $2k.

The repairs took so long because the bumper support was on back order. It would have taken longer, but I managed to grab Jon B's last one.

As of right now, I am just furious with the way they have treated me-that is a big factor in why I continue to go after them. If they had been pleasant, and gave me real answers, then I wouldn;t have so much a problem.

Anyways, consulted with a lawyer and will take the next steps with him. Thanks for the offer, but as right now, I think that I am ok (on the rental bill)

 

[zen garage]

I would be happy to provide you with a rental bill for a like car, a viper, at $499 per day for two months. Hell make them prove you didnt rent it. I would be more than happy to direct bill progressive too. The only insurance company I enjoy working with is State Farm. Every other one drags claims out for as long as possible. Yesterday I got paid on two different claims, about 10 g eachfrom accidents in 2005.