sorry for your loss but its definately totaled

 

Yep, car was a total loss. Geico is gonna give me about $15,400 for it. Minus my $500 deductable and $11,600 that I owe on it I have about $3000 to put down on a new car. Should get the check sometime next week.

 

Man I'm sorry for that! Your a great writer by the way I was hooked onto your story. Promise us a 2nd chapter once your car is ok?

 

ouch that sucks a lot ......... hope everything is good

 

My brother had '02 Mitsubishi OZ Lancer. Bright yellow.

He was traveling down a city street that had a slope. He got to the light and saw it turned green so he kept going with caution. All of sudden this POS Neon flew from the other direction and failed to stop. Clipped his driver’s side and he did complete 360 degree circle with air bags going off. He stated she was least doing 45 in 30 zone and she admitted that she didn’t see his bright yellow Lancer.

My brother got stuck with a rental for a month while both insurance companies were figuring out the claim. He was told the car was a loss. Was upside down with 5 grand. Lucky for him, he bought GAP insurance when he bought the car.

Here was the fall...

His insurance dropped him for the rental bill. He didn't have the money for a down payment for the next vehicle. His insurance rates went sky high. Since he needed new car; he had to apply for more credit when he didn’t make that choice. Which means his credit score got hit.

These are the reasons why I believe you should contact a lawyer just to be on the safe side. I'm not straight out saying "Sue the damn b-itch!" Just consult. Another factor-There are SO MANY money hungry people who will still say "I didn't do it! He/She was flying by me!" Look at the lady who sued McDonalds because she burned her hand while accidently spilling her hit coffee onto her hand. She won because McDonald's didn't state the coffee was hot.

If someone hit me; with my personal family event...I'm going to contact a lawyer ASAP Specially, if it could of been avoided and my tC is claimed a loss.

 

dang that sucks big time.....

 

Well, I actually work for Progressive Insurance as a PIP (personal injury protection) rep, so I know the medical system pretty well. I don't know much on the vehicle side since I don't handle that, but I deal all day long with medical bills, injuries, and trust me I deal a lot with lawyers.

It sounds like a couple of things could have happened with your brothers claim.

1) the insurance companies couldn't decide on the liability. i.e. the lady said your brother was at fault. If the police report listed her at fault, she got a ticket, and your brother didn't break any laws then it shouldn't have taken a month to get the claim settled.

In my case the other lady was cited, esurance accepted liability, and that was that. It only took 1 day for them to say "ya, she was at fault, we will pay for the claim"

2) your brothers insurance company takes a really long time to settle claims (dont know who he had). Progressive will try to get a Rep to look at the vehicle the same day as the accident, but they are a large company and have many offices. With Geico (my insurance) it took a few days just to look at the car and see it was a total loss. After they totaled it they had to send me paperwork because I still owe money on it, I have to send it back, then they will send me the check. I'm hoping they will be fast about it and I will have a check next week.

3) your brother didn't have rental coverage, so his insurance wasn't going to pay for his rental. Neither do I so I am going through the same thing. The other persons insurance should have paid, but, here is the thing: if the other persons insurance only has 10k in PD (property damage) then they can only pay $10,000 for your brothers car. If it is worth more (which I assume it did, as did mine) you have to go through your own insurance for your car. That means you can't get the rental coverage, and you have to pay your deductible. The insurance company is supposed to try and get that back for you, but how long it takes is unknown. It can take months sometimes, if you get it at all.

I'm lucky in the sense that I didn't get that hurt in the accident. I have a minor case of whiplash and possibly a bulging disc. I'm already back to work with minor neck pain. The only time I would get a lawyer is if you KNOW you are going to have a lot of medical bills. If I find out that I need to have surgery and will exhaust my $10k in medical benefits then I will be getting a lawyer because I will most likely have to ask for her entire available BI (bodily injury, its what the other person has to pay for your injuries). In my case I know the lady has BI, I'm just not sure how much (10k is the minimum). Since I dont think I will need her full 10k I know I can settle it when I am done treating for my out of pocket expenses and a little bit for my "pain and suffering".

When it is a minor crash and you run out and get a Lawyer you are basically letting them get some of your money for free. If you go to settle a BI claim with the other insurance company never accept the initial offer. They will go a little higher so you can get some extra money for your own pocket. If you get a lawyer tho they will only be able to get so much from the insurance company and then they will take a percentage of that amount, so your gonna get left with less than if you had just tried on your own.

 

madashell i pm'd you

 

2nd chapter : -The ER- (for those that could care less what went on just skip it)

As I am sitting waiting for the cop to finish his report my phone rings. I look at it and see that my grandmother is calling me. I answer it and she ask's if I'm at home or at work.

"Not exactly" is my reply. "I wasn't going to wait to tell you until later, but, I got in an accident". How bad? Are you ok? How is the car? Is anyone hurt? Blah, blah, blah.

In the end she is glad that I'm alright and makes me promise to call after I get out of the ER. I let her know that may not be until 12 or 1 am, but she says she will wait up.

After my car is finally towed away Holly is relieved that we are finally going to go the ER. She asks me which one?

I think about it for a second. Can't go to Florida Hospital East, we won't get out until sometime tomorrow morning with how long the wait is. I try to think of a smaller Hospital that doesn't see to many people.

"Florida Hospital Winter Park"

"Ok, but I don't know how to get there." she says.

I tell her to get back on the road and head to the main highway. As she is doing this I call back Geico and begin to go through the process of actually reporting the claim and all that crap.

The rep that I'm speaking asks what my injuries are.

"I have soft tissue injures to my right neck and shoulder." Uh-oh. I just made it sound like I've either been coached by a lawyer or some B.S. clinic that pays people to say they are going when they really aren't.

After she turns of the recorder I let her know that I'm a medical adjuster for Progressive so I know what my injuries are already.

She says "I figured it was either that, or that you were a lawyer."

I finish the claim and get the contact info for my adjuster just as we pull into the driveway of the ER. I tell Holly to park the car and I'll walk in.

Crap, I think I picked the wrong Hospital.

There are about 40 chairs and each one has a person sitting in it. Most of them are staring at the 40" LCD on the wall playing the last half of Return of the Jedi. The ones that aren't are either doubled over in pain or crying into some blanket or someones shoulder.

I ask the receptionist if there is any way to find out if the wait is less at some other Hospital. She looks at me like I'm retarded for a minute and shakes her head.

I go through the check in process. Let them know why I'm there. Tell them what hurts. They take my vitals and tell me to find a seat. Yea, right.

I tell Holly take the only available seat and she starts to protest and says I should be sitting. So after sitting for a few minutes one of the male nurses (orderly?) calls a few names for the triage room. This frees up a few more seats so Holly and I go sit where some couple just were. Only now I can't see the TV. Damn.

It doesn't take long to realize my mistake. Right next to me is a 20 something guy with a baby in his lap. Kids are drawn to my fiance like moths to a flame.

About 2.5 seconds after sitting down she starts playing peak-a-boo with the baby. Her and the kid are loving it while I'm stuck in the middle getting spit on by a 2 year old.

Then the orderly calls out a few more names.

"Justin Timberlake" What the hell? Did I just hear that right?

"Is Justin Timberlake here?" Everyone starts laughing. Well, those that are capable of it at least.

A few minutes later I can hear the Epic battle of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader with the cackling of Emperor Palpatine. I look over and notice that the orderly is completely engrossed in the movie and his mouth is slightly open. I'm stuck wondering if it is the crappy Lucas re-edit with that moron Hayden Christensen as Lukes father at the end.

After it ends the orderly tells everyone that this next movie is for all those people that were outcasts in Highschool.

The guy across from me says Breakfast Club, but I say Napolean Dynamite.

Sure enough, it's Napolean Dynamite. I begin contemplating just going home and scrounging around for my left over pain pills from surgery 8 months ago. I'm sure those expiration dates on the label are just suggestions.

Half way into the infamous dance scene from Napolean Dynamite my name is called and I get to go into triage.

For a nurse that gets to talk to people all night long this one certainly seems chatty. I repeat my injuries for the billionth time and get to go back out to the waiting room.

"David Hasselhoff? Is there a David Hasselhoff?" Half the room laughs again.

I realize that if you can get people to laugh in a place as depressing as this then you must be doing something right.

As the credits roll for Napolean Dynamite and I being to wonder what hell they will put us through next my name is called and I'm herded into the back with three other patients.

Some young doctor makes me repeat my story again and disappears from the room. He comes back with two pills. He says he is giving me Ibuprofen and Atavan. I don't even get a pain killer? I went through all of this and I don't get a shot of morphine? What a bunch of bull crap.

He releases me and I don't even get an X ray, but by now its past midnight and all I care about is going home. No scratch that. All I care about is getting some food and then going home.

I tell Holly to make a b-line for the nearest Wendy's.

 

Okay so I totally have the greatest idea for you. Become a writer make millions and buy a bunch of tC's. You are a great writer. Sorry to here about your baby.

 

This is probably the most I have written/typed since English 2 in college. Thanks for the kind words.

I'll keep you all posted on when I get my check and what car I get.

I could probably do another chapter based off my car test drives so far. hahah

 

My brother had American Family; the teenage girl had Farmer's.

I think what took so long was the GAP insurance company? Because he recently bought a '08 Lancer and he did credit score check. Turns out something didn't get paid on time. He questioned it to his dealer. They found out; it was caused by his last '02 Lancer payment. Apparently, no one told him to make the payment so he didn't.

But I had a claim with American Family back in '04. I rear end someone with a '00 Mitsubishi Galant. It had 114k and both airbags went off. American Family stated to me each airbag cost is 2,500 to replace and the car was worth 5,400 so they claimed as a lost. Specially since they found out it I bought the car in cash. They told me on a Monday and I received the 4,600 check by Wednesday.

Since they did my claim that quick. I'm going to keep on using them and they also only charge me 1,200 for a year. When Progressive, Allstate, Geico, Farmer's, and another one....want 2,800-3,200 a year. No thanks!

 

lolz niice, im lookn forward to it. if you have to get another car is it gonna b a tc?

 

No, not going to get another Tc. There were many things I didn't like about the car, the biggest being the clutch. After 2 years of owning it I still didn't like it. I really noticed it after I went and test drove 8 different cars and each of the clutches felt 10x better than mine ever did. Maybe it was just my car though, never drove another manual Tc.

 

You car looks a bit like mine did after my wreck. My advice to you is to go with Scion again or try for a Honda Civic. I had a Civic before my Scion and that's what got me $2000 more than the note when the insurance paid for the total loss.

Hondas and Scions are the only cars I have seen that increase in value after you buy them. I had just over $17K left on my Honda note when I wrecked and got about $19K from Geico for it. Then I bought my Scion for $17K and KBB says it's was worth $19K.

 

Only problem with Hondas is the insurance rate is ridiculous. When I got the Tc i was looking at the Si also, Geico wanted 2x what I pay to cover the Tc.

Same problem I am having now, Geico wants 2x the amount for a S2000 compared to a 350z.

 

Not for their 'regular cars.' Remember the Si is not in the same class as a tC. One is 'pre-upgraded' for performance and one is not. One has almost 200 HP and the other has 160.

If you compare the rates between a regular Civic and the tC, they're almost identical. (I know this because I had an LX Civic that was totaled and when I got my tC, th only reason my rate went up was because I added some extra coverage.)

 

What ever you do do not get an eclipse, there transmissions suck! I wish you the best of luck in finding a new baby, you should deff. look into another tc though just try it ya know?

 

I've pretty much settled on either a 350z or a z4. I really want a convertible this time around. Also I'm trying to get away from FWD.

 

Mad - 350z would def. be a good choice..... i seen some cheaper z4s around ... keep searching for the right one