My 06 XB (9k miles, less than year old) was rear ended by a drunk spring breaker last Sat. I was stopped for traffic, she plowed into me and moved my car several feet forward while I was on the brakes. She then ran off, but I followed her and trapped her inside a trailer park, were she abandoned her jeep. The cops found two huge bottles of Gin, blunt remains, and one of them said the car smelled like crack. She left her license, insurance card, prescription bottle with her mother's phone numbers, and pictures of her doing numerous drugs in the vehicle (no joke).

The damage looks like nothing but scratches, however she sank the rear bumper in four inches on one side, and two on the left side. The vehicle's right rear tire hit the curb and scraped too.

Right after the accident, I had a tracton warning light come on for no reason when driving (I know I wasn't slipping or anything). Now my brakes allow the car to skid for the first time ever. The traction warning light doesn't come on at all, even when it should. And my tires are spinning on some takeoffs when it never did before.

Her insurance company is giving me a fit. They said the police report still isn't complete and cannot prove she was driving the vehicle. Unfortunately we're both with the same company. They said I have to pay for all the work on the vehicle, and only if they later determain liability will the pay me back afterwards. Or I can use my policy, and they will pay me back afterwards anything over $500. Oh, and I can ONLY use the body shops that they have on their list or I won't get a dime back.

Like I said, on the outside the damage is barely noticed. But something happened to my wheel sensors or something that night, but I have no error lights at all, even when I should. I've never had the vehicle skid when braking, NEVER had the vehicle's front wheels spin on takeoff. And I am used to seeing the traction warning come on under certain conditions, it doesn't at all anymore.

I am unsure of what to do at this point. Our insurance company (who I am changing TODAY because of this) wants me to wait and only goto a body shop. They told me they won't cover dealer repairs even though it's clear it needs it. I haven't talked to the dealer at all yet. I doubt the warranty would cover anything in this case, and I'm probably screwed out of warranty now.

Where do I go from here? Am I going to have to goto civil court and get a lawyer over all this mess? I am in unknown space here, and still waiting for the police report to even know the name of the person to blame. All I have is her tag # and her insurance company dragging their feet. I am also afraid to get the car fixed by the insurance company's cronies, I doubt a body shop can fix issues regarding VSC, or traction control, or ABS.

Thanks for any input.

 

Sounds like you are screwed. Did you SEE her driving the vehicle? I'm suprised she didn't report it 'stolen' right after the accident. We get that a lot in Houston... dood will trash his car after a night of drinking then report it stolen later on.

Sucks about your insurance company. Man up. You can not be a nice guy when dealing with insurance. They are happy to take your money but very hesitant to pay it out. Document the people you talk to. Start getting some estimates. If you're ins. rep. won't help, go over his or her head.

You're the victim here and you have the worst of it. Sometimes life just sucks... too bad the airbag didn't knock that bimbo out...

 

this is why i carry a 9 mm in my car,

BLAM and now shes paying insurance, and for a hole in the leg. And when the police ask me why I shot her? She came running after me with a weapon and I was scared for my life.

 

I only saw her finger (one guess which finger) waving at me while she fled the scene. She was a spring breaker out of town on vacation. The have pictures of her at her hotel room getting high with her friends. The car was not reported stolen at the time of the accident, and she suddenly dissappeared during that time too. I do not know any more beyond that without the police report. The pictures I saw were of her and friends, who were registered at the hotel listed on the parking permit in her car. She left the keys in the car too when she fled, and the cops were dusting the car down for all prints to verify who was driving when I left. I just hope they did something right.

The owner of the car BTW is a minor. I am dying to see the police report, but I have to wait for it to be mailed to me.

 

I forgot to ask, what the heck is going on with my traction control, VSC and ABS? I figured an error light or something would come on if there was a problem. Is it really that sensitive, or was this sort of a defect? Like I said, I am guessing a sensor got whacked or something funny when I got pushed forward a few feet with me on the brakes.

I am going to talk to the dealer tommarow and see if they can give me some more advice, and then I am getting the insurance company to sign a statement that they told me to drive the vehicle with it's safety system crippled while they make up their mind. I figure they won't want to do that.

 

I maybe wrong--but you insure cars--not people. Since it was not stolen--what difference does it make who was driving?

 

Just be patient and don't accept any money from the insurance company until you are satisfied with the deal. If you don't like the body shop(s) they use, get an estimate from one you like. Get an estimate from your dealer for any mechanical damage. Tell your insurance company how much money you need for your body and mechanical estimates, and if they offer less, don't accept (settle). If they won't pay based on your estimates, tell them you will get a lawyer. They are counting on your not having the time or patience to go through the procedure, and hoping you will take their check.

 

okay, first, it doesn't matter if she was driving the car, you insure a car, not a driver. so if the police report says that your were not at fault, then they have to pay, doesn't matter WHO was driving, the car is what is insured, not the driver.

as for using one of their body shops, that is bull$#!+, take the car to them, get a full estimate, and a check and take it to a body shop of your choice.

as for all that skidding, and so on, take it to a dealership to have the codes pulled and engine dyagnostics etc, search for all the problems.

also have the car appraised for the diminished value because it has been involved in a collision now which means that it will be in the carfax history reports.

also, if your car is having skidding problems, tell the insurance company that it isn't drivable and you need a rental.

sounds like you have a really crappy insurance provider, tell them that if they don't shape up, your taking your business elsewhere. who is your provider anyway?

 

You need a lawyer NOW!, not later. Seriously. The Ins Co is walking all over you. I find it hard to believe they can dictate who repairs your car. Please contact an accident attorney tomorrow. Insurance covers the entire vehicle, not just the body.

 

I hate to hear this type of story, especially when it comes to the insurance company. OBVIOUSLY you weren't the one at fault so I don't understand the stipulations they are putting on your vehicle "You have to go here or here" " We are only going to fix this or that" A whole bunch of Hoopla if you ask me. You should be able to return your car to the state it was before you were hit, no exceptions. You were smart in looking elsewhere for your insurance needs IMO. Sorry about your luck and I hope everything will work out for you...

 

You need a lawyer as in NOW. I would not speak with the insurance company without one.

 

I don't want to start a flame on the insurance on the forums, but I will say they are NOT LIKE A GOOD NEIGHBOR (cough).

 

^^ In your search for a new company, FWIW, I've had phenomenal luck with a company who's...uh, la la la IS ON YOUR SIIIDE o/'

They went out of their way to fix my car after I did something particularly stupid to it. It was like an insurance company commercial...only in real life.

Good luck, man, it sounds like you need to get a lawyer NOW. Or at the very least, tell your agent that you're involving one. They sometimes cut out the BS after that.

 

I am going to follow the advice, have the car fully checked at dealer and appraised, and I am going to take the police report to the insurace company as soon as I receive it. If they don't contact me before then, or make a reasonable settlement offer, I am getting a lawyer.

I have 2 local insurace agents I am talking to really soon. They already qouted be better coverage, and $140 month cheaper. I'll also get a qoute from that company you mentioned as well. I have a SPOTLESS lifetime driving record as well, so no reason for others to be charging me $230 per month. They jacked it WAY up when I added the Scion.

The only reason I've been with this company for 5 years, they used to treat me well. 2 windshields, one passenger window with other vehicles, and they treated me too perfect back then. I think their tune only changed because of the larger amounts involved.

 

The steering to particular shops by insurance companies is becoming the rule rather than the exception. They generally coerce you into going to places that they have discount repair deals with (these deals usually consist of a reduced labor rates, parts % discounts as well as often making the body shop eat rental car expenses if the car takes longer than expected) (not an all bad thing as long as you get a good repair...as this keeps all our rates lower). Many insurance estimates do not allow enough money in them for paint materials to even pay their cost , forget making a profit (Business's are supposed to make profit on dollars that they flip aren't they??) The problem is that the current insurance climate here where I am and in many places has made it extremely hard for body shops as well as technicians to make a fair living for their efforts without cutting corners on your repair in order to do so. This discounting and deal making is increasing daily rather than diminishing. The problem is that the auto body shops generally do not have a strong coalition formed with cash flow for lobbying against unjust claims practices. Indeed in many areas there are no such organizations banding shops together for some clout in this battle. Individual shops and indeed even coalitions of shops can not fight the corporate lawers of large insurance companies, nor have enough capital to impress politicians that might give a dam compared to the Ins cos knocking on their doors. It is a sad state of affairs for the body shops as well as the consumer. A cohesive coalition of body shops on a large scale or a monsterous public outcry would be necessary in order to sway things from their present course, unfortunately neither is likely to happen.

People like myself who run a shop and want to do a proper complete repair are not being paid fully to do the repair. Some, like myself, eat labor time and dollars on every job to ensure a quality repair (and therefore make little money). Others cut corners to ensure a good margin at the expense of the customers cars. A shop that does an excellent job including all the steps that need to be done to produce this excellent quality that trys to get paid for doing all the work, tends to get blacklisted by the invloved Ins company. These companies steer any customer they can away from such shops even resorting to libel and disparagement of the shop in question (beyond their normal lying and misdirection) knowing that that single shop does not have deep enough pockets to bring any suit against them.

For the situation related in this thread I also recommend immediate retention of counsel that specializes in such cases.

 

Let us know how things work out. Good luck dgenem!

 

my xb which was less than 10 months old got rear ended last monday night. i was sent to the hospital but thankfully released after my catscans were cleared. However my XB was totalled, and i just got a "new" xb which is in another state still as my replacement. she hit me going 45mph, and i was at a complete stop as well....yours may very well be totalled as well. She broke my rear axle, jammed all doors into each other, bubbled the roofline, split my rear seats in half (reversed wedge style) crumpled my gas tank area and yah....best of luck to you as well. honestly i was upset about the car but it is true that lives are more important, i was just thankful to see my parents and girlfriend come in that night and that was the most important thing.

 

Lol, mine was minor compared to that. I don't know how fast she was going, I just cought a glimpse in mirror before she impacted. It felt far worse than it looks, and the bumper popped back into place. But you can see the marks it left when it sunk in. Airbags didn't deploy or anything. Best guess, between 5-15 mph collision. Any good guesses about how fast a Grand Jeep Cherokee with bars on the front has to travel to shove a Scion XB about 3-6 feet forward? My car did all the braking for her it seems. I darn near collided with the stopped vehicle infront of me. Too bad I couldn't distinguish my skid marks from the dozen others there.

Honestly, if it wasn't for the glitches I had today, I would say just rear bumper cover, the parts underneath that and mounts. ($600ish) I'll take some pics later. It just seems the impact messed up a wheel sensor or something. Today in the rain is when it REALLY stood out.

 

You might be right about that, I was rearended two weeks ago by a girl who didn't have a drivers license and she was driving her boyfriends dad's truck. The truck owners insurance paid for the repairs, then again his policy might have had coverage for that.

Check your states laws, in California you can take your car where ever you want by law for repairs and the insurance company can't force you to go to "their shop". The insurance company has to work with the shop for the repair price. In my case I took my xB to the dealer for the repair and once the insurance company and the dealer settled on the price their estimate was about $80 cheaper than what I got from them initially, however the same exact work was done and the bumper cover was replaced and not filled with filler like the insurance companies shop wanted to do.

That's really messed up that the girl that hit you has the same insurance company as you, I would have advised you to go through your insurance policy but in this case I'm not even sure. I got lucky and the insurance company I had to deal with for my repairs actually worked with me, I was glad I didn't have to cough up my deductible.

What insurance company are you dealing with btw so I know never to get insurance through them?

 

i had state farm once, they SUCKED! They never did help my do anything but sign papers. They were only really good at sending me bills in the mail. I have AIG now, they are way better. And i get a bunch of discounts every 6 months.