Was Rear Ended, Considering an Attorney

[RidgeHunter]

Thanks FullAuto! So what are the odds the estimator will be willing to cut *me* (not the shop) a check for anywhere near the estimate I got (at one if their shops).

Maybe I'm an weirdo but 1O years ago I was smacked HARD by an old lady. Bad, bad wreck. Again both State Farm customers. I am kinda old school and reasonable in my opinion. All I wanted was my totalled, nearly new vehicle paid for and a couple days pay for missing work. I actually was injured in that wreck (only one to walk away tho) but was not going to make a big deal of it.

They lowballed me on my vehicle so I pitched a ***** fest and they ended up cutting me a check for roughly 10 times what I originally wanted because they were afraid I'd lawyer up and it was an egregious accident (a lawyer could have ran wild with that one). 10 times what I would have accepted had they not been so miserly initially. I thought that was so dumb. Why not just treat me fair and save a lot of money? That's literally all I wanted.

I know so many wimpy folks from all walks of life that view car accidents as the lottery and basically rack up fraudulent medical BS. You think they'd be glad to deal with a good 'ol redneck who just wants his junk paid for.

I've been extra nice to them all so far and plan to continue to be. I will be more than persistent if they fiddle fawk me, tho.





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[FullAuto]

It will just depend what the original shop wrote. What shop wrote you an estimate? Are you taking your vehicle to a drive in? If so, which one?

 

[crrcboatz]

So I still don't get why the OP needs an attorney? No medical needs, don't know on the repair end yet. Unless I was treated at a HP I will not involve attorneys. They can make their huge house payments, fancy car payments, cruise costs, and overseas bank accounts some other way. We all make poor decisions behind the wheel. If anyone injures someone else hey I understand but what ever pain/suffering, lost time etc is in reality is a con game to make some free bucks for the client and the ++++++ attorney.

 

[CHenry]

They can make their huge house payments, fancy car payments, cruise costs, and overseas bank accounts some other way.

What do you call 1000 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?

 

[crrcboatz]

What do you call 1000 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?

NO idea not much into jokes about attorneys.

 

[CHenry]

NO idea not much into jokes about attorneys.

Alright then, you must be one. No offense. Someone will know the punchline and you can replace lawyers with bankers or car salesmen if you want lol.

 

[crrcboatz]

Light years from being an attorney. So can you go ahead and explain?

 

[CHenry]

What do you call 1000 lawyers/bankers/gang bangers, (choose your own), at the bottom of the ocean?

A good start

 

[RidgeHunter]

State Farm is going to pay for OEM exterior sheetmetal and any safety parts. The only aftermarket parts they'll allow is mechanical parts like a condenser or radiator. If you need a rear bumper, taillights, etc., they will be OEM.

Nope. Drive-in State Farm guy Quoted me for a non-OEM bumper and also refused to replace another component that was damaged. His estimate was 45% of mine from a shop on their list. Left his check on the desk and walked out.

I will PM you who it was.

 

[FullAuto]

Nope. Drive-in State Farm guy Quoted me for a non-OEM bumper and also refused to replace another component that was damaged. His estimate was 45% of mine from a shop on their list. Left his check on the desk and walked out.

I will PM you who it was.

Are we talking about a truck or car? If it's a car's bumper cover or a truck's chrome bumper, it will have been an OEM part. Where the misunderstanding may be is it was likely a remanufactured part from some place like Keystone. It will still be original equipment, just remanufactured.

Here's where it get's a little complicated. 99% of those remanufactured, recycled (used parts from a junkyard) or true aftermarket parts (that Farmers/All State/Geico/etc. buy) will never make it to the car when the repairs are performed. The insurance companies bid those parts to keep claims cost down. A legit shop typically does not use them (with the exceptions for like loaded door assemblies, mirror assemblies, wheels and those type of things). When the car goes into the shop, the shop will use the Collision Link program ( http://www.oeconnection.com/ ) to have those parts price-matched with new OEM parts. You can click that link and see which manufacturers participate in that program. It is most of the major brands with the exception of Honda which has it's own price-matching program but doesn't participate in Collision Link.

When the shop price-matches the part and gets the new OEM part, it's not the shop that takes the loss, nor the insurer, nor the parts distributor. It's the manufacturer that eats the difference. Basically Ford decides they would rather sell their bumper for $300 than for Keystone to get the money. They are attempted to drive the aftermarket companies out of business. The shop will lie and tell you they upgraded your parts out of the kindness of their heart because you are so important to them and the big, bad insurer wouldn't buy you the better parts but that's just a show to get you to talk nice about them and bring back future business. Now not all shops will use Collision Link. Those shops are hacks and are using non-capa aftermarket parts, putting even lower grade stuff on your car and keeping the additional profit margin.

The important thing to take away from this is if a shop is putting a Keystone hood or fender or bumper cover on your car, chances are it's because they are idiots and aren't competitive shops in the market. Those guys won't be on several insurance programs, if any, because they are performing low quality repairs that are sub-standard for the market. And yes, they are out there.

The only type of true aftermarket bumper you will see on a State Farm estimate (listed as non-OEM on the estimate, not reman) would be a truck with a paint to match steel bumper.

If you want to post the two estimates or PM them to me, I can comment on the differences I see and maybe explain a few things if something sticks out as obvious. Other than that, what do you plan to do now that you didn't take the check?