I actually did miss 5 days of work as a result of this accident, my neck is still stiff, but I'm no ambulance chaser, I don't want to get involved in personal injury suits. I'd prefer that they just covered all the damage to the car so I can go out and buy a new one!

 

Doh, double post... stupid work internet

 

If you had injuries that put you out of work for a week you may want to speak with a reputable atty. You will end up at the end of the day, if you make the deal, signing a waiver of any and all future claims. It's your call, those injury claims can take a while, but you can settle the physical damage claim separate from it, but you must be careful and know what you are doing.

 

I've never been the ambulance chaser type of person, but before this gets closed, be sure to have yourself thoroughly checked out if your neck is really bothering you. My neighber is in his early 30's. Last year he was in a car accident and he got what he thought was whiplash with a sore neck and headache. About 6 months later he had a series of strokes from what his doctors said was damage to the arteries in his head and neck from the accident. Fortunately he has come through it OK but will likely be having issues with strokes for the rest of his life like he did a few weeks ago just before his wife gave birth to their first child and he wasn't able to be there for it. Just a reminder that what you may think is minor could have some serious, life changing repercussions

 

I was admitted to the ER and released the same day with whiplash and minor chemical burns on my arm from the airbag deployment. I've never really been the type to sue people (little young to have much of a history of doing that anyway, but I digress), I really want to get all of the things done to my car paid for and covered. I don't want to go from a car worth 35ish down to a car worth 25 because some idiot turned in front of me without looking (illegally might I add).

 

Rustyboy, please listen (read) carefully. Going through your own carrier is the WORST thing you could possibly do. You WILL NOT get paid for the mods, and by law, the only thing your carrier can collect back from the the other carrier is what they paid out. Your carrier can not collect from the third party for anything they didn't cover.
Please reconsider going through your carrier. I would hate to see you lose out on all of the additional money due you.

Just trying to help.

 

Also, you have to realistically value your car and it's replacement value. MODs are a little like hobbies, not exactly an investment. Most cars don't make good investment instruments. You are a case study. Added mucho $'s to your car to get your investment wiped out with one wrong turn. If you have a head for this sort of thing you can make out just fine, if you don't you are going to lose some. ENJOY, it's fun when you get a good run and do your research on it, but I have always been a fairly good wheeler-dealer.

 

At this point the claim is being handled by my dad, who was the registered owner of the car for insurance purposes, i've made him aware of all of this, but going through the other insurance company is VERY time consuming. They'll likely wait a few months before doing a thing.

 

Nick-
I am heartbroken to hear about your car... all that time love and effort put into her... only to be crunched by some idiot who was not paying attention... good luck dealing with all the insurance companies and getting things straightened out.

 

Just not true, but DAD is making the calls here. It's his car. BUT I was able to settle a $2500 + accident where my wife wasn't at fault in a few weeks, settled a stolen motorcycle with my own insurance co. in about 4 to 6 weeks. You, or DAD must be persistent. These guys know they are going to have to get you a rental car until it's settled as well, another advantage to settling early. It's a MOOT point all of it though, because whatever the personal arrangements between you and your father, it's DAD's car legally and he'll make the decision. GOOD LUCK.

 

I am saying this NOT AS A REPRESENTATIVE of the Insurance Company I work for. Nothing I say should reflect that I have their endorsement for anything I say. Got it?

I see you are going to your Insurance Co. to cover your loss and they with mitigate with Mercury (I believe that was the stated insurer of the faulted driver). From what you have described, and becauseyou have the saved paperwork, you should be compensated by your company fairly. This is most likely going to be a lot easier than you are being led to believe, as the top tier insurance companies in this country are actualy quite good at compensating you when they know they will be reinbursed. It is never a bad call to have legal representation in these matters, but as long as you have not signed anything, you can go to one whenever you think they are not playing fair. I think you should wait a bit before really worrying about the $. You're alive first, don't worry about the money unless they give you an offer you think is unfair.

That being said, please remember ladies and gents, your insurance company is something important, if you have cut-rate insurance, expect cut-rate service. This is not meant as a commercial in any way. I have first hand experience in a similar (and sentimental) vehicle. My insurance carrier asked for the receipts and cut me a check on site for the blue book value plus the full value of parts.

 

for RustyBoy in his perdicament, and also thanks for the advice to all of us for the future.

 

My insurance company is Mercury, the other drivers was American Standard I believe... (We filed a claim for compensation initially with Mercury as it is much more complicated and drawn out to go with the other drivers insurance (Investigation for a month, then they have to decide to total it, and for how much... bla bla bla, needless to say I don't want to drive around in a focus for 2 and a half months ). Thanks for the advice, I definatly have all the reciepts for the installed parts, so it should make it go at least more smoothly than it would otherwise. Got a frustrating call from the Total Loss department yesterday, they don't want to pay me for anything on the car as it wasn't listed in the policy. They also say they don't pay out blue book, they call 3 dealerships and "Average" the cost to see what I could get a new one for . It's not really about the money, I don't care about that, I cared about the car, and for now I care about having a car to drive over christmas. I had a very nice car, under no fault of my own i'm now cruising around in a ford focus that not only can't even get out of it's own way, but takes 3 hours to heat up (it's winter...) and who's radio barely works. Forget about the money, I don't want to be driving a piece of crap around for 3 months because some dim wit decided not to look before he turned .

 

For some reason the last time I typed this it didn't go through... so I'll try again.

I've had my first frustrating encounter with the insurance. They want to know how much I paid for the car, why that matters I'm not sure. They're obviously not going to pay me $45,000 even if that's the price I paid. I can't replace the car for $12,000 if thats what I paid, hence the irrelevance. Insurance is designed to pay out the "Market Value" of your car if it's totalled, not "The price you bought it for". They also took it upon themselves to "Value" my car at 24k at the time I insured it (Why I have no idea... there's no way I would have accepted that price as a price for replacement value, and would have gladly paid more in premiums to establish a higher value.) Mercury is probably without a doubt the worst insurance company to deal with. When someone hit my parked M3, they not only put all used parts on the invoice for the repair, but gave me barely enough to fix the car decently. At least 60% of the parts for the repair were used junkyard parts of questionable condition. Needless to say I ended up selling my M3 as is, and taking the repair money + losing 4k on the car .

All I want is my car back, the way it was, or enough money to build one again :impatient! I didn't ask some kid that was daydreaming to smash into the front of my car on the way to work!

 

Are you saying you expect an amount that would buy a new MINI identical to yours? If that is what you are saying I don't know a car insurance company that will do that. I understand your puzzlement at why they would ask what you paid but insurance should pay you what it would cost to get a MINI like yours - same age - same mileage, etc. Not a new one.

 

man, this really sucks. hang in there rustyboy155!

 

I expect enough to replace the car in the current market with a vehicle of similar features and equipment (What insurance pays). The car also had $15k+ worth of engine and suspension work done to it, which I would obviously like to be reimbursed for since it's now sitting as a heap of metal in a junk yard. Through no fault of my own a car that without a single modification is worth upwards of $25k is now totalled, and again, through no fault of my own, all the money I spent on it has gone down the drain. I don't think its fair that because of SOMEONE ELSE'S stupidity I have to pay for it...

 

All of you who have Mercury, cancel and go with another company... saving 240 dollars a year IS NOT worth this crap....As with all things in life, you get what you pay for :-(.

 

since you wont get your money the UP FRONT HONEST, the way it should be way,,i say do it the CLINTON WAY,,..

SUE,, SUE........SUE
MY NECK,,,
MY BACK,,
HEAD ACHES<<<<
go to DR's..ring up the MEDICAL bills,, so they will pay one way or the other,,and in all honesty,, you have no clue if you will be in pain in a week or a month,,....,,if there gunna jerk you for your car,,then i say yank em back,,and recoup it that way more than one way to skin a cat,../ thank smart, not angry,,, play the game,... DR's and medical bills always COST $$$$$$ more than a car replacement,...

 

since you wont get your money the UP FRONT HONEST, the way it should be way,,i say do it the CLINTON WAY,,..

SUE,, SUE........SUE
MY NECK,,,
MY BACK,,
HEAD ACHES<<<<
go to DR's..ring up the MEDICAL bills,, so they will pay one way or the other,,and in all honesty,, you have no clue if you will be in pain in a week or a month,,....,,if there gunna jerk you for your car,,then i say yank em back,,and recoup it that way more than one way to skin a cat,../ think smart, not angry,,,
play the game,...
DR's and medical bills always COST $$$$$$ more than a car replacement,...

 

since you wont get your money the UP FRONT HONEST, the way it should be way,,i say do it the CLINTON WAY,,..

SUE,, SUE........SUE
MY NECK,,,
MY BACK,,
HEAD ACHES<<<<
PAIN + SUFFERING = $ $ $ $
go to DR's..ring up the MEDICAL bills,, so they will pay one way or the other,,and in all honesty,, you have no clue if you will be in pain in a week or a month,,....,,if there gunna jerk you for your car,,then i say yank em back,,and recoup it that way more than one way to skin a cat,../ think smart, not angry,,,
play the game,...
DR's and medical bills always COST $$$$$$ more than a car replacement,...

 

since you wont get your money the UP FRONT HONEST, the way it should be way,,i say do it the CLINTON WAY,,..

SUE,, SUE........SUE
MY NECK,,,
MY BACK,,
HEAD ACHES<<<<
PAIN + SUFFERING = $ $ $ $
go to DR's..ring up the MEDICAL bills,, so they will pay one way or the other,,and in all honesty,, you have no clue if you will be in pain in a week or a month,,....,,if there gunna jerk you for your car,,then i say yank em back,,and recoup it that way more than one way to skin a cat,../ think smart, not angry,,,
play the game,...
DR's and medical bills always COST $$$$$$ more than a car replacement,...

 

insurance companies can be extremely frustrating...however one question springs to mind--since your car was heavily modified, is it still worth the original fair market value? it's a serious question, i honestly don't know the answer...assuming that the warranty and therefore the expected longevity of the cars suspension and engine components was most likely deteriorated because of said modifications, is it fair for the insurance company to give you the current value of the car (and the cost of the modifications)? while i believe you should be compensated for he money you invested into it, less the mileage and value of the car after 1+year of use, i don't think that any insurance company would pay that much out. just bringin' up some food for thought...

 

Well to be completely fair here....Mods destroy the "market value" of the car. I laugh when I hear the word investment used in the same sentence as car, custom or mod

The realistic VALUE of his car by installing a MMstage 4 is BELOW market value, not above it. Making one "whole" means compensating one for actual lost value, not a percieved value or the how much one spent to destroy resale value.

 

Hmm ... sounds like FRAUD FRAUD FRAUD and causes ALL over our insurance rates to go up. Your advocating FRAUD?