Not a lot of people knew me, cause I didn't post that often, but I just wanted to get a feel from the community what you guys think. Last Wednesday as I was going through a green light someone made an illegal turn in front of me. I had no way to avoid the accident . 2 days ago the car was totaled by insurance. As some of you know, I had a Mini Madness Stage 4 kit installed on the car, along with quite a few other little mods (LSD, close ratio gear set, etc). Since the accident wasn't my fault, obviously I'm seeking reimbursement for all the installed components. Has anyone ever had experience in dealing with insurance companies (Specifically, Mercury) in matters like this? My car was a 2004 Cooper S, at the time of the accident I had just over 7k miles on the clock. All the mods added up to somewhere in the range of $15k. I have extensive receipts from all the work performed on the car, but i'm still worried about insurance covering all the modifications.

I'm looking around for other cars, but right now it doesn't seem like there are many deals to be had in the Mini market. I loved my Mini, but I'm considering making the move into a 350Z, G35, or 330Ci.

If anyone has any suggestions as far as how to get all of the installed mods covered under insurance, I would greatly appreciate it.

 

I feel really bad about your car

Very sorry because it had to be SWEET.

This might not help but I can tell you this ...

I just had my insurance renewed and they SPECIFICALLY changed the policies so that if you had ANY mods over $600 you had to have a special rider. Otherwise, no coverage on the mods. That included: wheels, "performance tires"!

Since your going after the other guys insurance for restitution, the best bet might be to go to a third, disinterested party that mediates disputes with all your records rather than relying on the good faith of the other guys insurance.

 

sorry to hear that, i would consider another MCS, but would keep an eye on a preowned M3///

 

Assuming you were not at fault, their insurance must pay you for actual damages including all the extras. . . .

If your insurance company is paying for it, then they may not pay for extras that you have not declared to them. . .

If you are really clever, you should try to buy back the totaled vehicle and salvage everything you can out of it. I did this with a 1979 Saab 900 Turbo that I had been restoring and actually made a good bit of money out of it in the end (still wish I had been able to complete the restoration of what would now be one neat-o classic)

 

STYLE ///M car huh??

*
*rustyboy,
i remember ur MiNi, w/the MM4 kit !!
that sux d0od sorry to hear that!
u should do fine on collectin' funds for all the mods u have receipts for
g00d luck w/ur next project

=o)

 

Well, the accident was declared the other drivers fault at the scene by the responding PD (only took them an hour to get there... hurray for LAPD ).

None of the mods were covered under my insurance policy... the accident happened last Wednesday, I was going this Tuesday to get everything endorsed on the policy . I'm looking around in the market for an E46 M3, they're all around the mid 35k range. I can't find any clean low mileage E36's . I'm not sure what I'll be getting for the car yet. Any suggestions for a "Third Party Mediation Service"? I assume you mean arbitration? I'd like to avoid getting lawyers involved, they seem to usually be only after ambulance chasing and not actually recovering all the money lost in the loss .

Thanks for the help guys, it was an awesome car, still replaying the events in my mind trying to see how I could have possibly avoided the accident. Unfortunatly there was a pedestrian at the X-Walk, and I would have hit him if I had cut the wheel any more.

 

If I can get my hands on a clean low mileage E36 ///M or E46 I may just settle down and leave it as is. The mini was fun, but for a daily driver it was a bit extreme (not to say it was hard to drive, just had an obnoxious exhaust tone, ate gas like crazy, and I'm sure would have been increasingly expensive to maintain as the mileage got higher)

 

cant go wrong w/a pre-owned Mcar........if previous owner took care of it right.....
i doubt u will leave it alone though

ur right, findin' one in 'clean' condition is a chore!!
its what i would be ready to go into after the Mini, if i had the money
the gas mileage on mine sux too!!
it can get to be a high maintenance kinda car

 

Man, sorry to hear about the car, but at least you're OK, right ? You're gonna have to look at the fine print boiler plate to see how your insurance company handles arbitration. It may be specified that THEY get to choose the arbitrator. You can guess how that ends up...Unfortunately, if you were required to have a rider for accessories, as defined in your policy, you're not going to have a court case, either. Hope it all works out somehow !

 

Well here is my experience, similar, but smaller scale. This was also in Mich with their lovely "no fault" insurance.

Back when I had my explorer I had a brush guard and some PIAA driving lights on it. Got into an accident that was completely and totally not my fault. It was a front end collision and the guard and the lights were trashed. What happened was they told me I was not covered for accessories because I was not paying for their accessory rider, or whatever.

I am not sure this would be the same, as this was accessories that are new, where as most of the madness stuff would be better parts to replace stuff already on the car. My guess is, without some form of rider on your policy for the add-ons it will be a tough fight. I ended up getting no help from the insurance and putting a new guard on later.

Good luck to you.

Another point you could try and make, is that it would be cheaper to replace the parts with madness parts over oem as they will probably come out cheaper. I know a club member who got a miltek exhaust after a rear end collision, because there system was actually cheaper then the stock exhaust.

 

First of all, I am glad you are ok. Cars are replacable, people are not.

I am going to take a minute to keep you thinking on the right track. This post is not meant to be legal advice, and you should consult with an attorney for specific advice on your situation.

When it comes to recovering for your damage, if you proceed against your insurance carrier it is a first party claim. Under those circumstances you are bound by the terms and conditions of your insurance policy. You need to read the fine print carefully and see how the policy deals with accessories.

Assuming the person who caused the accident is insured, and their carrier pays, you are then pursuing a third party claim (parties one and two are the company and the other driver) . Under third party recovery, you are NOT bound by the terms of their insurance contract. The insurer's obligation is to make you whole and compensate you for your loss. In that instance, they should theoretically pay for the value of the car, complete with modifications.

Even if the other carrier does not want to pay, you can still sue the other driver in tort and recover your damages (as long as you do so before signing a release of liability). If that happens, the driver will probably then cross-complain against their carrier for bad faith failure to settle. The cost of that law suit, and potential liability for the carrier are greater then the cost of your parts. As such I suspect they might be more willing to pay.

One word of caution though... if the damage is bad enough to total the car, you probably do not want it fixed and returned to you. If you add the cost of the mods to the cost of the car, that may force the insurance company NOT to total the car. Do you really want it back after that hard of an accident??????? Just something to think about.

As for E36 M3's and E46's...I have had 2 E36 M3's and 4 E46's (not M3). Personally, I prefer the Mini. It gets better mileage, goes just as fast, is cheaper to maintain, looks more distinctive and is frankly much more fun to drive. But that is just my opinion.

Good luck and please keep me posted on how it goes. Since my Mini is recently smashed too, I understand how upsetting it is. Good luck!

 

My opinion but even when the other's insurance is paying, when the car is totalled they will only pay the value of the car. Typically they use black book figures. If the value of the car with the mods is more, then you get more. But I would suspect as with even factory options, the difference with mods over one without mods is probably little, if anything. Also establishing the added value of the mods could be difficult. The biggest factor is really what insurance company you are dealing with. Some are more generous than others and some really bad ones never pay anything until they are sued and forced to do so in court. In a case like that, your insurance would pay and then they would go after the other company.

 

My sincere condolences on the loss of your car. Sounds like a sweet ride.
Here's my opinion, based on 12 years in the auto insurance repair business:
DON'T PLAY NICE!!!!
Go get yourself an attorney now. Sue the other driver for full damages. This forces his carrier to deal with it, rather than their favorite tactic of denying the claim, forcing you to go through your carrier and settling for a lesser amount.
Sad but true, if you are a nice guy, it's gonna bite you in the wallet.

 

sorry about your loss......but the ins. co. will not pay for your extras.....they will pay you the market or black book value for your car..plus tax for you car..it happen to me not too long...but here this they will sell you back the total car for cheap..i have geico ins.....i bought back my crash car for like 500.00 bucks........and then you scrap it.....

 

dont quote me on that buyback figure

 

The Car was Totalled :-(, no replacement parts needed... they have to cut me a check for the value of the car, the problem is, will they cover all the aftermarket parts. My law sense says yes (I've also heard from several lawyers the same thing). SInce the accident was faulted to the other driver, they have a responsibility to repair, replace, or pay for all of the aftermarket parts that are now broken.

 

Well, since I don't want to wait 6 months for a settlement, I filed a claim through my insurance, they are obviously going to go after the other drivers insurance for reimbursement for whatever they do, he's even admitted fault, so there's really no question about who's fault it was. As far as the fine print, the parts were not endorsed on my policy, because I was going about a week after the accident happened to get that done . I think the only thing I have working for me is that the other driver caused the accident, therefore my insurance company expects to get reimbursed for whatever they pay me as long as the value of the parts, car, etc, is fully demonstrated. Thanks for the kind words, I always remember that cars can be replaced, people can't, but I can't help thinking about the accident and wondering how people can be so ridiculously idiotic in their driving habits.

 

Listen up, get with the other companie's insurance adjuster NOW and MAKE the DEAL. Get replacement value and document it for him. Remember, I said MAKE THE DEAL, call repeatedly. All insurance companies want and need to close the file. Litigation is where it will end up costing them. They know that better than anyone. Do not threaten, bully, etc. negotiate like a professional. I always come out OK in those scenarios. Keeping it open too long will end up, in most cases, just costing everyone money. You can't have your insurance co. hold any of this against you down the line if you collect directly from the other guy's co.

Did you get my point? Meet with the adjustor or even do it over the phone, BUT MAKE THE DEAL...

 

CDMini is correct, that's what i did to save my rims and bodykit on my previous GTI. Negotiated like a pro, not rude, but serious, as if you were helping them

 

The money in these things is in the Personal Injury business, they are more than happy to settle straight physical damage claims, you HAVE to know what you are doing here to do it right, but it can be done very successfully. Get your number on paper and remind them repeatedly, you don't want to have to take this any further.

 

Everything is throughly documented, the parts invoices, labor invoices, I have it all, even the original factory window sticker. I've also gotten an endorsement from my local Mini dealership that says the cost of the body kit from the factory, installed, with painted wheel wells, was over $5000 (?!?! but true...). The car also had a limited edition style of seats, apparently only available in 2004, and irreplaceable (They can be replaced by ordering the parts seperatly... approx cost without install $2100). I'm going all out on this... I loved that car, I felt so bad after the accident . I'm lucky to have my local mini dealership working with me side by side trying to help me in whatever way they can (They obviously wanna sell me a new Mini , but still it's nice of them to help out). I provided accident pictures and gave permission for them to use them in marketing the safety of the car as a favor. If they do end up covering all of the modifications on the car, I haven't decided if I'll be replacing it with another Mini, all the work of getting the MMS4 kit installed... It would probably have been cheaper and easier to just go twin-charged . Who knows though, I'm getting older, I need a car to last me a few years, and my work requires me to maintain a semi-professional attire and presentation. Pulling up to a clients house in a bright red Mini with a ridiculously loud exhaust doesn't exactly scream professional .

 

Let me clue everyone here in on one thing. Even in the PIP business it's the Insurance Adjustor that make the call about litigation or settlement, it's NOT the lawyers. These guys are the company's voice in these matters. Most are professional, tough negotiators sometimes, but with a generally clear grasp on the cost/benefit equation of extended litigation.

 

Also if you can't divorce yourself from the emotional attachment to the loss of the vehicle it may be worth it to hire someone to settle for you, but then that is more money you have to pay out. Better to give a little on the value of the MODs, get you car paid off if there is a lienholder and a good down payment in hand for your next one. GOOD LUCK.

 

BTW, yes third part is arbitration. Only go there if your insurance company doesnt come through since, in effect, they are suing the other insurance company.

 

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!