Shelby was hit.. Need some advice regarding insurance.. Pics inside!!

1965coupe · Nov 4, 2009

Hey everybody,

I have been fortunate with this car.. 22,000 miles with only some rock chips and a small dent.. UNTIL now- I was rear-ended (on the driver side) by a Saturn, which was rear-ended by a Dodge Caliber..

I was in the turn lane to get on the freeway.. stopped.. and the Saturn was stopped.. Well, the guy driving the Dodge didn't stop in time and hit her (the Saturn).. she managed to swerve to avoid hitting me straight on, but still clipped the side of me.. Since this is a narrow road, I didn't have anywhere to go..

The car runs and drives perfectly.. it\'s just physical damage.. The other two cars had to be towed.

While I can brush it off as "life happens," I am concerned about a few things:

the main damage is on the quarter panel - I don\'t want the panel 'patched' - how do I make sure they replace the whole 1/4 panel? Or will they?
The rear bumper is shot.. I'm not too concerned about making sure it's a CA Special bumper.. but I know I need new stripes.. should I order these? Or have the bodyshop contact Shelby?

It's hard to tell in the pictures, but the damage to the 1/4 panel, underneath the bumper, is pretty ugly.. it's quite mangled.. (see the pictures with my fingers - it shows how far the metal is pushed in)

Can any of you offer tips/advice.. I have State Farm.. the driver that caused the accident has Mercury.. I DO have a police report (though he was very reluctant to write one..)..

Any GOOD bodyshops in So CAL? I have had very bad luck dealing with shops in the past.. I am super picky..

Thanks in advance..

EDIT (11-4): The main driver who caused the accident (Dodge Caliber) only has $10,000 collision coverage (as in $10,000 for all three cars, TOTAL!!)!. As a result, his agent (through Mercury insurance) told me to go through my own insurance (State Farm) and just pay the $500 deductible, get the car fixed.. etc..

I do not have rental insurance, and the Mercury agent told me to rent a car on my own, out-of-pocket; IF I do get reimbursed (if there is anything left from the $10,000, my payment will be pro-rated. Additionally, I MIGHT get my deductible back..

Does this sound fishy to all of you?? He told me it's best to go through my insurance so "they can take the bite"... WOW!!! And if I don't get any money back (rental/deductible) I can pursue the matter in small claims..

Gosh.. I just have so much time to do that..

Sorry if this is a rant.. just frustrated..

darien87 · Nov 4, 2009

Your pics don't work.

Sounds like a load of BS to me. Mercury sucks. I think they're just trying to get out of paying to fix your car. I would try talking to your insurance company and see if they will fix your car without paying the deductible. Then they can go after Mercury and get the money from them.

02GTRX · Nov 4, 2009

My advice, buy a shotgun, load it with slugs, hunt down the caliber driver.
Posted via Mobile Device

1965coupe · Nov 4, 2009

darien87 said:
Your pics don't work.

Sounds like a load of BS to me. Mercury sucks. I think they're just trying to get out of paying to fix your car. I would try talking to your insurance company and see if they will fix your car without paying the deductible. Then they can go after Mercury and get the money from them.

Shelby damage pictures by mustangparts65 - Photobucket

Click on that link.. that should work..

That's what I was thinking.. I feel as if the insurance companies should battle it out.. He basically told me to go through my insurance so they will take the hit.... (AKA: Mercury won't reimburse state farm, my car gets fixed, Mercury doesn't pay anything)..

Dr_EluSivE · Nov 4, 2009

that sounds like complete BS. Having only 10k in coverage doesn't even sound like it would meet the state min requirement. File though state farm, but THEY should pay the deductible, and they should pay for a rental. Not you. Your car should get fixed with the 10k first. When a similar issue happened to my wife I just turned it in though state farm and They sued the other insurance company. I did not pay a dime out of pocket (neither should you). Defiantly insist on genuine Shelby parts. I would call BS on that company and turn them in to the states Insurance regulatory board. Don't take no for an answer, these company's always try to get away with stuff. Let state farm sue em, or sue em yourself, but don't let them push you around.

Dr.

DarkFireGT · Nov 4, 2009

The Saturn owner's insurance should be paying for your car to be fixed. I've been in a 3 car accident before. They ticketed the rear car, and the middle car. The middle car is responsible for hitting the front car, even if the rear car hits the middle car, causing it to hit the front car. In any event, definitely have your insurance agent go after them, but I think you should be trying to go after the Saturn owner's insurance.

And I agree with what was stated above. I don't think $10k even covers state minimums, and a new car like that, they most likely have a loan and aren't meeting their banks requirements, either.

J.Cagle · Nov 4, 2009

Any body shop that is worth a s*** will replace that quarter panel with out any question. Along with the bumper too. As for insurance, The mercury guy is just trying to get out of paying for your car to get fixed. I would contact your insurance company, tell them what is going on, and they should tell you what you need to do. I am sure they will fight it b/c they wont want to pay for something that the other insurance has to cover.

302GTS · Nov 4, 2009

Not sure of answers to your questions, but just wanted to say you lucked out! That damage is incredibly minimal, and I'm sure the body shop you take it to would be sure to replace that 1/4 panel! It'll come out good as new!

1965coupe · Nov 4, 2009

J.Cagle said:
Any body shop that is worth a s*** will replace that quarter panel with out any question. Along with the bumper too. As for insurance, The mercury guy is just trying to get out of paying for your car to get fixed. I would contact your insurance company, tell them what is going on, and they should tell you what you need to do. I am sure they will fight it b/c they wont want to pay for something that the other insurance has to cover.

I'm getting this same response, whether from family, co-workers, or Mustang forums: Mercury is trying to get away without paying a dime..

Everyone says the $10,000 coverage is BS!

My insurance will be calling me tomorrow.. I will make sure that I don't have to pay anything...

Thanks everybody! Awesome advice!

1965coupe · Nov 4, 2009

302GTS said:
Not sure of answers to your questions, but just wanted to say you lucked out! That damage is incredibly minimal, and I'm sure the body shop you take it to would be sure to replace that 1/4 panel! It'll come out good as new!

The fact that it was a plastic Saturn helped a lot.. '

The 'visible' damage is very minimal.. In person, however, it is all underneath the bumper, below the quarter panel..

09v6 · Nov 4, 2009

Well, it's not that bad trust me. I can tell you that in SoCal if the Dodge driver had only Liability, the limits (last I heard since I have much more than this) is $5K Property Damage, $15K single bodily injury, $30K multiple bodily injury, so he would be well above the legal limit. In actuality that is besides the point. Even if he only had $5K in insurance, that doesn't eliminate his liability. If there wasn't enough money to pay for your car through insurance, you could go after both drivers that hit you and get a judgment in court and get your money.

As far as the body work goes, I don't know if they could justify replacing an entire quarter panel to the insurance. Maybe yes, maybe no, if not, they pull out the dent and straighten it up. It really doesn't look all that bad. The bumper, you get a new bumper cover, that's a given, and the body shop will get all original add ons like the stripes from the proper places. They have to tell you in advance if they are going to use any after market (non Shelby or Ford) parts, so just be aware of that. If it makes you feel better just bring it up when you take it in. Say "I want only Ford and Shelby parts" and they will write that up.

stangdude2000 · Nov 5, 2009

Not to sound like a broken record, but the Saturn driver should be responsible for the damage to your car. Even though they did nothing wrong, the way it is looked at legally is that they should have stopped a minimum distance away. Now if the guy that hit the Saturn was going 120 mph and the Saturn was 20 yards back, that might be different, but that's not the case. Either way, your insurance company should be doing all the fighting for you. You shouldn't have to deal with any of the other insurance companies directly.

Additionally, just because someone has a limit on their insurance doesn't mean you are screwed. Insurance solely reduces the financial burden on the person who causes damage. If there is $15k in damage, and they have coverage for $10k, THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REMAINING $5k OUT OF THEIR OWN POCKET. Otherwise, why pay for extra coverage? Everyone would just get the legal minimum and say "haha sucker, you're on your own for the rest."

You might be S.O.L. on the rental car since you don't have it on your policy. I'm not sure how that works. I've never worried about it because living in the DC area, the metro system is great and I only live a couple blocks from it and everything I need.

Lastly, another bit of bad news - 99% of the time insurance companies are not required to use original Ford or Shelby parts. Our policies are usually written to only include OEM equivalent parts. It's the insurance companies' way of saving money. Since you drive a specialty vehicle you may be able to claim it would significantly detract from the value to not use original parts. Don't know if that would make any difference, or if you could use that as a claim in court to be compensated for the full value of OEM parts.

DarkFireGT · Nov 5, 2009

As her reiterated some of what I said, and added to it, I completely agree with the above.

stanmckinney · Nov 5, 2009

You should be out nothing. I can't believe in today's world those limits would meet the state minimum. If they do, some changes need to be made. That might have been adequate many years ago but not today.

ViperNuge · Nov 5, 2009

Same as the others........Mercury sounds like they are scamming. I would think at the worst your insurance company would cover and go after the other two to collect the damages......laws due vary state to state.

patrick

autumn_again · Nov 6, 2009

you can request only OEM parts to be used. because of aftermarket fit problems and etc.

replacing the quarter panel is alot of work, its not just bolt on like saturns and corvettes and other space frame cars. it may be more cost effective to have the body shop fix the current quarter panel then to replace it. its hard to say.

rear bumper i'd almost guarentee you'd be getting a OEM ford cover. we had a 2004 crown vic with a very similar hit to yours in my shop, repaired quarter, replaced bumper with OEM cover. this was a sh¡tbox too, cars like never seen a bath haha.

just make sure you go to a quality shop.

Justin01 · Nov 8, 2009

Almost the same thing happened when I got rear ended. The driver's comprehensive couldn't cover the multi-car accident. They (allstate) gave me that line too and said I could persue small claims. Just turn it into state-farm, pay your deductible, MAKE SURE TO DEMAND OEM PARTS!!!!!!!! I got screwed when I didn't ask and now my rear bumper doesn't line up perfectly like before. I ended up getting my deductible back from state farm after they persued the driver.

Just turn it in to your insurance and let them do the work. That's why you pay them.

Ken04 · Nov 9, 2009

Justin01 said:
Almost the same thing happened when I got rear ended. The driver's comprehensive couldn't cover the multi-car accident. They (allstate) gave me that line too and said I could persue small claims. Just turn it into state-farm, pay your deductible, MAKE SURE TO DEMAND OEM PARTS!!!!!!!! I got screwed when I didn't ask and now my rear bumper doesn't line up perfectly like before. I ended up getting my deductible back from state farm after they persued the driver.

Just turn it in to your insurance and let them do the work. That's why you pay them.

doesn't matter what the other drivers insurance tells you, call your agent, tell him you want your car fixed. Tell him where you're going to have it fixed. State Farm will pay the bill, then go after the other driver's ins. And you do not have to pay a deductible, if the accident was not your fault your insurance company has to pursue the other driver and their ins co or small claims if needed.

autumn_again · Nov 9, 2009

yeah i agree with ken. tell your insurance to go after his insurance. they'll work everything out take all the hard work out of it for you.

ninja128 · Nov 9, 2009

For all those reading: I worked at Enterprise Rent a car years ago.........I could go on about stories, but I'll leave it in a short note: For a extra few bucks a month....always get rental insurance on your policies. It is VERY worth it in the end.
Also, super sorry to see the Shelby hit and what you're going through.

Shelby was hit.. Need some advice regarding insurance.. Pics inside!!

1965coupe

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02GTRX

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