Good afternoon everyone. A close friend of mine ended up getting into a not at fault accident recently; she hit a deer. Insurance says they will not total the car, damage came in at $13,000, value at $22,500. Windshield frame is bent pretty severely from deer at top portion where top meets windshield. Windshield is also completely destroyed, top ripped in several locations, front fender and front bumper damaged. Under panel damage is unknown. I thought because of frame damage, these are typically totaled with this type of accident. Currently the shop and first adjuster both said car should not be repaired. Any help for how we can get proof it should be totaled would be greatly appreciated. Thanking you in advance.

 

Something in this recounting of information doesn't sound quite right here. If the shop says it shouldn't be fixed, then they wouldn't have given the insurance company an estimate of $13k to fix it.

Something isn't quite adding up. Perhaps there is more information which you haven't provided.

 

Take it to another shop and get another opinion. If the windshield frame is damaged it should not be repaired as they won't get that right let alone the frame damage on top of all of this. Also if 2 people have said it should not be fixed it should not be fixed.

 

Sorry for the mix up. This should clear things up.

Adjuster #1 drew up estimate at $6,000 but stated he could not give a final number due to not taking the car apart.

Body Shop took car apart, said $12,000 to fix but can be more because they have not cut into frame yet and won't until job is secured. Manager said that the car should not be repaired as it this type of accident will most likely cost more, take 6+ weeks, and probably won't be the same, but of course off record.

Adjuster #2 drew up estimate of $13,000 and said he feels that it is "easily" repairable.

 

So, if I'm reading this correctly, it sounds like only one person who has any ability to sway the decision has said the car shouldn't be fixed (manager of the body shop), but he won't put that on paper for you. Instead, he gave a $ estimate to the insurance company which is basically him saying that yes, it can be fixed but it's possible there is more damage and it may cost more. Meanwhile, as the car sits at his shop, he is billing your insurance company for storage fees.

If it can't be properly repaired back to original structural integrity, then it seems to me they have a requirement to put that in writing on the estimate. Sounds like you need an estimate from another shop, preferably one who will say *in writing* if the car should be repaired or not and give an accurate estimate if in fact it can be properly repaired. Either that or just go with letting the first shop dive in deeper and hope that the manager is right and eventually -- mostly likely after they have been paid for storage and for the time/labor it takes to determine there is more hidden damage than is worth fixing -- they will decide they need to total it and cut a check.

 

Thanks for the info RMurphy. I forgot about the storage fees, that is a good point. I already told her to get another estimate Monday to settle this, but wanted to reach out to everyone to see if I am missing something prior to then.

 

Bummer situation. I hope someone else with way more experience with insurance claims and body shops than I have will pipe up with any other options you have. I'm assuming the car isn't really drive-able and so getting it to another shop for an estimate (especially if the shop it is at has already taken panels off to better estimate the costs) may end up being very difficult and cost more money still. Kind of wish the manager where the car is now would be willing to stand behind what he told you and say the same thing to the insurance company. If it can't be restored to the condition it was in before the accident, then they should be telling the insurance company that. I'm not getting warm and fuzzy feelings about this shop.

 

You and me both R!

 

Do you trust the shop to do the work?

A friend of mine did some serious damage to a car, it was a hefty bill, they didn't total it. I've seen insurance companies fix some wrecks to avoid buying the car in full. They were safe to drive, but it's true any accident, the car is never the same afterwards.

It's really hard to tell without some good photos if this is fixable. It doesn't sounds like it shouldn't be.

 

First off, I'm sorry to hear about the accident with the deer, but mostly I'm glad no hear one, including your friend, was injured.

Do you have any pictures of the damage by any chance?

I hit an elk with my S2000 this past Halloween, and after doing a little research, decided to take it to what I thought to be one of the best body shop in the area.
After a few days of being at the shop, the tear down had been completed and I was left with a quote of just over $11,000 in repairs--and that accounted for damage to the frame rail(s) up front.
I was, however, surprised it didn't get totaled considering the amount of the quote, as the overall value of the car without the hard top was closer to $15,000 tops (lower mileage AP1).

As I was in nearly your exact situation (only I was the one driving), I completely understand your reasoning for wanting money to cover for an equally valued replacement car as opposed to having the presumably heavily damaged car fixed. I myself was initially hoping for a cash settlement, as opposed to having the car itself fixed. However, at the same time, I did not want to risk fighting the insurance company and having them raise my rates-- (my next insurance bill actually decreased).

Also, my windshield frame was not damaged at all so I am unsure about that, but if it had of been I am nearly certain my car would have been totaled, combined with the rest of the repairs.



And the result after the repair--as good as I could have possibly hoped for: