Take the Accident insurance money run?

Question

1998 Camaro z28 Convert .
I hit a pole in a parking lot at about 10 MPH or so,
Called my insur and they told me to take it to get an Est or to take it to thier reccomended shop.
1st took it to Chev Dealer.
they did a 1/2 A$$ look and wrote me up a 5k Est and told me it would get worse but they need the insur. Adjust there to get in more depth and the frame has some repair needed.
im going to the Ins. Perfered shop today and going to see what they say, My adjuster has not even seen the car and has allready said "its not totalled" ( what ever)...
I asked him if i could take the money (-) my deduct and run?
He told me his Est. would be way lower then the 5k from the dealer due to thier parts and prices and the best bet is to just get it fixed then sell it.
How can i make sure i get the money i deserve.
the Insur Body shop wants to tear Dn the Car and give me a "accurate" Est but if i dont do the work there i have to pay for the tear down. Any Suggestions ?>

Answer 1

Talk to your agent.

Do you have a loan on the car? If so, any check will be made payable to both you and the lender.

If it were me, I'd fix the car.

Answer 2

Here's the CORRECT answer. What you propose is called "insurance fraud", and any reputable body shop will say no instantly...it's illegal and could cost both you and them in both fines and jail time. So forget that idea entirely, unless jail is something you enjoy. For starters, according to how the law works, if THEIR insurance company got an estimate for repairing the car, then they have to show proof of a legitimately recognized body repair shop that will do the work for the amount of that estimate. You seem to think it's "half" of what the real cost is. Are you counting what's ACTUALLY damaged, or are you adding in things that you yourself want fixed as well? For example, if their estimate includes repainting the fender, do you want them to pay for repainting the whole car too? Here's the thing with body shops, and I've learned this through experience. You can take the same car with the same damage to 5 different places and get 5 totally different estimates depending on what you want replaced. Also, these guys see dollar signs whenever "insurance" is involved, so they are going to add in for things that COULD be fixed but don't really NEED it. They prey on your anger as the accident victim and hope they get the work. The insurance company, on the other hand, is interested in settling the claim as cheaply as possible, so they will have some body people who they regularly contact to give estimates, but believe me, their estimate will be only for what's needed and not a cent more. These guys profit by doing volume (lots of work) for the insurance company. Your car will get fixed (or you'll get the equivalent amount), but just barely enough to do the job. If the insurance company sends you a check, it is then your choice to fix the car or not; they can't make you fix it. But forget any grand scheme to milk any extra $ out of them; they've been doing this a long time and aren't stupid. Good Luck.

Answer 3

The most important thing here is that your vehicle is repaired completely and correctly to your satisfaction. You do have the right to determine who repairs the vehicle. Check out the insurance company's body shop's reputation. They may well be an excellent repair facility capable of doing all of the work on time and right. If they have a poor reputation don't allow them to touch your vehicle.

Tell the insurance company who you want to do the work and let them work out the dollars with that company so all parties are satisfied. Once repaired and signed off you are on your own and will have to live with the work, and if it's poor it will affect the value and the usability of your vehicle.

Call the Insurance Comissioner's office in your state and learn what your rights and options are and proceed from there. Deal from a fact based and firm position and it should all work out well.

Best to you, Chuck

Answer 4

The Chev dealer sounds a bit "flaky". Get a couple estimates from private repair shops. Never heard of charging for an estimate, although the final cost sometimes includes things they didn't see during the original inspection.

Answer 5

tough call, but if you don't do it where the ins wants it done they might be able to deny your claim. dealers do sometimes give over inflated est since the bigger the job the more money they all make, I'd say go to where the ins sends the car for an est and get it fixed... not much else you can do from where I'm sitting.

Answer 6

First you have to remember that its a 10 yr old car. TRUST ME the insurance company isn't going to let you forget it.

Do some research....go to Kbb.com and see what you car is currently worth. The insurance company isn't going to pay more then that!!!!

Get some more estimates. Make a few more stops. You won't get the money you deserve unless you do your homework first. Any and all insurance companies nothing is FINAL! You can bargin with them and fight for every last cent....but they won't unless you have documentation.


Don't let anyone tear down your car....that just a liability waiting to happen or having something else go wrong (that wasn't caused by the accident) so you'd get stuck their too.

Answer 7

I think I would get another estimate form an independent repair shop because often a dealership is going to be more expensive. Perhaps then you can come up with a reasonable medium between what it will cost to fix and what the insurance will pay. Good Luck to you.

Answer 8

My only advice is that if you do fix the car, be adamant that they use no aftermarket body parts. I have an aftermarket headlamp casing, and changing the bulbs is a nightmare because the POS doesn’t exactly fit where it’s suppose to. Learned that insurance lesson the hard way!

Answer 9

Huh?

A '98 Camero in good condition should be worth a heck of a lot more than $5k.

If it's in mint condition...well, you're being screwed, blued, AND tattooed...

In "whatever" condition...take the money and run! :D

Answer 10

i doubt u will get much more then t hat because of tha fact its not totalled......but ask different dealers....