Hot Rods So I got rear ended, and could use a little advice

This^^^^^^^. I see cases on TV all the time where the person at fault begs the victim to not turn it into insurance and that they will pay cash for the damage. Then, once they leave the scene they start thinking about it and usually come up with the excuse "His damages weren't all that expensive and he is trying to rip me off !"

Call your agent NOW and get it on file. On a car like that you should have special collector car insurance because if you have a regular policy they will not want to pay you what our cars are worth, and they do not understand what it takes to fix them.

If you go with the cash offer you will be on the short end of the stick, trust me.

Don

 

You have gotten some very good advice & I hope you use it. Nice guys always finish last.
Settle out of insurance=== RED LIGHT. He has been there before & figuring out how best to screw you.
Forget about it . That is why you pay for your insurance.
Personal injuries show up much later most of the time. Get yourself checked out & on file with a doctor or hospital, NOW.
Hidden damages will show up on your car if you can repair it. Count on it. Don't be in a hurry to settle.

 

LOL, where do you live??? Here you can't get a cop unless/until shots are fired! If you call for anything other than a fatal accident or one blocking the highway, they'll say "Handle it yourself!"

 

I recently took a defensive driving course and the instructor said... if you're in an accident, take the ambulance ride. With my 2011 accident, it was late on a Friday but I waited until Monday to see my doctor and file an injury claim. My back and neck pain got progressively worse over the weekend. The other insurance was all over me to take a $1000 check and sign a waiver for liability, that's when I got a good lawyer.

 

So - my short story long.....

I used to drive a 1962 beetle (restored - stock with lap belts) to work every day. Of course one day a corporate truck (company name redacted but it was a U.S. Govt. Contractor) ignored a stop sign, and I broad-sided him at 45 (in a 65). 60+ Stitches to my head and face, and some emergency dental work later I called the other guys insurance company. Here were the following comments they made:

1. You shouldn't drive such an old car - you KNOW they are unsafe right? (I didn't fall for that one)
2. It couldn't have been THAT bad, your on the phone with us within 24 hours? (Again - no response from me)
3. Well we could give you $1k for your bug, we know what they're worth. (I hung up the phone)
I immediately contacted my insurance company who gave me the name of a good lawyer. I was more than compensated for my personal injuries. They gave me $7k for the bug. Which I thought was fair (I had about 4k on a non-pan off restoration).

Moral of the story - USE your insurance company FIRST. My insurance company were the ones to recommend getting a lawyer as it sounded like the big contractor wanted to play hard-ball and I am STILL with that insurance company..

 

Get an attorney period. Getting rear ended could lead to back and neck problems down the road. Personal injury attorney's typically get 33% of the settlement. 66% of something is better then 100% of nothing. We just settled a case where someone busted a red light and totaled our SUV. Our attorney handled it all which was well worth his fee.

 

I had one of the best local law firms handle my case and it paid off. They'll tell you right up front if they think you have a viable case... or not. They were falling over each other to talk to me when I came in for my initial appointment.

 

bobss396 X2. Getting a personal injury attorney is the only way to go. Especially when the other party is at fault. In our case the other driver busted a red light and was issued a ticket by the State Police. It was a no brainer. The other drivers insurance company paid off like a slot machine.

 

The other company put up a good fight, but we settled on very close to the maximum of the policy value. I had MRI reports, scads of doctor visits documented to back me up.

 

Remember when your insurance company handles it they pay the lawyer.

Charlie Stephens

 

My insurance company wanted no part of me retaining a lawyer. And the other insurance company.. even less. If I left the control of my case up to MY insurance company, I would not have seen a cent of a settlement.

 

The insurance company of the driver who hit me accepted full responsibility.

Now on to the estimate....

 

So, as expected, the adjuster had no idea whatsoever how to deal with a 54-year-old car, with 99k on the odometer.

She wrote a "skeleton estimate", for labor and repair, and is going to have another adjuster try to work with my trusted body shop on getting the car taken care of.

Her number is a little low.

My trusted body shop is working on his estimate, so he can hand it to the other adjuster.

Thankfully, he's the guy that did final body and paint for me, for many years. He has my best interests in mind.

 

Good news.
-Pat