Just Another Trip To Home Depot,, Until: Screeeech, Bang; shortened 914 Options

[Spoke]

On the way to Home Depot last night, 1/2 mile from my house,
waiting to turn left on Rt309 outside of Allentown,
I heard a loud screech behind me, looked in the rear view mirror
in time to see headlights disappear behind my car - then BANG.

The 1990 Mazda faired much better than the 914.

From what I can see without looking underneath the car
or opening the trunk (which won't open):

Trunk lid folded
Rear bumper crumpled
Pass Taillight gone
Rear Valence creased
Fender pushed into rear tire, car moves under its own power but not far
Engine seems to have a miss now
One cylinder is very loud (header or head damaged?)
Pass and Driver door gaps now different
- Pass door gap almost nothing at the top, seems larger at the bottom
- Driver door gap even top to bottom but seems larger now

[dmenche914]

Add up everthing, and if they don't meet your offer, or resonably close, file a lawsuit. In california it is i believe it is a $7500 limit. you sue the car that hit you owner, and the driver should be added. It is important it is the registered owner of the car that hit you that is named in the suit even if they were not in the car.

If you only claim $7500 or less, the leverage of a court date is tremedous pressure on the insurance company.

They don't like to send some one to court, and in small claims it is you agiant the person that hit you, the insurance lawyer may be present, but may not be part of the hearing, it is you and the car owner. So if you have your shit together (lots of documentation, reduntant price guides, letter on your car, photos etcc and you put on a good argument you will win. It is better for them to settle than loose anyway and still waste time in court, Since it you verses ths owner of the car, well he is compelled to attend by his insurance company, but he is not going to put a lot of time in argueing the cost of the car, cause he has insurance to pay, so all you really end of doing is needing to convince the judge of the cost, so have it documented, with copies to leave with the judge.

Just remember the insurance company may try to pull some tricks, never cancel court until after you have the check and full agreement in hand. If you do you most liekly can not re-file for a hearing even if they skip out on the agreement.

You can also ask for money for time spent preparing your documentation.

Send a nice but firm demand for what you want and a itemized list (how you you came to the total cost) along with proofs and documentations of prices.

Also demand a rental car immediatly, that will cost them, cause they pay for it up front (don't let them make you pay with promise to reimburse you, cause if they baulk later, that is part of the max $7500 limit) Tell them you demand a rental NOW until the car is repaired, or they settle and give you money to buy a new car. since this will cost them money, they will be under pressure to settle faster rather than drag their feet. That is too your advantage.

Send the demand letter to the insurance company and the registered owner. You need to do this to:

1. show the insurance company you mean bussiness and can be organized and have your facts together, they know folks like that WILL win in court.
2. it will be good for the court if it gets that far, cause it will show the judge you tried to settle before taking his time in court, and that you made a reasonable argument to them,and they rejected it. that mades judges side with you more.
Send the letter with proof of mailing, and /or proof of recipt, that also show the insurance company that you are covering all you bases, that kind of stuff scares them!

good luck


PS I believe injury is under a sepperate lawsuit. you file one for pain and suffering,a dn seperate one for property damage. So the $7500 limit might be applicable to your crash twice. You'll need to double check that, most countis have free small claims advice offices run by legal staff, they can answer all the details for sure. So if you have medical you may still be able to go beyond small claims. And in small claims you have abig advantage, go to big time court and the insurance companies lawyers are allowed to get involved, give counter evidence etc... so even if you want $8500, you may be better off settling for the small claims limit, note the filing fee is much less for small claims.