Prairie~Phlox Posted December 20, 2017 Share Posted December 20, 2017 (edited) She was backing out of a one way parking lot isle and a lady that was going the wrong way ripped her bumper off and cracked it. A police report was filed, The lady did not have a license or registration on her, so the police officer took her keys away until she produced them (not sure what happened there) anyway, do put dd’s bumper back on the best he could having to use bolts, We called the insurance company and an adjuster is coming tomorrow. DD’s car is an 01, so not special by any means, but needs to last her a few more years until she's done with college. The bumper is cracked and I told her she should go and get an estimate before the adjuster comes. Is that what she should do? Any other advice? She has pictures to show the adjuster as well. This is just a hassle. The adjuster is from the insurance company of the lady that hit her. Thanks. Edited December 20, 2017 by Prairie~Phlox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted December 20, 2017 Share Posted December 20, 2017 Who is the other lady's insurance company? That will make a huge difference. Best case scenario, it is one of the big names--USAA, State Farm, etc., and not one that caters to those who are nearly uninsurable. I've been hit multiple times, but always by people insured by brand-name carriers, and I've never had a problem getting the other guy's insurance to pay for a full repair and for a rental car for the time it was being repaired, even when more damage showed up after the initial estimate. The adjuster may cut you a check, but it is usually NOT the case that they will then consider the case closed and not pay for additional damage that shows up when the body shop takes the car apart. When that has happened, the body shop manager has called the adjuster and worked it out. If the adjuster cuts you a check, plan to have the car repaired pretty soon. Also, ask him about the procedure for a rental. Some insurers have a preferred arrangement with a certain rental company, and they can give you a case number that will let you get a rental that is billed directly to the insurer. Other insurers will just give you cash based on the number of days the repair should take. The adjusters and body shop guys all use this software that helps them figure out the damage and the repair costs. There is unlikely to be a significant difference between their estimates. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted December 20, 2017 Share Posted December 20, 2017 The problem with it being an 01 is that it may be enough damage to total the car :( When that happened to my then fiance, he found himself unable to buy a new reliable car with just the money he got when the totalled his car (plus the extra because he had just gotten his brakes redone) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ailaena Posted December 20, 2017 Share Posted December 20, 2017 The problem with it being an 01 is that it may be enough damage to total the car :( When that happened to my then fiance, he found himself unable to buy a new reliable car with just the money he got when the totalled his car (plus the extra because he had just gotten his brakes redone) True; BUT if you know it’s just the bumper, you could fix the car and use a salvage title until you could afford a new car. Would make it extremely difficult to sell, but maybe it’s not worth all that much anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prairie~Phlox Posted December 20, 2017 Author Share Posted December 20, 2017 (edited) It's Freedom Insurance, so not a big name, never heard of them. It's not totalled. Literally the bumper fell off & thank God thst was all. It could have been worse. There are parts missing from the bumper, the foam & whatever was holding it on, but it's back on & you can barely tell without knowing. Edited December 20, 2017 by Prairie~Phlox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted December 20, 2017 Share Posted December 20, 2017 My daughter’s ‘01 Camry was rear-ended and had what sounds like similar damage. It was nowhere close to totaled. I don’t think they put a brand new bumper on it, but the one they found was newer than the original, so it was fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted December 20, 2017 Share Posted December 20, 2017 Who is the other lady's insurance company? That will make a huge difference. Best case scenario, it is one of the big names--USAA, State Farm, etc., and not one that caters to those who are nearly uninsurable. I've been hit multiple times, but always by people insured by brand-name carriers, and I've never had a problem getting the other guy's insurance to pay for a full repair and for a rental car for the time it was being repaired, even when more damage showed up after the initial estimate. The adjuster may cut you a check, but it is usually NOT the case that they will then consider the case closed and not pay for additional damage that shows up when the body shop takes the car apart. When that has happened, the body shop manager has called the adjuster and worked it out. If the adjuster cuts you a check, plan to have the car repaired pretty soon. Also, ask him about the procedure for a rental. Some insurers have a preferred arrangement with a certain rental company, and they can give you a case number that will let you get a rental that is billed directly to the insurer. Other insurers will just give you cash based on the number of days the repair should take. The adjusters and body shop guys all use this software that helps them figure out the damage and the repair costs. There is unlikely to be a significant difference between their estimates. Yes. This is pretty much it in a nutshell. I work for a body shop. What insurance it is makes all the difference. The Insursnce adjusters rarely note all the damage. We almost always have to file a supplement. But that isn't usually a big deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted December 20, 2017 Share Posted December 20, 2017 It's Freedom Insurance, so not a big name, never heard of them. It's not totalled. Literally the bumper fell off & thank God thst was all. It could have been worse. There are parts missing from the bumper, the foam & whatever was holding it on, but it's back on & you can barely tell without knowing. Oh boy. I am sorry it isn't a big name. I would go to a body shop and get my own estimate though. The body shop in your state will know how easy or difficult they are to work with. But insurance companies treat claimants differently than the named insured....so you probably won't have any trouble. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted December 20, 2017 Share Posted December 20, 2017 (edited) True; BUT if you know it’s just the bumper, you could fix the car and use a salvage title until you could afford a new car. Would make it extremely difficult to sell, but maybe it’s not worth all that much anyways. The bumper can be pretty expensive to replace is what I understand. (And important. Its an important part of the safety of the car!) Edited December 20, 2017 by vonfirmath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted December 20, 2017 Share Posted December 20, 2017 The bumper can be pretty expensive to replace is what I understand. (And important. Its an important part of the safety of the car!) True. It is shocking to me how much it costs to repair what looks like a little bit of damage! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmos Posted December 20, 2017 Share Posted December 20, 2017 Sorry about the hassle. When I read the subject line, I had no idea this was about a car accident. I thought someone had physically struck the dd and I was opening to the thread to see what an adjuster (chiropractor?) would be able to do about it. It's interesting how we interpret things out of context. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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