Hit & Run : 2016 Sport

[MichaelNC]

Sitting at a stoplight waiting to make a left turn, guy runs straight into my rear driver side quarter panel pushing me into the car in the next lane. Not hurt but makes me realize how quickly your life can end in a car accident, never saw it coming. Car has been at body shop for over a month... fortunately all genuine Ford parts and their paint work is flawless. Suspension was messed up as well. $20,000 so far - which is being billed to the other car's insurance company. Even though they didn't catch the driver who fled, we got the license plate and their insurance is covering it.

 

[peterk9]

Good thing is that everyone is alright. Was the right read damage caused by the Impala?

Peter

 

[thefranchise713]

It's amazing what a good collision shop can do.

Did you pursue a diminished value claim?

 

[MichaelNC]

Good thing is that everyone is alright. Was the right read damage caused by the Impala?

Peter

Yes.. I was pushed into that car. All her airbags blew.

 

[MichaelNC]

It's amazing what a good collision shop can do.

Did you pursue a diminished value claim?

We aren't to that step yet... according to Nationwide, we will address the diminished value when the work is complete and I get the explorer back. Any advice on how to handle this. I've been warned that they aren't going to be very generous. Should I get an offer from the dealer on what it's worth with the damage disclosure?

 

[blwnsmoke]

Yes, get an appraisal in writing after the repair and get one from them in writing as if there was no accident. The difference is what you want to fight for.

 

[Drive XR7]

Bummer. Sorry this happened to you but glad nobody was hurt. Yours looks just like mine.

One question I have though that you might be able to answer. On the left and right sides there is a black strip of trim. On all the other Explorer models it says "Explorer" on it, but I found the strip on my XSport is just blank. Is yours the same?

 

[thefranchise713]

We aren't to that step yet... according to Nationwide, we will address the diminished value when the work is complete and I get the explorer back. Any advice on how to handle this. I've been warned that they aren't going to be very generous. Should I get an offer from the dealer on what it's worth with the damage disclosure?

No idea, I've never dealt with it. That being said when this does go down, if you wouldn't mind sharing with the forum your experience (or just me in a PM) I would appreciate the story. Good information to know just in case later on.

 

[kmarnes]

Wow, glad everyone is okay. Crazy her airbags went off and yours didn't. Kind of seems like hers shouldn't have gone off.

My wife is a lawyer (in Canada), but she deals with this type of stuff all the time. Insurance companies will get away with whatever they can, and lawyers can make a big difference and get you want you deserve for diminished value (appraisal), injuries, etc. Definitely worth a consultation for contingency. $20k in damage is no joke and will definitely badly hurt the resale of your car.

Any major accident that affects structural integrity will dramatically increase the odds of weird problems. Durability issues can surface months later. I got T-boned once in a 325i by an uninsured driver in California. Car was fixed up all pretty, but it was never the same after that accident. For example, a week after the car was repaired, my windshield was mysteriously cracked all the way across, and had to take it back and get that fixed too. Wasn't hard to argue the accident twisted the frame enough to stress out the glass.

Any word on what happened to the hit-and-run driver? You got his plates, so his insurance will cover it.. but didn't law enforcement get involved or something?

 

[MichaelNC]

Wow, glad everyone is okay. Crazy her airbags went off and yours didn't. Kind of seems like hers shouldn't have gone off.

My wife is a lawyer (in Canada), but she deals with this type of stuff all the time. Insurance companies will get away with whatever they can, and lawyers can make a big difference and get you want you deserve for diminished value (appraisal), injuries, etc. Definitely worth a consultation for contingency. $20k in damage is no joke and will definitely badly hurt the resale of your car.

Any major accident that affects structural integrity will dramatically increase the odds of weird problems. Durability issues can surface months later. I got T-boned once in a 325i by an uninsured driver in California. Car was fixed up all pretty, but it was never the same after that accident. For example, a week after the car was repaired, my windshield was mysteriously cracked all the way across, and had to take it back and get that fixed too. Wasn't hard to argue the accident twisted the frame enough to stress out the glass.

Any word on what happened to the hit-and-run driver? You got his plates, so his insurance will cover it.. but didn't law enforcement get involved or something?

Thanks for the input, i may need a lawyer after all.

The at fault party claimed the car had been stolen, therefor the police were not able to charge the driver since no one can prove the owner was the driver who fled, but since the owner did have the car insured, their insurance company is accepting responsibility.

 

[kmarnes]

Good luck! Having been in your shoes and seeing the other side of the fence with my wife's work, you will always do better with a lawyer (factoring in contingency) by a significant margin then you would on your own, unless you find a real crack-pot lawyer. For example, insurance could offer you $5k for personal injury, and then a lawyer can get you $20k and then you pay them 30% leaving you with $14k.

However if there is no personal injury, and it's just the car -- there likely won't be enough in it for a lawyer to consider contingency or for you to get much of a better result. But then again, a free consultation followed up by a couple letters from a lawyer and some negotiation might cost you $1000, but might net you a better result that more than makes up the difference, but then you are gambling. Guess it really comes down to you doing your due diligence, finding out what your diminished value is, and what they agree to pay you.

Then you'll have a better idea whether retaining a lawyer or not is in your best interests.

While this isn't even relevant (because insurance is covering this), I wonder what level of investigation the police actually did. If it was indeed stolen, there would have been tampering, stolen keys (co-worker/friend?), fingerprints, etc. They probably couldn't be bothered to look deeper. Could be a possible avenue for small-claims... but that's probably not worth the effort if the police won't catch him. You could request a copy of the police report, see if they did their job. For me, something like this would be on principle.

 

[CalifLove]

Crap that blows all around but so good no one was seriously hurt. Good luck in getting all that you can out of the other party to make you whole again.