L1NUX

Well, there may have been a peaceful and satisfying result... Today, I got a call from the insurance rep, and she informed me that they recalculated my settlement. Basically, yesturday I went to the dealer I bought the car from, and kindly enough, they signed off on the original list of parts that I got when I bought it. I sent that list to the insurance, and they came up significantly on their offer. It's high enough that I don't think I'll have to sue them now! YAY!! I REALLY didn't want to have to involve lawyers.

LegallyTorchRED

OUTSTANDING !!! Good for you.

93 FHP SSP

That's great to here.

AnimeBlast

My, my, what a sad situation. Well, here's all I know. I've asked my insurance company about one mod I wanted to do that would be very costly and I wanted to make sure it was insurance (chromalusion paint). I was told that they could keep something on file and I should keep everything that I have done to it on file. THEY couldn't pay me for it, but when something like what happens to you happens, their insurance company apparently has to replace or repair the car to the same condition as it previously was. In your situation, seeing as to how they do not seem to be flexible, I would speak with an attorney about it which you already have and file the lawsuit. You have the full right to be compensated for time lost, monetary damages, emotional distress, and so on. This is blatently a case of negligence. Most attorney's who work cases like this work on a contingency pay basis (not sure if I spelled that right, I'm very tired right now), meaning you don't have to pay them anything but they will retain a portion of the amount gained and you will get the rest. If it ends up being some structured settlement type of thing and they pay you over a period of time, you can always take it somewhere, there's lots of places who will pay you a large sum of what you're owed as a fee and they'll take over the person's payments who owes you. This is also the classic case of why you should always get gap insurance. Gap insurance covers you in the unfortunate case you lose your car due to an accident or so forth and only get paid from the insurance company what your car is worth. Meaning, if you have a loan for $10k, have an accident, and whatever insurance pays you only $8k because that's all your car is worth, gap insurance will pay the "gap" of $2k that is currently owed on the car. Could you please also take a look at my forums and see if you can help me on anything?? Good luck, I'm so sorry for your loss, poor Mustang. [sm=boohoo.gif]

lastchance 83

Ive worked at a car dealership, they wont pay unless they have to. No matter what they tell you. Insurence companies are the LAW, yours can fix this! Has your attorney contacted the dealership himself, It would deffinetly be in your interest to get someone else involved directly with the dealership. The after market stuff will probably be a little more difficult. MakeABSOLUTELY sure to have a good record and list of everything. good luck and let me know

90Lxstanger

Sorry for your luck, damn bastards that wrecked your car, Id sue them for every penny you can get, man i wouldbe so pissed! again sorry to hear that

footy3

I'd like to offer some advice. I am a non-practicing attorney (quit b/c I couldn't stand all the lawyers). First, I would have you get in touch with your county or state consumer protection commision, explain what happened, and lodge a complaint. Second, get in touch with your state Department of Insurance, they will be able to provide you with the laws regarding what is, and what if anything is not, to be included in the settlement. In general, it should cover the "blue book" value of the vehicle, along with any accessories that are an integral part of the vehicle. For example, high performance exhaust is included, a removable radar detector, probably not. Additionally, they must add sales tax to the settlement price. Then you will know where you stand from a legal perspective. I don't know the facts of your deal, but let's say someone pays 20 grand for a 10 grand car, the insurance company owes 10, not 20.

After you establish an "objective" value as defined by your states laws, then you have to decide how fair the offer is. If it's really unfair, I would make the following suggestion. Bring all of this to an attorney, and tell him you would like him to write a demand letter for the objective value of the car, plus sales tax. It should state at the end something to the effect of , should you fail to comply with this demand within 10 business days, my client will be left with no other option than to seek remedy by filing suit to protect his interests.

Any decent lawyer should do this, and handle a few negotiation telephone calls, for two or three hundred bucks. I know that probably seems like an obscene amount, but it will likely resolve the matter.

In the event that it doesn't you are then in a kind of a jam, b/c what you are likely to recooup in additional money from the insurance company by filing suit, will be likely negated by you attorney's fee to bring the matter to suit.

Finally, also check to see if there are any provisions for triple damages for an insurance companies acts of bad faith, there very well may be, and this would cast an entirely differnet light on the matter.

What state are you in anyway?