Mike Mercury

If this helps any, I once had a new vehcle taken back via the Lemon Law route. During the process of gettng the mfgr to eventually agree to do a buy-back... I intended to stop making payments.

My attorney (family friend) said that this tactic would do nothing to hasten the buy-back decision... and would only harm me (my credit) in the long run. I took his advise and shelved the "not make payments" idea.

lpabsolute

No sir, i don't expect lawyers to want to work for free, but when i walk into your office or call you and explain my situation and you don't sound optimistic or feel like you can win the case...i just see throwing money at a problem and hoping for the best. I just can't afford those types of fees. i mean two or 3 days at a couple hours a day could cost $5+ grand, and i'd still be no better off than i am now. I'm mean i'm sure i could work something out if a lawyer was like "i understand you were wronged here and i have a good feeling or i'm confident we can resolve this issue" i would try to work out some type of payment plan or have everything covered on the back end after things are settled.

purple heart

I forgot to mention that but only as a LAST RESORT and I still don't think you'd have to go that far. good luck

purple heart

I also TOTALLY agree with Mike Mercury in that you should keep making payments. If you stop while all this is going on, all you do is screw YOURSELF! If your car was abducted by aliens from outer space, not the other kind, you would still have to make payments until the car was returned to Earth! (I'm half kidding on this one.)

lpabsolute

Sir, i did not go into this expecting a total car or to get a check and go out and buy an new one. Frankly, i expected the bumper to be replaced maybe a few more parts, then i was gonna try to trade the car to get a new one, because even if the repairs were small the car would still carry a negative CarFax report for the rest of its life. I've calmly spoken to Geico every step of the way until i was pushed to the brink of the car having water damage due to negligence of either the body shop #2 or the tow truck company that Geico hired. I have done everything Geico has asked of me, from being patient, to trying to find a repair shop. Bottom line is no one is willing to work on the car 1st off because of the fact that the first dealership tore it down an stopped the repair. so the car is torn apart and being delivered to new shops now in pieces in boxes. Now the car has water damage so no one wants to even look at it. so i just don't know where to go when no one wants to take the car in its current condition. Ever attempt to speak to Geico at this point is them telling me it my responsibility to find a body shop because they can't....well i can't either

lpabsolute

At this point you are right, i would take a total loss. I mean would you want to have this vehicle at this point, even if its your dream car...with all the damage the car has had and risk of future problems moving forward? Would you want to continue to pay for a car thats not valued anywhere near the amount you are paying for it? and one that no one else wants quite frankly?
I got a third party involved because that is my right. Its my right to have a 3rd party look at the car, and my right to go after diminished value. It also seems like breach of contract on behalf of the dealership with regards to stoping work on my car mid repair because of an issue with another individual, sounds like discrimination of my legal rights. I agree that it is strange and i've never heard of any of this.

I'm not sure how i'm alienating anyone or have alienated anyone. i've done everything and accepted every thing that has happened to the best of my ability and have only tried to help the process along, but at some point enough is enough. Everything that could have possibly went wrong with this has, and i don't see any of it being my fault. I mean how was i suppose to know there was a history between the first body shop and the 3rd party? The body shop allowed him into their shop to take the pics of my car. if there was any issue don't you think they would have stopped him from entering their business or called me the day this happened and now wait 3-4 days later?

purple heart

I'm not sure if I have all the info and have it correctly but I don't understand why you would need a lawyer at all??? If Geico says that can't find a shop to repair, my question to you would be...have they totaled your car (yet)? If so, just settle with them at this point, take whatever they owe you (if you're not "upside down" and go buy yourself another vette. Now might a GOOD time to buy a Grand Sport model if you like it and can afford it. I'm not insinuating that you can't afford it but everyone has a budget.
Again, good luck!

lpabsolute

When StateFarm started dragging there feet at the beginning thats why i went with my insurance Geico. So basically from what i understand Geico handles the case then goes after StateFarm once everything is over and done with. I agree that now StateFarm is only responsible for the original damages and now the car being wet and moved around from place to place.

lpabsolute

Thank you for the advice. I've got a call into the State Comish office now. I will contact everyone i have too to try and resolve this. Seems to me like the first dealership is where all the problems have come from. I've tried to keep my calm with Geico, i mean i'm paying them $200 a month, they should be working for me, i would expect this from the girls insurance company but not mine. They basically sent me a letter via email stating they have done everything they can and its up to me to find a shop, but as i've stated before, no one wants to take the car or will take the car.

purple heart

Geico should pay you what your car is worth. That is their job. When, and assuming they will(there's that word again-), ask them to explain how they got to their settlement value. They are responsible to detail exactly how the arrived at whatever amount they say it's worth.
Usually when a car is a total loss, they research the values of other cars that are exactly alike or very close to what you had using mileage and condition and age of the car. That should come out to FMV....good luck!

lpabsolute

Sir, i took the car to my local Chevy dealership because they had a licensed Chevy body shop with licensed corvette techs. I mean this being a new car only two months old with warranty, i figured that this would be the perfect place to have it fixed. I would never send the car to a "Fender Bender" or mom and pops repair shop, no offense to any of them, but i feel like a licensed corvette tech should be working on my car. I even reached out to a corvette speciality body shop in my area but Geico no longer uses them because they only want to pay someone $45 an hour to work on my car where the speciality shop charges $100-130 an hour. Plus the specialty shop does't have the capability to fix the aluminum frame or even have time to work on the car as they so backed up with other repairs.

purple heart

[QUOTE=lpabsolute;1592970508]When StateFarm started dragging there feet at the beginning thats why i went with my insurance Geico. So basically from what i understand Geico handles the case then goes after StateFarm once everything is over and done with. I agree that now StateFarm is only responsible for the original damages and now the car being wet and moved around from place to place.[/QUOTE

Find out which Insurance Company will handling the total loss settlement of your car. Sounds like you have no fault in this accident so you should be able to go thru Geico or wait for State Farm to get back to you for settlement. But you should be able to decide which company you want to handle your claim. If you go thru Geico, you would be responsible for your collision deduction; otherwise, if you can go thru State Farm, you wouldn't pay a deductible.

lpabsolute

Thanks for the advice. I completely agree with you its' only going to hurt me if i stop making my payments, but at the same time, i can't afford to keep paying on a car thats sitting in a shop torn apart not getting fixed. i have no one to help me with this. this past month as far as car issues goes has been total hell.

Steve_R

He pays Geico for insurance, not State Farm. He can't "go through" State Farm for anything. He needs to press his case with Geico, including his state insurance commission and going up the corporate ladder at Geico. I'd be amazed if State Farm would even talk to him since he's not insured by them.

Edit: OP, I see you're in Charleston, which is a pretty big city. Most large city TV stations have some kind of consumer help segment where they do a story about someone being wronged, which in a lot of cases gets the problem solved very quickly. Call the local TV stations and see if they have something like this and would be interested in doing a story about your problems. No dealer or insurance company wants to be on the TV news for poor service and screwing a customer.

lpabsolute

I need a lawyer to take my case to get someone to pay my car loan off. At this point Geico is not willing to total my car. they are saying its too expensive for them to total with the damages is has. they seem to think they can fix for car for $12K, not including the water issues which they don't seem to think the car has since they went a day later to see if the car was wet and said it was dry. They are telling me i need to find a shop to repair the car,

rramjet

I sure don't see an "over reaction" on OPs part as one responder stated. I would be livid!

I've got to believe that if you were hit hard enough to do frame damage you must have suffered some whiplash or back trauma. Hopefully you have not signed any medical release forms yet. Lawyers will salivate at an opportunity for a personal injury claim. I'm betting this would also hasten an offer to total your car. Get to a doctor.

Team Player

This is where your thinking is flawed. If you start to go blind do you go to an internist? No you go to an eye Dr. Same goes for jack of all trades Dealers and shops that only specialize in auto body and frame restoration. A private body shop will also have better equipment to handle more complex repairs. No one said to take it to some "Mom&Pop" shop you take it to a large busy and reputable body shop that services high end vehicles.
Example, this guy is in your area and has THREE shops and has an average rating 4.5 out five stars.

https://www.carwise.com/auto-body-sh...c-29414/540961

lpabsolute

Thank you Sir for not viewing my reaction as an OVER reaction. I think i've handled myself about as good as i can given the circumstances. At points i could have literally killed someone.

I have not settled any type of personal injury claim yet. I did see a doctor and was diagnosed with whiplash.

Thank you for your time.

L8ter

I tried to get GAP on one of my previous car through State Farm, and was told GAP is sold at the time of purchase while financing the new vehicle.
And that is exactly how I purchased it with my new C7.
While there may be other ways to get it, this is what I was told and how I did it.

I never in my life would advocate what you are advising unless there was an obvious injury, however in this situation and what the OP has had to endure....
Unfortunately it's probably irrelevant at this stage, because somehow, even though OP hasn't had any dealings with State Farm. I would be willing to bet they have managed to get a medical release under his palm, or recorded verbal release from him. It is the first thing insurance adjusters do. Take advantage of you distracted state of mind to release them from the real monetary obligations.

lpabsolute

They don't want to work on my car or accept it, just like all the other 10 body shops i've called, and the ones Geico has told me they have called. This is where i'm at.