My daughters parked car was hit last night in front of our house by a drunk driver
 

About 2 AM a drunk driver smashed in to my daughters 99 Cougar. It was parked across the street right in front of our house. My son and his gf were awake watching tv and heard the crash. They called the pd and then woke us up. The drunk was driving a brand new Escalade. He ripped the front wheel off of the Caddy and wedged it underneath it. He tried to run but the Caddy only made it about a block down the street before it would not move any further.

He lives in our neighborhood right around the corner. I didnt know him though. He refused to take a breathalyzer so the cops put the bracelets on him and took him to jail. He was so drunk he could barely talk. He had a hard time just getting out of his Escalade.

I wonder how much the repairs will be to our Cougar? Or if it might be totaled?
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dang!!! still had the temp. plate that sux

Yes it does. We just got the paperwork from the dealer last Wednesday to get the title work done. My daughter was in tears over this. She saved her summer job money to buy this car.

that sucks. Time to pay him a little visit at house if he lives around the corner.

I hate drunk drivers. :smash:

In a way, I feel terrible for your daughter for working so hard to have something like that happen to something that she earned and was proud of. I know that I'd have been in tears if I was in her shoes, too.

What I'm thankful for, though, is that there was only property damage. :thumbs:

Hopefully, this situation will be resolved for your daughter in an expedient fashion, and I hope that azz will get tossed in jail for a while to help him get his sh*t straight.

That really sucks... I wouldn't be suprised if they total it.. looks pretty bad.. atleast everyone was ok...
-=Rick

Total loss, start looking for a new car.

At least the guy did not get away.:cheers:

That sucks!! I'm a fire fighter and we respond to lots of drunk driver calls. Gets old seeing people and property damaged becuse of it. :mad:

I have NO respect for drunks, glad they caught him...

Sorry to hear about your Daughter's bad luck with her new car Paul, and as far as this guy doing jail time, that is very unlikely, he probably has a suspended license for doing the same thing on a previous occasion, no Insurance, false or fictitious plates (new Escalade with 1985 Chevy plates on it) prior conviction for DUI, wanted on a warrant, or all of the above, and the only jail time he will do in Lake County Indiana is the time it took for someone to post his bail. He was out and on his way home before the Cop was done with his paper work .I worked in the legal system for 30 yrs in this County. You can not believe how frustrating it can be to get these same guys over and over again because the Court system doesn't do anything to stop them from going out and doing it again. There is a reason he didn't stick around after the crash.
I hope I'm wrong, and the guy is insured and everything goes well for your Daughter and you, let us know............jim

:eek:

I am glad everyone is OK (well, I wouldn't have lost any sleep if the DD had been injured)

If I am not mistaken the Cougar is FWD, right? If so, then there is a good chance the insurance will want to repair the car. If I were you, I wouldn't WANT them to. I'd MUCH rather get a good settlement and get a different car.

Good luck with the insurance company.

Sorry about your Daughter's car, but it sounds like your son was having a good time. Watching TV at 2AM:rofl:

:iagree:

Hopefully he had insurance … if so, looks like a great opportunity for your daughter to upgrade at that A-Hole’s expense. ;)

re
 

Its called alcoholics anonymous. There's to many smucks out there that still think they can do it there way. This bastards lucky he didn't kill somebody.

Sorry to hear Paul. I'd be very interested in the outcome of this.

On my way home from work I picked up a copy of the police report. It had his name and address on it along with the name of his insurance carrier. I checked on his insurance, he has State Farm. He has not reported it to them yet.

I got his phone number from whitepages.com and gave him a call. He said he will either write me a check tomarow for the damages to our car or turn it over to his insurance. He wanted to wait till morning to discuss it with his lawyer.

Next call was to the repair shop I had the car towed to. Damage to our car is going to be between $10 to $14 thousand. KBB retail is $6010, NADA puts it at $5825. That car is totaled.

During my conversation on the phone with the "drunk driver" I told him the cars value was around $6000. He seemed shocked but so be it. I got the impression he did not want State Farm to find out about this. I gave him the benefit of waiting till morning. I could have reported it to State Farm myself. I have all the info needed to start a claim.

We have a lot less than retail price in that car, but the way I see it is we spent all summer looking for a good car at a good price. We eventually found it. I am not doing that again. I want the car replaced ASAP at whatever the going price currently is. No shopping, no waiting. Find a good one and buy it.

Am I wrong expecting to get retail price from him?

if he doesnt want to go through insurance get way more than retail for it :smash:



the balls in your court :cheers:

Get the money from him in cash!! If he balks remind him how much his insurance will go up or even be cancelled if he pursues through the insurance company! Good luck and glad no one is hurt.

Gee, wonder why he wants to talk to his Lawyer before he does anything else. Kind of sounds like he's been around this block before.
Watch him Paul. ...........Jim

Then he'll just drive around with no insurance. It happens all the time. Paul, try to be patient and hopefully it'll pay off with a higher settlement.

Update:
The drunk turned the claim over to his insurance last week. I spoke to State Farm last Tuesday and they accepted liability for the damages. They have been paying for a rental car for the last 7 days while they determined what they were going to do with our car.

I talked to the claims adjuster today. He said they are going to total the Cougar and make a settlement with me. Over the phone he offered me $3875 for the Cougar plus sales tax and transfer fees for a total of $4133.

I dont think I can buy a similar Cougar for that amount of money and I told him that. He said they use the NADA price guide to make there determination of value. While we were on the phone I looked up the NADA value for that car. It is exactly $3875 for an average condition 99 Cougar, taking a deduction of $1100 because the car has 133000 miles on it. We argued for close to 45 minutes over that. My stand is the car was not average it was in excellent condition which has a value of $4775 after the mileage deduction. He said that the most they will pay for that car is the average condition value. He also stated thet they are only required to pay out trade in value. They step up to average value on there own, it is not required of them to do so. I wanted $4775 + tax and title costs.

What do you guys think of that?

We ended the conversation with my request to speak to someone else since I was not getting anywhere with him. I declined to accept the payoff of $3875. He said someone else will contact me, but the offer will not change.

You may be fighting an uphill battle. Do I guess that your figure is what you paid and there is a note for? If so I don't see how they can depreciate the car anymore than it has been already. Did it have any new tires or mechanical work done to it at where ever you got it from put into it? If so can you ge a receipt from them as work you had done to the car? That would add value. At least in my opinion and experience it would. One of my company trucks was in an accident a few years back and was totaled. The insurance company offered me Nada or whatever for it. I had just done brakes, tires and tie rods on it and had the receipt totals. Added them together and told them I had just put $X into the truck about a week before...they added that to the offer. Think about it, if you can get any receipts even as though you authorized the work and had it added to the amount you paid for the car, it may work.
I am not an insurance adjuster, your results may vary.

Oh and by the way...mention to whoever calls you back that the last time you checked...NADA, Kelly Blue Book and Edmunds do not buy and sell cars, they TRY to provide a rough idea of values but those ideas are not in stone.

Did you or your daughter have to miss any work as a result of not having transportation? Seems to me they owe you that also.
Good Luck.

Tell the adjuster your insurance carrier or Lawyer will be contacting them. Why the heck does he think they can pay wholesale trade in for a car thier DRUNK insured totaled?!! Look @ autotrader.com using your zip and pull 5 comps in mileage( I just found 5 for $4995+)with the highest price. Email or fax them and explain you are not a Used dealer and want the car replaced with a similar model/miles/condition. Tell him if he would like you will inspect the cars you send him and they can pay replacement cost to the selling dealer. Best of luck and I would not take that offer.

Thank God she wasn't in it and no one was hurt! Looks totalled to me!

Basically this is what we did when some kid totaled my 91' caprice years ago.. they lowballed us... didn't want to pay any extra for the 1k dollars we spent on repairs just a few days earlier. I printed up a ton of for sale ads and showed them what it was going to cost to replace it and they upped their payout.
-=Rick

I haven't read all the posts here, but I was an insurance adjuster/supervisor for over 8 years. Feel free to PM with any questions and I will do my best to help out. If you dealing with the other persons insurance company it may be best to pay your ded and go through yer own to get things taken care of.

:iagree: :iagree: good luck

I've always been told the WORST thing you can do is mention the word "lawyer" around Ins companies. They have deeper pockets, and a staff of lawyers.

In Iowa, the limit for small claims court is $5000. But if they keep trying to bend you over a barrel, a civil suit could cost him a lot more. :D Most people don't have a lot of sympathy for drunk drivers, especially if this isn't his first infraction.

I had my third conversation with a person from State Farm, a manager this time. He stood pat on his settlement price as did the others. He directed me toward the State of Indiana insurance code website that defines what an insurance company is required to do when settling a claim for a totaled vehicle. This is what the state considers "fair market value".
Its here http://in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title9/ar22/ch3.html

"IC 9-22-3-2
Fair market value defined
Sec. 2. As used in this chapter, "fair market value" means:
(1) the average trade-in value found in the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Official Used Car Guide, vehicle valuations determined by CCC Information Services, Inc. (CCC), or valuations determined by such other authorities as are approved by the bureau; or
(2) the fair market value determined by the bureau under IC 9-22-3-3.
As added by P.L.2-1991, SEC.10. "

After reading this it sounds like the state is willing to sell us down the river to the insurance company's. I still have not accepted there offer but it looks like I really have no choice. If I would take this to court State Farm is willing to pay "average condition" which is more than "trade-in" which is required by the state. What would the judge do?

I feel really screwed! A poorly maintained vehicle is worth the same as well maintained vehicle according to the state. That just aint right!

see below

Just saw you last post, it sounds like your are screwed to me. I quess the lesson you can teach you daughter is some times life is not fair and it does not always work out the way it should. A tough pill to take and I feel for her. Just a bad deal all the way around.

No doubt, I can't believe people just won't call a cab or someone they know.

Since they are now quoting law at you, I would lawyer up. Since the car was just purchased, maybe lawyer can establish market value as what was just paid for the car.

Do you have to accept their totaling your car? Can you force them to repair the car?

According to this:

IC 9-22-3-3
Necessity of certificate of salvage title; bureau determination of fair market value; required application for certficate of salvage title by insurance company or owner
Sec. 3. (a) A certificate of salvage title is required for a motor vehicle, motorcycle, semitrailer, or recreational vehicle that meets any of the following criteria:
(1) An insurance company has determined that it is economically impractical to repair the wrecked or damaged motor vehicle, motorcycle, semitrailer, or recreational vehicle and has made an agreed settlement with the insured or claimant.
(2) If the owner of the vehicle is a business that insures its own vehicles, the cost of repairing the wrecked or damaged motor vehicle, motorcycle, semitrailer, or recreational vehicle exceeds seventy percent (70%) of the fair market value immediately before the motor vehicle, motorcycle, semitrailer, or recreational vehicle was wrecked or damaged.
(3) The motor vehicle is a flood damaged vehicle.
(b) For the purposes of this section, the bureau shall, upon request, determine the fair market value of a wrecked or damaged motor vehicle, motorcycle, semitrailer, or recreational vehicle if the fair market value cannot be determined from the source referred to in section 2(1) of this chapter.
(c) Except as described in section 11(c) of this chapter, an insurance company shall apply for a salvage title for a vehicle that the insurance company has determined is economically impractical to repair.
(d) An owner described in subsection (a)(2) shall apply for a salvage title for any vehicle that has sustained damages of seventy percent (70%) or more of the fair market value immediately before the motor vehicle, motorcycle, semitrailer, or recreational vehicle was wrecked or damaged if the vehicle meets the criteria specified in subsection (a)(2).
As added by P.L.2-1991, SEC.10. Amended by P.L.59-1998, SEC.4; P.L.110-2006, SEC.1.

I guess the insurance company makes the determination if a vehicle is "repairable" or considered as "salvage". The point I don't get is "has made an agreed settlement with the insured or claimant". We have not agreed.

The kick in the ass thing is we are only a few hundred apart and the insurance company wont budge.

I have found a possible replacement vehicle in Norridge, about an hours drive from here. The owner is willing to take around $4500 or a little less for it. If it checks out and we buy it, it is really not worth pursuing a few hundred more $$ from State Farm through legal means. I'll bet State Farm knows this and get away with this "low balling" people a few hundred $$ all the time.

Paul,

As an observer, what this really tells me is how much influence the insurance industry has on state legislatures. It almost sounds like the language quoted above was written by an insurance pro as opposed to an elected official looking out for his or her constituents. Sorry about the outcome. :(

If it helps any, I totaled a 99 cougar in May 06. Mine was probably as clean as they come and had 90K miles on it, and fully loaded. I got $6,500 for my settlement. And I was even the one that was responsible for the accident. So I would keep trying.

There is a legal cost to fight everything. If you are only a few hundred dollars AND you have a friend who is an attorney see if you can get them to send something on letterhead to State Farm stating that you do not accept the offer and are starting the litigation process.

You might be able to squeeze them for the last couple of hundred bucks with the bluff eventhough they are legally right.

:iagree:

rethink the Cougar too, it's a sign from heaven

Hope the drunk driver spends some time in jail and that his insurance rates go sky high. And good luck getting the higher price out of the insurance company.

Take their offer and tell them that you want to keep the car. This way you could either part it out or sell it and get a few $$ on top of what they give you.

I finally settled with State farm. They would not budge on the value of the car but they did pay for the quick title fees, kicked in another $40 for the new title work, and kicked in $125 for the after market CD player the car had on it.

We found another 99 Cougar, same color, similar options and bought it. We had the new Cougar home before we settled with State Farm. Since the crashed Cougar had a brand new battery I snatched it out along with the K&N air filter and new wiper blades. Since the new one did not have a factory spoiler on it, and since the two cars are the same color...... That spoiler is now on her new Cougar as well.

I would like to have swapped out the brand new brakes, radiator and struts but decided that was just too much work.

I am glad it is over. Thanks too all who replied and helped out with suggestions. :cheers:

I'm glad to hear that this got resolved, and I hope that your daughter is feeling a little bit better now that she's at least got something pretty similar, and that it's case closed on the insurance.

you should introduce his escalade to Mr. Louisville Slugger

i would invite him to a game of dodge ball with a brick

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. The blessing is, your daughter was not in the car, or exiting the car when this a$$hole drove by.

I would truly like to know how this guy fairs in the court system!:smash:

Hopefully better than in the Michigan system. The drunk that hit my friend running a red light, broke his neck and totaled his car. He lost his job because he cant work, went through a bunch of operations, never ending pain etc and the drunk walked with 4 months probation. Had minimal insurance so couldn't sue her or anything either. SO it could be a lot worse. :(

That Sux!