New car in accident- what to expect

[Anonymous]

If someone hits you and you’re going through their insurance, you can claim diminished value. Since that’s not the case here, you can’t. Geico will not pay it against themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So you were driving around uninsured? That’s illegal. Why didn’t you contact your insurance agent from the dealership like most people do. Never, ever drive an uninsured car. Good luck affording another one.

It was a stupid move on my part, but like I said in my OP, there is a 30 day grace period, luckily. I’m sorry if that diminishes your enjoyment at my situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If someone hits you and you’re going through their insurance, you can claim diminished value. Since that’s not the case here, you can’t. Geico will not pay it against themselves.

Thank you! This is really helpful to know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would actually push for totaling it if they can’t fix it in day 2 weeks. Ie parts shortage.

Demand full compensation for whatever the purchase cost was so your while after paying anything off. Then buy another one.

And even if the motorcycle was stolen, if there was insurance on it I would be going after the owners policy as needed. Your insurance company can sue them if they desire.

You can't "push for totaling" if the damage to the car does not exceed (or come close to) the car's market value. It doesn't not sound like remotely the case here. The parts shortage sucks but they will not total OP's car because of it.

[Anonymous]

Your car although nice is a disposable car. Accident with matter.

Now a Ferrari or Porsche 911 an accident really hurts value.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:did you call your agent friday to add car to your policy?

We didn’t (totally didn’t think of it!) but geico has a 30 day grace period, so we should be good. Obvs will remember to do that at the dealership for any subsequent cars. Geico let us add the car right after the accident but it’s taking a little more time because they have to verify the sequence of events.

Not just Geico... you have 30 days to add your car.

Really? When I bought my car a couple years ago I had to show proof of insurance on the new car before they let me drive off the lot.

Yea, you need to show proof of insurance (i.e., you have one) but not on the new car. When I picked up my new car yesterday, I just had to prove that I have insurance. i was told to call and add within 30 days.

OP here: this is what happened- we showed our car insurance card but honestly I didn’t make the connection or needing to call. I’m very thankful there is a grace period, but do with the car dealership had reminded us (not that it’s their responsibility, but a friendly heads up). And for those asking what I want, I was just trying to figure this out. Two days ago we had a car with no accident on it and that was one of the selling points of the car we traded in. I just wasn’t sure if that was incorporated into the costs.

I don't know why you think "no accident on it" is so important. It's not. Your car is damaged and someone (their insurance or Geico) will give you money to fix. Chances are you won't like it and you may feel it should be more. Everyone who was involved in an accident feels the same.

It completely matters for resale. ..

Yes but insurance co doesn’t care. It’s not fair but it is what it is. Hopefully you get what you want but don’t get your hopes up

Diminished value is a loss that you are entitled to be compensated for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would actually push for totaling it if they can’t fix it in day 2 weeks. Ie parts shortage.

Demand full compensation for whatever the purchase cost was so your while after paying anything off. Then buy another one.

And even if the motorcycle was stolen, if there was insurance on it I would be going after the owners policy as needed. Your insurance company can sue them if they desire.

You can't "push for totaling" if the damage to the car does not exceed (or come close to) the car's market value. It doesn't not sound like remotely the case here. The parts shortage sucks but they will not total OP's car because of it.

The cost of repairs wont get you there, but adding in diminished value + months of a rental may. You can also insist on repair quality in line with the quality at the time of the crash which for a 2021 likely means OEM parts.

[Anonymous]

We're going on five months of waiting for parts for our 2021 car that another drive smashed into in March, OP -- the supply chain problems really suck, especially if you want OEM parts, which for a brand-new car, you do.

I'm also going to pursue a diminished value claim against the other driver's insurance to pay us for the inherent loss of resale value from the car having been in a serious accident.

Our body shop told us a couple of months ago that we should ask the insurance to total the car out, because it would be faster than waiting for parts to come in, but it's an electric car that's hard to come by now (used ones are selling for more than we paid new), and I wanted the car back, not a bunch of cash to go buy another one that I wouldn't be able to get. So we're still waiting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're going on five months of waiting for parts for our 2021 car that another drive smashed into in March, OP -- the supply chain problems really suck, especially if you want OEM parts, which for a brand-new car, you do.

I'm also going to pursue a diminished value claim against the other driver's insurance to pay us for the inherent loss of resale value from the car having been in a serious accident.

Our body shop told us a couple of months ago that we should ask the insurance to total the car out, because it would be faster than waiting for parts to come in, but it's an electric car that's hard to come by now (used ones are selling for more than we paid new), and I wanted the car back, not a bunch of cash to go buy another one that I wouldn't be able to get. So we're still waiting.

Have you had a rental car for 5 months? I thought there’s a limit on rental insurance coverage on most policies that’s usually for 1-2 months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're going on five months of waiting for parts for our 2021 car that another drive smashed into in March, OP -- the supply chain problems really suck, especially if you want OEM parts, which for a brand-new car, you do.

I'm also going to pursue a diminished value claim against the other driver's insurance to pay us for the inherent loss of resale value from the car having been in a serious accident.

Our body shop told us a couple of months ago that we should ask the insurance to total the car out, because it would be faster than waiting for parts to come in, but it's an electric car that's hard to come by now (used ones are selling for more than we paid new), and I wanted the car back, not a bunch of cash to go buy another one that I wouldn't be able to get. So we're still waiting.

Have you had a rental car for 5 months? I thought there’s a limit on rental insurance coverage on most policies that’s usually for 1-2 months.

We have — it’s the other driver’s insurance, so the usual limit doesn’t apply. They dragged their feet paying some of the rental bill (I had to close and reopen the contract after 4 months), but they just paid it. So far no luck getting them to pay for gas for the rental even though their driver rendered our electric car undrivable, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're going on five months of waiting for parts for our 2021 car that another drive smashed into in March, OP -- the supply chain problems really suck, especially if you want OEM parts, which for a brand-new car, you do.

I'm also going to pursue a diminished value claim against the other driver's insurance to pay us for the inherent loss of resale value from the car having been in a serious accident.

Our body shop told us a couple of months ago that we should ask the insurance to total the car out, because it would be faster than waiting for parts to come in, but it's an electric car that's hard to come by now (used ones are selling for more than we paid new), and I wanted the car back, not a bunch of cash to go buy another one that I wouldn't be able to get. So we're still waiting.

Have you had a rental car for 5 months? I thought there’s a limit on rental insurance coverage on most policies that’s usually for 1-2 months.

That's for your insurance. The at fault driver's gets to keep paying unless they want to total the car

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're going on five months of waiting for parts for our 2021 car that another drive smashed into in March, OP -- the supply chain problems really suck, especially if you want OEM parts, which for a brand-new car, you do.

I'm also going to pursue a diminished value claim against the other driver's insurance to pay us for the inherent loss of resale value from the car having been in a serious accident.

Our body shop told us a couple of months ago that we should ask the insurance to total the car out, because it would be faster than waiting for parts to come in, but it's an electric car that's hard to come by now (used ones are selling for more than we paid new), and I wanted the car back, not a bunch of cash to go buy another one that I wouldn't be able to get. So we're still waiting.

Have you had a rental car for 5 months? I thought there’s a limit on rental insurance coverage on most policies that’s usually for 1-2 months.

That's for your insurance. The at fault driver's gets to keep paying unless they want to total the car

OP was hit by a stolen motorcycle though. I don't think this applies to OP.

[Anonymous]

A quick point: if your vehicle is totaled — and this seems unlikely unless there is damage to the structure such as b-pillar or unibody — you would then be in a position to negotiate the amount of payout from Geico. Otherwise all your insurer needs to do is pay the cost of repair, which in this case will include airbag(s). You should speak with the body shop to discuss whether they will be using OE or aftermarket parts. And if there is a significant wait for parts whether they would use a salvage part like a door panel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A quick point: if your vehicle is totaled — and this seems unlikely unless there is damage to the structure such as b-pillar or unibody — you would then be in a position to negotiate the amount of payout from Geico. Otherwise all your insurer needs to do is pay the cost of repair, which in this case will include airbag(s). You should speak with the body shop to discuss whether they will be using OE or aftermarket parts. And if there is a significant wait for parts whether they would use a salvage part like a door panel.

I am pretty sure OP's car is not totaled.

[Anonymous]

It is too new for them to total it, they will spend MONTHS repairing it. The exact same thing happened to me in a one year old Subaru 10 years ago.