AusS2000

On Friday (18/2) morning I got a call from my neighbour. A large truck delivering some steel to a house in a side street had hit my car. I went outside to assess the damage.

My vehicle is a MY2000 Honda S2000 with 81,000km. I bought it new for $AUD70,000 in March 30 2000 and it has been housed in a dedicated garage ever since. Except on this day.

I have watched its value depreciate over the years. About 5 years ago it was worth about $20K. But in the last few years with dwindling numbers and renewed interest in sports cars, the price these go for has skyrocketed. Today won’t see one of these with under 200,000km go for less than $40k.

I lodged a claim with the insurance company I have been paying premiums too for over 20 years and had the car towed directly to my panel beaters.
The panel beaters haven’t done a formal quote but assess the damage repair at about $25k. The insurance company have suggested they will write off the vehicle and give me $15k. Should I repair the vehicle (and I will) I will be out of pocket $10k. Can’t tell you how painful this is.

It’s a Not At Fault claim with a known At Fault party. The responsible party is admitting fault and anyway there are several witnesses. Couldn’t be more clear cut. It won’t even cost the insurance company (the one I have paid nearly $40k to over the last 20 years) a cent as they will be claiming from the At Fault party’s insurance. And they want to screw me for $10k.

I am attacking this from several angles. Firstly I am discussing it with my insurance company. I am trying to make them see the value of a loyal customer who has never had an At Fault claim. A customer they will lose if they write off his car.

Secondly I am working with the panel beater to reduce the price. they have to quote extraordinary prices for parts as they are becoming rare. Yet as an avid S2000 enthusiast I have many of the parts required. For example, if the tail light needs to be replaced I have a spare set. I realise the onus to supply parts shouldn’t be on me but if it helps to get to the final goal (my car back on the road) I will do it.

If I can bring the insurance company up and the panel beater down, hopefully the shortfall will be reduced.

Another angle I am considering is processing the claim myself. I’ve paid an insurance company almost $40k and it seems I might be better off making a claim directly on the At Fault party’s insurance company myself.

I will keep you posted on what happens.

AusS2000

Since I wrote this I have authorised the panel beaters to negotiate with the At Fault party's insurance directly. And I have provided a wealth of evidence that support the value of the car.

cosmomiller

I am so sorry.

windhund116

Sorry about the damage. I would think that the truck's insurance should pay for the entire cost of fixing the car. Not sure why your insurance is involved with a payout?

sam_spider

Agreed, trucking company should 100% foot the bill for this.

Really sorry to see the damage, rear qtr panel repair can get costly.

AusS2000

It was a truck delivering steel for a building project of a neighbour.

In Aus you generally just contact your insurance company, they recompense you, and chase the At Fault party for the amount. But in this case it is much better to chase the At Fault companies insurance directly.

MrFunk

Oh man - sorry to see this. What a bummer.

Stratocaster

I am sorry to hear of your loss. Hopefully it will work out well. Do you have any other pictures of the damage? To me, from the limited angle in the video, it does not look that bad. Besides the tail light and rear quarter panel, what else is damaged?

vicrc

I hate insurance companies and I hate seeing their TV commercials, every other commercial is one of the insurance company, yes I see Flo, Jake, The Turkey and that little Lizard. They rather feed you commercial after each commercial than to feed you a proper amount for a claim.

Sorry about your car and accidents just devalue it as well