A driver destroyed my parked car and their insurance has been giving the runaround for weeks - what do I do?

[u/wakka54]

The other cars insurance (Farmers) said they accept responsibility but not much else, and have left my car in paid city street parking, leaking oil, both axles snapped in half. It's only a matter of time until parking tickets and a $600 tow to impound occurs. I've missed days of work and have to get rides to work from friends. I only have liability insurance (AAA), so when I called my insurance they said they couldn't help whatsoever.

I feel like Farmers is ignoring me as a bullying tactic before lowballing some settlement, hoping I'm exhausted. I don't know what to do.

[u/wakka54]

have they given you a timeline for towing it? And for providing a rental car in the meantime?

No and no, they haven't replied to any messages. On the phone the guy just steamrolled the conversation saying he had to deal with other cars (the driver hit two parked cars and totaled her own car) at the same time, and hasn't been answering the phone.

I have the other drivers info yes. I don't know what a demand letter is.

​

I only know what Kelly Blue Book says

[u/[deleted] → u/wakka54]

It's quite possible their driver who hit you is just not responding to them, making it hard for them to do anything. Keep pushing and call daily, tell them you have video evidence of them driving the car etc.

[u/mr_ji → u/[deleted]]

It's quite possible she's left the country, considering the circumstances

[u/[deleted] → u/mr_ji]

If they have insurance, they aren't going to flee the US over a car accident without bodily harm. At worse they'll get a small fine for fleeing the scene of an accident and even that is doubtful.

[u/mr_ji → u/[deleted]]

Totaled four cars, including their own

Fled the scene

Dodging their insurance company

OP didn't give enough detail, but for many people with the option, leaving the country is preferable to dealing with the immediate consequences in that situation. And, sadly, cops and insurance companies will give up after a while and forget about it. Then they can come back with a clean slate as long as they don't get caught and identified as the same person again.

Maybe you live in a happy world where you don't have to deal with shitty people like this, but I don't, and I've seen it happen more than once.

[u/[deleted] → u/mr_ji]

None of that is necessarily criminal. They didn't really flee since OP got insurance information and it appears to be good and valid. No cop would call that fleeing and actually charge them. Many states just require information exchange if no one is injured.

Not cooperating with your own insurance company isn't criminal. They will do sn investigation, figure out what happened, pay our damages to the policy max and drop the person. It's a pretty regular thing.

That's about it. Even if they were doing something illegal that caused the accident, no real way for them to be charged if the police never showed up.

[u/wakka54 → u/mr_ji]

Sorry for being unclear. They totaled my car (both wheels tilted wonky, axle), did some bumper damage to another car, and totaled their own car (front end crumpled, wheel snapped perpendicular).

The car appears to be one of 3 owned and insured by her dad in Laguna Beach, CA.

[u/ChubbieChaser → u/[deleted]]

this happened to me totaled my parked car - I think the driver went into rehab and it took them over a month to move forward on the claim. OP should be able to get a rental car reimbursed ASAP, but I would press their insurance on what the cost/company/ type of car would be to make sure you don't get shafted.

[u/wild_b_cat → u/wakka54]

A demand letter is just the legal term for a letter that says "pay me or I'll sue." It's a basic step that you have to take before you sue.

By the way, if there are other cars involved, that could explain the delay. It's possible she doesn't have enough coverage in her policy to pay for all the damage, so they might not have enough money for you anyway.

In that case, what you do is go directly to her and sue her in small claims court. This does not require a lawyer. But before doing that, you need to get a good sense of the costs involved, and that means it will probably be your responsibility to get the car towed and evaluated for damage. So here's what you do:

1. Get the car towed to a shop to get it estimated. They will almost certainly say it's totaled but you need to have that officially decided.
2. Assuming it is, prepare a reasonable estimation of its value based on KBB, Edmunds, etc.
3. Add up the towing costs, car value, and a reasonable timeframe for rental coverage (2 weeks).
4. Type up a letter with all of that info and send it to the other driver, saying that either she must pay that amount by some date or you will sue her.

After that, if she gets her insurance to pay more attention to you, then see what they offer you. Or if she writes you a check, problem solved. If neither of those things happen, then you follow up with an actual suit in small claims court. Make sure that you know what the local limit for small claims suits is, since you can't sue for more than that.

[u/CaptMandible → u/wakka54]

Use nadaguides.com. Banks and insurance companies use it, not KBB. Insurance companies will look at the NADA guide, find out what comparable vehicles are selling for, and use that combo to make an offer. I would personally get a print-off of the NADA value, as well as search for a bunch of comps on AutoTrader.com, and take that to court with me. Make sure the comps are same year, make, model, with similar mileage and options.

[u/FutureRealHousewife → u/wakka54]

I write demand letters for a living....it's a letter laying out your damages and making a "demand" for a certain amount of money at the end. In this particular case, one of the losses you're incurring is what we term "loss of use". Typically, depending on the model and make of the car, I will calculate a daily figure that someone is losing per day because they do not have a vehicle.

You have another issue here, though. If the driver hit three cars, then there is likely an apportionment issue - meaning, there will not be enough money on the policy to cover all three vehicles. This also means that there are likely four companies involved in this mess, which is why it may take some time to resolve. If the other two cars carried comprehensive or UM/UIM insurance, that will be in your favor. Two weeks is like two days in the world of insurance, unfortunately. So this may take some time to resolve.

Your car is totaled if two axles are broken. There is simply no way to fix that. I've never seen it in 10 years of doing this work. Also, don't use just Kelley Blue Book. Check Edmunds as well. Also, check how much the car is being sold for in your zip code both via private party and dealer. You want to show as much evidence as possible to show the car is worth more than KBB would typically show.

[u/meamemg → u/wakka54]

Stick the information into carvana and/or carmax (but as it was before the accident), and save that as an estimate of the value of the car. Alternativly, look at listings and see what you can find a comparable car going for.

[u/irishdaisy75 → u/wakka54]

The problem is another vehicle is involved. Depending on what their liability limits are, they may have wait and gather all damages before settling. If they have minimum liability limits and totaled two cars, they may not have enough to go around and will only offer a pro rated share.

[u/Tom_Traill → u/wakka54]

seartchtempest.com allows you to search Craigslist over a large geographical area. You can search for cars the same year and model over the eastern us and get a bunch of ads for prices.

[u/krysteline → u/wakka54]

Be aware that in today's market, KBB far undervalues cars. You typically can't find a comparable replacement car for the amount theyll give you because used car prices have been jacked up due to new car shortages. Make sure you look at comps (basically ads for cars that are similar) and see how much theyre asking, and get enough to pay for the same.