I just got in touch with my insurance company. Based on my age, it looks like my premiums are going to skyrocket. I'd be paying upwards of $8500 annually if I report this accident.

 

honestly, even if your insurance skyrockets i wouldnt pay this outta pocket. The damage is way to extensive, once you tear down the front you are gonna notice a lot of hidden damages...im gonna ponder roughly 8k minimum. any pics of the damage btw?

 

So you can pay $8000 out of your own pocket now and call it a day, or you can pay $8000/year out of your pocket for the next 3-5 years.

My math tells me to pay out of pocket now, and avoid the charges down the road.

 

don't forget the fact that, if you claim it through your insurance, its on your record and your car is no longer "accident free" when you try to resell it... believe me.. i know how much that affects the price.

if you got the $$$ and most of the parts ready (bumper, headlights), talk it over with the other driver and pay it off in cash... avoid your insurance company as much as you can.. its not about reporting it... there are a lot of other consequences involved...

your insurance goes up, when you switch insurance companies, it will affect you even more because the first thing they ask is if you were in an accident before.... your car's value also drops..... more than a few thousand.. even if it was a small accident... so think very hard before you decide

Kinda makes me think.... all those "accident free" cars for sale...

(in case you haven't heard, i'm trying to sell my car which has been in an accident (a while ago) and it has been very tough due to that fact)

 

I ended up shopping around with a fewer other insurance agencies. If I raise my deductibles to $500, TD is willing to insure me for slightly more than my current insurance agency was using before the accident. They also said that after a year, the premiums will actually drop down to below what I'm currently paying. Considering the amount of damage, that seems like it'll be the best way to deal with this to me. What do you guys think?

 

Its so much better that way. Just dont tell them that you have parts laying around. Let them cut the check to a shop where you know they wont screw you.... for OEM parts. you would be suprised that a lot of after market parts are wayyyy cheaper than OEM. Then you should have some $$ left over to pay the higher insurance rates. Make sure you give the shop some $$ too.

My total bill was around 3500 for headers, HFC and exhaust and after hitting my mechanic with almost a G I still had money left over to go to Disneyworld.

not insurance fraud as I asked them what would happen and the adjuster said they had to pay me for OEM parts....

 

So to get this straight, you brought the shop all the parts, spent some extra $$$ there and then pocketed the rest? What happened to all your exhaust components in the first place?

 

Figured I'd give you guys an update. I'm getting the vehicle towed into a bodyshop as we speak. I was directed towards a specific guy at the shop who's going to be flexible with the use of aftermarket parts as replacements. With that said, is there anything in particular that I need to consider when substituting aftermarket parts on an insurance claim?

 

Have you even talked to the body shop? All of the questions you are asking they will have the answers to. They will know how to substitute aftermarket for OEM parts they likely do it everyday. I worked at a body shop and how it used to work (10 years ago) is the insurance company appraises your damage gives the body shop an amount and thats how much money they have to fix it. They fix your car and submit the bill to the insurance company if the bill is cheaper than the estimate no questions asked if its more than the estimate they will have to justify the overages. So the body shop might buy your aftermarket parts off you likely wave your deductable in trade for some of the value??? All questions to ask your body shop.

 

Thanks Gord. The cars going into the shop today. Hopefully the appraisal will we done mid next week. I just want to make sure I'm fully aware of the process going in, as I've never had to do this before. I really do appreciate the your input.

 

btw whats the premium now and the rate hike after the accident?......if you can calculate the difference between your coverage now and after the accident im all for your math.......also how about the third party damages? injuries? also what are the damages under the bumper?

8k is only for the exterior damage only not the complete answer for your problems

 

Thanks for all the input guys. I've been digging around and after calling the dealership today, I'm starting to wonder if they'll write the car off. They priced up two reflector headlight housings because mine are really severely scratched, a hood, bumper, radiator and radiator support. All of that came in at almost 6K. On top of that there's a good chance I'm going to have to replace the AC condensor. Factoring in that I'm looking at upwards of 7K in damages without things like a crash bar, absorber and latches. The bumper and hood would obviously need paint work, and the top of the fenders were scratched up when the corners of the hood were pushed back into them. I'm not really sure what kind of total I'm looking at, but should I be concerned about the insurance company writing the vehicle off?

 

I took the car to my local shop after running over a speed bump with a terrorist barrier in it (the metal plate was warped and caught something under my car.... ripped everything from the engine back)

At first we thought it was just my mufflers. My insurance company sent me a check for those damages.... I paid the shop (got a stillen exhaust).

After the exhaust install we had to bring the adjuster back out because I still had a leak. The manifolds were jacked as were the Cats. The insurance company sent the next check directly to the shop....

He ordered what he wanted (HFCs and Headers).. put them on and gave me the rest which I split with him.

 

i dont think theyll write off the car....you have to do considerable damage to the cave frame, aprons and engine......our vehicles are worth a lot on the apprasing program (either Audadex or mitchell)

 

That's true. The shop seems to think it'll be pretty close though. They're estimating between 11-13K worth of damages on the vehicle. The shop manager was hinting at the fact that he thinks I should hope/try for a total loss.