Opti
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Post by Opti on Apr 26, 2023 14:06:40 GMT -5
Going to lock other thread. Because a week later AAA case manager confirms car must go to a body shop to get an estimate, but not the AAA accredited "body shop". She assured me I could get it towed there. Really? I was planning to carry it on my back. +++ Going to get this thread locked. Too many scammy texts right now.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Apr 27, 2023 10:31:01 GMT -5
So current saga is the hunt for the body shop and all the money I will need to pay in order to get to the estimate. The agent at my insurance company told me while they could assist it would be subject to the $2,000.00 deductible
So towing it to yet another place, i.e. official body shop will be charged to me anyway. The actual cost of the estimate will be charged to me anyway.
Not sure if I want big insurance carrier to go after them or find a reasonable lawyer and pay them. IDK. AAA owes me, but I have to spend time,, money, tears, etc. to get there.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Apr 27, 2023 10:36:37 GMT -5
Now I planned that if my car was in a broadside accident or something obvious I would just take the money and move on. However God, the universe and life have their own ideas.
So if I was better technologized, I realize I could have grabbed my nonexistent selfie stick and attempt to take pictures or a running video. Maybe I'd know more than I do right now.
I have a suspicion it is the only BMW of that model run with its specific features semi alive in the US. Now whether that makes it worth more or just an interesting footnote. IDK.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Apr 27, 2023 10:44:14 GMT -5
So, when it was dropped off at the AAA accredited "body shop" the shop manager thought it might be no big deal. A week later after talking to the AAA case manager, he decided it was too much of a mess and worried how he would get paid. Being April 2023 and chaos season ... some body shops are way booked in advance and simply unavailable. Recommendation #1 - close, also booked a "month" in advance, person on the phone said they are not booking now but recommended MAACO, Cannot get on a list, have to keep calling. Recommendation #2 - further away, deals w/ more exotic cars than Hondas, Chevys, etc. Closed for planned multi-week vacation, called back after talking to my garage ... is not something they want to get involved in. Me either dammit. I did not ask for this. At most I allowed the possibility of it to happen by leaving the car in the hand of the tow truck driver while grabbing a bottle of water and a 100 cal bag of nuts. x 1000
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Apr 27, 2023 10:45:29 GMT -5
Is this hell or just yet another Thursday? Just asking.
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jerseygirl
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Post by jerseygirl on Apr 27, 2023 11:17:45 GMT -5
So you’ll be out at least $2000 deductible Maybe ask your insurance company is they can call it a total loss - how much will the insurance company pay?
If insurance company declares total loss - could you take this amount and buy something else? A Honda? Something older but still has miles left
From your description seems total loss might be realistic???
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Apr 27, 2023 13:26:18 GMT -5
The real question is whether the car is still worth $2,000 (in the market not to Opti) or if this is a matter of Opti being SOL and needing to look for alternate transportation since this car is just not going to come back.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Apr 28, 2023 1:47:43 GMT -5
Why is Opti paying the deductible, if AAA damaged her car?
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Apr 28, 2023 2:05:37 GMT -5
Why is Opti paying the deductible, if AAA damaged her car? She indicated that her insurance said she would have to pay the deductible if she involved them?
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Apr 28, 2023 6:56:55 GMT -5
Why is Opti paying the deductible, if AAA damaged her car? Post deleted by me. Doing some clean up.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Apr 28, 2023 7:04:47 GMT -5
The real question is whether the car is still worth $2,000 (in the market not to Opti) or if this is a matter of Opti being SOL and needing to look for alternate transportation since this car is just not going to come back. Exactly true. Carvana would value it that low I think, but I still get compliments on it from various men even though the clear coat is obviously peeling, there are some easy to see rust spots etc. But BMWs have cachet. And its a 3 series from a good run of model years that is considered classic and many have been kept 10, 12, 15+ years by their original owners. Not usual for those like me who use it as their daily driver. Some who drive them more like old Buicks and keep them garaged; they look pretty nice actually. Also, some folks might be interested in it as a project car or show car. It would cost them 6K+ to redo the paint right and get OEM wheels and tires, but it would look great.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Apr 28, 2023 7:06:24 GMT -5
The real question is whether the car is still worth $2,000 (in the market not to Opti) or if this is a matter of Opti being SOL and needing to look for alternate transportation since this car is just not going to come back. That $2K is huge for me and is roughly my take home for one month.
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Sharon
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Post by Sharon on Apr 28, 2023 7:48:06 GMT -5
Why are you even messing around with the agency. Call the 1-800 number on your card for the actual insurance company and deal with them. In the end that is who you will be dealing with anyway, not the agent.
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jerseygirl
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Post by jerseygirl on Apr 28, 2023 7:53:29 GMT -5
Your responses are ‘dancing around’ what will your insurance pay you for totaled car. And surely the insurance company should get AAA to pay the deductible and any needed repairs if not totaled. The insurance company not you should be contacting and getting AAA to pay
If your insurance isn’t giving you responses then call them and tell them you are going to report them to the NJ state division of insurance.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Apr 28, 2023 8:24:37 GMT -5
Your responses are ‘dancing around’ what will your insurance pay you for totaled car. And surely the insurance company should get AAA to pay the deductible and any needed repairs if not totaled. The insurance company not you should be contacting and getting AAA to pay If your insurance isn’t giving you responses then call them and tell them you are going to report them to the NJ state division of insurance. If AAA damaged your car, then this is their responsibility.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Apr 28, 2023 9:19:52 GMT -5
Your responses are ‘dancing around’ what will your insurance pay you for totaled car. And surely the insurance company should get AAA to pay the deductible and any needed repairs if not totaled. The insurance company not you should be contacting and getting AAA to pay If your insurance isn’t giving you responses then call them and tell them you are going to report them to the NJ state division of insurance. If AAA damaged your car, then this is their responsibility. I KNOW THAT. Perhaps you all can walk me through how I prove it (that piece I kind of know) 1) Find money to pay for the estimate 2) Find a body shop that is willing to be scrutinized by AAA 3) set up and pay for the tow to it and whatever other steps I have to take. My current car insurance policy does not cover a rental car if my car is in an accident (more coverage, more $$) I think some of you live too well to understand the issue of barely scraping by and living by yourself. No BF, no friendly XH like MPL. And family is all out of state. And I am not telling dad more because at 90 with heart and kidney conditions, I prefer he doesn't die before he needs to.
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jerseygirl
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Post by jerseygirl on Apr 28, 2023 9:22:49 GMT -5
Why do you need to pay for an estimate? Why should you pay for tow to body shop?
Call your main number for your insurance company - have you done that? Your insurance company should handle the AAA interaction. If not contact NJ state dept of insurance
When a person gets overwhelmed by problems often the try to focus on something and get caught up trying to solve the details instead of the overall problem
Believe me we understand financial limitations . That’s why we are trying to understand why you are taking on these instead of insurance company and AAA
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Apr 28, 2023 9:26:11 GMT -5
Oh, and please predict the future for me. How many weeks or months will I be carless? Will my severe sinusitis be better enough in time to return to work b4 my first year at this new job ends? I haven't gotten my review yet. My male coworker got a 6+% increase, he started w/ the company about a month or so b4 me and has prior experience in banking. ID not. It gets worse, but that's for another time. I wonder if I will keep my job and whether they will give me any raise at all. I did not get one at my 6 mo. review and I think it was the usual we only give so many people raises to keep costs down yada yada. One of the complaints was coworker who got the raise, that we talk too much. He's very talky and late 20s. The boss hired him, its not me starting many conversations...
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Apr 28, 2023 9:26:31 GMT -5
Why do you need to pay for an estimate? ask AAA
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jerseygirl
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Post by jerseygirl on Apr 28, 2023 9:29:47 GMT -5
Why do you need to pay for an estimate? ask AAA No ask your insurance company, and not a local office
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Post by minnesotapaintlady on Apr 28, 2023 9:36:54 GMT -5
Why do you need to pay for an estimate? ask AAA But you shouldn't have to pay for an estimate even if you totaled your own car. I've never paid for estimates, they just do them hoping to get the business.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Apr 28, 2023 17:09:14 GMT -5
So found this in my email. I did call the general help line earlier trying to understand what was the benefit of using a AAA body shop given there seems to be zero benefit to me this past week and a couple days.
From an email, which I have skimmed but not fully read -
I have attached AAA membership guide which is also available online. The following statement of liability can be found on page 17:
AAA Liability
We have contracted with independent service facilities to provide
Emergency Roadside Service. AAA shall not be liable for any damage,
injury or loss occasioned by or resulting from rendering, attempted
rendering, or failure to provide any Emergency Roadside Service or
towing service or failure thereof by an independent service facility.
Independent service facilities are not agents of AAA, nor is AAA an agent
for them. They are solely responsible for their actions and for any legal
liability arising therefrom. Any arrangements you make for subsequent
nonemergency repairs are between you and the service facility.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Apr 28, 2023 17:11:18 GMT -5
I think that was in regards to using that particular AAA "body shop". Now if it is about the tow itself ...
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CCL
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Post by CCL on Apr 28, 2023 17:40:59 GMT -5
Sounds to me like you need to pursue your claim with the tow company (as well as your own insurance company.)
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Apr 28, 2023 18:42:48 GMT -5
Sounds to me like you need to pursue your claim with the tow company (as well as your own insurance company.) AAA can use disclaimers but I don't think legally they stick, i.e. we aren't responsible for what our subcontractors do. When I call AAA I have no choice in which tow company they choose. I use AAA for tows and in prior years they used mostly very local tow companies and the last two years I haven't had anyone nearby. And I had issues with both my last tows. I think there is some like contracts of adhesion or some such. As in if the contract favors AAA, and I was the user of their services & I have no choice in what tow company they send me, they have liability. How much probably depends from state to state, but they cannot nope out of this. And they aren't really. That said, my claims case manager has not been all that helpful. She is good at parroting the party line, but not explaining how things work. Nor educating me, a decades long consumer of AAA, what to do. I know what I can do, especially if I were rich, but I am not. So I have to be very deliberate and careful. I have a digital claims form I have started on. Perhaps I can get my verbiage really clear then working on uploading the photos I took. It will be interesting to see what kind of format they will take, etc. I have more than 10 photos plus I probably have at least two pics from earlier in the year of how it looked from the back. (Where the tow hook was attached.)
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Apr 28, 2023 18:48:13 GMT -5
The driver was complaining I think even before he hooked up my car, that "AAA don't do shit". Which I think means AAA's process of assigning tows, keeping driver's and their companies informed has gotten bad. He was upset when he realized I hadn't called the AAA accredited body shop after I called AAA to tell them we were coming.
I was barely holding on at the point I picked that tow destination.
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CCL
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Post by CCL on Apr 28, 2023 21:51:19 GMT -5
That's good that you've got before and after pics. I hope it helps.
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seriousthistime
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Post by seriousthistime on Apr 30, 2023 17:26:12 GMT -5
I've been trying to piece this issue together based on the information posted here, and finally came to the conclusion that it sort of sounds similar to a situation that happened with my oldest child, some years ago.
DS did not stay on top of getting the oil changed, or checking the oil on his own. The inevitable happened; it ran out of oil and the engine seized. He was on a rural road. We got him home and called AAA to have the car towed to the garage. Before the tow truck got there (at night, a few hours later), the car had been vandalized and broken into, and much of the glass was broken. The tow company would not tow the car with the windshield basically gone, so we had to file an insurance claim to get the windshield replaced on the side of the road, first. Once the garage looked at the car, they said the engine work alone would cost more than the car was worth, plus the rest of the glass and vandals' damage would push the cost up even further. We were, of course, free to get another estimate but because AAA had already had it towed once, any other towing charges would be on us. We knew the approximate market value of the car and knew it was a total loss.
So, thinking about the info presented in this thread, I'm wondering if the first garage did not want to do the repairs because they could see the cost would be more than the car 's value on the open market and knowing that insurance would only pay up to that amount, they were not sure who would pay the balance.
I also wonder if the parts they would need for a car that old are readily available or if they would have to call around to find parts. I've had BMWs but they were not 20+ years old at the time we needed repairs. One thing that has probably not changed, though, is that BMW parts and repairs are super expensive.
It is so difficult when the old car you've been nursing along becomes too expensive to repair. It always seems to happen at the worst time.
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NoNamePerson
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Post by NoNamePerson on May 1, 2023 8:29:36 GMT -5
I've been trying to piece this issue together based on the information posted here, and finally came to the conclusion that it sort of sounds similar to a situation that happened with my oldest child, some years ago. DS did not stay on top of getting the oil changed, or checking the oil on his own. The inevitable happened; it ran out of oil and the engine seized. He was on a rural road. We got him home and called AAA to have the car towed to the garage. Before the tow truck got there (at night, a few hours later), the car had been vandalized and broken into, and much of the glass was broken. The tow company would not tow the car with the windshield basically gone, so we had to file an insurance claim to get the windshield replaced on the side of the road, first. Once the garage looked at the car, they said the engine work alone would cost more than the car was worth, plus the rest of the glass and vandals' damage would push the cost up even further. We were, of course, free to get another estimate but because AAA had already had it towed once, any other towing charges would be on us. We knew the approximate market value of the car and knew it was a total loss. So, thinking about the info presented in this thread, I'm wondering if the first garage did not want to do the repairs because they could see the cost would be more than the car 's value on the open market and knowing that insurance would only pay up to that amount, they were not sure who would pay the balance. I also wonder if the parts they would need for a car that old are readily available or if they would have to call around to find parts. I've had BMWs but they were not 20+ years old at the time we needed repairs. One thing that has probably not changed, though, is that BMW parts and repairs are super expensive. It is so difficult when the old car you've been nursing along becomes too expensive to repair. It always seems to happen at the worst time. Some one hit my son's car back in 1983. Adjuster called to let me know that it might take a bit to find replacement for something - grill I think. Son was driving a 1968 Camaro But they did come up with the part and fixed him up.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on May 1, 2023 12:20:05 GMT -5
I've been trying to piece this issue together based on the information posted here, and finally came to the conclusion that it sort of sounds similar to a situation that happened with my oldest child, some years ago. DS did not stay on top of getting the oil changed, or checking the oil on his own. The inevitable happened; it ran out of oil and the engine seized. He was on a rural road. We got him home and called AAA to have the car towed to the garage. Before the tow truck got there (at night, a few hours later), the car had been vandalized and broken into, and much of the glass was broken. The tow company would not tow the car with the windshield basically gone, so we had to file an insurance claim to get the windshield replaced on the side of the road, first. Once the garage looked at the car, they said the engine work alone would cost more than the car was worth, plus the rest of the glass and vandals' damage would push the cost up even further. We were, of course, free to get another estimate but because AAA had already had it towed once, any other towing charges would be on us. We knew the approximate market value of the car and knew it was a total loss. So, thinking about the info presented in this thread, I'm wondering if the first garage did not want to do the repairs because they could see the cost would be more than the car 's value on the open market and knowing that insurance would only pay up to that amount, they were not sure who would pay the balance. I also wonder if the parts they would need for a car that old are readily available or if they would have to call around to find parts. I've had BMWs but they were not 20+ years old at the time we needed repairs. One thing that has probably not changed, though, is that BMW parts and repairs are super expensive. It is so difficult when the old car you've been nursing along becomes too expensive to repair. It always seems to happen at the worst time. You have to call around yes to get parts for a 20 yr old+ BMW. The garage that the initial appointment was at, is not a body shop. It repairs cars, it does not do bodywork. I do NOT count their refusal to even look at it as a deep calculation. It was a liability calculation. When the vehicle is in the possession of a garage or body shop, tire shop, meinke muffler or whatever, they have some liability for it. They contract out for bodywork as they do for specialty things like fixing wheels. So the body shops that refused to work on my old car, have no prior business relationship with me at all. The last time I had to use a body shop, my daily driver was a Honda - so at least 22 years ago or more. OT - I have had work done on these wheels and other wheels over the years. I've found shops on my own and I've gone through garages and independent tire shops as well.
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