Reply to "Insurance Advice Needed"

Will,

I got rear ended by a teenager that was not paying attention while driving my 1981 TR-7 convertible. I had State Farm Insurance and what a nightmare. The accident was not my fault and they chiseled me something terrible. Accident was not my fault at all, but the adjuster made me feel like it was, and if I were to do it differently I would have taken the car to get repaired with who I felt comfortable with and had it repaired to MY satisfaction, not the insurance company "standard". If they try and low ball you, which they will do, then you need to look at claiming decreased value because of repairs improperly completed (such as a paint job that does not match, or not using good enough repair panels, or not repairing underlying structure as this is just "cosmetic"). I've heard it all.

The other thing that you can do that will work is to not agree. Do not sign off on ANYTHING until you are satisfied. Do the waiting game on them; there is no reason why you need to rush into anything with the insurance company. That was my biggest mistake. I should have thought about what I was agreeing to before I actually agreed to it. Before signing anything, I would suggest that you sleep on it. Take another day or until you have clarity on what will work for you.

All the work you put into your car and some bone head rear ends you. This is starting to piss me off. I better stop while I'm ahead.......

Best of luck getting it done the way you want.

Mark