Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Audi vs Hyundai *update*

I talked to a friend of mine who is an independent insurance adjuster. He told me to put the numbers together for the car and re-pitch the idea of calling it a total loss to the State Farm adjuster. He said it was quite possible that they got some figure way out of whack, because as he sees it, they should have called the car a total loss right out of the gate.

I get all the numbers together yesterday and I call the body shop to make sure that they haven't started the work yet. The sales manager at the body shop told me that State Farm was out there last week and had "discovered" that the car had damage all through the center structural member and with that the estimate jumped from 13K to 25K. Never mind that he could have just dropped to one knee and *looked* at the bleedin' floor panel to discover this and saved us all an entire month of dicking around.

Blindness aside, I'm relieved they've finally figured out their business. I call State Farm to find out what the deal is... It's been over a week since they had this epiphany. I leave a message.

My adjuster calls me back this afternoon and declares that yes, they've decided to call it a total loss, but the information was "stuck" in the system and has been so for a week. So much for having figured out what the hell they're doing.

Incompetence aside, at least the wheels are turning in the right direction, however slowly. Apparently I'm going get a call tomorrow from the total loss department for a low-ball deal on the car.

The lady I talked to, when pressed, hinted that they're at "mid 20's" for the car. I have only been able to find 5 cars on the net that match mine in miles and features and every single one of them is listed for $29,950. Not "mid-twenties." I have all of these cars printed out in case I need to fax them the estimates to prove my case. I might have to in case they've mixed up the two cars and think that I have the Hyundai.

So to sum this up: The accident happened on October 1st. It's nearly November and they're finally getting around to realizing what sort of car I have, what the damage is, and what it'll cost to correct it. The two other insurance companies that I have dealt with in my long tenure as a driver had checks to me THE VERY SAME DAY of the accident. By comparison, State Farm insurance has been a complete joke.

/rant

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