Question: Question for insurance experts and/or legal experts.

Bamabuzzard

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I took my wife's vehicle in for warranty work to the mechanic shop this past Monday. I get a call today from them saying that someone tried to steal our vehicle off their lot last night doing significant damage to the entire driver's side of the vehicle. It is a 09 Z-71 Suburban, 180K miles, sun-roof double dvd players, onstar, leather, GPS etc. It's in "fair" to "average" condition. It is also paid off.

What I'm concerned about is the garage's insurance deeming it "totaled" and the equity check they cut me is unable to put us back in an equivalent vehicle. Basically forcing me to have to take on a car note that I didn't have when I took the vehicle in. I had something similar happen back in 2011 with our Tahoe. My wife was in a wreck that was the other driver's fault totaling her vehicle. The equity check cut to us by the insurance company wasn't enough to put her back in an equivalent ride. No where close.

I called my insurance company to give them a heads up as to what happened. I mentioned the above scenario and what happened to us back in 2011 and we never were put back in the position we were in before the incident, from an automotive standpoint. Unfortunately he said many times that happens and there's not much I can do about it. I just find that unacceptable. I really do. Why aren't insurance companies made to put people back in comparable vehicles in the comparable shape {regarding miles, condition, model etc} as before the incident? Feeling very, very frustrated and ticked off right now. :mad2:

Here's some interesting facts about the case:

-The garage has been broken into three consecutive nights. On the third time was when ours was vandalized.

-The thieves didn't have to hot wire the vehicles they stole or attempted to steal. They broke into the office and took the unsecured keys off the key rings on the wall.

-The garage doesn't have a fenced in area to secure vehicles. They are parked in the front parking lot open to anyone who walks up.
 
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Jon

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I took my wife's vehicle in for warranty work to the mechanic shop this past Monday. I get a call today from them saying that someone tried to steal our vehicle off their lot last night doing significant damage to the entire driver's side of the vehicle. It is a 09 Z-71 Suburban, 180K miles, sun-roof double dvd players, onstar, leather, GPS etc. It's in "fair" to "average" condition. It is also paid off.

What I'm concerned about is the garage's insurance deeming it "totaled" and the equity check they cut me is unable to put us back in an equivalent vehicle. Basically forcing me to have to take on a car note that I didn't have when I took the vehicle in. I had something similar happen back in 2011 with our Tahoe. My wife was in a wreck that was the other driver's fault totaling her vehicle. The equity check cut to us by the insurance company wasn't enough to put her back in an equivalent ride. No where close.

I called my insurance company to give them a heads up as to what happened. I mentioned the above scenario and what happened to us back in 2011 and we never were put back in the position we were in before the incident, from an automotive standpoint. Unfortunately he said many times that happens and there's not much I can do about it. I just find that unacceptable. I really do. Why aren't insurance companies made to put people back in comparable vehicles in the comparable shape {regarding miles, condition, model etc} as before the incident? Feeling very, very frustrated and ticked off right now. :mad2:

Here's some interesting facts about the case:

-The garage has been broken into three consecutive nights. On the third time was when ours was vandalized.

-The thieves didn't have to hot wire the vehicles they stole or attempted to steal. They broke into the office and took the unsecured keys off the key rings on the wall.

-The garage doesn't have a fenced in area to secure vehicles. They are parked in the front parking lot open to anyone who walks up.
Did the garage inform you of the fact that they had been broken in to, two nights prior? Seems like maybe they should have.

but on the total thing, been there done that and it sucks. I now have a car payment too for the same reason. Wife's really well cared for and long paid off Benz got hit and totaled a few months back.
 

Bamabuzzard

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Did the garage inform you of the fact that they had been broken in to, two nights prior? Seems like maybe they should have.

but on the total thing, been there done that and it sucks. I now have a car payment too for the same reason. Wife's really well cared for and long paid off Benz got hit and totaled a few months back.
No, never mentioned it. Just found all this information out today.
 

rolltide_21

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I'm facing this exact situation right now except it is with my truck (my wife was driving.) She was rear ended by a teen texting and driving. He was going about 50 mph. Thankfully both are ok.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

seebell

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Been there done that too. It sucks. Wife's beautiful SUV totaled when hit by an elderly couple. Insurance paid us the book value plus a little. Not enough for a comparable SUV. Don't think you can sue for the difference and win because you got the value of your vehicle back.

I asked if I could take the money, keep the car and fix it. No dice. In Alabama, if the repairs are 75% of the book value, the car is totaled per state law. I think the book used is NADA.
 

Bamabuzzard

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Been there done that too. It sucks. Wife's beautiful SUV totaled when hit by an elderly couple. Insurance paid us the book value plus a little. Not enough for a comparable SUV. Don't think you can sue for the difference and win because you got the value of your vehicle back.

I asked if I could take the money, keep the car and fix it. No dice. In Alabama, if the repairs are 75% of the book value, the car is totaled per state law. I think the book used is NADA.
This is where the problem is, imo. The "value" is what equivalent vehicles are being sold for on the open market. Not some arbitrary number in some book. It's like the property tax assessor's office "valuing" my house to determine property taxes. I can't sell my house on the open market for what they have it "valued" at on their books. True value is what it's being sold for on the open market, IMO.
 

dayhiker

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The situations people keep mentioning are very common, and they suck, but they aren't your situation. It seems to me that what makes this different is that your vehicle was in the safekeeping of the garage. While you're stuck when your own insurance company totals your vehicle and gives you a check, it seems to me that in this situation, you can tell the garage no. They can fix the damage or they can give you a settlement that'll get you going again.
 

92tide

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The situations people keep mentioning are very common, and they suck, but they aren't your situation. It seems to me that what makes this different is that your vehicle was in the safekeeping of the garage. While you're stuck when your own insurance company totals your vehicle and gives you a check, it seems to me that in this situation, you can tell the garage no. They can fix the damage or they can give you a settlement that'll get you going again.
ianal, but that's sort of what i was thinking too. seems like they at least have some liability/responsibility in this matter.
 

jthomas666

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This is where the problem is, imo. The "value" is what equivalent vehicles are being sold for on the open market. Not some arbitrary number in some book. It's like the property tax assessor's office "valuing" my house to determine property taxes. I can't sell my house on the open market for what they have it "valued" at on their books. True value is what it's being sold for on the open market, IMO.
Some adjusters will try to accommodate you on that. Several years ago my Dodge Neon was totaled when a woman pulled out in front of me. The adjuster initially came back with something low, even for a Neon, saying it was book value. I went online and found several identical cars selling for much more than that, and he bumped up the check accordingly. I also provided receipts for the past year's maintenance as well--I got additional credit for a recent brake job.
 

crimsonaudio

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Body work can be expensive, but considering it's not an accident (no frame or underlying damage, just superficial) I doubt they total the truck. It's probably worth about $10k now, so it would require $7,500 worth of body work to be totaled. I've obviously not seen it, but $7,500 is a LOT of body damage...
 

cbi1972

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ianal, but that's sort of what i was thinking too. seems like they at least have some liability/responsibility in this matter.
I am pretty sure the garage has primary responsibility for your vehicle while it is in their care. You don't have any kind of agreement with their insurance company, you have an implicit agreement with them that they assume responsibility for your vehicle. If they can recover something for the loss from their insurance company, good for them, but that agreement should not impair your ability to recover fair market value. However, it may take heroic effort to actually recover, and proving fair market value may be a real challenge.
 

seebell

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Here's something BB

http://thegarage.jalopnik.com/your-car-was-damaged-while-in-the-shop-who-pays-1677368418

To find out the law in your state, run a search on the interwebulator such as “[state] garage keeper liability.” Insert your state in the brackets. And note that garage liability without the keeper is a different thing.

Here is some info about garage keepers liability insurance coverage.

https://www.generalliabilityshop.com/general-liability-programs/auto-repair/

Maybe you have a case.
 
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TIDE-HSV

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This is where the problem is, imo. The "value" is what equivalent vehicles are being sold for on the open market. Not some arbitrary number in some book. It's like the property tax assessor's office "valuing" my house to determine property taxes. I can't sell my house on the open market for what they have it "valued" at on their books. True value is what it's being sold for on the open market, IMO.
The insurance companies claim that the values their computers spit out are the FMV. To combat that, you would need the opinion of a qualified appraiser and some evidence, photos, etc., of the car to prove it was worth above the blue book value. TBF, that's usually a losing battle. You may have a negligence case against the garage, from what you've said. However, the only workable route in that direction is to hire local counsel, and that will cost...
 

92tide

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I am pretty sure the garage has primary responsibility for your vehicle while it is in their care. You don't have any kind of agreement with their insurance company, you have an implicit agreement with them that they assume responsibility for your vehicle. If they can recover something for the loss from their insurance company, good for them, but that agreement should not impair your ability to recover fair market value. However, it may take heroic effort to actually recover, and proving fair market value may be a real challenge.
yeah, that makes sense.
 

tidefanbeezer

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Some adjusters will try to accommodate you on that. Several years ago my Dodge Neon was totaled when a woman pulled out in front of me. The adjuster initially came back with something low, even for a Neon, saying it was book value. I went online and found several identical cars selling for much more than that, and he bumped up the check accordingly. I also provided receipts for the past year's maintenance as well--I got additional credit for a recent brake job.
Former insurance company employee here. I didn't work in our claims department, but I worked in a department that worked closely with the claims group. My one caveat is that it's been about 5 years since I was in the insurance industry, so things may have changed.

My experience has been that what JT lays out above is your best bet for combating a lowball settlement offer. "Book value" is not always synonymous with "replacement value". The point of insurance is to make you whole - replace your damaged vehicle with one of like kind and quality. To that end, you should find same or similar vehicles selling in your area and use those in your negotiations with the adjuster. If you can build substantial evidence that their offer doesn't come close to making you whole, then, typically, the settlement offer comes up. But don't just take what they offer you. Counter them.

A less conventional option (and more risky), would be to file the claim on your insurance as an uninsured / underinsured motorist claim (same as if someone did a hit and run on your parked car). Your insurance company could then subrogate against the shop's insurance company to get paid back. And it sounds like they would have an excellent case, based on the shops negligence with your vehicle.

The risk there is that you would still have a claim on your policy (even though its $0 paid) and that could affect your ability to renew the policy and, depending on your company and policy, affect your rates in the future. You will also likely have to negotiate (though maybe not as much) with your own insurance company.

You could also sue the shop and their insurance company, but the costs there might outweigh the benefits.

I think you stated that you already called your agent, but it would be worthwhile to have a detailed discussion with them about your options. The agent is there as YOUR advocate.
 

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