got hit while parked

[ernesto821]

not sure if I could post it here, but..

as the title says, my car got hit while it was prked on a street. the one who hit my car was driving a truck :S so, the bak of my car was totally crumbled; the rear axis was twisted and can't open left back door.

does anyone know what happen when this was the case? will I be covered by insurance? the guy who hit me have insurance and he is the owner of the car. so i think i should be pretty much covered...

PS: i want to get the car replaced than repaired since the car was just tooooo crumbled as i said above.

any comments would be really appreciated
ernesto821

[denisond3]

Im sure it varies somewhat from state to state, but..... I think the most you will get out of this will be the blue book value of the car as it was before.
Basically your insurance company will decide whether it is economically worthwhile to repair your car. If the repair would cost more than the value of the car (and it sounds like that may be the case), then the other guy's insurance company would pay you the value of your car, as determined by an appraiser. If they felt the car was worth $1500, thats the amount they would pay you for it; so you could use the money toward getting another car, or whatever you wanted to do with the money. Then the insurance company would own that car, not you.
You arent required to sell the car to either insurance company, but if you refuse to accept their offer to buy it, then I believe they are off-the-hook. You would keep the wreck, and they keep their $1500 (or whatever the appraiser said the car was worth before the accident.)
If they calculated the car was worth fixing, then I think they would pay to have it fixed, and whether you wanted that to be what they did would not change their decision.
I think the major role your insurance company plays in this drama, is to protect your from the other driver's insurance company looking for ways to pay out as little as possible, as slowly as possible.
If the other driver was cited by the police for being at fault and he doesnt dispute that, there is the possibility your could take him to court to get some more money in a civil court action - but before you pursue that, check and see if that ever produces results in your jurisdiction when you didnt suffer physical injury. And how long it takes.
And if you had done a lot of customizing work on the car - it probably wont count for much, unless you can produce dated receipts for all expenses.
Its nice that you werent in it when it got hit.

[ernesto821]

Originally Posted by denisond3

Im sure it varies somewhat from state to state, but..... I think the most you will get out of this will be the blue book value of the car as it was before.
...
And if you had done a lot of customizing work on the car - it probably wont count for much, unless you can produce dated receipts for all expenses.
Its nice that you werent in it when it got hit.

i think i m screwed! the one who hit my car didn't have insurance and i dun have coverage for uninsured car. so, i ended up paying for towing & get busy in addition to getting hit by a dumbass .
my life sucks, but, i m gonna make his life suck also! i m gonna sue him no matter what! I was furious all day coz that asshole made my life so difficult.

from the last part of ur reply, does it mean it's possible to get that money for replacing tires & fixing some stuffs if i still have the reciept????


Thanks A MILLION!!
ernesto821

[denisond3]

The trauma of having your car hit is certainly depressing, but dont think the process of suing someone or taking them to (small claims?) court will be quick or enjoyable. It wont be 'free' either; will soak up time and money. And if you win the case, then getting your pay-back could depend on the other party having the cash.
If you are planning to do it I would recommend you spend some time (hours) observing the operations of the relevant courts in your jurisdiction (traffic, small claims or civil court) assuming the public is allowed to watch. Whether you plan to hire a lawyer or not, you should know the procedures of the court, and the expectations/requirements for evidence of financial loss. Check how long it takes to get a court date too! I have an in-law who was an investigator with Allstate before he retired, so I got to hear stories about this stuff. Its the reason my cars are old enough that I can afford to lose them.
I dont want to be discouraging, but 'Fair' only means the rules are the same for everyone.
You might need any receipts for an auto appraiser (hired by you) to establish the before and after value of the car.