Problem with

[rochish]

I met with a car accident a couple of weeks ago. The other guy did not stop at the stop sign and ended up hitting my car on the front left end. He accepted his fault to the police.

I took the car to the mechanic, who indicated that the front bumper, one of the headlamp, and the front fender would need to be replaced. He estimated $1640.00 to replace these parts and labor.

There are several issues on which I need your advice. First, the hitter’s insurance company (Liberty Mutual) is refusing to pay for replacing those parts, and is instead asking the mechanic to repair those parts. The mechanic says that he will not provide a warranty if the parts are repaired. In addition, the insurance company is asking the mechanic to “buff” the driver’s side headlight, which is broken from inside.

Second, the hitter’s insurance company is accepting only 90% of the fault under the pretext that I was not driving defensively enough to prevent the accident. I told them that I was driving carefully and that the other driver did not stop at the stop sign and accepted 100% fault to the police, but they refused to budge. As a result, they offered to cover only 90% of the cost they estimated (of repairs, not replacement).

Any suggestions on how I should proceed would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[LearnAutoBody]

Well, it's hard to determine the amount of damage to your vehicle without seeing it. Here are a few suggestions.

Get your insurace involved. Let them know what is going on and ask them how you should handel it.

You may also want to go to another shop to get a second opinion. Make sure you have all the facts correct. Would another shop repair it the way Liberty Mutual requests? If not, let your insurace company know about it. Ask them for suggestions.

Does anyone else have any suggestions?

Keep us udated on what happen. I'm interested to see what happens.

[Greenblurr93]

take it to another shop.. if the lights and such werent already repaired once, you should be able to get a new (or used) unit that is in equal or better condition