I feel like crying - did I lose a friend?

[circmand]

I hit a deer on Super Bowl Sunday. While the car got me home it was pretty messed up. It was worse than yours looks. The damage exceeded $4500 but the insurance company never blinked and had it repaired. The only issue I had was the hood. There were none in the USA but 6 were on the boat from Japan. To make things worse the 1st hood they sent was damaged and I had to wait for a 2nd one. On the bright side two new headlights took care of the hazing issue on the old ones I had.

[PA-99]

Thank all. I'm getting more and more hopefully that she will be coming home. I SO appreciate the offered assistance. I will definitely look to the group for help. Will update once I speak to the adjuster today

[vt_maverick]

I think you should be okay. I got into an accident in Denver last November that did a similar amount of damage to what you and circmand seem to have had and insurance fixed it without totaling it. The key is making sure your adjuster properly values the vehicle before comparing it to the repair estimate. The one thing you have going against you vs. our situations is that your VX is a 99, so obviously the base book value would be less. My recommendation would be that you start using AutoTrader, Cars.com, and SearchTempest (Craigslist) to pull a list of all 99s that compare well to your vehicle in terms of mileage and condition. Print out 3-5 of those ads (obviously pick the highest priced ones) and show them to your adjuster if he's concerned about the value. My adjuster in Denver initially told me he thought it would be a total based on the book value, but after looking at some comps online and in the insurance company's pay-out database he changed his mind.

Good luck and let us know what we can do to help.

[eblank]

One simple thing to remember too is that you should TELL the shop giving you a quote (and possibly the adjuster depending on the individual) that you would like it not to be totaled. Some people don't mind when their ride is totaled cuz then they get to get a new one, so its important that they know. I had another car hit by a deer that was gona be totaled, but I talked to the shop and was able to bring down the cost of repairs a few hundred dollars that put it back in the "fix it" range.

[PA-99]

The adjuster is approving the vehicle to go to a body shop. It will be moved later on today to the only shop I trust in the area!!! Attaching the adjuster's report in case anyone is interested. Looks like his prices may be a bit off from what I've seen. As soon as I talk to the body shop, I will see about getting my own parts.

You'll have to right click the image and save as TIF to see all 3 pages.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-w...sterReport.tif

[tom4bren]

WooHoo!!!

Great news.

[rsteinmetz70112]

If the prices are off usually the shop can get them adjusted, especially if they have done work for that insurance company on a regular basis.

[Gussie2000]

PA i hope you get everything upo and running with much of a hassle,especially with the insurance company.

I love the VX no matter i am currently selling mines i just got so attach to it is hard to let the "horse" run away,but life sometimes plays against you will.

[vt_maverick]

Good to hear! Something to remember on repairs, if you read your policy documents carefully you'll notice there are (probably) no limits set for individual repairs. You have a max comprehensive coverage that's probably at the $100K level or so, but no fixed price for individual repairs and/or parts. Insurance companies just like to pay no more than X for a repair (glass is a good example) but they have to pay whatever the body shop quotes them, provided the cost doesn't exceed the vehicle value of course.

[vt_maverick]

One more tip, when the shop replaces the cladding, BE SURE TO TELL THEM YOU DON'T WANT IT PAINTED TO MATCH. The shop in Denver did that to my VX and now I can't use any Back to Black or Showroom New type products on it because it's been treated with some sort of chemical barrier that prevents them from absorbing. I'm pretty sure I can use GatorBack but it's still frustrating.

[PA-99]

One more tip, when the shop replaces the cladding, BE SURE TO TELL THEM YOU DON'T WANT IT PAINTED TO MATCH. The shop in Denver did that to my VX and now I can't use any Back to Black or Showroom New type products on it because it's been treated with some sort of chemical barrier that prevents them from absorbing. I'm pretty sure I can use GatorBack but it's still frustrating.

Good info! I just went around and put a single coat of showroom new on a couple months ago. That was probably what I was worried about the most, the color not matching. Never went through an insurance claim before, so the other advise is helpful too.