Re: A lying B.... hit me this morning7 ... I thought this kind of stuff happened only around here..

On the way to work this morning on I-285, I was changing lanes to the LEFT when all of a sudden this Dodge Stratos came from the right lane and hit me on the right front fender. Not happy about it - but I figured I could live with it since her insurance company would be paying. When I walk back to her car, she claims I moved into her lane - a flat-out LIE. Of course, the police have no way of ascertaining who is telling the truth - so I assume we will each have our repairs done by our respective insurance companies. I try not to use the B-word - but this woman truly earned it!

Luckily the damage is fairly minor and the car is driveable. I will probably have it fixed when I leave for vacation in a week or so. It just bugs me since I am one of those guys who parks at the far end of the parking lot to avoid even the possibilty of a parking lot ding. After three years, this is the first damage.

Any of you Atlanta guys have a recommendation for the best body shop in town. I normally deal with Hennessy Porsche.

mike

I hate infantile, chickens--t people.

... but they'll bring her back.
Hope all goes well and you're back on the road soon.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

You should try Performance Auto Collision in Alpharetta - (770) 752-0099. They do all the body work for Hennessy and are excellent.

Christian

Is there any possibility that there may have been a witness to the manouevers, before impact, and have you thought about posting a question on any local (to your town) newspapers or message boards to see if anyone may have seen the accident.

A VERY long shot, but it might help bring some justice (and anxiety) to the B lady.

Also, getting a copy of her written statement to the insurance company, the written statement to the police (for the police report), and a transcript of her conversation with her insurance company (when she first reported the accident) will usually reveal inconsistencies in her story.

Maybe more trouble than it's worth, but she will then get more than she bargained for when she initiated the lie(s) and maybe not go down that route again (pun intended).

P.S. Your "occasional" wife is not too happy that you got into an accident! LOL!!!

Regards, Maurice.

State Farm uses inter-company arbitration. If the "B"'s insurance company also uses it, then the cost to State Farm is nominal, and they usually pursue it. If they do pursue it, then follow up because you're entitled to a return of your deductible if they succeed, or a pro-rata share if less than 100% recovery since Georgia is a modified comparative negligence state and some arbitrators take the easy way out by finding some level of comparative fault.

Hope you get it looking good as new soon.

a certain college sticker on the car - perhaps in light blue?

just kidding!

Sorry to hear of your plight.

Regards,

Ed

Ed from Long Island (Tampa)
05S Cobalt/Blue/Blue

just take a look around to verify. No matter what you do to keep your car nice, some other idiot will come along and mess it up.

I second Christian's recommendation for Performance Auto Collision in Alpharetta. I have used them three times (hit in the rear by someone, hit in the door by someone, and hit by a deer in my neighborhood) on my Boxster and they do superb work.

They are a State Farm "Preferred" repair facility - which means I don't have to mess around much with an adjuster - they repair it and send the bill to State Farm with relatively little fuss - or so they both say.

You are right about Atlanta. I can't wait to get out of here. It is lucky I was changing lanes (away from the "lady" who hit me) or the damage would have been much worse. State Farm says that from the location of the damage, they will probably go after her insurance company under a subrogation claim since it appears that she was at fault. I have my doubts since the damage is not that severe and may not be worth the trouble for them. After I get the police report and hear further from the insurance company, I may go after her myself in small claims court. It is not a huge amount of money but it bugs me to have to pay anything when it was her fault - even if she lies about it. Even though it is a "he said - she said" situation, I think I can convince the court it was her fault due to the location of the damage on both cars. Since I was in her "blind spot, and I could plainly see her, it is a whole lot more likely that she pulled into me. Not many Porsche owners will pull into a Dodge Stratos in order to collect on insurance.

As to the insurance company walking away from any $$ they may be able to collect from her insurance company, I'd have to see it to believe it.

The "lady" deserves a small, but convincing, dose of justice, so IMO, don't hesitate to see that through if you find out it's warranted.

Regards, Maurice.

business arrangement with your insurance company could result in the car not being repaired as good as it might otherwise.

The insurance company will use its business arrangement with the body shop to try to get the body shop to cut corners.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

Quote
MarcW

...
The insurance company will use its business arrangement with the body shop to try to get the body shop to cut corners.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

BIG + 1 !!!

Regards, Maurice.

I am aware of that issue - but I am also aware that just about every good body shop has arrangements with some insurance companies. (Heck, years ago, my dad (a dealer with a body shop) used to "donate" a case of whisky to each adjuster around Christmas time. I don't know if dealers still do that but I would not be surprised if various "inducements" are still given.)

However, in this case, it appears that Performance has a very good reputation. They deal mainly in high-end cars (Porsche, Range Rover, Infiniti and Volvo). In addition, they also have an arrangement as the "exclusive" body shop for Hennessy Porsche. It occurs to me that in order to maintain that relationship they would be more likely to use Porsche parts than aftermarket or used parts. Anyway, you pay your money and take your chances. A good reputation is probably about the best indicator one can get.

mike

When the guy ran into my back end, his insurance company wanted to put a reconditioned rear bumper cover on my car. The guys at Performance Auto Collision helped me stand my ground and get a factory replacement bumper cover. They also found some additional damage to the heat shields that I did not see and the insurance company's adjuster did not see either. These guys know their business. The owner used to be an insurance adjuster, so he knows exactly how the game is played.

but if you don't insist on it, you might not get it. All you have to do is ask and the insurance adjuster should cave in.

Any body shop that doesn't do this by default is losing money since they typically get a percentage of the retail cost and the OEM parts are almost always more expensive.

insurance company and in one instance (involving the Boxster) I was assured by the shop owner he would be able resist and use the right parts. There aren't that many reconditioned parts for these cars and in one case the reconditioned bumper cover fit so poorly the adjuster didn't even argue at all but gave the go ahead for a factory part.

In another case (the Turbo) the supplier of a salvaged headlight unit wanted money up front before he'd ship and the body shop owner told me he doesn't do business that way so a new headlight was ordered.

But before the Turbo ended up at the above shop, the owner of first shop I took the Turbo to told me that my insurance company was simply refusing to bend any at all and the owner told me that if he went ahead the car would not be repaired properly. He told me he got around 40% of his business through this one insurance company and he at that time (body shop business was way way down -- people were still having wrecks but they'd take the insurance money to pay off other bills and drive around in a dented/bent car) couldn't afford to lose that much business. I asked him what I should do and he told me to get mad at him and pull the car out of his shop and take it to another shop. It was at this second shop that the headlight business and other attempts to have reconditioned and salvaged parts foisted upon him and the car by the insurance company were dealt with and all new factory parts were used.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

Mike,

Do you know any (good) lawyers?

Bill

He turned into my lane with his folks SUV and rubbed his tire down the entire length of my 996. He admitted his mistake. No witnesses. When I got home, his folks called the insurance company claiming that I turned into the boy. His word vs my word. That's the new morality these days. You are being stupid if you go noble and do the right thing. No witness, no police, deny it.

SJ

insurance company will deny being at fault and force the issue to arbitration. If there are no other witnesses, or the circumstances do not clearly show which driver was at fault the 'decision' is each driver's insurance company will pay for its insured car.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

when it occurs. i drove across the George Washington bridge in the middle lane with lights on , signalled & moved to left lane. as i pull abreast of the driver to my right , she abruptly turns left and almost pushes me into the tunnel wall. you would think if you hit something you would go back to your lane. but no. followed her for 3 miles before she stopped. but i did think fast enough to get the license plate of a honda passing to our right. called and young lady said she saw it all no problem. i had no issues with the insurance company (hers) .

also do video with your phone and record the statements after the incident as the story usually changes when they get home to face the music. i must add i am an insurance agent and have heard it all.

Great ideas - but I am afraid it is a little difficult (and I don't think fast enough) to get license numbers when trying to cross 3 or 4 lanes at 70mph! Just getting to the shoulder was about all I could accomplish.

e behind you always. as they probably saw the whole thing. my experience is unfortunately that a majority of people will lie if it serves them when it comes to insurance.