Painful topic, could use some advice....

[walnuty]

Originally Posted by Hylton

Let the dust settle for a bit before making any decisions.

I agree with the above. Don't react. Think your options through over the next few weeks. You may want to check with your insurance company as some have a "grace peroid" for changes in coverage for up to 13 days, so I have heard.

[HDDAN]

Originally Posted by ColorBlind

I would never actually suggest you do something like this but I do know a person that went thru a similar situation. He called his insurance company and added the car back to his policy and didnt tell them about the accident (no police report was filed). Then a couple of weeks later he reported it to them as if it had just happened. He took a big risk but the insurance company paid to have the car repaired. My vote is for option 3. Think of all the things you wanted to do to this car but it was too new. Now you have your chance.

It could be a lot worse, you could be in jail with a wrecked Camaro and charged with Insurance fraud. I do not cancel the insurance on my Harley for the winter. it is not worth a couple of hundred bucks to come home and find the garage door open and the bike gone. My neighbor had a Buick Grand National and he did what you did. it didn't get wrecked, it got stolen and stripped.

[bolteon593]

Originally Posted by Diabel1969

That's an option too, it's in a carport right now at my house at least for this winter.. we're going to probably have a sit down either tonight or tomorrow (he's getting out of the hospital tonight at 5pm, nothing serious thankfully) once I get prices and an evaluation from a good frame guy i'm friends with... I've gotten a couple of folks on here asking about it too.. Once again, thanks for all the input..

unless i missed it; you still haven't answered the question of whether your father had insurance at the time of the accident on any vehicle...


it's been asked 4 times already and makes all the difference in the world in a situation like this...

[Rogue Leader]

Originally Posted by bolteon593

unless i missed it; you still haven't answered the question of whether your father had insurance at the time of the accident on any vehicle...


it's been asked 4 times already and makes all the difference in the world in a situation like this...

Actually it doesn't matter at all. The only way it would is if he caused injury to others as insurance always favors the victim. Then they would pay for the injuries and other persons damage but not the damage to his car. AND in some states they can sue the driver (his father) back to try and get that money back.

The car was insured by him and the coverage was recently specifically cancelled. Because his father was only using the car and not buying it from him there would be no coverage. If they are both on the same policy there is DEFINITELY no coverage.

The ONLY way his fathers policy would cover it is if Diabel signed over the title to his father before the accident as if he were selling it to his father. Then if his father had collision coverage on another vehicle he would be covered.

Keep in mind this is an EXTREMELY rare situation and the insurance company would look for a lot of proof before paying out. Also they would likely drop his fathers coverage soon after. But in the end this is not the case so he can't do this anyway.

Either way there is no way the insurance company will pay for this car no matter what.

[bolteon593]

Originally Posted by Rogue Leader

The ONLY way his fathers policy would cover it is if Diabel signed over the title to his father before the accident as if he were selling it to his father. Then if his father had collision coverage on another vehicle he would be covered.

good sir, i beg to differ.


maybe this is different in other states, but as far as the ones i've lived in (michigcan for a bit and california mostly) as long as you have insurance on a car (any car) your covered by it when you drive someone elses car.


otherwise, when renting a car; you'd be forced to buy seperate insurance to cover yourself as the car's title certainly doesn't get signed over to you when you rent it.


unless i'm mistaken for the state concerned, most all types of insurance policies cover you regardless of what car your driving.

ie... if your driving a friend to the hospital in their car; and you get in an accident, your covered.


for the most part, insurance isn't really to insure the car; it's to insure the driver of the car. (otherwise, you wouldn't get severe discounts with multiple cars on a single policy... mainly due to the fact that you can't drive more then one car at a single time).

[ssump29]

Originally Posted by Rogue Leader

Actually it doesn't matter at all. The only way it would is if he caused injury to others as insurance always favors the victim. Then they would pay for the injuries and other persons damage but not the damage to his car. AND in some states they can sue the driver (his father) back to try and get that money back.

The car was insured by him and the coverage was recently specifically cancelled. Because his father was only using the car and not buying it from him there would be no coverage. If they are both on the same policy there is DEFINITELY no coverage.

The ONLY way his fathers policy would cover it is if Diabel signed over the title to his father before the accident as if he were selling it to his father. Then if his father had collision coverage on another vehicle he would be covered.

Keep in mind this is an EXTREMELY rare situation and the insurance company would look for a lot of proof before paying out. Also they would likely drop his fathers coverage soon after. But in the end this is not the case so he can't do this anyway.

Either way there is no way the insurance company will pay for this car no matter what.

what you said is not true. If his father had an insurance policy of his own on any car that he owns, it will be his fathers insurance company that will cover the damages. This situation is no different then one renting a car and not getting the rental car companies insurance because they have their own. The father would need to turn this in to his insurance company. He would pay a little more because the car is not on the policy but they would cover the car that he damaged. His policy thereafter will surley go up but none the less his fathers insurance company will cover it.

This happened to me while driving my brothers car, my insurance company covered all the cost of the damages. I took the hit on my policy going up though.

[djinva]

I work for an insurance company-whatever you do stay away from insurance fraud.

I also have bought and sold many damaged vehicles over the years. Damaged vehicles with clean titles (no salvage history) bring good money. I feel sure from your description it is repairable. Most likely it will have a clean carfax. There are not many wrecked ones out there for sale with good titles so it may bring more than you think.

I would look at all 3 options and get some figures before you make a decision. I can sell the car as it sits, but I would need photos. I can at least get you a number.

I know someone that makes a living buying non-driveables and getting them up and running and selling them before they are finished, so option 2 is a viable option, you need to figure up how much it would cost to get it up and running both time and labor.

once you have figures for both options then weigh these options with keeping it and fixing it.

My advice just get some numbers and think it through and do not act in haste.

[ssump29]

Originally Posted by bolteon593

good sir, i beg to differ.


maybe this is different in other states, but as far as the ones i've lived in (michigcan for a bit and california mostly) as long as you have insurance on a car (any car) your covered by it when you drive someone elses car.


otherwise, when renting a car; you'd be forced to buy seperate insurance to cover yourself as the car's title certainly doesn't get signed over to you when you rent it.


unless i'm mistaken for the state concerned, most all types of insurance policies cover you regardless of what car your driving.

ie... if your driving a friend to the hospital in their car; and you get in an accident, your covered.


for the most part, insurance isn't really to insure the car; it's to insure the driver of the car. (otherwise, you wouldn't get severe discounts with multiple cars on a single policy... mainly due to the fact that you can't drive more then one car at a single time).

I wish I would have saw that you wrote this before I responded to the other post too. In other words he needs to talk with his dad and get his insurance company involved. So I go with option 4, dad needs to make and insurance claim.

[bolteon593]

Originally Posted by ssump29

I wish I would have saw that you wrote this before I responded to the other post too. In other words he needs to talk with his dad and get his insurance company involved. So I go with option 4, dad needs to make and insurance claim.

agreed!


better knowledge for the win! i figured that a price hike in the dads premium will happen but in the end it'll go away in 2 years and in the mean time the car will be replaced as new.

win win win. (as long as dad had some insurance on something with 4 wheels that is...)


//edit


and @ rouge leader; you might want to be a bit more careful about stating things the way you do. reading your post sounded like you def know what your talking about and the poor guy could have taken it as axiom (and been screwed out of a lot of money thanks to it too).

just a suggestion.

[ssump29]

Originally Posted by Diabel1969

yes, the police were involved, and there is a report on the accident.. guard rails suffered no damage (go figure!), and tree was on state land, and is still standing tall without much damage.. Fraud is not a consideration in the least, not even a thought in my head. In my opinion, the accident, and everything surrounding it are more than enough to deal with, why would I want to add more fuel to that fire? As stated, just looking for opinions on what you guys/girls thought the future of this car and situation should be. so far, the majority seem to agree with fixing it which is a strong consideration. I've been calling around looking for a front clip for it, with no luck. Thanks again for all the input..

BAM right there thats all your dad needs to do is turn that police report into his insurance company if he has insurance, which I assume he does. That will prove that he was driving and take care of all your problems.

[djinva]

The option above about your father's insurance could be your best bet. I am not sure about your state, but in Virginia the policy would have coverage for non-owned vehicles which you drive, so if your father has coverage report the claim to them as there very well could be coverage.

[Diabel1969]

Originally Posted by djinva

I work for an insurance company-whatever you do stay away from insurance fraud.

I also have bought and sold many damaged vehicles over the years. Damaged vehicles with clean titles (no salvage history) bring good money. I feel sure from your description it is repairable. Most likely it will have a clean carfax. There are not many wrecked ones out there for sale with good titles so it may bring more than you think.

I would look at all 3 options and get some figures before you make a decision. I can sell the car as it sits, but I would need photos. I can at least get you a number.

I know someone that makes a living buying non-driveables and getting them up and running and selling them before they are finished, so option 2 is a viable option, you need to figure up how much it would cost to get it up and running both time and labor.

once you have figures for both options then weigh these options with keeping it and fixing it.

My advice just get some numbers and think it through and do not act in haste.

I used to buy and sell alot of damaged cars, but I always avoided the salvage title's (the guy I did frame work with packed up and moved out of state, but he did alot of salvage, and basically murdered cars). I cannot bash salvage cars that he and I worked on at all, but i've seen some crude repairs out there and some of these cars should never be brought back. I think this car is worth saving, and after alot of the input here, i'm leaning more towards that than just selling, but I'm doing my homework first. When my pal clipped a car, he pulled to exact specs, and drilled out, re welded all factory welds, in most cases, when a clipped car left his shop, it was actually stronger than original. I'm really in no hurry to make the decision, the accident happened monday night, car was dropped at my house tuesday morning, I did probably the best go over on the car I can do without having it in the air measuring things including pulling most of the damaged sheet metal/tin off of the car (you'd be amazed how far a 10 mm socket and ratchet wrench will go on this car).. My father is due for release this evening, and we'll mull it over. I'm awaiting another frame guys (friends) inspection results, and i'm also awaiting my local gm parts guy's (another friends) findings (prices on all parts). Once we have all the facts and figures we'll have to decide. It's not getting hurt sitting where it is, and if we decide to sell i'll definatly let those who asked about it know before I revert to ebay. To answer the question up there, I've got 3 other vehicles insured, and he also has another car insured in his name, actually through the same company. The insurance and plates were just pulled off the car maybe 3 weeks ago?? But I will mention that to him tonight when I see him and if he wants to inquire it maybe can't hurt but that one's on him! (so i'm a little annoyed) but, what's done is done, all we can do is go forward from here. Thanks again..

[ssump29]

Originally Posted by Diabel1969

I used to buy and sell alot of damaged cars, but I always avoided the salvage title's (the guy I did frame work with packed up and moved out of state, but he did alot of salvage, and basically murdered cars). I cannot bash salvage cars that he and I worked on at all, but i've seen some crude repairs out there and some of these cars should never be brought back. I think this car is worth saving, and after alot of the input here, i'm leaning more towards that than just selling, but I'm doing my homework first. When my pal clipped a car, he pulled to exact specs, and drilled out, re welded all factory welds, in most cases, when a clipped car left his shop, it was actually stronger than original. I'm really in no hurry to make the decision, the accident happened monday night, car was dropped at my house tuesday morning, I did probably the best go over on the car I can do without having it in the air measuring things including pulling most of the damaged sheet metal/tin off of the car (you'd be amazed how far a 10 mm socket and ratchet wrench will go on this car).. My father is due for release this evening, and we'll mull it over. I'm awaiting another frame guys (friends) inspection results, and i'm also awaiting my local gm parts guy's (another friends) findings (prices on all parts). Once we have all the facts and figures we'll have to decide. It's not getting hurt sitting where it is, and if we decide to sell i'll definatly let those who asked about it know before I revert to ebay. To answer the question up there, I've got 3 other vehicles insured, and he also has another car insured in his name, actually through the same company. The insurance and plates were just pulled off the car maybe 3 weeks ago?? But I will mention that to him tonight when I see him and if he wants to inquire it maybe can't hurt but that one's on him! (so i'm a little annoyed) but, what's done is done, all we can do is go forward from here. Thanks again..

It wouldn't matter if you guys have the same insurance company just as long as you have different policies. Hell the insurance company won't even know that you that your car is involves. In the end this is the best way to go and would be the cheapest.

Hell I'd rather pay a deductible then spending thousands on a car that won't even be put back to its normal condition.

[bolteon593]

Originally Posted by ssump29

It wouldn't matter if you guys have the same insurance company just as long as you have different policies. Hell the insurance company won't even know that you that your car is involves. In the end this is the best way to go and would be the cheapest.

Hell I'd rather pay a deductible then spending thousands on a car that won't even be put back to its normal condition.

bingo.