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Need help with a car insurance question

C

coolred

Diamond Member
My wife got in a car accident a while back. She kind of side swipped another car resulting in some minor to moderate damage to her 2005 Honda CRV. I think the damages came to around 1400.00 dollars. We ahve a 500 dollar deductible, so Geico cut us(by us I mean Me and the repair shop)a check for like 900.00. Unfortunately my wife lost her job not too long after this, and while she is working now, she is not making near as much as she was. So not only can we not afford to get the car fixed, we may very well have to get rid of the car all toegther since she can not afford the payment.

I was just wondering if anyone had any idea what options I have to recoup any of this money. I have my wife calling Geico today, but not sure how honest they will be with her. I mean they are out to make money, so why would they want to help us on this. Basically the check is written out to myself and the repair shop, so I can't cash it and take the money. I know I am out my 500 deductible, but I would be happy if I could just get the cash from the check. Or if we just give Geico the check back do you think they will go back like we never filed the claim and give me my old premiums as they were before the accident and claim was filed. Or are there any other options I am not thinking of?

I just know that if we sell or trade in the car we are going to have to sell it for less because of the damage, so I would liek to recoup that lost money if I can. Thanks
 
Since you haven't gotten the car repaired, how are you out of the $500 deductible? And if you're not going to get the car repaired, why would the insurance company rewrite the check directly to you? I would try and see if you can cancel the claim, return the check and not get charged with a surcharge.
 
If you tell Geico you are going to fix the damage yourself, they should issue you the check. Since they issued the check to you and the repair shop, I don't see how you can keep the money. Also, no way in the world they are going to refund you the premiums you have already paid.

Or you could talk to the repair shop to see if the will waive part of the deductible.

If you don't fix the car and the car gets reposessed(sp?), the bank will have to repair it and that amount will get added to your debt to them. (I assumed you still owed money on the car.)


EDIT:

Also, They will tell you that won't cover a new claim on the damage unless you provide proof that you repaired this damage.
 
If you dont get it fixed, it will cost you alot more in terms of how much you will be able to sell the car for. It will have a huge impact on its resale value in its damaged state.

 
claim you are gonna fix it your self. the only thing with this is that you must get it inspected as proof that you fixed it. Why would geico help? Because you are a customer. Part of cleaning a customer's pocket out is acting like you do care so when the time comes, you go back and give them your money. Business 101. If geico failed to do this, they would have no customers.

As for canceling the claim and not surcharging you....don't hold your breath. Insurance companies will not throw away an opportunity to make more money off of you.
 
Originally posted by: Gibson486
claim you are gonna fix it your self. the only thing with this is that you must get it inspected as proof that you fixed it (not that it really matters). Why would geico help? Because you are a customer. Part of cleaning a customer's pocket out is acting like you do care so when the time comes, you go back and give them your money. Business 101. If geico failed to do this, they would have no customers.

As for canceling the claim and not surcharging you....don't hold your breath. Insurance companies will not throw away an opportunity to make more money off of you.
Click to expand...

 
If you sell it, you are either going to have to repair it (pay $500 of your money) or risk getting a very low price (far more than $500 of your money gone). So, why bother with all of this? If you are going to sell it, then repair it using a credit card, sell it, then pay off the credit card with the money from the CRV sale. That way, you never have to scrounge up any money that you don't have.
 
The way I figured it, if I trade it in at a place that can do body work, they will just deduct the cost of the body work from the trade in value. Therefore if I could get the 900 or so that they made the check out for, and they ding me 1400 on the trade, I would only be out my 500 dollars that would have gone to the deductible.

I don't have the money or the credit available to get it fixed. I am not worried about the car being repossessed, I can afford the payments, I would just prefer they were less, so I can start paying off my credit card debt, so when crap like this comes up, I have an option, lol.

On top of the 500 dollar deductible, I would also have to rent a car for the week or so it takes to get fixed.
 
Just got off the phone with Geico. They said we can send the check back to them, and when we trade it in they will reissue the check to the dealer we trade it to. So again I am out my 500 dollars which would have paid the deductible. But are you guys saying the dealer is going to try to give me a crap offer because of the damage. If they are getting the money minus the 500 to repair it, I would think they would give me a fair trade. I would probably accept 1000.00 less then what KBB or Edmunds says for trade on the vehicle.
 
re: trading it in
I think they'd deduct more than what it'll cost to repair it. Most dealers don't want to deal with hassles - they want to turn around and have that car on the lot available for sale as soon as possible, else they're going to take it to auction.

edit: also, since the bank (most likely) has a lien on the car, you're going to make things a bit more complicated, especially if you find yourself upside down on the loan.
 
You might be able to figure out some things that the body shop could skip to help get your deductible portion lower. If you trade the car in you will take a beating. GL
 
well, you can find a shop that doesn't charge you $1400 for the repair, fix it, and then sell the car. sell privately. you can never get your old premiums back...
 
Originally posted by: coolred
dealer ...I would think they would give me a fair trade.
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That's a little naive. Dealers exist for one reason: to screw people. They will NOT give you a fair trade, and in fact you shouldn't even be considering a dealer unless you absolutely have to buy new.
The only time that a dealer will give you a great deal on your trade-in, is if they're making a killing on the car you're buying, or you're a REALLY good bargainer with a high-demand car. They certainly will take into account what it would cost them to repair any damage...which is exactly what your insurance company calculated, hence the check.

Cash the check, either repair the damage yourself or at a cheaper shop, sell the car private party, buy another car private party.
 
Originally posted by: coolred
Just got off the phone with Geico. They said we can send the check back to them, and when we trade it in they will reissue the check to the dealer we trade it to. So again I am out my 500 dollars which would have paid the deductible. But are you guys saying the dealer is going to try to give me a crap offer because of the damage. If they are getting the money minus the 500 to repair it, I would think they would give me a fair trade. I would probably accept 1000.00 less then what KBB or Edmunds says for trade on the vehicle.
Click to expand...

Tell geico you are gonna fix it your self. They will send YOU the check in YOUR name. Take it to some guy that will fix it for cash (under the table).


As for the trade in, you are gonna get boned on it. They will not simply subtract the cost of fixing it.
 
Edmunds and KBB say about 16,800 for good condition, not the best, but not the worst. That is right about what we owe. So what lowball offer do you think they will give me, are you talking like 15,000, or like 10,000?
 
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