by Guest » Sat Dec 08, 2007 07:34 am
Im curious on what I should do next. My truck was hit and run right in front of my house by some idiot drunk driver. This happened on october 14th... The insurance company gave me a rental for 30 days * I actually had it 31 and had to pay that extra day* since then Ive had to take my truck back to the body shop and service center 4 times!! on the same problem over and over again. The problem rundowns? *other then the initial $3600 that was caused. It had a terrible vibration and it pulled to the right so I took it back and they said it was the alignment and the tires werent balanced... I get it back the following day SAME PROBLEM!. I take it back again and they say this time the frame is bent slightly and they have a machine to fix it. 2 days later I get it back with a slight vibration and the truck now pulls to the left. Now on top of all of this my bed still looks slighly crooked and the engine is making a squealing noise ... we dont even wanna get into the squealing noise. Im trying not to rant here... the basic run down is... AFTER they supposedly fixed it I had to get a new tire put on, rotate the tires, get the bed fixed *twice*, fix the pull to the right *twice*, get a new water pump, a new fan clutch *which I paid for!!* and get the heater in the car fixed.
Now my adjuster says that my truck being parked and getting knocked back about 5 feet wouldnt mess any of the tires up except the one that got hit. So he refuses to buy 4 new tires for the truck * the tires were less then a year old*. It is now december 8th and my truck was hit in october.
Is there anything I can do at this point? maybe seek legal action? .... Im sooo frustrated right now.
sorry for the typos and Im sure I missed a few things about the truck
Now my adjuster says that my truck being parked and getting knocked back about 5 feet wouldnt mess any of the tires up except the one that got hit. So he refuses to buy 4 new tires for the truck * the tires were less then a year old*. It is now december 8th and my truck was hit in october.
Is there anything I can do at this point? maybe seek legal action? .... Im sooo frustrated right now.
sorry for the typos and Im sure I missed a few things about the truck
Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2007 12:00 pm Post Subject:
Good morning anarin and welcome to the community...sorry about your problems let's see if we can help...I'm sure we will need a little more info as we go along...
First, it appears your policy (under your collision coverage most likely) paid to repair your vehicle NOT the at fault/drunk party correct? I base this on this statement
insurance company gave me a rental for 30 days *
most rental coverage (first party) has a 30 day limit...If it is NOT your carrier handling this let us know because there are some differences...ok?I don't understand first of all why your truck was not repaired within this 30days...3600.00 is a minor/low moderate repair. And couldn't have had more than 20 or so ''hours'' on it....Did it set at the shop or your house for days waiting on an adjuster? Or to get into production at the shop? When did it actually get under repair, and how long was it (initally) in the shop?
Now as to the shop that repaired your truck. Was it a 'preferred' shop that your insurance company uses? Did they offer you to go to a shop that they 'back' or guarantee the shops work and you refused? Please explain your shop choice clearly, and how you came to them, this also can make a big difference.
This is nuts!
I take it back again and they say this time the frame is bent slightly and they have a machine to fix it
There is no reason that they shouldn't have caught this initially...and I'll tell you something, if they did an alignment, (which should've been on the first estimate based on your accident discription), no way this wouldn't have shown up in the SAI or included angle report, ask to see the alignment specs ALL OF THEM...Take them to someone else if you don't know how to desipher them. I'm betting they 'cheated' the alignment in to get rid of you.Now on top of all of this my bed still looks slighly crooked
There are about fifty reasons this could be...but without knowing EXACTLY what work was done, I can't really guess. but can tell you this is generally a very easy fix.and the engine is making a squealing noise
I doubt it's the engine, more than likely the suspension. Is it a ford by chance? (not a joke)...truck now pulls to the left.
This and vibration could also be alignment still or tires, or something more serious....get a new water pump, a new fan clutch *which I paid for!!* and get the heater in the car fixed.
More than likely this was unrelated, but again I need a detailed run down of what was replaced and repaired to help with this....Now my adjuster says that my truck being parked and getting knocked back about 5 feet wouldnt mess any of the tires up except the one that got hit.
Ok now wait a minute, one tire was hit on the inital impact? which one? Did they replace that one tire? It is possible for there not to be other tire damage, but also possible for there to be. If there is tire damage to the 'other' non-impacted tires the ONLY type of damage from this loss would be a 'flattening' or smoothed out area on each of them from them slidding while locked..you understand? The tread will have a smooth appearance clearly different from the rest for a size/area about the same size that is on the ground...Or they could've slipped the bead, (came off the wheel)..That is easily seen upon inspection. If those other tires do not have these ''type'' of damage, they don't owe you four...they only owe you for the one. And could charge betterment based on the tread depth. I know you say they were only a year, but that really doesn't mean anything...what is the tread depth of these tires ? MOST come with 11/32nd's have someone check this. Was the wheel also damaged?Alright, answer my questions about the shop and if your company 'referred' you to this shop, etc. What kind of vehicle, yr/make/model/mileage/automatic or manual tranny/4wh drive/front or rear wheel drive/any other accidents or major repairs prior to this one...Exactly where it was hit, and a rough run down of the work completed. (ie), replaced rear bumper, and tail lamp on left, repaired door etc. Also when you reported it, when or who looked at the vehicle wrote the estimate etc. Did your vehicle go up and over a curb? how did it move? and to where? did it strike the curb? Damaging the side walls of the oppisite side tires? or wheels? How long has the body shop been in business? are they well known/decent reputation in your area? Did they not offer a rental vehicle at their expense when your vehicle was back for all of this ''rework''? We'll be in a better position to help you with more information. You CANNOT give us too much info, alright? What state are you in?
What about the driver of the other vehicle?
Im sooo frustrated right now.
understand your frustration, and don't blame you a bit!Is there anything I can do at this point?
yes, there is get additional info to us, and let's go from there.Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2007 01:56 pm Post Subject:
I was rear ended by a guy just not paying attention, he was in a full size pickup and pushed me into a stopped full size SUV, I was in a little tracker. the impact crumpled me up like foil, it looked terrible. Well the repair shop fixed the damage, right around $8 grand for a $13 vehicle. The frame/unibody was one of the issues. One year after the vehicle repair was done, I opened my door and it literally fell off, I am not kidding. I took it to get it repaired and they told me that the impact had weakened the body, it allowed this area to rust out and the bolts that held the door on eventually worked their way through. By the way, the vehicle never road the same, alignment after alignment, tires wore quicker than usual. If I ever get into another accident with this type of damage, I am trading out as soon as it is repaired, I put more money into that vehicle after that accident than I feel I should have. I feel your frustration, I believed everytime I did an alignment more frequently than yearly, and it would be out of wack again fairly quickly. I contributed this to the frame/unibody not being properly straightened. I have no faith in that process at all after my experience. Like I said if I find myself in a frame issue again, I am trading out as soon as possible.
Hope yours works out for you, Lori is excellent at this stuff she will help you out. goodluck.
Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 11:25 am Post Subject:
I have no faith in that process at all after my experience.
It's unfortunate that all shops are not monitored re: their ablity to successfully complete a job...you (clearly) did NOT have your vehicle repaired by a good shop...there are so many bad shops out there. I usually advise everyone to try and use a shop backed by their insurance carrier for this very reason. At least you have two avenues of recourse should a problem arrise....too bad good natured, because there are good/excellent shops out there that can and do return vehicles to preloss condition...you unfortunately you didn't get one! :cry:Add your comment