by Guest » Fri Feb 29, 2008 12:42 am
I was hit about three weeks ago. I was not in the car, it was parked on the side of the road. The other car hit me diagonally into the driver side front wheel (pointing in the same direction as my car) and took off my headlight, front bumper, grill, etc.
The guy who hit me took on full liability. My car was fixed and in addition to the obvious work, they replaced the tire on the wheel that was hit. Now I've seen and heard enough to know that if you need to replace one tire on the front or rear of the car, you should replace both (unless the mileage or treadwear on your tires is minimal).
The other guy's insurer said that their company takes the stance on only repairing damage caused by the accident. Since the other tire was not damaged, they will not purchase an additional tire. Is this at all legal, is the company blowing smoke, or does this sound like the usual business path? I'm not looking for a free lunch here. Driving around with an imbalance of tire tread could cause you to lose control of the car.
I'm getting the other tire replaced for safety reasons but if the insurer should be paying for it, I'd like to know.
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks,
Roldog
The guy who hit me took on full liability. My car was fixed and in addition to the obvious work, they replaced the tire on the wheel that was hit. Now I've seen and heard enough to know that if you need to replace one tire on the front or rear of the car, you should replace both (unless the mileage or treadwear on your tires is minimal).
The other guy's insurer said that their company takes the stance on only repairing damage caused by the accident. Since the other tire was not damaged, they will not purchase an additional tire. Is this at all legal, is the company blowing smoke, or does this sound like the usual business path? I'm not looking for a free lunch here. Driving around with an imbalance of tire tread could cause you to lose control of the car.
I'm getting the other tire replaced for safety reasons but if the insurer should be paying for it, I'd like to know.
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks,
Roldog
Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 01:08 am Post Subject:
they will probably only be liable for the damaged tire.
Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 01:44 am Post Subject:
I would have to agree here. You will more than likely only get the one tire replaced. You may consider yourself lucky because my brother dealt with a similar situation a few years back. His wife wrecked their SUV on slick roads going to work. It blew out one of the tires. They would only pay so much towards a new tire due to wear and tear already there. Told them had it been a new tire they would have replaced it with a new tire instead of giving them value for the exsisting tire. Crazy world isn't it?
Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 04:09 am Post Subject:
That is crazy, got to be the cheapest part to replace as far as damage and they actually prorated it for wear and tear, I would be looking for a new insurance company that is for sure. What a joke.
Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 04:14 am Post Subject:
100% legal and correct. It's not that big of a deal to have one very good tire and all the rest just be okay. It's done all the time (not the best, nut okay).
Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 04:37 am Post Subject:
If it happened to me, I would probably just go buy another one to make sure that they were about the same and use the other if it was in descent shape for a spare. There is always somebody in my family needing a spare, everytime I get new tires I bring the old ones home and they don't last long here, they usually have some pretty descent tread left, so they will run the last 10,000 miles off them. I travel some long distance and have to keep everything in good shape.
Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 12:57 pm Post Subject:
Good idea good natured. In travel your tires are just as important as the fluid and engine checks. I must admit though that when my tires are done they are just that done. Now I'm not saying they are bald but they do get near the inspection line. I had tires retreaded for my spares on tne trucks but the car still has the same spare that came with it. I notice alot of places are having you take the old tires with you now. At one time you use to be able to pay a one time $1.00 per tire disposal fee. Where do you get rid of old unwanted tires?
Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 01:20 pm Post Subject:
That is crazy, got to be the cheapest part to replace as far as damage and they actually prorated it for wear and tear, I would be looking for a new insurance company that is for sure. What a joke
You're gonna have a long look, it's called betterment, and it applies to wearable parts, new tires (mostly) come with 11/32nds of tread, if they replace your tire that had 5/32nds (can't put a used on one) they you owe them the 6/32nds...re:one tire, tcope is correct that is all they owe for the one they damaged, assuming it is a front wheel drive car,have the shop put the two best matches on the front....I agree you should replace one other (and put both new ones on the front) if the thread difference is large, if your tire that was replaced had say 9 or so 32nds I personally wouldn't worry about it...
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