How do I proceed with this situation?

I got into a car accident on December 2. My car has been in the shop since December 3. The other guy's insurance had been paying for my rental (but only partially because the amount they "allowed" us would have put me in the tiniest little car imaginable and I didn't want to do that with the baby and everything, so we're paying $8 a day out of pocket for the rental).

My car is STILL in the shop - apparently the parts are WAY backordered and coming from Germany. The insurance company stopped paying for our rental as of Monday. We can't afford to pay $40 a day for this rental and it's going to be AT LEAST 2 more weeks until my car is scheduled to be completed. The other guy's insurance company already gave us a 10 day extension (it's been for 42 days).

If I call MY insurance company, do you think they would be able to do anything for me? We reported the claim to them, but they are not paying for anything because it was 100% the other guy's fault (was rear-ended)

What should I do?

Re: How do I proceed with this situation?

the samething hsappened with my sister and she had to pay out of pocket bc they wouldnt [pay anymore

Re: How do I proceed with this situation?

Honestly, I'd contact a lawyer. The person who hit you should be the one paying out of pocket for your rental.

Re: How do I proceed with this situation?

DH had his transmission repaired out of warranty at his dealership and the parts were on a serious backorder. They gave us a loaner car for the time and if they didn't have one Subaru was going to give us credit toward a rental car. If the parts are coming from the manufacturer maybe the repair shop can try to work something out with them.

Re: How do I proceed with this situation?

I had something similar happen to me. I told them I had three children and that a compact car wouldn't fit my children, carseats, whatever. They HAD to pay for the upgrade.

It is not YOUR fault that he hit you. You shouldn't have to pay a dime. You really need to call and start fighting.

Re: How do I proceed with this situation?

Re: How do I proceed with this situation?

Re: How do I proceed with this situation?

V -


unfortunately, your personal coverage will not pick up your rental fees because you (rightfully) went through travelers.

I think the only thing you can do right now is contact a lawyer, pay out of pocket, and sue for reimbursement.

I once had a customer in the same situation as you, but she got REALLY lucky. she contacted that guy that rearended her (in his commercial pickup truck) and he paid her additional rental out of his pocket. Like you, she had a baby in the car and he had a baby at home, he felt so bad for her.

Side note - its totally UNACCEPTABLE for the body shop to be waiting so long for parts! It's 6 WEEKS now!!! That's BULL! you could've gone to Germany and built yourself a new VW in that time.

Re: How do I proceed with this situation?

Re: How do I proceed with this situation?

Posted by Shorty

V -


unfortunately, your personal coverage will not pick up your rental fees because you (rightfully) went through travelers.

I think the only thing you can do right now is contact a lawyer, pay out of pocket, and sue for reimbursement.

I once had a customer in the same situation as you, but she got REALLY lucky. she contacted that guy that rearended her (in his commercial pickup truck) and he paid her additional rental out of his pocket. Like you, she had a baby in the car and he had a baby at home, he felt so bad for her.

Side note - its totally UNACCEPTABLE for the body shop to be waiting so long for parts! It's 6 WEEKS now!!! That's BULL! you could've gone to Germany and built yourself a new VW in that time.

Re: How do I proceed with this situation?

Honestly, I'm curious to know. You have insurance. Why pay all that money to them and then they don't do anything when it is no-fault. Maybe ask Shorty if your insurance company SHOULD be doing something.

ets good ole shorty to the rescue!!!

Message edited 1/13/2010 10:54:44 AM.

Re: How do I proceed with this situation?

Posted by scarletbegonia

I got into a car accident on December 2. My car has been in the shop since December 3. The other guy's insurance had been paying for my rental (but only partially because the amount they "allowed" us would have put me in the tiniest little car imaginable and I didn't want to do that with the baby and everything, so we're paying $8 a day out of pocket for the rental).

My car is STILL in the shop - apparently the parts are WAY backordered and coming from Germany. The insurance company stopped paying for our rental as of Monday. We can't afford to pay $40 a day for this rental and it's going to be AT LEAST 2 more weeks until my car is scheduled to be completed. The other guy's insurance company already gave us a 10 day extension (it's been for 42 days).

If I call MY insurance company, do you think they would be able to do anything for me? We reported the claim to them, but they are not paying for anything because it was 100% the other guy's fault (was rear-ended)

What should I do?

Re: How do I proceed with this situation?

Re: How do I proceed with this situation?

Posted by annoyedTTCer

Posted by scarletbegonia

I got into a car accident on December 2. My car has been in the shop since December 3. The other guy's insurance had been paying for my rental (but only partially because the amount they "allowed" us would have put me in the tiniest little car imaginable and I didn't want to do that with the baby and everything, so we're paying $8 a day out of pocket for the rental).

My car is STILL in the shop - apparently the parts are WAY backordered and coming from Germany. The insurance company stopped paying for our rental as of Monday. We can't afford to pay $40 a day for this rental and it's going to be AT LEAST 2 more weeks until my car is scheduled to be completed. The other guy's insurance company already gave us a 10 day extension (it's been for 42 days).

If I call MY insurance company, do you think they would be able to do anything for me? We reported the claim to them, but they are not paying for anything because it was 100% the other guy's fault (was rear-ended)

What should I do?

Sue the guy that hit you.

Accident was his fault, you shouldn't be paying a dime towards things.

Any chance your car is a lease?

Re: How do I proceed with this situation?

Posted by scarletbegonia

Posted by annoyedTTCer

Posted by scarletbegonia

I got into a car accident on December 2. My car has been in the shop since December 3. The other guy's insurance had been paying for my rental (but only partially because the amount they "allowed" us would have put me in the tiniest little car imaginable and I didn't want to do that with the baby and everything, so we're paying $8 a day out of pocket for the rental).

My car is STILL in the shop - apparently the parts are WAY backordered and coming from Germany. The insurance company stopped paying for our rental as of Monday. We can't afford to pay $40 a day for this rental and it's going to be AT LEAST 2 more weeks until my car is scheduled to be completed. The other guy's insurance company already gave us a 10 day extension (it's been for 42 days).

If I call MY insurance company, do you think they would be able to do anything for me? We reported the claim to them, but they are not paying for anything because it was 100% the other guy's fault (was rear-ended)

What should I do?

Sue the guy that hit you.

Accident was his fault, you shouldn't be paying a dime towards things.

Any chance your car is a lease?

yes - it's a lease

Re: How do I proceed with this situation?

V-this is such BS! I agree that you should speak to the dealership, because for a brand new lease car, the parts should be right there.

I would talk to your attorney-you can sue to recover the difference in cars and the out of pocket cost.

ETA-I agree with Shorty-can you reach out to the guy who caused the accident to see if he will pay? Many will to avoid litigation.

Message edited 1/13/2010 11:06:44 AM.

Re: How do I proceed with this situation?

Have you asked the other driver to cover the costs? Has s/he said no? I'd do that first.

Tell them if they don't, you'll go through small claims court to collect all the money paid out, include the $8 upgrade. I would go that way before I started calling lawyers.

Re: How do I proceed with this situation?

The body shop is taking an inordinately long time to get the parts. 6 weeks is a seriously LONG time to wait for a car part, even for a rare car.

Have you asked the body shop to cover the lease car for the last two weeks, since they can't get the car fixed in a month's time? Have you called around to other body shops to see if they can get the part faster?

Message edited 1/13/2010 11:16:05 AM.

Re: How do I proceed with this situation?

Message edited 1/13/2010 8:57:27 PM.

Re: How do I proceed with this situation?

The insurance companies really have no obligation to "upgrade" your rental. Whether you have 2 kids or 10 kids, they typically only have to cover a "basic" car rental. If you want to upgrade because you feel it's too small, then it's on your dime.

As far as the part goes... if you have a German car... a lot of times those parts can get backordered. And if a part is backordered... good luck waiting. I've seen instances where a part a friend of mine needed had to come from Japan and he waited three months for the part. It's not the body shop's fault and the body shop most definitely won't cover a rental because of this.

You are probably going to have to take the other driver to small claims.

Re: How do I proceed with this situation?

i see you said your car is a lease, if nothing is done i would call the car company and complain to them
many years ago i had a toyota and my air bags were stolen, the auto body had my car for about 2 months also because they said toyota was moving warehouses and all parts were in transit, i was waiting for a new dashboard, so i called toyota directly and complained and complained and they paid for my rental, it is not my fault you can't get parts to dealers in a reasonable amount of time,
your car is an '09 not an '89
i thinks its definitely worth a shot if nothing else works

good luck

Re: How do I proceed with this situation?

Re: How do I proceed with this situation?

I am not sure on the exact timing but I do know that NY state requires that the repairs be done in certain amount time.

Re: How do I proceed with this situation?

I work as an adjuster - when we put claimants into a rental vehicle, we are to put them into a 'comparable vehicle' as their own. So, if you drive an SUV because you have kids, they should be putting you into an SUV. Or if you drive a higher end car, they should not be putting you in a 19.99/day two door Kia. I have also encountered this problem with parts on backorder. I am sure it's not the shop's fault, it is VW. Since your car is new, they will be using OEM (original equipment manufacturer) parts on your car, not LKQ (like, kind, quality). They also dont have LKQ parts for your vehicle, since it's new.

Unfortunately, their insurance company has made all efforts to repair your vehicle, and kept you in the rental for 40+ days. AT this point, it's something you should take up with VW. I'd be calling VW til I got an answer. I would pay the rental out of pocket, then try to submit the additional rental to his insurance co. They may or may not consider it. IF they dont, you can be a be a real P.I.T.A, and file what's called a 'diminished value' claim. Basically if you want to sell this car down the road, the vehicle's value has now diminished because of this accident. I didnt read the entire thread, do you own this car or lease it?