More Stuff,
I am a business owner and i am all for doing local business.
Insurance is not usually local and the agent can't do sh!t !!! ( while I am sure there is an exception to the rule, they are sales people)
Once a cliam is filed with an insurance claim hotline(check your card), which most reputable law officers will have you call the "at fault" insurance agency at the scene and get a claim number based on the report they are going write. Usually about the same time they issue you a police report number and give you each others info.
You should write your own accident report as soon as possible and get it filed with the court(with lawyers approval)
Once a claim is written is goes out to an entirely different group of people, who the agent has no control over. the Adjusters will most likely be contract, very few (progressive, others???) have there own, and even then it depends on the location. Claim Adjusters are compensated for the call and keeping costs to a minimum. They use proprietary software that is constantly updated with product codes for parts and likely damaged materials including what can be substituted. There are several law suits on this, none of which are conclusive, forcing the insurer to pay for Manufacturer parts.( as of my knowledge)
My last Last accident Lexus fixed more than 4K of Items "under warrenty" that the idiot adjuster claims could not have come from my accident. I asked him how I could have broke the seat harness screwed to the floor and he quit talking to me? I got t-boned, by a woman on her cell phone. I am still in litigation for the monies owed me more than 24 months later.
Ok, lets use my experiance to makes yours better. ( sorry for venting)
Find a lawyer in your town, I would get a referral from one you have used or get the guy with the most tv/highway board signs, they are not cheap and he has to make money to advertise. But they tend not to be ethical either. All they want is to get paid as much as they can and as fast as possible. Which is what you want. this could take up to two years to be completly settled. And you are not comensated for the wait, the loss of value do to it. Avoid the Nice guy Lawyer, they have cost me more than I care to say, words like shark, pit bull, a******, rich should be used, ask a highly respected Chiropractor, they tend to know who is goig to get them paid!!!
Mjor things to note: There is no guideline/law stating that if anyone damages a vehicle that the vehicle has to be replaced with one of equal value(If it is totaled you get a check regardless of inherent value).
Not in the rental or the parts.
Most insurers have a per day rate car rental(limited time period) that is included in the policy, check to see if yours has it. If so you can use that. It will most likely not be for a great vehicle. Most allow for a small to midsize four door. If you have a lawyer he can argue for more. But if you "upgrade" and an insurer has not authorized via the claim number, you will be billed. Make sure you stipulate that they are to pay for a vehicle until your is completely fixed and do not sign anything saying it is done until you have driven it for a few weeks and had time to inspect it. I picked mine up at night(dumb) and had major problems. they closed the Car rental portion of the Claim and said I would ahve to pay for the rental on my own while it is in the shop getting rerepaired. I am waiting on this money too!
do not get a rental car in your name!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Get it in the insurance comanies name and donot give them a credit card!!! No they do not need your credit card to give you a rental for the accident. go to enterprise if they tell you otherwise. all you should need is the the claim number, the car company will set everything up.
my brother got rear ended in his LS 430 Ultra edtion with the sonar recently, and all he got was a midrange car. He was pissed. He still had to make those big payments and lost alot of resale value since he now has an accident car!!!
Three other things.
Your vehicle now has alot lower value even if there is no significant frame damage, and the accident will be on the car fax. YOU need to fight for compensation for the loss in trade in/resale value. they will try to tell you there is nothing they can do about that. BS when you try to trade it in and they offer 10,000 less because of the car fax....
If you, or anyone in your family has a health realated problem in the future as a result of this, you will be paying out of pocket for the rest of your life.
My first accident, with a s***ty lawyer(read nice guy) has cost me more than 10K in therapies. I still have back neck problems and may have to have a disk fused. It was a very similar accident to yours. I had to go by new ortho shoes, get a different office chair at work and buy a more supportive bed. All because of a back ache that did not show up for weeks. I was told I had whiplash, but since I didn't get and x-ray Immediatley, they faught me. I quit after more than 2 years, fired the attorney and took a bath on medical bills. Still paying, and fighting off surgury
Get checked out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't sign a release and if anyone calls you for a statement, tell them all you want is the claim Numebr and give them the attorney's number. Get a local Attorney, and a damn prominant one. He/she will not be doing most of the work, a leagal aid/ Young Attorney will be the one making the calls. The Big guy will only get called in for court!!! but a name strikes fear in the adjuster becuase if he trys to say no and goes to court and looses, he will lose his contract status. I learned this the hard way. If the adjuster doesn't know the law firm, find one he is afraid of!!!
Last but not least. Every insurance company has preferred vendors who do work at a discount and luxury car body shops hate insurers but need them for sustainable business. Find the three most expensive Auto Body shops in the area, ask for their hourly rate and do they work with the insurance company who is behind the claim number# Get Qoutes from them, they will most likley choose the least expensive and try to push you to a cheap "contract" shop. Unless it is the Lexus dealer don't do it!!! Lexus has fixed my car three times for one accident. they still screwd stuff up, and had to be taken back. While they were always willing to fix it again, at some point it was out of their trained skill set. I now call my ES300 the Tecnicolor dream coat, four shades of white and three of grey. (s***ty)
They Only "certified" Lexus body shop I know of in the country is in Texas at Sewell , they are the country's largest Lexus pre-owned company. They do alot of great work. Even they said it is very hard to match Late model lexus White, especially if it has the "pearl" coating. Be very selective in who does the work, as I am sure slee and many others can attest even the best mecanics make mistakes, Only the best are willing to admit and fix it. Especially at thier own cost. I hope you can find someone who has done and can prove they have done work on an LX470 front end, it can be very costly to be a mechanics learning curve. As we all learn on are own at some point
If you need help finding an Attorney, let me know and I will call mine. He was described to me as a bastard pit bull, I am praying we go to court soon!!!
Attorneys love to send referrals!!!!
Yes I am wierd and have had to many accidents, oddley enough not at fault for most of them!!!, but I hope this is helpful.
By the way I love my agent and see him and his wife at the gym all the time and we have a fabulous relationship.
