Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2000 20:46:14 -0700
Reply-To: David Marshall <vanagon@VOLKSWAGEN.ORG>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: David Marshall <vanagon@VOLKSWAGEN.ORG>
Subject: Re: Crash help needed
In-Reply-To: <39F3AC16.277E5B56@eoni.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Scott and the rest of the Vanagon List,
About 2 years ago I hit a rotweilder/chow that ran out in front of me with
my 1987 Audi 5000S Quattro at 80km/h / 45mph - at the time the car has
138,000km / 83,000mi on the odometer and it was without a scratch we paid
$5000 CAD for the car 1 year earlier - which is a fairly average deal for a
car of this quality. The dog was very dead after the accident and it
crushed the engine bonnet corner, fender and pushed in the crumple zone on
the passenger side. The insurance company gave it a $2000 price tag to fit
it. So off to the body shop to fix it. Well, they discovered that the
damage was much more serious than estimated and the cost came out to about
$3500 CAD. Upon getting the car back in my drive way I discovered that the
paint was mismatched, the bumper cover didn't fit correctly and the crumple
zone was not repaired correctly. I got the insurance company to look at it
again and sure enough they said not to drive it as it was too dangerous and
to take it to a different shop and get it fixed. The second shop fixed it
but they said the crumple zone will never be 100% as they are designed to be
disposable - as it sits I would give it a 9/10. The job does look very good
indeed and I am pretty much happy with the outcome considering what they had
to work with. Although there is always something in the back of my brain
that says DON'T get into an accident with this Audi! The time from the
accident to the time we could drive it took over 1 year and we are still
battling with the original body shop as they say we owe them money due to
the added expenses they incurred (and the insurance company won't pay).
There is a small claims court date set for next year - I'll have fun at this
I am sure! Basically the point I am trying to make is if I were you, I
would dump the Westie - insist that there is a safety issue with driving it
once it is repair and demand that they get you another one in the same
condition as the van was before the accident. If I had my time back this is
what I would have done with my Audi - here is a good question to ask at this
point, would you buy my Audi knowing what happened to it? More than likely
not. After your Westie is fixed, would I want it? No, repairs equal rust
after a while and it will never be perfect again. How do you establish an
value above the national average - simple. Get some buy and sells and start
cutting the ads out. Go to EP.com an print the listings out,
westminstervw.com is another good place to visit along with our web site
(sorry no Westies currently listed) Westfalia are appreciating in value not
depreciating like 99% of the other cars out there. I think if you can show
them 10 or so ads with a like Westfalia dated within a few weeks of each
other you have a stronger case. I'm not sure how State Farm works, but here
in BC, ICBC goes after the person who is at fault for the money - hence I
have a bill for $1500 for damaged to a Ford Explorer my wife backed into.
You are not ripping off the insurance company for getting what your van is
worth, you are making that colour blind idiot pay for their stupidity.
David Marshall
Fast Forward Autobahn Sport Tuning
4356 Quesnel Hixon Road
Quesnel BC Canada V2J 6Z3
mailto:info@fastforward.ca http://www.fastforward.ca
Phone: (250) 992 7775 FAX: (250) 992 1160
. Vanagon Accessories and Engine Conversions
. Transporter, Unimog and Iltis Sales
. European Lighting for most Audi and Volkswagen models
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com]On Behalf
Of Jim Arnott
Sent: October 22, 2000 8:10 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Crash help needed
This just came in on the WetWesties list. Could those of you who have
been involved in previous accident discussions please send Scott
suggestions on what to put into the Vanagon.com search engine to find
the previous threads. I've already sent him the suggestion to join
vanagon if he hasn't already.
<mailto:cls@transport.com>
TIA.
Jim Arnott
List Admin
WetWesties
Union, OR
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Subject: [wetwesties] WetWesty-HELP
Date: Sun, 22 Oct 2000 20:24:50 -0700
From: "Scott, Lynne and Cecily" <cls@transport.com>
To: Wet Westies <wetwesties@egroups.com>
HELP PLEASE,
Me and, more importantly, my bought-new-in-1987,
never-been-in-an-accident, well-traveled Westy were broadsided by a (I
am trying to control my anger) stop-sign-running fool. OUCH! About
$6,000+ damage and those dear insurance folks at State Farm are
talking about totaling it out. I need your help. I want to keep my
van and not get crucified monetarily. (Non-frame, but ugly,
significant damage to driver's side between the wheels (stills drives
real straight) and interior cabinet damage.) Who has been through this??
I have learned more about this 'game' in the last few days than I wish
I knew, but I know there is so much more to learn so I do not get
screwed any more than necessary. I have North Pacific insurance. She
has State Farm and they have assigned the N. MLK Ave office here in
Portland to deal with me. If they won't fix it, they will give me the
difference between fair market value and salvage value. I am afraid
they are going to try to squeeze me between a low national market
value and a high local salvage value.
How do I establish value above the national averages ($6,000)? I have
been doing research in recent Sunday Oregonians. Does anyone know of
1984 to 1989 Westfalias currently for sale that I could use as a
reference point? Anyone bought one recently?
What is the consequences of having a 'totaled' vehicle that I
subsequently fix? Are there title issues? Are there insurance issues?
How is State Farm to deal with?
What questions aren't I asking but need to know the answers to?
Broken hearted and POed in Portland,
Trying to remain Peaceful,
Scott
