We were T-Boned by a car while making a turn back on November. 3, 2022
Geico determined we were not at fault, but for some reason sent the car straight to Copart as it may have been a “total loss.” A week later adjuster calls and says nope not a total loss, we’re going to ship it to body shop. Its been at the body shop ever since “waiting on airbags” and they are unable to provide an ETA. I’ve tried calling every week (not that its going to make it go any faster) and they finally said that at this point to expect them to have the car indefinitely. That leaves my other half carless which just a few months left on her lease.
We’ve reached out to Geico many times and they don’t really seem to care much. I’ve explained that I am unable to pay $1500 a month (almost my mortgage) for a car rental. They refuse to assist with a rental car because the 30 days were exhausted. I’ve asked them to get with the at faults insurer and all that they can say is its too late. Too late for what exactly? They won’t even reach out to the body shop on my behalf to see if there is anything they can do to assist with part sourcing. Even tried getting them to let me sign a release so I can take the car until parts arrive!
I understand that the circumstances put both myself and Geico in a jam, but what is the point to insurance if they aren’t going to help? I’ve been making lease/insurance payments on a car we can’t drive, plus the at faults insurer is not going to pay for deductible because they feel their driver isn’t at fault. Already went through arbitration.
I’ve debated taking the at fault to court in order to recover all my losses.
So my question is, what options do I have at this point?
Not sure how it is in NJ, but in CA, you decide which body shop the car gets repaired at, not the insurance company. Can you get the car back and bring it to a shop of your choose that may repair it sooner?
They won’t release the car to me directly as its considered “unsafe” due to missing side curtain airbag. That’s why I involved Geico, maybe they would release it to them and I could take it elsewhere. But Geico could care less…
It’s your car, you should be able to take possession of it. They will probably charge you a ton for storage fees though before releasing it. Can you tow it out from there?
So check this out. The shop where the car is at right now called a supplier in Texas, they have the air bags, but won’t ship them to that particular body shop for one reason or another. I had a different body shop call that same supplier and they will ship it out to them.
That’s very odd. The reason I commented is because my dad has recently retired from owning a paint and body shop in TX. I worked with him for a bit before he retired because he lost some of his office help. Those insurance companies push the shops hard to get cars out and completed. Also, the shop doesn’t get paid by the insurance company until the job is complete. So, it’s in the shop’s best interest to get the car out ASAP. Are you dealing with a chain body shop/ dealer shop/ or independent?
Not that I have much experience in the matter, but when it comes to insurance companies it seems like to only way to get things done is with a lawyer. Will they help get the parts in quicker? I don’t think so. But for getting money to pay for your rental, maybe. At this point I’m not sure the costs would offset though.
Even if other shops can’t get the part sooner, I would rather take my vehicle to a shop of my choosing that has better communication than what the OP has reported. You would leave your car at a shop that says the car will remain there indefinitely?
Not sure if NJ works with subrogation. If it does you should be able to send your reciepts for the rental to your adjuster to get reimbursed. You
I know it is too late, but with insurance it is not always about the cheapest price. A quality agent/adjuster can be priceless in situations like this.
This is an independent shop and I don’t think they’re purposely holding things up. But maybe they don’t have the best relationships with their parts providers?
These insurance companies make shops use a few different types of national databases for parts availability. Oftentimes a parts salesperson at a dealer can search national inventory on a particular part. With it being an airbag that you’re missing, I’m sure they are looking for a new airbag, not used. What’s the year and model of your vehicle?
My experience with GEICO has been great, when I had a crash. That was 12 years ago but still. I had tow company tow it to an indie bodyshop a block away from crash site. Geico adjuster approved it. Next day, I had change of mind and asked GEICO if they would let me move it to a reputed shop, they said yes, paid the storage charge to the previous shop and towed to the other shop.
I guess depends on the adjuster.
You probably need to lawyer up. A letter from lawyer can do wonders.
Some of these Geico issues could be dependant upon what state you’re in and their insurance laws and regulations. I too, used to have Geico and made a claim in 2015. It was a very easy process and I felt they were fair. Also, at my dad’s body shop we were glad to get a Geico claim because they typically were easy to deal with and paid reasonable and necessary charges without much hassle. Also, their in the field adjusters were easy to deal with. Maybe NJ is not very customer friendly when it comes to insurance issues and the insurance companies take advantage of that. Just a thought.
Really surprised Geico did not just total it out considering you had an airbag deploy.
You should lawyer up at this point since you are getting nowhere.
