Well, Shit Happens
 

Hey people,

I'm pretty shattered right now, but I thought I could make a post so that you guys can laugh/cry as you wish!

I woke up as usual on Monday morning (Feb 03) and got ready and was leaving my apartment to get to work. I lock my doors, walk out of the building to greet my car and instead see this:

http://i.imgur.com/6LqGffY.jpg

(Yes, you can't see my car in the pic, it's underneath the shed)

Needless to say, I was fuckin' shattered. I just stood there and kept repeating to myself, 'Wake up now, this is a dream. Please let this be a dream'. But it wasn't. The following are the pictures that I took when the car was underneath the shed. I had no idea when the shed fell over my car and the last time I drove my car was on Sunday evening.

http://i.imgur.com/DIFp2J0.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Hn4LS93.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/id0zAfV.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Bx1HCJN.jpg

These are just some of the pictures I took of the incident. I immediately called my Auto Insurance company (GEICO) and filed a claim. Called the apartment people and told them about this and they sent contractors to lift the shed. The vehicle was damaged on the left hand side and had three major dents on the vehicle. The car was in running condition and I didn't feel anything when I drove it to a body shop.

GEICO told me that I could choose any body shop I want (some Michigan Law) and after some research I found Autometric was recommended quite often. I drove my car to Autometric, got a quote (~$5000) and called GEICO again and told them the location of my car. The quote is to replace the bumper, the hood, the left front fender and the roof with original OEM parts. The top part of the door would be repainted and repaired.

I have comprehensive coverage on my vehicle and GEICO gave me a rental car for 30 days, $30 per day. The adjustor would be coming in sometime early next week and I just hope he agrees to the numbers as
- I wasn't driving the vehicle, not even in the vehicle
- Vehicle is 4 months old
- Less than 15k miles on it

I spoke to the apartment people about it and told them that the least they can do is pay my deductible. I haven't heard back from them yet, but I want them to pay everything that I need to be paying, out of my own pocket. I know they are a bunch of c**** but I will not let this die easily at least.

I'm sorry that this post has turned out to be longer than expected and kind of a rant rather than an experience sharing story. I don't know what to expect from the adjustor and the apartment people at this point. I just hope things work out well.

Any advice/tips/comments on how to handle from you guys on how to handle this would be greatly appreciated. I don't see/feel any damage to the vehicle other than the exterior parts. Anything you guys think would be affected with this incident (I'll be getting my alignment done after this for sure)? Would my car ever be the same as it was before?

Thanks! You guys are a helpful lot!

best of luck man. try for a reduced value claim if you really want to get the most out of it. hope your apartment people own up to their shoddily constructed shed. you live in Michigan. they should expect snow and design accordingly.

Don't file a claim through your insurance, the apartment complex should take care of that on their end. If they don't agree I would ask a lawyer, otherwise your rates will probably increase. I get a few different discounts for being accident free and claim free for an extended period of time and would lose them if I needed to use my insurance for anything other than glass replacement.

With that much body damage, go for a whole car repaint so all the panels match. The last thing you want is patches of the car to have a better shine than the rest.

Also, have your body shop ensure the windshield structure is sound. Who knows if the windshield frame is warped.

dam...that's somewhat unexpected. sorry for what happened. best of luck!

Wow that sucks. You might want to check to see if that shed was approved by zoning, when my parents put a roof over our back porch we were required to put in bigger columns and we have no where near the same regulations regarding snow & wind load as I'm sure you guys do. Plus it was supported on the high end by our house. Just my observation as a Civil Engineer in the construction business.

tl;dr those columns look skinny

Yup, the poles were skinny. And rusty too. I wasn't too sure about that before, but it didn't seem to bother any one else and they said its been like this for quite some time, so it shouldn't be a problem. And then this happens.

That was what I thought, later on, when I started clearing my head! My first response was obviously Auto insurance and that's why I called them.

I made sure that they filed the claim under 'Comprehensive - falling objects' and not 'Collision'. Also, I pay extra for my car port. So that means I put my car there because 'I want to'. The apartment people might use that against me and tell me to contact my renters insurance (If that happens, I will them that I signed up for a fully functional carport and not a carport with rusted poles due to lack of maintenance). But I'm not sure if my renters insurance covers carports and parking lots.

I completely agree on the insurance rates going higher, but I hope it doesn't as it is filed under Falling objects and collision. Thanks for the info though!

OP, your insurance should be able to after the aparment complex's insurance on your behalf. You may still need to pay the deductible while the dispute is handled, but if it comes out in your favor, then Geico will reimburse you your deductible while they collect from your apartment complex's insurance.

Get a lawyer, sue the shit outta the apartment complex.

This isd the responsibility of the apartment complex, let your insurance conpnay know because they will sue them.

Heh, man, this sucks, but it almost seems like a situation you just have to look back and laugh at. At least it'll be a story you can pass down on your family. "G'DAMN SHED TRIED TO EAT MY CAR!"

In the meantime, yeah, get them to pay for anything you'd have to go out of pocket. Might have to lawyer up for that, though, if they won't cooperate.

Next time, don't risk further injury by taking photos underneath a partially collapsed structure that could collapse further.

Unless you know exactly how/why the roof collapsed, you shouldn't be under it.

-alex

Yup, that's what I have done. I have told GEICO to after my apartment people on my behalf. I was under the assumption that they would get the deductible money from me and the rest from the apartment people. I wasn't sure they would be paying back my deductible once they settle the case with the apartment people.

For that, I've asked the apartment people to pay my deductible through a check (haven't heard back from them yet). I haven't told them that GEICO would be coming after them (I guess they already know)