Drove BRZ for 2 weeks and its been in shop since OCT 2015

[Sherb]

I am just going to copy this from redit so I dont need to retype all of it. My father has been speaking with my insurance about this. We were going to get an attorney but welll do that when the time comes. If someone can explain how attorneys work for cars situations like this?

https://www.reddit.com/r/ft86/commen...ber_need_help/ Link above for what happened. The body shop is going to now get me a 2016 BRZ of the same color. But they want us to either trade it in or sell it on craigslist. I dont get why I should have to trade the car in or resell it when the body shop screwed the car up in the first place. They only thing they didnt touch was the back seats. When it was at the dealership they didnt have the rubber seals on so when el nino happened it got flooded inside and the seat railings were damaged..
So can anyone give me some advice on what I should do? I would really not like to have to post on craigslist to resell when I havent even been able to drive my car since October itll just be another long wait. Also if I trade it in wouldnt I owe more money on my current car loan for the car?
Sorry for all the questions this is my first time this has ever happened to me

You can see the rest of my replies in the link below.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ft86/commen...hop_since_mid/
Link to the original topic


Has anyone ever been in a similar situation? Like what pissed me off is that they want me to trade the car in to get a 2016 when It was clearly in an accident and the body shop CLEARLY messed up on it. A 3 week job turned into a almost 6-7 month job, and keep in mind Im still paying car insurance and my monthly car payment and I have only drive it 2 weeks

[Tcoat]

I would lawyer up and go after both the body shop and the insurance company. You pay insurance for them to deal with this sort of thing and they obviously have dropped the ball. Most lawyers have the first meeting at no charge so you really need to talk to them.

[Sherb]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I would lawyer up and go after both the body shop and the insurance company. You pay insurance for them to deal with this sort of thing and they obviously have dropped the ball. Most lawyers have the first meeting at no charge so you really need to talk to them.

My father says the insurance is gonna take care of it first. MY father wanted them to salvage the car. Because they touched everything but the back seats.
I should get a lawyer if the dealership forces me to trade the car in and raises my current car loan right?

[Summerwolf]

Definitely go straight to a lawyer. They will have more knowledge in how to handle this and helping you out.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Sherb

My father says the insurance is gonna take care of it first. MY father wanted them to salvage the car. Because they touched everything but the back seats.
I should get a lawyer if the dealership forces me to trade the car in and raises my current car loan right?

Do not for any reason trade the car in! You will probably get about 1/3rd of the value for it because of the circumstances. The insurance company needs to step up and write it off or the body shop needs to make up the difference in value. Then you can use that payment to get a new one. I would talk to a lawyer before I went any further.

[Sherb]

I doubt my dad will trade it in after what the car has been through.


Isnt there lawyers that specialize in cars that will help you and split what you sue the body shop for? As you can see I am not too familiar with lawyers / car stuff

[Summerwolf]

Your best bet would be to CALL A LAWYER and talk to them about the specifics of YOUR case. THEY will be able to tell you what YOUR options are.


Either that or have your dad call for you....since he is handling everything else apparently.

[Sherb]

from reddit

Originally Posted by Kostelnik

I agree. Cover yourself by getting an attorney in case they end up doing something shady to get rid of you. Wouldn't the insurance be covering a new vehicle? Or did the shop screw up the car so bad that they're giving in and essentially totalling the car and replacing it themselves? I would have put a stop to the work and had it transferred to another shop at the end of the first month or two. This time frame is just ridiculous.

The car get extremely screwed up so do you think they will be replacing it if we refuse to do a trade in value?

[justatroll]

They fried the Electronics when they welded on the car without knowing what they were doing.


I would make the body shop's insurance total the car and THEY can do whatever they want to with it.
TELL (don't ask) your insurance company to make this happen.
Even tell them that since the body shop screwed up the electronics, the car will never be "trustworthy" again.

[extrashaky]

It sounds like you're young and in over your head.

Get a lawyer. Or get your dad to get a lawyer.

Your insurance company wants to reduce their cost as much as possible, so they may leave you holding the bag if you don't have someone advocating on your behalf. The body shop also wants to reduce their cost, and they may try to pass off responsibility for it to the insurance company. Each one will point fingers at the other and leave you with the problem. You need to have an attorney working on your behalf to make sure that both the body shop and the insurance company do what they need to do to make you whole.

There are lawyer referral services. Start with your state bar's website. Or one of the attorney rating sites like Avvo. Or just ask friends and relatives if they can recommend anyone. There are lawyers who specialize in auto accidents, and they're not hard to find.

[covance]

I think you should get an attorney and go after the body shop (who in turn will file a claim with their insurance company) for:

-Loss of use of vehicle while it was in the shop for months
-Value of getting a new BRZ
-Attorney fees

Your attorney will tell your insurance company he/she is now representing you, and then your insurance company will have to start going through your attorney as well. That way the attorney is handling all the communications/everything from then on out.

[Luftwaffel]

Everyone is saying lawyer up, but it seems like you guys haven't even been pushy with your own insurance yet. You need to get on the phone and help them understand that it's their job to get this sorted. Tell them all of the crap the body shop has done wrong and make sure they understand that the shop flooded the car due to negligence.

Then lawyer up.

[benrz]

Originally Posted by Luftwaffel

Everyone is saying lawyer up, but it seems like you guys haven't even been pushy with your own insurance yet. You need to get on the phone and help them understand that it's their job to get this sorted. Tell them all of the crap the body shop has done wrong and make sure they understand that the shop flooded the car due to negligence.

Then lawyer up.

This. 100% this.

[acetothermus]

Originally Posted by Luftwaffel

Everyone is saying lawyer up, but it seems like you guys haven't even been pushy with your own insurance yet. You need to get on the phone and help them understand that it's their job to get this sorted. Tell them all of the crap the body shop has done wrong and make sure they understand that the shop flooded the car due to negligence.

Then lawyer up.

Exactly. This is what you pay insurance companies for. To fight BS battles like this that you shouldn't have to. Obviously your insurance company isn't understanding the situation, or just not reputable. I'd be shopping for a difference insurer after you get things sorted.