Thank you Iceman. And by the options u seem to have on your E60, it takes up a lot of space on the reply. Just a rather silly question re the logo/penguin picture on the post. How did u insert the picture on the left and your car's specification at the end. I'm still trying to efficiently work around the forum.

Bye

 

In your control panel you can insert a signature. That signature is the what gets displayed at the end of all of your posts in blue.
Also in your control panel you can insert an avatr picture, what gets displayed on the left of the posts you make and right above your user name.
Another picture you can insert is the personal photo. This picture is only for your profile and only visible when somebody looks up your profile info (in my case both pics are the same).

 

welcome aboard, irisheyes !

 

You might consider going to see the doctor if you begin to feel neck or back pain, or headaches after a few days. Symptoms of whiplash may take a few days to develop and your health is more important than the health of the car.

Also, if you do end up feeling even a little bit of whiplash bring this up with the insurance adjuster. Your negotiating position may change (i.e. improve) pretty dramatically. Of course, I have to say you should be truthful with them it doesn't pay to lie just to improve your claim....

Good luck!

 

The car is still in the body shop, being worked on. Once the body shop is done, service will get it to check out and fix all the elctronics, etc. -- in short, they're not sure if I will get it back by Christmas. :'(

Insurance adjuster is cooperative about paying the repair and rental car, but says I cannot claim "diminished value" in Delaware. My understanding is that this is true for claims with your own insurance company, but this is a third-party claim against the other guy (who was completely at fault), and I believe in this case one CAN try to claim dimished value. Of course, a different problem is to prove just by how much the value of the car has been diminished by this accident.

Any lawyers out there who can confirm (or deny) my understanding of the situation?

Thanks
Peter

 

When my home was severely damaged by an earthquake in 1987 outside of Los Angeles, I told the insurance company(I was one of the few who had earthquake insurance at that time) that I wanted my home to be put back in the exact same condition as before the earthquake.

Obviously, they can't do that with your car. Who will pay for the future problems, loss in value, etc. Get a lawyer to pound on the insurance company. No one will buy your car if they have to cut/weld. No autoshop is as good as the BMW factory.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

The insurance company can't prove anything different than the above.
Sue the other driver personally to recover the difference between the repair cost and the cost of a new vehicle. Then buy a new vehicle with all the money.


Good luck.

PS: The above information is for entertainment value only (I'm not a lawyer). Please do not try this at home!

 

Peter,

Just read your post for the first time. Glad to hear that you are doing well and sorry to hear about your "Ultimate Driving Machine". I would suggest that you speak to the sales manager at the BMW Center where your car is at and have him / her give you a written evaluation on a similar car with similar options and miles. Then ask him/her to do the same for your car. Make sure he sees the pictures and knows about the extent of the damages.

You may want to check with 1 or 2 other high line dealerships in your local area for an evaluation (appraisal) for your car. Once you have received the appraisals, you will see that your car has sustained "diminished value" due to the severity of the impact. Contact the adjuster from the insurance company and present him / her the reports and ask him / her to present them to his supervisor for review and ask them for a written response within 72 hours. Let them know that you will be sending copies of your communications to the Insurance Commissioner in your state.

The other driver and his insurance company are liable to pay for any and all damages to restore your car to it's "pre-accident condition", this includes any and all losses that you may incure due to the loss of value to your vehicle.

Good luck and Happy Holidays

 

- "but I could also see the tire marks (about 15 feet) of my own car "

Don't let them leave off the tires, 15' could leave some nasty flat spots.

 

Read the posts, and I have a couple of comments. The adjuster may be right on the issue of diminished value. The law in some states is that if your car is properly repaired, you are made whole and not entitled to diminished value. You would need to check with a Delaware lawyer to confirm in your case. There are things working for you and against you in settling your claim. In your favor: liability against other driver is clear; its a third party claim; the other driver probably has a commercial policy with high limits; and, probably your best point, its the end of the year and they probably would like to close the file.

Working against you: the law in Delware may not support diminished value claim; property damage has a "set" value, so the damage exposure to the other side is limited and you have less negotiating power than if negotiating a personal injury claim; the other side knows that it would not be cost effective for you to sue them because there's probably not enough "up side" from their settlement offer.

As for contacting the Insurance Commissioner, won't do you much good in a third party claim in most states. They know its an adversarial process and everyone thinks the other company's not treating them fairly.

You probably won't be completely happy with the best deal that can be made, but that's life. Not legal advice, so take it at what its worth! Good luck

 

Correct. For example in California there is no "diminished value" compensation due as part of an insurance settlement.