That situation is horrible on so many levels. I really hope everything works out OK for you. It is a very good thing you are leasing. Plus, on top of the headaches and hassles, you have to drive a Chevy Cobalt for 3 months - ouch. It is a shame about your car, but at least you have your health. It really could have been much worse...

 

UPDATE:
My car will be repaired. I cannot get them to total it. Total parts cost about $19-20K and about $10K in labor costs. The repairs will take an estimated 2 months!

 

Nothing you can do except look at the bright side...you have 2 months more miles to drive it once you get it back from being laid up..

 

UPDATE:

I just got a copy of the estimate. First of all, it is 11 pages long!! Total cost of parts is just over $18,500 and total labor cost is $8000. The surprising part to me is the labor rate is "only" $44/hour. I would have expected something like $60-70/hour. Curious.... do the insurance companies limit how much a repair shop can charge for labor costs?

Now the long wait begins... but at the very least, there is progress.

 

I'm sure they negotiate a discount rate in return for steering business to them, just like they do in the health care industry.

The shop probably likes the arrangement since it is a guaranteed stream of business that they needn't market or advertise for. They likely also get paid in a timely manner by the insurance company, so they don't get stuck with a bunch of bad debt on their books.

 

Yes, very often there is a contracted labor rate to be considered a preferred repair shop with various auto insurers in NJ. Very similar to medicine and healthcare. It's surprisingly low considering how involved collision work is vs the dealers getting 90-100$/hr for standard maintenance/non collision work.

 

UPDATE:
My court appearance is today. The kid filed a complaint stating that I did not observe the traffice signal. I am not bringing an attorney because it seems to me that this thing it pretty cut and dry. Am I being naive? This is the first time I have ever been through something like this.

 

Bring an attorney. Events like this are the reason they exist. If they weren't useful, there wouldn't be so many of them.

 

Our US Legal System is so chaotic it permits anyone to file a complaint at any time for any reason. Your best witness is the investigating officer or witnesses who "witnessed" the accident. You are one of those witnesses! Your veracity + the police report should hold you "not guilty" of any motor vehicle infraction.

One other point - NJ is a Comparative negligence state (for insurance purposes). That means that because you were there ... you share a %age of the negligence. Some years ago, a court settlement for damages to me was reduced by 5% based on the "but for" rule - Were it but for my presence in the intersection when the other driver ignored a stop sign and ripped the front of my car off ... the accident would not have occurred! It was concluded I was 5% at fault. GO FIGURE!!

Good luck in court - This other driver needs a wake up call or the next time you read about him it may be another airport runway story!

BTW, I was at the dealer today ... your car is still in pieces but Gary felt they were making progress.

 

It depends, what does the police report say? There's a number code on the report which usually assigns culpability/blame in an accident. I thought the report was in your favor.?