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Hey there from the Dragon crowd! I hate that you're going through this. Such a nicely done car - but glad you're OK.
The "good" news is that it doesn't matter what modifications you have/haven't declared with YOUR insurance company, since they're not the ones paying. The bad news is that the other company just isn't going to be inclined to care - at least not more than they have to. When you talk to the adjuster, you can fully expect to be disappointed with the initial offer, after all - they want to minimize the claim. But, know that there is some flexibility and that the adjuster is motivated to get the claim closed. Polite persistence is your friend here and don't sound like to need to close the deal today. "Thanks for the quick response, or the (little bit) extra, but that just doesn't solve my problem. There must be something else we can do here." Polite. Push.
Check around and see if you can find someone in your area that has credentials/experience to do car appraisals. (If you have a favorite body shop, they may be able to help provide a referral.) If they'll write you a "before" appraisal, it will cost you a few hundred bucks, but it adds a lot of weight to your claim and shows you're serious.
It could be helpful that the driver essentially threw the owner under the bus by admitting (with witnesses) that there was a known safety issue. That could go very badly for the owner on both liability and insurance coverage. "So, if I have to go to court, do I need to name you the owner or you (ins)?" (The REAL answer, BTW, would be both, but you weren't really asking him for legal advice.)
For the replacement car, I'd be inclined to stay with what you had. It was a great base to work from and you may be able to negotiate pulling some of the parts/mods across, as suggested above. If the insurance company doesn't want to pay for your P7 grill, etc, they'll have a hard time defending that you can't keep it.
A M/T might be fun, but they're rare enough you might not find a good match on the spot. Meanwhile, if you DO have luck getting enough extra for all your mod's, you might move into a "R."
Keep us posted on your progress and let us know if we can help!
Really appreciate the suggested "questions", I like your approach and typically take the same in negotiating until the gloves have to come off. I'm not in a hurry to get this settled, just want what is fair and I'm prepared to drag this out, get an attorney, take this to court and give everyone a hard time if necessary.
Found a 6MT online and I'm inclined to get that as a replacement. Hope it's still there when I'm ready to pull the trigger.
You have to have a VIN of a P7, but all available stock have been sold. They have been on backorder for somewhere over a year.
Someone just told me that the P7 grills are available again from dealers. Can't remember where/who said it but if I come across that message, I'll ask for everyone else and hopefully not for myself.
If the insurance company won’t pay out, you can always go the lawsuit route. Pain/ suffering, etc. my piece of crap stepson is at $87,000 and counting for pain/suffering/ other things from getting rear ended in his F150. Montlick and associates should be ashamed of themselves. nothing wrong with the boy!
If the insurance company won’t pay out, you can always go the lawsuit route. Pain/ suffering, etc. my piece of crap stepson is at $87,000 and counting for pain/suffering/ other things from getting rear ended in his F150. Montlick and associates should be ashamed of themselves. nothing wrong with the boy!
My neighbor is the same way. He has a Maserati GT and sued twice now in the past couple years. First one he sued his buddy's insurance company since his wife was with his buddy's wife running some errands and somebody hit them. He sued for his wife's pain and suffering. He ruined his friendship and as he tried to say to me "whats $50k between friends?" I said well I think you just said it-it's $50k but just acted like he couldn't understand why his buddy was mad. And his wife was just fine. The second one apparently somebody rear ended him. Sued again for pain and suffering and bought himself a used BMW 550 with that check. And he wonders why I won't go anywhere with him!
If the insurance company won’t pay out, you can always go the lawsuit route. Pain/ suffering, etc. my piece of crap stepson is at $87,000 and counting for pain/suffering/ other things from getting rear ended in his F150. Montlick and associates should be ashamed of themselves. nothing wrong with the boy!
My neighbor is the same way. He has a Maserati GT and sued twice now in the past couple years. First one he sued his buddy's insurance company since his wife was with his buddy's wife running some errands and somebody hit them. He sued for his wife's pain and suffering. He ruined his friendship and as he tried to say to me "whats $50k between friends?" I said well I think you just said it-it's $50k but just acted like he couldn't understand why his buddy was mad. And his wife was just fine. The second one apparently somebody rear ended him. Sued again for pain and suffering and bought himself a used BMW 550 with that check. And he wonders why I won't go anywhere with him!
Sounds like a "Friend" to avoid at 'all costs'.
Usually the problem with suit payouts, is that the "You don't pay unless we get you money" attorneys, involves how much of the money the client gets. Investigative report when I lived in Miami in the 80's revealed that the award was $3.5 MILLION. After the attorneys(loosely used term here) got their % as advertised, extra hours charged for 'Research', payment to special "Expert witnesses", and a few other fees, the client actually got, $16 THOUSAND. Since the client was on welfare, and somewhat illiterate, he was ecstatic with his payout, and actually made a TV ad for the attorneys!
No wonder there are so many 'Attorney Jokes', most like true("What do you call a group of Attorneys sky diving? Skeet").
My neighbor is the same way. He has a Maserati GT and sued twice now in the past couple years. First one he sued his buddy's insurance company since his wife was with his buddy's wife running some errands and somebody hit them. He sued for his wife's pain and suffering. He ruined his friendship and as he tried to say to me "whats $50k between friends?" I said well I think you just said it-it's $50k but just acted like he couldn't understand why his buddy was mad. And his wife was just fine. The second one apparently somebody rear ended him. Sued again for pain and suffering and bought himself a used BMW 550 with that check. And he wonders why I won't go anywhere with him!
Update on things...The insurance company's first offer was just for the car's market value which is actually more than what I paid for the car. I spoke with the agent and provided all the receipts and documentation to the $30k worth of mods and upgrades I had made and asked them to take it into consideration before providing a revised offer. After a week of them tearing the car apart to verify I had those parts installed, they came back with a measly $2k increase to the original offer, pretty irritating. I cooled down before responding and let the agent know I was disappointed in their offer and as well as their stance on a few request I made. I provided some additional details as well some perspective and asked her politely to reconsider again. She got back to me within an hour and agreed to all the terms I requested. I'm able to pull the P7 grill, aftermarket wheels, and custom steering wheel and a few other parts off, and they they are going to pay for the parts that I'm unable tie pull off like the VAP ECU/TCU tune, pulley, H&R springs, OEM fixed spoiler, etc as well as paying for the labor to have it installed in the new car. I essentially just wanted to be made whole from this, nothing more or less.
Thank you to everyone for your advise. I took the polite and patient approach and made sure I had everything documented and well organized when presented. It was very apparent that I was serious about this and took a very professional approach to which they responded in kind. Still got a long road to getting everything settled with this car, finding another F Type and then getting it worked up to what I want but it'll be a fun few months ahead. Thanks again.
I hope you are changing insurance companies for the next Jag.
My insurance company wasn't involved in this. I've been working with Erie Insurance who covers the company car that caused the accident. They've been easy to work and we've agreed to all of the terms I've requested.
A good personal insurance agency should step in to help with the negotiations. I have had experiences with USAA and Allstate. With both, I was being charged with what could have been over $2500 in false charges, but due to the intervention of both of these companies, the charges were proven fraud in one case, and unreasonable in another. Take a close look at who you are using(I am not an insurance agent, or employee).
A good personal insurance agency should step in to help with the negotiations. I have had experiences with USAA and Allstate. With both, I was being charged with what could have been over $2500 in false charges, but due to the intervention of both of these companies, the charges were proven fraud in one case, and unreasonable in another. Take a close look at who you are using(I am not an insurance agent, or employee).
I could have involved my insurance company but this hasn't been a difficult process with Erie Insurance. They're paying me more than I paid for the car, covering all the fees to buy another car, gave me time to remove all the parts I wanted, paying for all the parts I'm not able to remove as well as paying for the labor to install in the new car and I've got a rental until I find my next car. I was just asking to be made whole on the car as well as my mods and they agreed to all of my request. As mentioned in an earlier post, it took preparation on my side, a few back and forth calls/emails with the agent and everything has worked out. Appreciate the advice but I don't think there was a reason to get my insurance involved.
