mxis350

Ok so about 2 months ago I fell asleep at the wheel and hit a tree head on at about 40 mph.

For reasons the insurance did not pay a penny.

Now im trying to figure out how to get it fixed. Here are the detail.

The company that towed my car estimated me at 10k damage.

My car is a 07 is350 LEASE!! The lease is up on about May. So my plan is to fix it and just return the lease sense i am also going true a LOT of things in my life like divorce and much more. I just want the car and payments out of my life so i can start looking into my future.

Ill have the 10k in a month or so.

My question is, can I just take it to any shop and get it fixed? I got a guy who tells me he can fix it for MUCH cheaper like 5-6k using chinese parts and all that cheaper stuff. Sounds good to me but will Lexus give me beef about it? Must I have it done by a "certified" body shop that cost more? Must I use Lexus parts?

Also how do I go about getting quotes from other shops? My car is parked outside and can not be driven. Do shops have a guy who goes to houses or am I going to have to tow my car from shop to shop getting quotes?

Will it make much of a difference if i buy the parts my self? I know ill need a hood, the entire front end, both lights or at least light covers... man this really sucks.

Anything will help. Thanks.

gc86

iTrader: (26)

Curious as to why the insurance didn't cover the accident. Anyways if the car is repaired properly and doesn't look like it has been in an accident than I don't think Lexus will investigate. However I'm sure they do a inspection once you return the car to them and they will most likely find out that parts have been swapped or they'll be able to see differences in the fresh paint vs the original paint hinting an accident. You should check to see what their policy is.

Phresh2010

iTrader: (3)

Find some reputable shops in your area and shop for the best price. I wouldn't recommend using chinese parts because then everything will become unreliable and also I believe it will violate your lease? Not sure how lease terms go.

Did you have full coverage? I find it weird that insurance did not cover it. What were their reasons?

nairb

iTrader: (1)

Damn man that sucks, sorry to hear

Why won't your insurance pay?

Big note: This is just what I have heard / experienced, if it turns out to be untrue, sorry

Point 1:
When I turned in my last lease, the guy that sold me the car did a walk around, checked to see if things were in working order and that there was no major damage to the car. He walked around for a few minutes then I signed a paper that returned the lease. From what I have heard once you sign the paper you are home free. Ie: They won't know you have chines parts until after you signed the papers. I imagine in a court you can claim, no the car was in perfect condition when I signed the papers, the dealer is just trying to scam me, something along those lines so ya, once you sign you're obligations are over, so I've been told.

You can make a random phone call to a different dealership and ask questions regarding this or go in person and just don't give your real name, say your asking for a friend or family member. Try and approach a younger salesmen I'd suggest. An older one might not be as helpful with that kind of question.

**edit also check to see if that type of thing violates your lease contract, I'm pretty sure you can't put in a Civic engine and return the lease hehe**

Point 2:
I suggest taking some in dept photos of your car from every possible angle and finding your way to a body shop (preferably a body shop that some of your friends/family have been to before, they would be more willing to do this) and have them give you an estimate based on the images, or just ask if they can do a home visit (they might be nice). Otherwise your only option is to get your car towed there.

Point 3:
Do you have any friends or family, even distant, that work for a car company? They can get manufacturer parts for like 60% retail. Some lady hit me a few months back and her husband worked for Ford and I got my car fixed there, it cost them about $500, with him discount, when I got a body shop quote for almost $1200

Like I said, this is all hearsay/my experience so I can't verify its accuracy but good luck to you man! Hope things work themselves out.
Good luck!

Raralith

Sorry to hear about this, but to give you some helpful information, you need to obtain a written guideline for what is required at the end of the contract. You can find this guideline in your lease contract too, but in case you don't have it, just ask for it. Another possibility is the dealership already knowing about it, or your insurance company might have reported it to the owner/lease company/bank? You may be spending $10k, find out that they know, and that they find it unacceptable. Just double check the contract as these things do happen, and there probably is a clause that relates to this.

llamaboiz

umm... you pay for insurance yet they wont fix your car? tell them you want all your insurance money BACK~

shadowman

iTrader: (2)

What kind of insurance coverage you have? Liability only or do you have comprehensive. If it's liability then your insurance company doesn't have to pay a dime. But if you have the full coverage (comprehensive), then they are legally liable to pay. I'm not too sure if they can deny you if you are drunk or under illegal substance though.

mxis350

Thanks for the help. Ill get to reading the contract tomorrow and maybe even call lexus financial. I know from 2 months ago that they have a Dep that deals with these kind of things.

And about the insurance. Well the car is under my dads name only. 1 month before the crash we changed insurance companies. Well they made us sign a Exemption for me. Witch i asked "whats that paper" the guy said "its an exemption for you because you live at the same household" I told him "no i dont live at the same house" the guy said "oh ok then we dont need to file this, ill just put it aside and discard it (it was all filed out and signed by my dad)"

Well turns out the damn guy ended up filing the exemption anyways.... Sure I could fight it in a court but all the attorneys tell me its a losing battle sense they have a signed document and theres no way to probe he was not supposed to file it. If the guy would just admit he made a mistake it would all be good but when I went to talk to him he was a complete *** and basically kicked us out of the office.....

Stay AWAY from PROGRESSIVE!!!!

Phresh2010

iTrader: (3)

^^^ wow dude that sucks...seriously if it were me i would really considering punching this guy in the face if he cost me 10 stacks, have you tried talking to the manager or calling someone more higher up in progressive? seriously this is 10 grand you are talking about

mxis350

Yea I went true the entire chain. But they have in their power a signed document so they don't care sense that covers them from any legal action I could take against them...

Tell me about it man. Right now im just focused on getting rid of the car (all my deat) finishing my divorce and just restarting my life from scratch...

Initial_K

iTrader: (2)

Why would your dad sign something like that when you're the one driving the car. hmmm

LexasRN

anyone costing me 10 stacks for nothing is definitely getting his chin tested

mxis350

its a long story. We were in the middle of me selling the car to him blah blah blah and a lot of other things. And it wasnt like he wanted to sign it. The insurance guy just handled him the paper to fill. After that he asked for my license. At that point i asked WHY? if I was only there to translate for my dad. Thats when he mentioned he assumed we were in the same household.. blah blah blah!!

Hes an older guy, might break his neck if I tried anything on him..

I guess theres nothing left but to suck it up and deal with it... damn

shadowman

iTrader: (2)

That sux man...

I usually take back any signed paperwork which no longer is effective. I don't trust anyone who says that they will "ignore" or "toss" with my signature. Verbal promises doesn't hold up in court.

Anyway, you can check around for body shops that can do this cheap. Just tell them that you are paying out of pocket. Most shops will keep the cost down for you.

RocketGuy3

iTrader: (1)

I would think it would be a pretty favorable case if you could prove that you lived in a different household at the time you signed that paper. Wouldn't that prove negligence on the side of the insurance company?