Insurance Adjuster, What to Expect? AKA Don't Total SWMBO's Baby!!!

Got rear-ended last night, I'm doing fine, no worse for wear than a bruise/cut above my left eye. In the light of day the car appears to be worse off than I thought. SWMBO is away on a conference, I was driving, "her baby" when it was hit.

2009 Jetta TDI DSG a couple hundred miles past 75K miles. Car is drivable, drove it to work this morning.

I have not met with adjuster yet, expecting a call any time. I posted the pictures on TDIClub, to see what other MKV owners might have experienced in similar situations, and am now freaking out a little, scared they'll try and total the car. Apparently those side/rear body panels are a lot of money/labor to fix right.

This is my first real foray into this, I got hit once eons ago in college while in my Jeep, but damage was minimal, I got a check for ~$250 to replace my trailer hitch and all was right. This time, well, I don't have a clue what to expect, what I should mention, things I should ask/tell an adjuster? I have no idea where to take the car for an estimate if/when that's what they tell me to. I'm open to suggestions.

SWMBO is very emotionally attached to the car, it's the first and only NEW car either of us have ever had. We've been all over the country with it, and I'll admit I'm pretty fond of it too.

I only have crappy cell phone pictures at the moment, I intend to get real pictures this evening if I'm home before dark.

The bumper, bumper cover, tail light assembly, trunk lid are all pretty easily replaced I know. My big concern is the ripple/wave formed in the left rear quarter panel near the trunk. That quarter panel isn't a "quarter" there's no seam that I can see, so I assume the entire left side of the car is one big panel and a front fender? What's the correct way to fix that? Can one cut and replace that buckled section?

The doors all open and close just like new, none of the superstructure of the uni-body is damaged enough to have tweaked the door gaps, at least not enough for me to notice.

• Lee

Wrinkle by the eindow is not good. I am thinking that will need a frame machien to pull it back strait.

More importantly get you but to a doctor and get cheacked out. Things can show up a day or even a week later.

Depends on what the book value is.....and what the other driver's insurance company decides to do. Don't get sentimental about the car, as it did its job. If totalled start with a new car and build the same feeling again.

I like to bring the car to a body shop and have the adjuster look at it there with the manager. He can really push for hidden damage, etc.

When I get hit, I usually don't want the car back.

Let the adjuster do his thing with what he can see. The hidden stuff comes in later as supplements and can keep the from being written off. I don't see enough damage there for a total.

Woody wrote: When I get hit, I usually don't want the car back.

Wait is this a regular occurrence?

Go to the adjuster first and see what they say. My recent experience was overwhelmingly positive. He found things that I had missed. As he explained it to me, the initial estimate was just that, and estimate, and if they agreed to fix it, they would pay to fix it at the cost of the shop. If there was additional cost due to damage that he missed it would be paid for. Your results may vary, but be humble, be nice, and see how it goes.

My computer here at work won't show the pictures, so I'm shooting in the dark here. I'm an auto claims guy. But from the description I'm reading, it could be a total loss. The quarter panel is a separate piece, unless the VW is constructed differently than most, which I'm pretty sure it's not. It's welded in, but you can't see the seams unless you strip it down. Quarter panels are usually $600-$800 for the part, sometimes more and about 16-18 hours of labor to replace. Then paint, etc... If the quarter is buckled from a rear end hit, it very likely means the rear body panel is trash, and possibly floor pan damage as well.

As for which shop to chose, keep in mind that's 100% your choice. The insurance company may have a network shop program. Ask about it. And don't let anyone tell you it's their way of trying to cut costs. The program is actually a win/win. The shops are independent shops, they all are. The same shop may be part of 9 different insurance company network programs. The program will usually also come with some kind of gaurantee on repair quality. That said, it's your choice, if you want to find a shop on your own, it's your right to do so. Let the appraiser do his/her thing. Let them check out the car. Feel free to point out anything you noticed, but assuming they have experience, they'll see it. Don't worry about hidden damages. Appraisers are trained to write what they can see. If the car is deemed repairable, then when it gets to a shop and they tear it down, the appraiser will look at it again to write any "hidden" damages. The appraiser will work with your shop to come to an agreement on repairs.

Hope it works out well for you. Let me know if I can be of any assistance. And definitely go to a doctor if you're feeling any pain.

These are still cell phone pictures, but at least they're in the day light, and hosted on a different, hopefully not-blocked, site.

• Lee

OK, I can see those. Rear body panel is definitely gone. Would need to see inside the trunk and behind the bumper, but the rear floor pan is likely damaged (look around the spare tire well). From what I see, I think it's repairable, but could be a borderline total loss. I just did a real quick look at value, and it's in the ballpark of $15k for clean retail. Without seeing behind the bumper and trunk, I'm guessing damage is somewhere around $6-$7k range. If the car's worth $15k, they'd probably go up to about $10k before totalling it.

Thanks Klayfish, I too came up with about $15K for a retail value. Between KBB, Edmunds, NADA, and every similar mileage/feature '09 TDI Jetta listed on Cars.com in a 500 mile radius I came to an average retail value of $15,301. I had to go out to 500 miles because there was only 1 listed within 200 miles of me.

Not "official" I know, but I wanted to be sure and do my homework ahead of time.

• Lee

I would have the adjuster look at it at the body shop doing the repair. Body shops and adjusters deal with each other all day and know what they are looking at. Find a shop you trust to do the job right and let them work on getting the insurer to pay for the repair. There is no reason you need to worry about dealing the adjuster.

This adjuster says "repairable", and I hate Volkswagens.

Sorry about the accident, Lee. Go to the doctor and get looked at, though. It often hurts later.

Wild guess puts that as marginal on the TL scale. As one of my old employers use to say, "Big job. Two, tree days."

In reply to mrwillie:

Thanks Will, I'm taking the Dr. suggestions under advisement. I feel like I got punched in the face, but I've felt that before. Mostly just hurts to squint.

We're no longer using dude's State Farm, now it's Zurich since it was a U-Haul that hit me and U-Haul uses Zurich. I think I see where this is going, but I've got 2 more days before the police report is available, so getting too excited now won't do any good. Hopefully the hairs standing up on the back of my neck are over nothing.

Edit: No sooner than I clicked "Add Post" and I had an email from the guy. I now have a copy of the Zurich proof of insurance, contact for HR of dudes employer who the U-Haul was apparently rented through, and a promise that the claim will be filed with them in the morning.

Guy has been very friendly, answered all of my questions, and provided every bit of info I've asked for, so I will squelch my natural instinct to find bad in everyone for the time being.

• Lee

I bet the whole rear corner of the car is tweaked based on the ripple there, trunk pan, frame horn, etc.

Lee, Glad to hear you've heard from the other carrier. Stay on top of it, but let them do their thing. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Let us know what happens along the way. ddavid and I can certainly give some insight as you go.

How do you know the accident report is finally available? Two cold calls from a chiropractor and a doctor's office first thing this morning. "We'll check ya out for free, don't ya want free therapeutic message?"

I have a large "bubble" of personal space and am very selective of those who can enter it let-alone touch me. I find the thought of a stranger calling and offering to rub on me for free a little unnerving.

• Lee

There are lots of slimy chiro and "doctors" offices out there who have people that scour accident reports all day long (they're public record) and do cold calling to try to get new patients in. They get them in, then run up huge bills that they send to the insurance company to pay. The "patient" is really just a pawn to get money from the insurance company for the chiro office in these cases. In some states that have high medical payment limits, the scams are out of control.

It won't be long until you start to hear from they personal injury lawyers. Get ready.

I say totaled.

Woody wrote: When I get hit, I usually don't want the car back.

Opposite here. When I get hit, I want the car back with a nice fat cheque from the insurance company. You know, that whole lemonade from lemons thing

Last "serious" accident that I was in. I had to have a friend drive me to the ER. I didnt see a doctor for several hours after the accident. and the next day I was too stiff to even sit up. ER checked me out, gave me good meds, and suggestions for a chiropractor if I needed it later.

Whole thing was pretty simple. I didnt have to deal w/ the ambulance chasers at all.