NOS2Go4Me,Oct 1 2008, 01:11 PM Wrote:Just to clear the air: the tow truck driver is liable, so long as you didn't sign a waiver before, during, or after the tow, for any damages he incurred while towing the vehicle. If he left the rear wheels of an AWD car on the ground - he's a chowderhead. He's then liable for the repairs to the powertrain.
If they left it running and in neutral (which still doesn't disconnect an always-disconnected AWD system), then you should have let the insurance company know that as soon as you called it in because that makes the tow company immediately liable. Pictures would have been good, too.
Not s***ting on you, bud... hindsight and all that eh?
Oh, and it's perfectly safe and acceptable to tow an AWD car any distance with all 4 tires up in the air. 5KM or 5000, it doesn't matter at that point. So long as you have ground clearance and they're using a wheel-lift system for one end of the car... a flatbed is purely for the owner's pride.
EDIT - if the insurance company is ADMITTING that their adjuster didn't walk the entire car properly and inpsect it thoroughly... it might be time to get yourself a lawyer if they're refusing to cover the damage. If they should have spotted the damage before and are in effect admitting their own slip-up, get a name of the person that admitted it to you, the time and date of the call if they subpeona the call tapes, etc.
Something's rotten in Denmark :o :angry:
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Oh I never signed a waiver and I sure as hell wouldn't now. Besides, any towing company that would have asked a person to sign a waiver after just being involved in an auto accident is
begging to get screwed over in court (think about it, you've just been involved in an auto accident, your adrenaline is sky high, nerves are haywire, what judge or jury in their right mind is going to uphold a waiver signed in those circumstances?)
Oh I know that if all four wheels are up, whether dolly or flatbed, there wouldn't be any issue at all.
I've got a call into the claims adjuster (who conveniently never seems to be around when I call her) to discuss the handling of this file. I'm at the point very soon where I'm going to say "cut me a check for the car and I'll take
all the business I have with your company elsewhere" <_<
As for pictures, that just had to be the day I let the phone battery drain down to almost zilch. It was in the console charging at the time and didn't have the juice to take a picture :(
NefCanuck
Update on this saga (If anyone is still awake after reading this mess)
I left one final message with the original adjuster assigned to theh file this morning at 10AM. Received zero callback so at 1:30 I called and put myself in the quese to speak to a second adjuster.
Here's where things get wonky. As far as this second adjuster told me, she could confirm on the computer that no second request for an adjuster to come look at the car was ever made nor was there an estimate on the file regarding any additional work to the car regarding the rear end diff.
The second adjuster then put me on hold to try to get through to the bodyshop but couldn't so asked me to let her try and find out what's going on. :blink:
As this is going on I'm explaining to her the circumstances, including the delays, the lack of contact from the first adjuster assigned to the file and you just hear the "Uh oh" creeping into her voice as I was explaining things.
Dunno what this will do (if anything) but at least now I have someone's ear over there <_<
God, let me win the Super 7 tonight, then all my problems will dissapear :angry:
NefCanuck
Hey Daniel ... where physically is ther car ... is it at Dixie or at Atantic?
NefCanuck,Oct 3 2008, 02:02 PM Wrote:Update on this saga (If anyone is still awake after reading this mess)
I left one final message with the original adjuster assigned to theh file this morning at 10AM. Received zero callback so at 1:30 I called and put myself in the quese to speak to a second adjuster.
Here's where things get wonky. As far as this second adjuster told me, she could confirm on the computer that no second request for an adjuster to come look at the car was ever made nor was there an estimate on the file regarding any additional work to the car regarding the rear end diff.
The second adjuster then put me on hold to try to get through to the bodyshop but couldn't so asked me to let her try and find out what's going on. :blink:
As this is going on I'm explaining to her the circumstances, including the delays, the lack of contact from the first adjuster assigned to the file and you just hear the "Uh oh" creeping into her voice as I was explaining things.
Dunno what this will do (if anything) but at least now I have someone's ear over there <_<
God, let me win the Super 7 tonight, then all my problems will dissapear :angry:
NefCanuck
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Fawk Dude. This is getting pretty bad. I do not envy you at the moment. If I were you I would be calling daily to keep on top of the situation. Messy dude, messy.
Well, latest update, now my original adjuster called at 3pm, said that the car was looked at today and the work was approved (didn't explain what the extra work was) I asked if she had any idea for an ETA and fobbed me back to Atlantic for that information <_<
I'll let things cool down until Tuesday aft. if I don't hear anything from Atlantic by then, I'm going to get "grumpy' :angry:
I swear, only luck I have is bad, I also got a call today from the taxi company claiming that I never paid the acct. from the last time :blink: Luckily I had the canceled cheque handy to deal with that -sigh-
NefCanuck
October 7 and now I'm truly beginning to think someone has a voodoo doll of me and has been sticking steak knives in it...
I called the body shop today, as I feared, the rear differential is destroyed, they called it "impact damage" (I call it towing the car on its rear wheels in direct violation of Ford's approved towing practices but w/e)
Upshot is that the rear diff is on order, but that's three to four days and then 10 - 12 hours to do the install according to my contact at Dixie Ford so no car this week for sure and likely nothing until mid to late next week <_<
I'm seriously thinking once this car is paid off of buying a second car and running two at the same time, it's the only way to avoid this bullcrap :angry:
NefCAnuck
I bet your better off having them put it through as an Impact Claim because if you had to go through the Towing Company's insurance I am pretty sure you would still be waiting on the adjuster to view the car. At least it is getting fixed at someone elses expense.
How are you getting around all this time without your car?
Did they give you a rental with modified pedals? (left foot accelerator)
dBlast,Oct 7 2008, 04:58 PM Wrote:How are you getting around all this time without your car?
Did they give you a rental with modified pedals? (left foot accelerator)
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Unfortunately no car rental agencies have such a beast (Hand controls and spinner knobs out the yin yang though if I ever needed those <_<)
Right now cabbing it, running a hell of a tab up and my vacation has been shot to hell :(
NefCanuck
This is turning into a nightmare that I can't wake up from (No matter how much I want to)
I called the bodyshop yesterday, now it turns out that the rear transfer case for the Fusion is on backorder in the US for two weeks "at least"
So now all I can do is follow up with the shop at the end of October to see what's happening (though the shop did say the parts "may" come in sooner)
Today marks day 37 carless...
Let me win the lottery so I can buy a new car to at least get around in while this crap drags on.... and on... and on.... etc.
NefCanuck
If I win the lottery, you can have any car you want... as long as it's a Corona. :rofl: :rofl:
Seriously... this is beyond nuts. I can't believe they can't call you with an update, especially when it's that important. Assholes. :angry:
Good luck, Daniel.
wow day 37 is the insurance company paying for cab rides or other means of transportation atleast
ZX3_2NV,Oct 16 2008, 09:58 AM Wrote:wow day 37 is the insurance company paying for cab rides or other means of transportation atleast
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I have to put out first and then they reimburse me after. But I think in this case I need to speak to the adjuster to see if I can at least submit some interim billings, I just cut a cheque to the cab company for nearly $400 today :ph34r:
NefCanuck
Umm i'd also be asking about them making your monthly payment(s) and waving you insurance payments for the downtime
Because that much downtime is rediculous and they should just put you into a new fusion, especially since you could probably get a better deal and more options for what you paid for the last one!
SL8RZZX3,Oct 16 2008, 01:31 PM Wrote:Umm i'd also be asking about them making your monthly payment(s) and waving you insurance payments for the downtime
Because that much downtime is rediculous and they should just put you into a new fusion, especially since you could probably get a better deal and more options for what you paid for the last one!
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Hassle is that only part of the downtime was due to insurance company screw ups, the rest is just delays getting parts and stuff, things that they can't control.
But among the insurance company screw ups are the following doozies:
1) When they went to assess the car the day after the accident on Sept 8, the adjuster never reviewed the rear of the car, focusing on the front of the car where the impact occured, because of that, the issue regarding the popped rear diff drain plug was never spotted until the car was reviewed by Dixie Ford on Sept 29 (by this time however so much fluid had leaked out that the diff was toast.
2) It then takes another four days for the adjuster to attend at the bodyshop to authorize the teardown of the rear diff where they verify that the diff is garbage and parts are ordered.
So ultimately, aside from their adjuster screwing up badly initally, there isn't much I can hold the insurance company at fault in this (though interestingly enough, had the rear diff issue been seen, I'm wondering whether the car would have been scrapped, given the costs of parts & labour on a R&R.
NefCanuck
Good point Gord I hope your not paying for this month of insurance. Or if its already payed they should tack on an extra month at the end of the year
Well damn. You've probably already thought about this ... but you should start setting your insurance company up to think about the idea that they should buy this car and let you buy a new one.
Given the grief you've gone through and the more extensive damage, you should let them know now that if the car doesn't look and drive perfect you won't be signing off on it. After all ... if the adjuster missed the damage to the diff, what else did they miss?
Another thing to consider is the hit to your wallet by way of reduced re-sale value ... how are you to be compsnesated for that?
If I were you I'd start looking for ways to convince the insuracne company that buying you a new car is in their best interest.
Yeah man... methinks it's new car time.
Or should I say... 2009 Ford Escape?
NOS2Go4Me,Oct 18 2008, 11:49 PM Wrote:Yeah man... methinks it's new car time.
Or should I say... 2009 Ford Escape?
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If a new car is on the books and I don't want to go Fusion AWD again, an Escape is definitely on my radar but I'd really want to go hybrid to deal with the fact that I do a lot of slow low speed stuff during the week.
The weekends are another story of course, but the hassle is finding an '09 Escape Hybrid in Ontario at all :unsure:
NefCanuck