Accident!

[fpage77]

Originally Posted by abelenky

So each adjuster has spent considerable time on the phone with the local Seattle Smart Dealer, asking the same questions thetwo other adjusters are asking.

It kind of sounds like none of the adjusters are believing what smart is telling them. They all keep going to same source and must be balking at the repair quote. They seem to be punting the claim to next agent so they don't show up as the one who approved the claim.

[chieftmc]

Originally Posted by psychobeth

I think if it were me, I'd smile sweetly and demand that my car was fixed by the smart dealer's body shop.

The problem with that is, the way MOST insurance policies are written is that IF you choose to have OEM replacement parts (which that's all there is for our smarts, right now), you are liable for the difference in price

You CAN get what you want, BUT at a price

[jose3030]

Originally Posted by Neonspinnazz

That's unfortunately true but that's why you should negotiate with the insurance company before bartering privately.

No bartering in this case.
Going full insurance w/ it and letting them fight amongst themselves ftw.

[abelenky]

Just an update... my Smart is in the shop getting repaired.
The estimate has climbed to $3,330.40 so far, and could potentially go higher.
They also say I'll have it back approximately April 15-20th.

That is almost 6 weeks after the accident.

[darrelplant]

Originally Posted by abelenky

Just an update... my Smart is in the shop getting repaired.
The estimate has climbed to $3,330.40 so far, and could potentially go higher.
They also say I'll have it back approximately April 15-20th.

That is almost 6 weeks after the accident.

Sorry to hear it. My rear-ending experience in January resulted in $2,500 of repairs, with a considerably smaller vehicle (Subaru Brat) hitting me at a full stop, so the price doesn't really surprise me. My insurance was through Farmer's, and they handled it pretty quickly via smart center portland, but it still took a couple of weeks for parts.

[abelenky]

I got my Smart back today, about as good as new.

At the same time, I got my radio serviced (it was always turning on with the car), and got the 2.0 shifting update.

Repair cost was about $3,300 from a low-speed (approx. 15 mph) collision from the rear. The vehicle that hit me was a large delivery truck, and probably much heavier. I'm sure that factored in to the damage.

Lessons learned: Insurance companies don't yet have any data on the Smart. As a result, I saw 4 different adjusters who each had no basis to make an estimate, and ended up using the dealer's estimate. If you encounter an insurance company that can't make an estimate, don't let them send you to adjuster after adjuster for more meaningless guesses. If they don't know, get them to use the dealer's parts list and estimate.

Despite the dealer's best efforts, getting some of the parts seemed slow. I think the difficulty in getting parts may have slowed things down by up to a week. I don't think Smart has a very good supply or distribution network of spare parts yet. I hope they work on this.

I'll try to answer any questions, but I think this pretty much resolves the adventure of my first accident with my Smart.

[John_H]

Welcome back to your car!

[JD10367]

Originally Posted by abelenky

Repair cost was about $3,300 from a low-speed (approx. 15 mph) collision from the rear. The vehicle that hit me was a large delivery truck, and probably much heavier. I'm sure that factored in to the damage.

I've only had two insurance incidents in my life.

In around 1994, I had my 1991 Hyundai Excel smashed into head-on by an old lady running a red light. Ruined the hood, left and right quarter-panels, and radiator IIRC, and the alignment was whacked. I think it was around $2,500-3,500 to fix.

In 2001, I had my 2000 Saturn SL2 get hit on the front end by a flying motor of some sort that fell off a truck and bounced up into the car. Again, wrecked the hood and bumper and bent some other stuff. I think that was around $2,000.

So, IMO, $3,300 really isn't that far off from what most cars would suffer (aside from, say, that nice 1967 Plymouth Fury my dad had... you could hit a tree with it and come out unscathed, but they don't make 'em like that any more...).

[SuperGeek]

Yeah, but in 1991, the Hyundai Excel was like $8,000 new... I bought mine used for 6,500 at a dealer. Back then $3,000 in repairs was huge. If anything, your research hints that after inflation, repair costs are going down.

I hated that Excel. I swore then never to buy a Hyundai, and never have since. I've driven two Hyundai rentals in 18 years. Nope, still not buying one.