Vent post. I bought a really nice convertible recently: a Saturn Sky Red Line. 260 horsepower manual roadster, $5600. I already spent $700 and eight hours or so improving the interior and had plans to do a lot of other work. Spent like $800 on brand new winter tires (a commitment to own the thing for 4-5 years at least). Planned to race it in the spring. This was really my biggest source of joy the last few months.
Two weeks ago someone in a 2017 F-150 sideswiped me on the highway and drove away. I chased him for a while but he lost me. I got his plate but no footage of who was actually inside. Pigs said they wouldn't criminally charge him (hit-and-run, reckless driving) because I don't have evidence that the car wasn't stolen. My car runs and drives just fine, but he damaged a bunch of panels. Body shops quoted $5.5 and $6k because parts are really rare. This is so much that insurance is probably going to try to total it. They'll offer me the difference between the cash value of the car (approx what I paid for it) and the salvage value ($3k? who knows), which will not be enough to fix the damage. Effectively they're going to force me to sell the car after I really got attached to it.
Just feeling really upset and powerless. I already had a lot of shit to do and now I need to haggle with his insurance, my insurance, show up at his house (4+ hour drive) and bluff that I'll get his license taken away, and haul him into small claims if nothing works. It's unlikely any of that will give me enough to fix the damage. To reduce cost I can wait around for a parts car, which may take years. There's not a single Sky in any Illinois junkyard, and there's not a wreck in the same color with the panels I need literally anywhere in the continental US. I can do some of the installation (not painting) myself but at the very least I'm out a couple thousand dollars and many hours. Even if I had comprehensive insurance I'd be in the same situation, struggling for the insurance company not to total my car.
I can show up and pour brake fluid on his shitty truck, but that won't fix my car. Fuck this guy and people like him, fuck insurance, fuck pigs.
Anxiety about this exact situation is why I ended up selling my fun car and now just drive around in a soulless appliance. :sadness:
This car has like 170k miles and a leaky turbo and I'm still fucking furious. If I had like a Corvette or something actually expensive that got wrecked I would be cutting his brake lines and running a sprinkler in his house when he goes on vacation. (in Minecraft)
there’s not a wreck in the same color with the panels I need literally anywhere in the continental US
this isn't technically true, there's a couple wrecks on Copart, but they're so minimally damaged that dealerships will probably bid up the price to $4-5k to salvage and resell. i'll still pay a broker to try and get one in an auction
:yes-honey-left:
Wouldn't the cops knowing the car was stolen? That is, if it were reported stolen? Shouldn't the other driver's insurance cover your damage regardless of who was driving?
Fuck insurance this situation really sucks.
Wouldn’t the cops knowing the car was stolen? That is, if it were reported stolen?
All the guy needs to do is show up in court and do a little perjury ("wasn't me"), and then it's a tossup since I don't have evidence. Prosecutors won't take the gamble because they want to keep their conviction rate up. They're fairly serious crimes too. In IL, a hit and run over $5k is a suspended license, way worse if someone is injured. Reckless driving (while he was running away) is a class A misdemeanor.
Shouldn’t the other driver’s insurance cover your damage regardless of who was driving?
My dashcam vid is enough for the other driver's liability insurance to determine he is at fault and offer me something. See stuff about total loss. Insurance won't fix your car if repairs are expensive. They'll give me the "market value" of my car before collision (and offer to sell me back the wreck at salvage price), which is not enough to buy another one because market is thin.
Wait, you have dashcam footage of the thing? Maybe consider asking a lawyer.
i'll post it once this whole thing is over and i've anonymized it a bit. never been in a car chase before. I was really cocky about being able to catch him because I was in a better car, and then immediately failed 🙃
Yeah, even if the cops are total shitbags, maybe a civil suit could be in the cards
I am afraid that the court will apply the same logic as insurance company in assigning damages. Loss in asset value, not cost to repair. I called around a bit before I talked to the cops. (Because I thought the footage might open me up to reckless driving charges for chasing him. As I learned, cops don't give a shit about anything that happened lol.) A hit and run where you got the other party's information is unusual so the lawyers I talked to weren't the right kind. But it's small claims size, you should be able to self service.
I would google around and try to find the measure of damages for damage to personal property or vehicles in the state of Illinois. Maybe you can find favorable case law measuring it by repair cost (or if not, then there’s your answer)
Sorry bud, I know how heartbreaking it can be when an enthusiast vehicle you've poured your money and time into gets into an accident and you're left in limbo hoping the insurance will act favorably on your behalf. BTW, how'd you get a manual Sky for only 5600? A coworker of mine got the much less desirable auto Sky for 8k last year. Even with the inflated prices at the time, manuals are much more in demand so you got a hell of a deal.
It's got 170k miles with all the usual problems: oil leak somewhere, dinged front bumper, cracked fenders, etc. One of the first owners put on like 70k miles in 5 years so I don't feel too bad about daily driving. But the water pump, timing chain, head gasket were already done recently.
I also bought it once it was cold enough for convertibles to be a little cheaper.
Sorry friend. That sucks. If the other driver didn’t report the car stolen I believe their insurance is still liable, regardless of who was driving. I’d probably visit their house anyway.
I'm dreading it. My CCL is still pending, and I won't go talk to a maniac without carrying even though I know it's unlikely he tries to harm me.
You can legit hire a Big Dude online, I did it to talk to my landlord once and get him to give me back my rental deposit.
Jesus that sucks. Those skys are neat little cars.
My first car had a somewhat unique custom paint job and it got hit multiple times. The last time was about 10 years ago when the model bottomed out in price, and the cost for a new bumper cover, valence, and paint was like 2k and like 400 dollars away from being totaled.
I know we get all "cars bad" on here but there really isn't another contraption for folks like us that scratches that itch. Cars, while terrible for the world, also combine a canvas for expression, an endlessly complex system to pour hours into repairing, and a method for traveling and seeing/interacting with your world. I know how important they are to me and others like me. I yearn for better public transport just so less people have to drive. I don't want to drive all the time, but I enjoy a good drive more than anything.
