Accident with a Dealer Plate Vehicle
This is in the state of California in the San Diego area.
I am the Plaintiff and the Defendant is a teen driver covered under their parent's personal auto insurance policy.
Short Version
The dispute is the non-payment to reimburse myself for the $ value to repair my vehicle and for $ value of a rental vehicle for approximately 1 week for the time it would take to repair the vehicle.
My vehicle is too old to repair and therefore I would prefer a check in the amount of the above (due to the economy, I'd rather pay rent than fix my car - which still operates - just looks ugly now).
Defendant made an illegal U-Turn in front of me, resulting in my T-boning their vehicle. Their vehicle had dealer plates, therefore, it wasn't registered and does not go through the normal personal auto insurance policy. I am assuming it is covered until a Commercial insurance policy (would be considered Primary), but Defendant has been reluctant to provide the Commercial insurance policy carrier and is insistent on going through their personal auto insurance (which would be considered Secondary). Luckily, we both have the same personal auto insurance carrier and the auto insurance carrier (I spoke to a managers handling both claims) states that since the vehicle in question is not listed on the personal auto insurance policy, they are considered Secondary rather than Primary and will only get involved if the Commercial insurance policy cannot cover the total reimbursement amount. Defendant has been reluctant to provide the Commercial auto insurance policy (if any) and personal auto insurance policy folks are equally having difficulty retrieving the actual insurance carrier of the vehicle in question. I cannot get reimbursed by my own policy because I only have Liability.
I have an estimate from an autobody shop that was a referral by my auto insurance policy. I also have a quote for a 1 week rental.
Defendant initially wanted to handle the case outside of insurance, but refuses to pay the amount shown on the estimate. Defendant is citing that it is overly priced in their opinion, but nothing to substantiate their claim. Defendant has an unofficial quote from a body shop that can repair it for half the cost and therefore is only willing to reimburse me for that amount. Defendant bases their quote on an informal visual inspection of my vehicle that was conducted without my knowledge. Their quote does not list my license plate, VIN, or mileage like my estimate does.
I have tried to explain to the Defendant the Auto Body Repair Consumer Bill of rights that as the Plaintiff, I have the right to choose whatever shop I want for the repairs or estimate provided the shop is reputable.
I believe the shop I have chosen is reputable as it was a referral by my auto insurance carrier and an authorized insurance estimator.
Is this a slam dunk case?
What can the Defendant do to delay/slow this process?
Re: Accident with a Dealer Plate Vehicle
They don't have to pay you for a rental car expense you don't incur.