Interstate Collision Repair Guidance

[swilly43]

Well, Just as we were on our way to spend a weekend in Anza Borrego, an oncoming truck went off the road and then came back onto the road and smacked our AI at the drivers front wheel and back to mid coach. WE are OK. The other driver was transported so I do not know his condition but hoping he will be OK. At this point, we are assuming that insurance will take care of all the damage but I am looking for guidance on who should due the repairs. I know that there is body work needed to both Mercedes and Airstream parts. I know there is mechanical damage to Mercedes parts. I worry that there may be hidden damage to RV systems and parts behind the skin. It is drivable, so I am thinking to have it evaluated at an AS dealer for RV related items. Not sure I am comfortable with their body work as I am pretty picky about paint and prefer to use people I know. The Mercedes work will go the dealer for alignment etc.

Any advice on how to deal with the insurance company (State Farm)? Will they recognize the complexity of these things and the need to check out everything? What about latent or hidden damage? In what order should the work be accomplished? I am certain there are horror stories galore. Our experience so far with this coach (bought used in Dec 17 from non AS dealer) has been frustrating to say the least) so want to stay ahead of any issues and manage the relationships carefully. Yes, we just got it!

[amirm]

Sorry to hear about your accident and bad luck with AI.

In the time I have been here, I have read about only one other accident and I don't recall the poster telling us what he did to get repairs.

I suspect you will be fine with state farm as this is an RV insurance policy so they would expect to have to pay for repairs of such.

I would call them first to get authorization for service anyway per policy requirements. I would also call the AI dealer because I am sure they have seen this situation a lot more than we have here.

I think getting the body/mechanicals fixed are simple compared to getting Airstream to reproduce the parts in the RV. I needed one piece of plywood that was cracked in manufacturing and I think it took them some 3 months to get the part! And even then, it was missing the pocket screw holes.

The "good news" is that this is slow RV season so getting service appointments shouldn't take as long.

Best of luck and sorry I could not be of more help.

[InterBlog]

Very sorry to hear of this.

This might have been the thread that Amir is referring to. An owner got hit by a train station. No joke - hit by the station, not the train itself. But that owner was an infrequent poster and follow-up was limited.

Could you post any pics of your damage? Hard to offer suggestions with no visual on a thing like this.

[rel]

I was involved in an accident in 2015. I struck a wheel/tire/brake/axle that was shear off a suspected overweight trailer. Ruled my fault as it was item was stopped in my lane (heavy traffic/could not avoid it).

It destroyed the engine/radiator/water tank/multiple tires). Front end damage was below the hood line. Total bIll was in the high $20,000. Had AI towed to MB dealer where they repaired the MB items(engine/tires/etc). Then to an RV dealer who replaced water tank and front end facia/skirting.

Would expect you will have to do something similar... I was 350 mile from home. MB dealer is not one I would recommend as they left an exhaust clamp off which burned through main wire harness 1,500 miles later. Cost me several additional thousand. The dealer is located in ND in a town that starts with an “F”... Would recommend you take lots of pictures, especially exterior as MB dealer used a truck to move vehicle around lot damaging exterior rear bumper paint. My insurance company was USAA/Progressive.

Best of luck...

[kfrere]

This is just the attorney in me coming out - be sure to tell State Farm that the other driver was transported for medical reasons. This will put your "file" into a different department. Then, expect to get a call from State Farm asking for your statement regarding the accident that caused injury. Be aware that this statement will be recorded. The other driver has up to one year to file an injury claim against you. Do NOT speak directly with the other driver's insurance company. Go through the attorney that State Farm assigns to your file.

Not trying to be a downer in this - just giving you a heads up. It should all be fine.

Kelly

[Octarine]

Thank you, Kelly, for the heads-up and advice. Have not been in an accident yet with my AS, but I figure it's a matter of time and this is very helpful info.

Originally Posted by kfrere

This is just the attorney in me coming out - be sure to tell State Farm that the other driver was transported for medical reasons. This will put your "file" into a different department. Then, expect to get a call from State Farm asking for your statement regarding the accident that caused injury. Be aware that this statement will be recorded. The other driver has up to one year to file an injury claim against you. Do NOT speak directly with the other driver's insurance company. Go through the attorney that State Farm assigns to your file.

Not trying to be a downer in this - just giving you a heads up. It should all be fine.

Kelly

[FlyFishinRVr]

Very sorry to hear about this Swilly, but very glad you're OK.

If it were mine, I'd take it straight to my local MB dealer. They are an authorized Sprinter service/repair center, and since the build process on these vans is a layered approach (first MB builds the van, then AS builds on top of that), I'd go the same route for the rebuild.

Best luck with it.

[swilly43]

Originally Posted by kfrere

This is just the attorney in me coming out - be sure to tell State Farm that the other driver was transported for medical reasons. This will put your "file" into a different department. Then, expect to get a call from State Farm asking for your statement regarding the accident that caused injury. Be aware that this statement will be recorded. The other driver has up to one year to file an injury claim against you. Do NOT speak directly with the other driver's insurance company. Go through the attorney that State Farm assigns to your file.

Not trying to be a downer in this - just giving you a heads up. It should all be fine.

Kelly

Just so we are clear. State Farm in the other guys insurance. Mine is AAA. I do not plan on speaking with State Farm at all. I will let AAA run interference. Assuming it is OK to talk to my insurance without a lawyer?

[kfrere]

Absolutely you can talk to your insurance people without legal counsel - technically they are not supposed to do anything that is harmful to you. That said, they can pay out a settlement to the injured party without your okay. That’s the control you give up when you contract for the insurance. Unfortunately, in this day and age, whatever you say on the phone, through letters or even on your Facebook page can be used against you. Just be cognizant of that and you’ll be fine.

[swilly43]

This is an ongoing process but several good things have occurred. First of all, I have had excellent service from my insurance carrier AAA. The other party was 100 per cent at fault but I elected to go through my carrier for the repairs. They convinced me that I was their customer and would take care of all repairs and then go after the other guy's insurance (State Farm). It took 62 days to repair the coach at the body shop and at MB. Much of this was waiting for parts from AS. It took another 18 days to repair the RV related systems that were damaged, again with a multi day wait on parts from AS. Anyway, I am pleased with the repairs. I can spot a few places that are not original but it looks good. Total cost of repairs approached $20,000.

The second half of the story is just beginning. I have related claims against SF that are not covered by AAA. Namely Loss of Use and Diminished Value. In my case, the other party was 100% at fault so I am able to claim LOU and DV in California. I have submitted this claim to SF and am waiting for a reply. I do not expect a quick resolution but am hopeful to recover these losses. I hired an appraiser to provide the DV and LOU reports. I actually hired two firms and interviewed a dozen companies. Many are only semi legitimate and provide quick cookie cutter reports that may or may not be accurate and ended up firing one of the companies due to too many errors in the report. They did refund my money. No lawyers involved yet but will wait to see what response I get from SF. The appraiser I ended up using was a recommendation from AAA. AAA also provided me with case law etc that I submitted with my claim. AAA indicated I have a strong case. Kudos again for their help.

[swilly43]

This should be the last follow up to this thread. I was able to get SF to pay for Loss of Use at a somewhat reduced rate of what it would cost to rent a comparable unit. They refused to pay diminished value so I too the other guy to small claims court. I forfeited more than half the claim by going to small claims but felt it was a reasonable trade off if I did not have to give the atty 35% of the award.
I prevailed in SCC and finally collected from SF.

Now that I know what to expect, if it happens again, I will not hesitate to go to full court given the same circumstances. Hope this might help someone in a similar situation.