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wreck


curtisco24

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So I was on my home from the lake this weekend towing my 2000 VLX, when out of no where a Dodge 2500 comes around the curve on my side on the road. I was just cruising along, so I thought he was going to hit my wife and me head on. I was already riding on my side of the road, and I could tell he was going to hit us, so I drove into the ditch. Well, that did no good. The guy side swiped my truck and then tore into my boat and trailer. The trailer is completely demolished. The boat got knocked sideways on the trailer. I had ratchet straps on the back holding it on. One of those popped off, and my crank in the front broke. The spare tire held the boat out of the ditch. The guy took about a two foot chuck out of the fiberglass on one side, and scratched the boat up everywhere else. The prop and shaft are laying up against the runner on the trailer. They appear to have only slight damage. However, there is no real way of knowing until the boat is lifted off the trailer. It took a rollback and a wrecker two hours to get the boat loaded. My deal is that the boat took a hard lick. I am afraid there is more damage structurally and cosmetically than appears initially. What can I do in this situation? The other guy was at fault, and he did stop after the wreck. I am not so sure I want the boat back after that. If I do get it back, I want it just like it was. This boat was immaculate. What are my options in this situation? P.S. - the only injuries were to my wife who hit her head on the dash and twisted her neck. She also suffered a laceration to her leg.

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Thank God no one was more seriously hurt! I am very sorry to hear about your boat, but at least it can be fixed or replaced. Just curious, what was the other driver's excuse? Tell me it wasn't a cell phone.

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Holy crap man, that's scary! Glad you guys are ok, damn.

I'd have a qualified dealer look at the boat, and give advice if they think it can be made good-as-new.

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Oh man,

Really sorry to hear about that.

Hopefully, everything works out with repairs but, me, personally, I wouldn't want the boat back after that sort of damage. I feel the same way about cars.

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Oh man,

Really sorry to hear about that.

Hopefully, everything works out with repairs but, me, personally, I wouldn't want the boat back after that sort of damage. I feel the same way about cars.

Thank God you two are ok.

I too would not want the boat back, I would think (if your not a no falt state) his insurance will pay the bill. Plus if you miss work that would be added in. Did the cops give him a ticket?

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I hate to advise you this way, but find a lawyer (or your insurance company) who knows insurance law in your state. Often, the insurance company responsible will repair the damage only. But, as the others noted, the car or boat is usually never the same. What you want is a replacement boat in like condition. It may take a little legal help to get that out of an insurance company.

I hope your wife heals quickly. And thank your lucky stars it was not worse.

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Uuhh what a nightmare!

I keep my fingers crossed for you and hope that everything will work out fine in the end!

And the most important:

"Gute Besserung" (get well soon) to your wife!!!

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Scary . . .goes to show you how quickly things can turn. Shocking.gif

I'm glad the injuries were relatively minor. (hoping your wife's neck is ok over time)

I'd have to second the suggestion for a 'good' insurance attorney. We were involved in a very minor auto accident a couple of years ago that turned into quite a lawsuit. We got excellent representation from the insurance company's attorney. (though she made it clear she was really working for the insurance company and we were free to get counsel to look after our interest) It played out over a couple of years, but really glad we had quality attorney that new the ropes on our side.

Really wish you the best moving forward.

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Scary . . .goes to show you how quickly things can turn.  Shocking.gif

I'm glad the injuries were relatively minor. (hoping your wife's neck is ok over time)

I'd have to second the suggestion for a 'good' insurance attorney.  We were involved in a very minor auto accident a couple of years ago that turned into quite a lawsuit.  We got excellent representation from the insurance company's attorney. (though she made it clear she was really working for the insurance company and we were free to get counsel to look after our interest)  It played out over a couple of years, but really glad we had quality attorney that new the ropes on our side.

Really wish you the best moving forward.

omg gladd to hear your wifes ok but ide be pushing for a replacement boat all the best from australia

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Your insurance company may be good, or may be not-so-good. Whether you get your own attorney, just remember that most of the folks you speak with at the insurance company will be working to REDUCE their payout. Normally, this means they only pay to repair, and that's it. Not likley they will provide a whole new boat.

Example: many years ago, my vehicle was "almost" destroyed in a vehicle fire. The car beside me (a Ford Crwon Victoria) somehow had an electrical problem. Caught on fire. Was in an underground garage. By the time the Fire Dept arrived, my vehicle was severely damaged. Entire right side had melted.

The insurance company determined that their cost to "repair" was about $12,000.

The "as is" value of the scorched out vehicle was about $5,000. A new vehicle would have cost about $25,000 at the time. So, they determined that if they replaced my vehicle, it would have costthem $25,000 less the $5,000 "as-is" value = $20,000. Since the repair was much less ($12,000), I had no option.

As hard as I fought (on my own), I just couldn't get them to budge.

I simply sold (traded in) the vehicle within a few months of getting it repaired. Looked and ran just fine..... but deep down I worried about the longer term.

The other poor guy on the other side of the Crown Vic had an immaculate older model low mileage Chevy Impala. His pride and joy. All he got was book value on a 20 year old car.... under $1000. No where near it's rolling value to him.

Nobody wins here. The Insurance company just minimizes their payouts.

Lastly, there is a rider inside my auto insurance that says "if" my vehicle (truck) is a "write-off", then they ADD 2 years to the model in determining my payout. This was an added feature to my auto insurance. So, if my 2000 Silverado gets demolished in a disaster, then they provide me the street value of a 2000 + 2 years = 2002 Silverado. I have never "tested" this..... and don't think I have the same on my Malibu. (It's not a vehicle.... but the trailer is!)

Glad you and your wife weren't badly hurt. Good quick thinking on heading for the ditch. Similar thing happend to me in 1993. Young kid coming at me lost control. I headed for my ditch. (No boat in tow.) I was able to move over JUST far enough to avoid a head-on. By about 6 inches. Total side-swipe. This time, my vehicle was a write-off. No blood and guts, but my wife hurt her neck. I still get a chest pain form the force of me collapsing the steering wheel on impact. Finacially another disaster. My vehicle was a lease this time. I still owed MORE on the lease than the insurance payout. No "depreciation waver" on leased vehicles my insurance company said. So, not only was I in an auto accident (other guys fault), I lost my vehicle, and had to write a bigger cheque to the Leasing company than I received from the Insurance settlement. And the, had to bo buy a new vehicle.

Having said that..... I felt good (very good) that I came face-to-face with a situation that could have ended my life.... or crippled me, had it been a head-on. I was able to avoid that worst case scenario. So, the down side (financial) you eventually forget about. The upside is that I'm still here.... I'm still buying vehicles and driving and skiing and breathing and cuddling my kids.

Long winded.

NET: Don't stop fighting it.... but plan a worst case scenario that says you get it all fixed... sell it... and buy a replacement.

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Doug is right on the mark! Insurance companies will go the way that is most cost effective for them.

Thank goodness everyone escaped serious injury.

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Holy crap! Shocking.gif

I agree with Doug (great name BTW). I would at least consult with an attorney. A couple hundred bucks up front may save you thousands later.

I wonder if you can get the factory involved in the inspection of the hull. Maybe give them a call to see what they say.

Glad there were no life threatening injuries, and I hope all are well soon.

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I hope your wife is ok and there's no hidden injury to her neck.

Have you got any pictures of your boat / trailer after the wreck.

Considering the boat and trailer are worth about 33K to 35K in excellent condition, I think the insurance company is going to be hard pressed to consider it a total loss unless the boat repair place says it can't be fixed.

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I am not so sure I want the boat back after that. If I do get it back, I want it just like it was. This boat was immaculate. What are my options in this situation?

Who is the other carrier? Many carriers do not deal with boats and often the carriers who do, do not know anything about boats. The guy handling boat claims where I was once employed did not know any terminology for the parts.

In most states, it is a $$ issue for repair vs total. A 2000 VLX is approx $21000 - $22,000 in value. They are all over the internet at $25K. Remember, the trailer is a totally separate item and will be handled separately by most carriers. We will just use $20K as a discussion.

If the boat repairs do not exceed 75%(this is a guideline, could be 70 or 80 depending on carrier) of the value ($15,000) you are going to get the boat back. If there are severe issues with the structural condition of the boat, that may factor into the equation, however most carriers do not have the knowledge/staff to handle these situations. The repair facitlity is the one who is going to tell them if the boat is repairable or if it is not. There are marine surveyors like Davis & Co who do these types of inspections.

Also, Most states do not recognize diminution of value.

Edited by martho
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Slip the boat repair people a few bucks to get an "honest" appraisal of the damage.

Why would a shop risk a several thousand dollar repair contract for a few bucks in their pockets? Look at this a big picture. Let's say the insurance carrier is State Farm and the shop alters/inflates the estimate and they get caught. For that $20, they just lost a major insurance carrier's repairs, either once or forever.

FYI: In the last week in Detroit, several shops just got hammered for many things including defrauding insurance carriers.

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Sorry Curtis. That stinks.

If you have replacement coverage through your carrier I'd start working through them. Get them to use their attornies to go after his insurance carrier.

It'd probably worth it to seek personal counsel as well.

------------

BTW - comical name : bigmacholdthefries

And from Australia to boot. :) I know Mcie D's is international, just funny to see that.

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START GATHERING EVERY PIECE OF INFO YOU CAN THINK OF AND GET YOUR HANDS ON IT !!!!!!!!!! DO NOT WAIT ONE DAY TO DO THIS, police reports, wittness statements in writting, names and numbers, video and photo everything, doctors reports, repair estimates for boat, trailer, and auto. FIND AN ATTORNEY THAT WORKS IN THIS TYPE OF INCIDENT AND HIRE THEM. the insurance co. is looking out for themselves not you.

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Oh man,

Really sorry to hear about that.

Hopefully, everything works out with repairs but, me, personally, I wouldn't want the boat back after that sort of damage. I feel the same way about cars.

Thank God you two are ok.

I too would not want the boat back, I would think (if your not a no falt state) his insurance will pay the bill. Plus if you miss work that would be added in. Did the cops give him a ticket?

Man that sucks! I'm glad to hear you guys didn't get serioulsly injured.

Do you have boat insurance? Make sure you contact them if you do. I would shop around for a good boat shop that is nice and expensive. Tell them you would like the boat to be totalled. They might inflate the repairs a bit. The same with your truck.

Make sure you file a report with YOUR insurance as well. They will work on your behalf to ge the work started and then they will go after his insurance company to get re-imbursed.

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Have your wife's neck looked at by a doctor and if she is fine, don't tell them that until they have satisfied you.

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Curtis - I sure am glad to hear that no one was seriously injured.

One of the issues with the method that all composite construction brings up is structural repair. With the way that Malibu or any manufacture bonds the stringers/chassis and then the floor into the hull of the boat does not always make for an easy or even a complete repair. With an impact like the one that your boat took it is very possible that it could have delamed the floor or the chassis from the hull. These parts were never meant to be disassembled. It might very well be impossible to tell the magnitude of structural damage done to your boat.

Another issue to bring up to your insurance company is that you bought a boat that was both USCG and NMMA approved. Can they assure that the boat will be as structurally sound as it was before the accident.

Now for the reality. Your boat is very well made and could possibly not have any structural damage and be repaired to be good as new. If it were me I would not want to take that chance. It is very different from a car, once you are out in the water if you have a boat problem it has now become a much bigger problem.

I have personally seen boats with far less damage that they have totaled so they would not incur the liability of a repaired watercraft that people are likely to take guests and/or children aboard.

I wish you the very best of luck.

Dwayne

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