There were a LOT of cars on the side of the road Saturday night. I don't know what was wrong with them but all along hwy 4 and hwy 242 cars were pulled over with their flashers on.

Most insurance policies have coverage for road hazards (road trash) with very low deductibles, mine is only $50 - and I got my windshield replaced.

 

that makes sense, because I was thinking . . . "wait a minute"

 

Hahaha, I feel your pain. Tow truck drivers are kinda careless...damn tire.

Anyway, if you contact your insurance company with the accident report number (the cop should have given you that), they can access the police report and find out who the tow truck company was, then go after their insurance company to pay for it. When I got hit by the tire, that's what I did. I paid the initial deductable, and then my insurance company paid for everything and went after the other company to reimburse them.

I believe insurance companies are required by law to let you choose your own body shop. Most companies have a list of recommended shops and many of them will request that you take your car to one of their shops for an estimate from their adjuster. If you don't do that, then they'll send an adjuster to whatever body shop you take your car to. When I got hit by that tire, I ended up getting two estimates because the adjuster couldn't see all of the damage until the car was disassembled. The insurance company wrote the check straight to the body shop instead of giving it to me, so I'm not sure what their policy is with that. It may vary depending on the insurance company, so I would talk to them about that.

Good luck getting everything fixed. Sounds like you punctured a brake line...get steel braided lines instead! They're probably cheaper than OEM anyway.

 

while it's not exactly the same, I had a glass chip filled at a shop that was recommended by my mechanic, called my insurance to see if they'd cover and they said that they didn't have a relationship with that shop, but would call them and set everything up. So I think as long as you communicate with your insurance company everything will be cool.

 

Yes, they have to let you choose a body shop, and they will write to check directly to the shop if you have a lien (loan) on the car (which is also Calif. law).

 

thanks for the help guys, im going to be contacting my insurance company tomorrow. also, what happens with my rims since they are aftermarket? i bought them used so there is no receipt, how do they quote me on those?

 

figure out what they cost new and odds are they'll give you fair market value

 

I always thought you could contact the department of public highways and file a claim, which should include a police report and all damages that were caused by the incident on the road.

 

This is true from what my insurance agent told me. If the object you hit was stationary by the time you hit it, then it would be considered avoidable because you are supposed to have seen it and have been able to avoid contact with the object. If the object was still moving, then it may not be possible for you to manuever around it. The advice is to remember that the object you hit "must have been kicked up by the car/truck in front of you, and there was no way you could have avoided it since it was moving in a manner that was unpredictable."

File your claim with your insurance as soon as you can and get the process started. When you get a claim number, you can get a rental car to drive around in for a while. In the meantime, get references from your fellow i-club members for good body shops in your area. Good luck!

 

thats what ill be doing. i wonder if i can pass my rota torques off as work emotions to the insurance company. =)

 

it wasn't kicked up, it fell off which is entirely different.

 

Not to be an ***, well ok maybe I am, but have you ever heard of following distance?

You knwo that thing where your nose isn't so close to thier corn-hole that you can tell what they had for lunch allowing you to react should the car in front of you make a sudden movement or an obstacle apper in the road?

Just wondering...

 

That's correct. If the object is moving, it will be considered not your fault. They sometimes refer to those as a missle. So if you remember if the object was moving, even at a very slow pace when "it hit you", then you are not at fault.

 

But the critical question for the insurance company in determining fault is not where the debris came from, but whether it was moving or stationary when the driver hit it. If the driver says that a part fell off another vehicle, and he hit it, then it's up to the interpretation of the insurance company to say whether the debris was still moving or not. It is to the driver's advantage to clearly state that the debris was still moving and that collision with it was unavoidable.

 

so if theres a sheet of plywood in my lane and i have nowhere to go it's my fault because it was "avoidable" thats bull****