Insurance messed up my car!

[thomas15]

Insurance Messed Up Car

I hope everyone is doing well. I'm sorry if this isn't the right sub to post in but I desperately need some advice. I drive a 2008 Mistubishi Eclipse Spyder (Convertible), May 11th 2023 I was T-boned and my driver side door was all messed up including the rear fender. After 4 long months of waiting insurance finally told me that my car was ready to be picked up, keep in mind other than the required body work the car worked perfectly, every single thing worked like butter. I picked the car up and on my way back I tried to put the roof down and it wouldn't budge at all and would just give me 3 beeps. It turns out to be while doing the body work insurance messed the window motor on the drivers side and the roof would not go down anymore. I took the car back to them, they kept if for like 3 days and told me that they had nothing to do with it. I sent them proof of the everything working perfectly before I dropped the car off, took the car to the dealership and got a written statement that the issues are caused by the repairs done by the insurance.

Insurance told me that all they have is a body shop and I will have to get it fixed somewhere else and they will cover the cost. I took the car to the dealership again and it turns out that the damaged part is obselete and I can't find it anywhere. I'm not sure what to do and what to expect. It's been near 5 months now. I am a student and was looking to sell the car before I got hit since I needed money for school, I can't sell the car with a messed up roof and window as I would be losing alot of money which I can't afford. Insurance won't total the car since they already "repaired" it. I am falling apart because of this whole situation as school is starting in a week. Any advice or any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks alot!

 

[resjudicata]

@thomas15 Doesn’t seem like there’s much that can be done here. The insurer has offered to pay for the repairs but since you can’t find a mechanic that can fix it with the right part then what more can they do? It’s not the insurers fault it’s the mechanics fault that fixed your car. Perhaps you can take legal action against them?

 

[thomas15]

@resjudicata I'm just a 3rd year university student crumbling because of this situation, don't have enough means (time/money) to take a legal action unfortunately. The car was fixed through CarStar which is TD Insurance's inhouse repair centre.

 

[resjudicata]

@thomas15 I’m sorry to hear that. I can’t think of another solution for you unfortunately.

 

[aaronthestudent]

@thomas15 You keep saying insurance messed your car up. Insurance paid for the repairs but did not repair the vehicle. It is your right as a consumer to choose your repair shop. If the vehicle is not operating correctly after the shop allowed you to pick the vehicle up then it needs to go back to the shop.
If the part is discontinued then unfortunately the insurance company will likely pay you directly for the part plus sales tax and the hourly labor rate it would take to put it on.

 

[thomas15]

@aaronthestudent see the thing is when insurance first did the body work they apparently broke the convertible soft top and the quarter window somehow. both haven't been working ever since. I asked them to fix it but they said they can't and I should take it to the dealership. Delaership has been dealing with it for months now and still hasnt been able to fix it. I'm not sure what I should be compensated for if the dealership even cant fix it. I just need my money. I have 10,000$ tied up in the car and it's been months. Clearly its the insurance companies fault and the dealership isnt much help either. Your input and help is really appreciated.