HELP!! REAR ENDED BY A DRUNK KID!!!!

Here is a list of problems I notice so far. The car just does not feel right. Body work has not been done yet but mechanical has. Am I going to have to buy a new car to get what I had for those 2 short wonderful weeks? What do ya'll think?

Aside form all of the visual cosmetic damage, things I have noticed so far:

-steering column squeaks

-seat locked-wont move forw/back

-clutch dragging bad

-acceleration seems dragging

-driver door open/close more difficult

-hood raised a little. It is not flush with the top of the front quarter panels anymore. Also, the gap on the drivers side is 2x the width of the gap on the passenger side (gaps between the hood and the quarter panels)

-front wheel wells are busted out in front of the tires.

-frame bar that runs parallel to bumper behind bumper reinforcement is bent (of course bumper reinforcement itself is bent).

 

SO what you are saying is that, with the prior documentation you have fresh in your possession (since you JUST got the car two weeks ago) you will be using that to get the car COMPLETELY fixed with all new parts.

Hmmmmmmm, a 355 with ALL NEW INTERNALS. Clutch, tranny, etc......
Not a bad deal. This just gives you a reason to "fix up" any loose ends you had with the car when you got her. Or some preventative maintenence.

I personally think they will total it for you when you start getting into "lost value". I got my 911 totalled a few years ago when I was rear-ended at a stoplight. They totalled it for me and it was only 50% of the value. they were SUPPOSED to go with 80% as the standard, and 70% if your local guy felt it was warranted. They hooked me up. I was a good customer of their though.

By the way, when it happened, I did not get mad. I was actually laughing about it and shaking my head that I couldn't believe what just happened. The girl was crying saying "I can't believe I hit a Porsche". I would recommend that route for ANYONE who has something like this happen. I am WAITING for the day my car gets vandalized and HOPE someone is there with me so they can be a witness to me not really caring. I pay insurance with a good company and a good representative. I do it for reasons like this.

My recommendation to you?? In the future, I would go through a small-town insurance guy. Me?? I live in Madison, and could choose a TON of insurance guys in town. Instead I do business through a SMALL town insurance representative of American Family Insurance a half hour outside of Madison. They don't have as many customers obviously, and their "small town" way of doing things, is my cup of tea. They truly take care of you better if you ever need anything. Especially if you are bringing your Ferrari to them instead of the "big city guy". Just my experience.

To the posters who were talking about suing the 19 year olds parents.............DROP DEAD. It is idiots like you who have made this fine country the sue happy place that it is. What the HECK do his parents have to do with him?? The kid is 19. How would you like it if your nincompoop son at 19 F'd up and the Ferrari owner came after YOU?? And how would you like it if you LOST 50K. Or 100K due to your idiot kid. Or if you were the bar owner and the kid came in drunk, had one drink in your establishment and left. Then on the way home, he hits a Ferrari and YOU get sued for it.

Everyone wants to sue. How about, thanking the Lord he didn't have you punch your ticket that night. Then realizing it is just a car and that is what insurance is for. It is JUST a car. It might be red and say Ferrari on it, but it is JUST A CAR.

What I want you guys to think about too is........

Could that kid have been you?? It could have been me. I drove ONE TIME in my LIFE when I shouldn't have been. Our "place to crash" bailed on us and we were an hour from home in college. I was 19. I drove and probably would have blown a .20. Could have been me rear-ending that 355. Probably could have been one of you too. I would be willing to bet.

 

Huskerbill,
All valid points, but I will have to sue because he did not have enough insurance to even cover all the damage. This leaves me definitely not getting diminished value. The law says you can not get diminished value from your own insurance company (1st party). This leaves me having to sue him for diminished value among other things. I should absolutely not have to come out of pocket on this deal, and knowing this kids history I would absolutely sue his parents if the car was in their name. They would have been negligent in letting him drive their car (given his history). I also must say that if he illegally obtained alcohol from a responsible party and I found out who it was I would absolutely go after them. If you are in the position of supplying alcohol, it is absolutely your responsibility to verify age. *(If a fake ID was used then of course the supplier of alcohol would NOT be responsible). If that was not done, then you are responsible for the result. Maybe if you were held responsible/sued you would not let it happen again and that could result in saving someone's life. Maybe it would save the life of one of your loved ones or even you. How would you feel if your child was killed because someone illegally provided a minor with alcohol? Well, that might be the case for someone one day involving this same supplier-or maybe it will be prevented by that supplier being held responsible this time and learning a lesson. Unfortunately, people don't usually reform until they face consequences. I could go on and on but I think I have proven my point. Sometimes it is not about being "sue happy", it is about teaching a lesson in order to prevent unnecessary damage in the future. I hope you understand. Thanks, Teddy

 

Not being an insurance expert, but isn't that your insurance company's problem and not yours? Who cares how/where they get the money, aren't they supposed to be taking care of your car?

 

Sort of, except as I stated, the law is that I cannot get diminshed value from my insurance company (I could get it from his (3rd party), but you cant get dimished value from you own insurance company (1st party), that is just the law. So, I will have to sue HIM for it. You see what I am saying?

 

I concur 100%. Huskerbill, it was "just" a car as you say (although an absolute peach of a car), but next time it might be your wife/son/daughter etc.

You are right we do all make mistakes, though I do not drink and drive and never have. I probably have exceed what would be considered a safe speed from time to time, so am by no means perfect. But we are responsible for our own actions.

This kid is, the bar owner is if he sold alcohol to an underage. I would not let my 12 year old daughter drive my car. a) because it is illegal in the UK and b) She cannot be trusted to drive it safely because of her in-experience, which in this case adds up to the same as the 19 year old here IMHO

 

This information may or may not pertain to this particular situation but it can be important any time one hires an attorney on a contingency basis.

As a side note ... one not often considered ... if you do hire a lawyer on a contingency basis (they take a percentage of the gain realized for the client) there is something to know. You will be given papers to sign to get the ball rolling. The papers will be a contract between you and the law firm. The contract will have a set percentage that the firm will take. Two things that apply in most states and good to know BEFORE you sign with the attorney.

A. The percentage, even though in black and white on the contract, is NEGOTIABLE ... if the contract says 40% or whatever ... you can negotiate that amount if you do so before signing the contract.

B. Another often overlooked point ... you can negotiate to have expenses of the case (which can be considerable) removed from the total BEFORE the law firm takes their cut. This can make a huge difference in the bottom line.

This may not pertain if you do not have to sue for personal injury. It is valuable information if you do.
Janet

 

To the OP......

I hear ya on your points too. IF a bar served the turd his booze, then THEY do deserve some financial responsibility in this matter. I was not thinking the kid was 19. I really DON'T think his parents deserve it, as he IS an adult (even though he is an idiot) but, the bar would, IMO, as it is ILLEGAL for them to serve him.

Anyway, I feel HORRIBLE for your loss. I really would be surprised if you had to pay a cent out of this. Unless your insurance company sucks. By the way, WHO are you insured through. Might mean something to the rest of the board if we knew that.

As I said, I go through American Family Insurance and they have ALWAYS been awesome in ANY event I have ever had. By the way, my wife hit a guard rail swerving to avoind a deer once in her Grand Cherokee and pretty much wrecked the whole passenger side of her car. Claim came to $8000 and they had it paid in FULL and fixed within the week no questions asked.

I would HIGHLY recommend American Family Insurance to ANYONE who enjoys hassle free dealings with insurance companies when they need to file claims. To those who like to get nickel and dimed, stay where you are at!!!

;-)

Any updates??

 

TG3-
I'm not a lawyer, but I heartily agree with everyone who is telling you not to post details about your case untill the worm that hit you has been punished to the fullest extent of all applicable civil and criminal laws.
When I was home for Chistmas during my junior year in college I was hit by a woman who was drunk and pharmaceutically intoxicated. Although her insurance company paid for the repairs to my car (just a Dodge, but I loved that car before the accident), and I appeared as a witness at her preliminary hearing, she plead out to some minor offense and did little more than a few hours of community service. I am certain that she was driving again almost immediately. My car never tracked straight again, and the door never worked properly again. I have always regretted my milquetoast persuit of justice against that drunken harridan.
Drunk driving is inexcusable; it is a completely unnecessary behaviour that is one of the easiest ways to ruin or end several lives in the cause of avoiding temporary inconveniance.
HESSIAN
PS Eventhough there is only the feeblest of parallels between your 355 dream machine and my ineffective college chick magnet, I sympathise with you if you feel that your car has violated or simply changed for the worse in such a way that it is no longer really your car. After the legal dust settles, you may find that a pristine Ferrari is the salve for all wounds of the tifosi's soul.