QUESTION

What can I do if the garage shop is asking me to pay for car nicks and dents that was already there when they loaned it to me?

Asked on Dec 22nd, 2014 on Litigation - Michigan
More details to this question:
I live in a no-fault state. My personal vehicle was damaged and I picked a local collision shop to fix it who advertised that they would either cover your deductible or give you a free loaner car while fixed. I went there, the owner insisted that I would never be able to get my deductible waived, even though my car was hit while parked and unoccupied. He tried to get me to agree to me paying them part of my deductible and they would pay for "a few days" of the "free" loaner, stating it would only take a week at most to repair my car. I was able to get the deductible waived, so there was no paying them money for that, so I got the loaner car. When I got their loaner, even though a newer car, it still had a lot of dings and missed spots in the paint. They refused to mark any of this down stating they knew where all the damage on this particular car was at. When I returned the loaner, first they wanted me to pay a week of charges for it, out of the 2 weeks they had my car for the repair. Then on top of that, they said there were new nicks in the paint that I must have caused. These con-artists refused to remove my now repaired vehicle from their locked and fenced lot until I made an insurance claim for the damage with my carrier, Geico. So I did this, on the phone, even though they said it could most likely be buffed out. A month goes by, I get a call from a Geico adjuster, he tells me that he has not been able to look at or do an estimate on the rental car because each time he goes to look at the vehicle, it is rented out! So an adjuster never saw the car, they rented it out to other drivers over the course of a month, who could have easily caused a multitude of damage. The adjuster told me that he could not get ahold of the owner or anyone in charge and that when he went in to their shop, other workers looked up the car in their system and said no damage was reported, so basically I made the claim for nothing.
Report Abuse

3 ANSWERS

Criminal Defense Attorney serving Southfield, MI
3 Awards
I would encourage Geico to close the claim out without paying; this will not be as bad on your insurance score.
Answered on Dec 23rd, 2014 at 2:27 PM

Report Abuse
Criminal Defense Attorney serving Bloomfield Hills, MI
2 Awards
Tell them you will have your lawyer contact them to see if we can resolve this matter in an amicable fashion. By the way, there is still a huge number of things that no fault covers including damages that arise while legally parked. The collision guy sounds like a scam artist but, don't let him know that you are onto him yet...
Answered on Dec 23rd, 2014 at 2:26 PM

Report Abuse
Appellate Attorney serving Grosse Pointe Farms, MI at Musilli Brennan Associates, PLLC
Update Your Profile
You should ask GIECO to not pay the claim and remove it from your record and its underwriting criteria. Never deal with this repair shop again. Next time take pictures of the rental car before taking it so this cannot happen again.
Answered on Dec 23rd, 2014 at 2:25 PM

Report Abuse

Ask a Lawyer

Consumers can use this platform to pose legal questions to real lawyers and receive free insights.

Participating legal professionals get the opportunity to speak directly with people who may need their services, as well as enhance their standing in the Lawyers.com community.

0 out of 150 characters