Well unfortunately my boyfriend and l just bought a brand new car last Wednesday (a 2009 Toyota Camry) and on THURSDAY some girl came flying out of a parking lot, attempting to make a left hand turn and beat oncoming traffic just as we were passing and she hit the front passenger tire/fender of the car. The car was not drivable so it was towed to a nearby body shop. We went to look at the car Saturday and got the estimate ($6,000) and one of the details on the invoice said ''Frame Straightening and Labor''.

l have a few different questions if anyone can help. First off, if the frame is bent is not the car totaled?

Second, The police report stated the other driver was at fault, so are we entitled to a rental from her ins. company? (We can not do the reimbursement, they need to set it up because my boyfriend and l are 18 and 19, no one will rent to under 21 unless through the insurance)

Also, her insurance company called asking for our side of what happened.. will they try and use things we say as a defense against us, or will they help us out?

Thanks in advance to any help you can offer to any of my questions.
Thanks for all of theso far, just to add a couple of things, the car had 300 miles on it. We are not trying to get a ''new'' one because this one is pretty much brand new. But we really do not wanna have problems with it later if the frame is bent. l know the body shop wants to make money so they are not telling us up front that the frame is bent. Yet the invoice says ''frame straightening and labor''.. We have not even made a payment yet on the car, so we'd be happy with our down payment back and the lien off of our names, so would we tell this to our insurance adjustor?

Call Ken Nugent and Associates (in a wreck get a check).

Probably the best information you can get would be from your own insurance agent/company. And no, do not talk to her insurance agent again until you talk to yours.

question 1, just because the frame is bent, it does not mean the car it totaled. If the frame was bent bad enough, they would total it, but if it is only slight, they can be fixed.
Question 2, u r probably not entitled to a rental from her insurance company. If u have car rental as part of ur policy, u can have her insurance company pay any additional fees.
Question 3, Her insurance company can ask for this information, if yo do not give it to them it may jeopardize ur claim with them. Ask u insurance agent for advise on that.

Do not say anything to her insurance company. They are trying to find something to use against you. This happened to me. You might be entitled to a new car if your car only had a few miles on it. Check into this with your insurance because the car probably will never be the same.

First, u need to get a copy of that police report. As long as what u told them the same thing as what u told the cop u should be fine. No they will not try to help you, no matter how nice they sound on the phone. The money they r spending to fix ur car is coming out of their pockets.

Second, No u r not entitled to a rental car u need to talk to ur insurance agency about ur policy & see what their policy is regarding the rental cars. When buying car insurance u should always select rental car insurance & uninsured motorist.

Third, u do not have to take the first estimate. If u can, have other reputable shops in the area look at the damage. Ask for phone numbers of multiple customers & call them from the shop to find out how satisfied they were with the service they received. YOU r the one who has to be satisfied with the repair work should u have to keep the fixed vehicle

Fourth, As to whether u get ur car back or it is fixed, u need to find out what ur state considers totaled. All states vary on their regulations.

Fith, l would push to have the car totaled & get a new one, because when u try to resale the car in a few years the repair will show up on a CAR-FAX REVIEW & the car value will drop like a rock of the top of the Empire State Building.


Good luck

Did u put the claim in on ur auto policy of did u enter it through the other policy? If u entered the claim through ur policy, then NO u DO NOT have to speak to the other insurance company because YOUR company is claims department will deal directly with the other company & u do NOT need to talk to them! If u entered the claim through the other company then u MUST tell them ur side of the story.

If u entered the claim through ur policy then rental should be paid by YOUR insurance company as long as u have rental on ur policy. If u do NOT have rental on ur policy u can attempt to get rental from the other company, but nothing is guaranteed b/c it is subject to ur insurance. l do not believe u can rent a car if u r under 21, but call around to find out if anyone will rent to someone under 21.

A car CAN have a bent frame & not be a total. it all depends on the damage. l actually know a guy that fixes bent frames as a part of his body shop.

l am very sorry this happened & especially with SUCH a new car!