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Car Fiasco: The Continuing Adventures
Jan. 17th, 2005 05:06 pmThe car is at the shop. The shop found additional damage when they took apart the front to work on it. They called me to let me know, and ask if I was going through insurance on this. I said that I was and gave them the contact info for my agent. They called my agent and she told them that if she had to issue any more money for the damage she was going to total the car.
Previously, I had asked this person what would happen if the mechanic found more damage, and she said that they would pay for the additional repairs. Now, that doesn't seem to be the case. The mechanic already has the car taken apart, so I figure I'll have to pay them at least something. The question is, do I pay for the extra repairs, or do I let the insurance company total the car instead?
The car is a '96 Taurus with 134000 miles on it and some quirky electrical problems that make the lights flicker sometimes during the day, and cause a phantom "emergency brake on" light to hang around and flicker on and off even when the brake is off. It has some sort of problem that makes the "Service Engine Soon" light come on, but my mechanic has told me before that he's fairly certain that the problem causing it isn't actually serious and is just costing me a bit of gas mileage. I don't know if the car will pass inspection next year if I don't fix that, though.
So, do I pay for more repairs now, keep the car, and hope that it doesn't collapse into ruin from its accumulating eccentricities, or do I let them total it and just give up and get a new car before the current one explodes?
My agent has left the office for the day, so I can't ask about how much I'd get if they totaled it until 8:00 AM tomorrow. Until then, all I can do is continue to worry about the whole mess.
Previously, I had asked this person what would happen if the mechanic found more damage, and she said that they would pay for the additional repairs. Now, that doesn't seem to be the case. The mechanic already has the car taken apart, so I figure I'll have to pay them at least something. The question is, do I pay for the extra repairs, or do I let the insurance company total the car instead?
The car is a '96 Taurus with 134000 miles on it and some quirky electrical problems that make the lights flicker sometimes during the day, and cause a phantom "emergency brake on" light to hang around and flicker on and off even when the brake is off. It has some sort of problem that makes the "Service Engine Soon" light come on, but my mechanic has told me before that he's fairly certain that the problem causing it isn't actually serious and is just costing me a bit of gas mileage. I don't know if the car will pass inspection next year if I don't fix that, though.
So, do I pay for more repairs now, keep the car, and hope that it doesn't collapse into ruin from its accumulating eccentricities, or do I let them total it and just give up and get a new car before the current one explodes?
My agent has left the office for the day, so I can't ask about how much I'd get if they totaled it until 8:00 AM tomorrow. Until then, all I can do is continue to worry about the whole mess.
