Who Is Going To Fix Your Car After A Car Accident?

There are various possibilities to get your car fixed after a car accident if you were a not-at-fault driver. If you have an experienced personal injury attorney by your side, it will be easier to get your car fixed without even spending a dime of your own. Here is everything you should know about who will fix your car after a car accident.

Who Will Fix Your Car After A Car Accident

There are several possibilities for how to fix your car after an accident.

Case 1: Use The Defendant’s Insurance Company To Receive The Claim

If the at-fault driver has an insurance company and it is rightly proven that he/she was at fault, you have the right to get compensated for getting the car repaired.

However, one has to be patient and should have an alternative vehicle to make use of as insurance companies take weeks to decide to accept their fault in an accident.

Case 2: Use Your Own Insurance Company To Cover Damages

This is the fastest way of getting your car repaired, provided you have a car insurance policy. No matter who was at fault in the car accident, your insurance company can get your car repaired depending on the type of policy you possess.

If you pay a part of repairs from your side and later get paid by the defendant’s insurance company as well, your insurance company will return the amount paid by you.

Case 3: Making Use Of Uninsured Motorist Coverage

This motorist coverage applies when the defendant involved in the car accident doesn’t have an insurance company or isn’t being identified for some reason. In such a case, your insurance company will pay for your car repairs under the uninsured motorist coverage.

How To Get The Car Repaired

Here is what you need to know about getting your car repaired.

Case 1: When It Is Drivable

If your car is driveable, the first thing to do is get an estimation of the cost of repairs from the defendant’s insurance company. The insurance adjuster will then schedule a time to estimate the cost.

Once the estimate is provided, do a second check with your car shop. If the estimates do not match, ask your shop manager to talk to the insurance adjuster about how they estimated the car repairs.

Case 2: When It Is Not Drivable

When the car is not drivable, the insurance company adjuster had no choice but to visit your place to estimate the cost of repairs. When satisfied, he will issue the check of the same amount.

Make sure when your car is not drivable, do not leave it to any repair shop or salvage yard after being towed. Transfer it to your choice of shop to avoid daily storage charges levied at such places that had to be paid from your pocket.

Case 3: When The Car Is Totalled

When the cost of getting the car repaired exceeds its market value at the time of the accident, this is termed a total loss. In such a case, the insurance company would first compare its fair market value of the car to the estimated cost of repairs (including salvage value and rental charges) and pay you whichever is less.

The car’s fair market value is calculated with the help of the current price of the similar car listed in online car listings, newspapers, car agencies, etc.

If the car is totaled, you have two options

1. To keep the car by accepting the total loss value of the car minus the salvage value
2. To sell the car to the insurance company by accepting the car’s total loss value plus the salvage value.

Can I Repair My Own Car?

In this case, there are again two possibilities:

Case 1: When You Want To Repair Your Own Car

Yes, you can fix your car after a car accident yourself. However, this is only fruitful when the cost of repairs, when done by you, falls behind the insurance coverage you will be getting from your insurance company or the defendant’s insurance company.

Case 2: When You Want To Get It Repaired By A Mechanic You Closely Know 

You can also get your car repaired by a mechanic. The only thing to remember in such a case is first to get the cost of repairs assessed by the insurance company before quoting your estimate of repairs to them.

Doing so will make sure you don’t lose the money by quoting less than they would have.

These were some of the cases under which you can get your car repaired after a car accident. We hope we could answer your query related to who will fix your car after a car accident. For any assistance, contact our experienced car accident attorneys today.