If you were involved in an automobile accident and your car sustained damage, the choice of where to have it repaired is yours.
We would suggest that you first make contact with your own insurance company and let them know where you want to have your repairs done. They will then send out an adjuster to the repair shop and evaluate the damage to your car, to initially determine if your car can be repaired or if it is a total loss. If they deem it to be a total loss, the insurance company, either your own company or the person’s insurance company who caused the accident, will have to pay you the fair market value of your car at that time. You will need to do your own research in that setting to insure that the insurance company is making you a fair offer. We have found the best way to research is to go to websites such as AutoTrader.com or CarMax.com and plug in all of the particulars of your car and see what other people are willing to sell a car similar to yours for. Try to find at least 4-5 similar cars, in order to get a good feel as to the value of your car. If the insurance company makes an offer below what you have found, share your research with them. You are also entitled to have the insurance company send you the information upon what they are basing their offer. They have basically done the same research as you. In many settings, the cars which the insurance company is basing their offer on had already been sold or was a salvaged car, which means it had been deemed a total loss in the past.
If your car is deemed repairable, then you are entitled to a rental car while your car is in the repair shop. In many settings your own car insurance policy will allow you a rental car for up to 30 days. If you didn’t purchase that type of coverage, you can demand that the insurance carrier for the person who caused the accident, provide you with a rental while your car is in the shop. If you choose not to rent a car while yours is in the shop, you are entitled to receive a loss of use amount equivalent to what it would have cost to rent the car. Make sure when you retrieve your car from the repair shop that it has been brought back to pre-accident condition.
Good luck with this and if you need any help, please feel free to contact a Carlsbad car accident attorney from our team today.