Crunch Goes The Saturn...

[Hotscoots]

If you like the car , it can be replaced for under $4000 easily . Our family had 3 Saturns awhile back. 2 SL1s and a 3 door SC2 .
My wife still maintains that her little silver 3 door coupe was the best car she ever had .

 

[Ian442]

I would love the Saturn Astra (Opel).

The hatchback is a nice looking car.

 

[Rob Croson]

I used to have a 3 door sc2. Really nice.

 

[Elio Amazed]

The politicians are on the side of the insurance companies. You can bluff all you want, but if they're determined to total your car and give you what the industry formula tells them your replacement value is, you're going to be risking your own money to push the issue, and POSSIBLY get, at best, a few hundred more.. Small claims court costs, lawyers fees, time spent, and all that. When I say the "industry formula", I mean just that. By using the loopholes that politicians have given them in the last 20 years, they almost always "legally" come up with a "fair market value" that's WAY below KBB or NADA fair market value. Just giving you a head's up to prepare you for sticker shock.

If you have collision coverage, I would have recommended having your insurance company handle the claim from the get-go. I don't understand how they can possibly think that they can (even temorarily) charge you the deductible if you can prove that the other party was 100% at fault. It's pretty darned hard to get out of being 100% at fault when you've rear-end someone. I'd have a serious discussion with YOUR insurance company and regardless of the outcome of that conversation, I'd think about checking around about getting coverage from a different company as soon as this whole thing is settled.

I've had experiences in the past where my insurance company handled everything with the other party's company and NEVER was there a question of any money being deducted from settlements.

Now, in recent times...

I got rear-ended while sitting still at a light on my MC a year ago.
My 'Stang suffered a hit-n-run in a WM parking lot in July.

The MC incident involved a lady who was on the phone seconds before impact.
She was accompanied by an unrestrained, hyper, "yappie" little dog that was jumping all over the inside of the mini-van.
The investigating officer let her drive away after she'd admitted to taking three percodan that morning.
He did not site her or assign fault, even though there was obviously far more than $500 damage to my bike and gear.
I got totally shishkabobbed on the replacement value of the bike because they are "legally" permitted to use "standard industry methods".

Tables turned in the case of the 'Stang.
The locals got all the action and a clear shot of the plate from the camera.
There were management in the parking lot that witnessed everything.
The guy picked one side of the 'Stang completely off of the ground.
He kept his foot on the gas until his vehicle ground to a halt.
He then backed up off of my car and sat there for a few seconds.
He then proceeded to turn the OTHER WAY and beat ass down the parking lot away from the witnesses.
He was changing parking lanes the whole time to try to keep everyone from reading his plate.

He told the cops that he didn't know he hit anyone when they called him a week and a half later.
So where did he think the crunching sound and that damage to the side of his truck came from?
At that point he STILL never informed his insurance comany.
It took forever for me to get the info from the police department.
His insurance company didn't have a clue when I called a month and a half after it happened.

He told his insurance company the same thing when they called him.
I raised hell about the fact that this was a criminal hit-n-run and the guy had not been arrested (yet).
I also pointed out that he intentionally made absolutely no attempt to inform his insurance.
And finally, I kept going back to the fact that there were what the courts would consider "highly credible" witnesses.

His insurance company told me he isn't the kind of guy that "normally does things like this", so they're letting him slide.
He has a brick-and-morter business in the area, and the vehicle was registered to his business.
He most likely has a ton of other things insured with that company in a addition to his auto insurance.

Now the 'Stang is only worth about $3000 KBB, so I was concerned about a likely repeat of the bike.
The perp's insurance adjuster came out, took pictures and viewed the damage I showed him.
He sat in his car on his computer looking for the best priced local "like-new" and new parts.
He also called the two best shops in the area for estimates on the labor.
He had asked me if I had any preference about which shop I'd like to do the work.

I signed the extremely generous estimate and got the check four days later.
When the check arrived, I spent 3 hours fixing the car.
I even buffed the scratches out with 000 steel wool.

Didn't cost me a dime and I deposited the check that afternoon.

If the officer had done his job when I got thrown 15 feet in the air, the bike accident might have had a better outcome too.

 

[Rob Croson]

That bike story sounds bad. Glad the other one worked out for you.

State Farm called me yesterday and said they will cover the repair cost to my car. They will handle everything with the shop, and let me know when it is done. Overall, it went very well so far.

I got a look at the actual quote: $1000 for parts, $1500 for labor, and $1000 for painting.

 

[Elio Amazed]

Well indeed.

A lot of the time the offending company can and will choose (and again "legally so") to total out the vehicle if the estimate is 75% or more of what their "industry formula" tells them fair market value is.

And you're driving the rental eh?
Glad it worked out so far.

 

[Hotscoots]

I would love the Saturn Astra (Opel).

The hatchback is a nice looking car.

It is a very nice car ......But Saturn's shift from the SL and SC series to Opel rebadges was their downfall . Saturn had a cult following when they emerged in the '90s . Affordable , high safety metrics , composite panels . At the Saturn dealer where I bought my wife her 1st SL1 , the salesman would invite you to take a hammer and pound the door . No dent , scratch or blemish.
There were mass migrations to the plant each year for an owner's event.
For reasons unknown , they abandoned what got them up and running and became something else . And then gone .

 

[Rob Croson]

It is a very nice car ......But Saturn's shift from the SL and SC series to Opel rebadges was their downfall .

I bought one of the new Ion coupes in 2004. I loved the car. Style, mileage, everything was great. Unfortunately, there was a growling sound that came from the front end whenever you made a hard left turn. (Or maybe it was right turn? That was almost 12 years ago...) I took it back to the dealer several times. They ground down the rotors, replaced a motor mount, and replaced the front wheel bearings. I even took one fo the techs on a test drive to show him what the noise was. When that didn't work, I talked to the service manager, and before I could even say "lemon", he offered to take it back and apply all the money we had put into it toward the purchase of a different new car. That's how we ended up with this silver L300.

I always loved Saturn. Over the years we bought four new cars from that dealership. They were always super-friendly and helpful. They even gave me a free "My Saturn Saved Me" t-shirt when one of the cars got totaled.

 

[Rob Croson]

For reasons unknown , they abandoned what got them up and running and became something else . And then gone .

My understanding, from a friend of the family that worked for Saturn, was that Saturn didn't get any help from GM as a whole, despite being a GM brand. Good and bad, I guess. It really was a different experience than the traditional dealership/brand. But the company overall didn't get any benefit from being under the GM umbrella. They had to do everything on their own. Supposedly this resulted in the owners being very loyal, but the overall brand not being very profitable. This could all just be bogus opinion of one person, but it doesn't sound unreasonable.

 

[W. WIllie]

IIRR the engines actually came from HONDA. No support from GM.

Willie