Why you don't want to be the top vehicle on a car carrier.

[rarefish]

I got a call from my father in-law this afternoon telling me to stop over. When I got there this is what I saw in his garage. This morning
a car hauler came by to pick up his Lincoln Town Car to take it down to Florida for the winter. Two hours later he got a call from the
truck driver telling him the roof of his car was torn off by an overpass bridge on the highway.  An insurance adjuster for the car
hauler is suppose to stop over tomorrow to take a look at the damage. I'm sure they will total it. The vehicle was a very clean low mile
car. I will be surprised if he gets the full value out of the insurance claim. I hate to think of this happening to a rare collector car.

[69charger2002]

that is sick. for the longest time i have been in awe watching these 9-10 car haulers squeak under the overpasses with an inch or two it seems.. to spare. i guess not all of them get lucky. that sucks. hopefully he gets a fat check. at least that car is replaceable
trav

[RD]

holy crap!!! they should give him full price for the car, the truck driver is at fault.  they should know the height of their vehicle and the route in which they are taking is able to handle that height.  If he doesnt get full price.. oh man, I would be in court in a heartbeat.

[69bronzeT5]

It'll buff out . That sucks, I hope the insurance company dosent try to screw him over.

[ChgrSteve67]

Thats when I think the insurance company should have to buy someone a brand new 0 mileage car to replace it.

[69 OUR/TEA]

My AAR came from ST.Petersburg ,FL to CT ,took 8 days,could'nt wait for it to get here,when it got here and I met the truck,it was on top!!! Have pic somewhere.

[bmoparmofo]

Just brutal.....

[BROCK]

holy crap!!! they should give him full price for the car, the truck driver is at fault.  they should know the height of their vehicle and the route in which they are taking is able to handle that height.  If he doesnt get full price.. oh man, I would be in court in a heartbeat.

Most tall vehicle owners will post their height in plain view from the drivers seat - guess they forget to check their load height. 
Looks like somebody didn't have their eyes on task from the outset.
Sorry this happened - but hope your pics get posted all over the trucking world

[Mefirst]

Thats an clever way to make a hardtop a convertible...

/Tom

[Old Moparz]

That's a pretty graphic image, wow! 

I'm willing to bet it isn't totalled though, the insurance company will find a shop that says it can be fixed for $3500.   

[six-tee-nine]

are U serious      If i could get my hands on that truck driver I'd kick the sh*t out of him that's for sure. Imagine that Lincoln being your Charger.......I'd be on the front page for killing those guys.

[1969chargerrtse]

I paid extra to put mine on top so nothing would fall on it.  But it was in an enclosed trailer.  I wanted to make sure it got the best treatment.  It did, until I saw the 5 torn frame box's because they chained it down , even after I called DAS and said " make sure you don't chain the frame down".  No worry, they don't chain they replied.  Nice looking car otherwise, very clean.  Sorry for the lost.   Oh , how did they handle it?  They said get a price, I did .  It was 500.00, they sent me 250.00 because of a deductible.

[TruckDriver]

holy crap!!! they should give him full price for the car, the truck driver is at fault.  they should know the height of their vehicle and the route in which they are taking is able to handle that height.  If he doesnt get full price.. oh man, I would be in court in a heartbeat.

From a truck driver of 25 years and well over a million miles, Jamey is 110% right here.

[68RT4ME]

A memorable fella once said;

Jeff Spicoli: [driving and stoned] People on 'ludes should not drive.

and

Jeff Spicoli: Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools. I can fix it.

So, it should all be ok....

Seriously though, sorry about what happened.

[twenty mike mike]

Two hours later he got a call from the
truck driver telling him the roof of his car was torn off by an overpass bridge on the highway.

Oh, right...blame it on the bridge!

[Shakey]

Thats when I think the insurance company should have to buy someone a brand new 0 mileage car to replace it.

Why should they replace a 2, 3 or 4 year old car with a brand new one?   

[Shakey]

That's a pretty graphic image, wow! 

I'm willing to bet it isn't totalled though, the insurance company will find a shop that says it can be fixed for $3500.   

That car can be fixed and while $3500.00 may seem a bit shy, it probably isn't too far off.   

[Shakey]

are U serious      If i could get my hands on that truck driver I'd kick the sh*t out of him that's for sure. Imagine that Lincoln being your Charger.......I'd be on the front page for killing those guys.

Would you go as far as breaking his legs and arms or just rough him up a bit?    

What would you do if he fought back?   

[ChgrSteve67]

Thats when I think the insurance company should have to buy someone a brand new 0 mileage car to replace it.

Why should they replace a 2, 3 or 4 year old car with a brand new one?

Why should they be allowed to replace it with someone else's used POS or decide its worth less than what I have invested in it.

I take care of my property, if someone else was careless, why should I be have to suffer for it?

IF I borrow someones property and I break or damage it I fix it and return it in better condition than what I borrowed it in.
Torn off roof = new car in my book.

Steve (Guess thats just me)

[Ghoste]

I tend to think if it can be repaired, it's going to be a lot further than nearer to 3500 too but I'm no bodyman so...

[Old Moparz]

I tend to think if it can be repaired, it's going to be a lot further than nearer to 3500 too but I'm no bodyman so...

I agree, but I remember a friend's Bronco that was broad sided so hard it buckled the roof upward about a foot higher than it was. The tow truck driver, my friend, myself, & someone else, all expected the insurance company to total it. They didn't, & the adjuster said $2800 would fix it. 

I think they did it for $3200 in the end & he drove it for several more years too.   

[Ghoste]

But get a 15mph dent in the front end and they tell you it'll be 4500 to fix.    Oh well, such is the insurance shell game I suppose.

[The70RT]

That's too bad. I'm sure it could be fixed but who would want it after that. Could be a blessing since my opinion on some of those Lincoln is they are money pits. I would take a crown vic over a Lincoln any day. The last Lincoln I had I lost 6,000 dollars in repairs in like 3 years. I did all the work myself. That held up my Charger project............never again.

[68charger383]

Bottomline:

Call Ins Co. to see if they will provide a rental company for a car or go rent an equivalent car to replace the loss of use of the car pending the ins co decision to total or repair the car. Remember, they had a luxury car and are entitled to rent an equivalent style car for the period the car is being repaired or the decision to total the car is made.

There are many books to judge value. This will be the potential problem if they total the car. Start doing your research now. Since they were clearly negligent in loading the car and causing the damage, you can fight with them on this point as to which book value to use. Do not forget to take the mileage credit, if it has lower mileage, which will increase the car's value.

[bordin34]

Make sure he tells the insurance company and makes it a point that it was a low mile clean well cared for car.

[TK73]

Never had to file a body damage claim before but it seems to me the insurance company will get one of their "approved" shops to lowball the repairs in order to not total the car. 

Should he get "independent" quotes from other shops (maybe even dealers so the estimate will be accurate/high)??

[Shakey]

Never had to file a body damage claim before but it seems to me the insurance company will get one of their "approved" shops to lowball the repairs in order to not total the car. 

Should he get "independent" quotes from other shops (maybe even dealers so the estimate will be accurate/high)??

In ON you can take the car wherever you choose.   

I'd figure that no bodyshop would want to lowball the repairs to save the car as they would have to do the job for less than it actually costs.   

[69bronzeT5]

It did, until I saw the 5 torn frame box's because they chained it down , even after I called DAS and said " make sure you don't chain the frame down".  No worry, they don't chain they replied. 

That sucks man. My car got abit of damage too. The tow truck driver that was carrying my car didnt tie it down enough and it bounced and with the big tires and whatnot, it damaged the lip of the quarter around the wheelwell and also, the right tailight ring fell off...never to be seen again

[terrible one]

It did, until I saw the 5 torn frame box's because they chained it down , even after I called DAS and said " make sure you don't chain the frame down".  No worry, they don't chain they replied. 

That sucks man. My car got abit of damage too. The tow truck driver that was carrying my car didnt tie it down enough and it bounced and with the big tires and whatnot, it damaged the lip of the quarter around the wheelwell and also, the right tailight ring fell off...never to be seen again

Sounds to me like it's a tires being too big and sticking out of the wheel wells thing, not a tow truck thing. 

[69bronzeT5]

It did, until I saw the 5 torn frame box's because they chained it down , even after I called DAS and said " make sure you don't chain the frame down".  No worry, they don't chain they replied. 

That sucks man. My car got abit of damage too. The tow truck driver that was carrying my car didnt tie it down enough and it bounced and with the big tires and whatnot, it damaged the lip of the quarter around the wheelwell and also, the right tailight ring fell off...never to be seen again

Sounds to me like it's a tires being too big and sticking out of the wheel wells thing, not a tow truck thing. 

Actually, the tow truck towing it to the destanation did the damage. The tow truck driver that took it back to my house told me probally how the damage occured.

[terrible one]

It did, until I saw the 5 torn frame box's because they chained it down , even after I called DAS and said " make sure you don't chain the frame down".  No worry, they don't chain they replied. 

That sucks man. My car got abit of damage too. The tow truck driver that was carrying my car didnt tie it down enough and it bounced and with the big tires and whatnot, it damaged the lip of the quarter around the wheelwell and also, the right tailight ring fell off...never to be seen again

Sounds to me like it's a tires being too big and sticking out of the wheel wells thing, not a tow truck thing. 

Actually, the tow truck towing it to the destanation did the damage. The tow truck driver that took it back to my house told me probally how the damage occured.

. . . errr. . . okay.

[The70RT]

If it is totaled they will give book only. Maybe you can haggle with them but I doubt it will do any good. Lot's of people take care of there cars better than some but the insurance companys don't know who took care more than others. Some people just keep them real clean and neglect maintenance. They may check the local market and see what a certain car goes for and you get what they give you. If it was a classic and you had it appraised then maybe you could deal more with them. There is plenty of low mileage late model old people cars out there and would be fairly easy to replace.

[TUFCAT]

I'm sure theres a lot of interior damage that can't be seen.....sunroof parts, plastic trim, soft trim, the interior list can go on and on....not to mention the cost of glass/roof replacement/quarter panels if buckled, etc.. VERY expensive. I'm with you. Its a total - or damn near. 

[rarefish]

Update:  Well I found out from my father in-law today and the insurance adjuster finally stopped at his house to look at the
damage on his Lincoln. The results are that they totalled it... and are going to write him a check for $13,700 for the loss.
Since he was thinking of trading the car in this spring the whole thing kind of worked in his favor.  I don't think
any dealer would have given him that much on a trade.

[TUFCAT]

$13,700 seems low ...but if its above fair market value, then it's a good deal    Too bad this happened to such a nice, clean, well-maintained car. I'm sure he liked it a lot 

[TruckDriver]

I don't think any dealer would have given him that much on a trade.

Hell no! Good for him