I hope bad Vibes don't come in threes, as we are now at two!

[trb]

My son's turn this time. He was entering a gas station parking lot, and a young guy and his mom were leaving the pumps in her F-150. My son honked when he saw them move, but could not stop or get out of their way, and they hit the side of his car.



The evil Vibe killer F-150:



Needless to say, he is not a happy camper about it.

It did not look too badly damaged, but I got two estimates from $1,347 (her insurance) to $2,487 (a shop that I trust to repair it perfectly). I think I'll just have the shop work it out with the insurance. I was proud that several people commented how good his car looked for being 8-1/2 yrs old! Hopefully we will get it back to 100% real soon.

[tpollauf]

Ouch !!! I was almost afraid to read the whole story thinking another Vibe went to the heavens above. Glad to hear it was only injured and not killed. Keep us posted on the repair process.

[KITT222]

Yikes. Sounds like he needs a heavier duty horn. But it's refreshing that it's just a bump and not a bang.

[trb]

Not good news. Apparently, the lady that owns the F-150 and has the insurance on it, specifically filed an exclusion to not cover her boyfriend, so her insurance is refusing to cover the damages. They basically told me tough luck, sue them. If the driver was actually her boyfriend, she's 51, he's about 25. She had a 50 something boyfriend 2 years ago per her Facebook page pictures. So, I guess my insurance will be investigating this claim a bit more and probably taking them to court.

Yikes. Sounds like he needs a heavier duty horn. But it's refreshing that it's just a bump and not a bang.

I put in an aftermarket horn in his car a few months after he got it. Maybe I'll have to get an even louder one!

[KITT222]

So they hit you, but because they're insurance doesn't cover that driver, YOU aren't covered?

[WhgVibe]

Your insurance company should and proabably will file a subligation against the other company, it happens everyday in the insurance world. I've always understood follows the car and not the driver so I'm not sure how she can opt out of coverage. Dont sweat it too much let the insurance people fight it out.....thats why you pay a premium. Good luck on getting the Vibe back to perfection!

[trb]

So they hit you, but because they're insurance doesn't cover that driver, YOU aren't covered?

Yup! "They have no liability since the driver was specifically excluded from insurance coverage under the policy." A bunch of BS. The insurance company is one of those kinda shady ones I now believe, catering to less fortunate customers. Now every time I see one of their commercials, I want to punch out both of the bozos, but that would not be a good idea since their paid spokesman was a professional boxer!

Your insurance company should and probably will file a subrogation against the other company, it happens everyday in the insurance world. I've always understood follows the car and not the driver so I'm not sure how she can opt out of coverage. Don't sweat it too much let the insurance people fight it out.....that's why you pay a premium. Good luck on getting the Vibe back to perfection!

Yes, I know, but now I have to pay the deductible. I've heard about excluding specific drivers that live in the same household. Usually it is because the excluded driver is either a young driver, has a very bad driving record, DWI, or other that results in a very high insurance premium. If that person is excluded, they are not supposed to drive the vehicles, then the coverage is much cheaper since the chance of a claim is less. If that person drove and totaled the vehicle, insurance won't pay and you still have the loan to pay, and nothing to show for it.

My insurance will be filing against the vehicle owner for the $2,487 plus rental car and any other charges they incur. And my insurance is one that pursues all claims fully. So maybe I'll get my deductible back, sometime.

I did tell their claim adjuster our suspicions as to why she was not driving, so maybe she will get dropped.

[vibenvy]

Just as tpollauf said, when I saw the title of this thread, I was afraid to open it . I'm glad to read that the Vibe is not a total loss, although it certainly sucks about all the shady insurance stuff with the at fault driver. Hopefully it gets taken care of properly and your son gets his Vibe back as good as new.

I was proud that several people commented how good his car looked for being 8-1/2 yrs old!

That is definitely something to be proud of! My mom and I both say how we still feel like our Vibes are brand new even though they're going on 6 years old (and have been through 5 Chicagoland winters). It pays to take good care of them and there will always be someone out there who will take notice and compliment you for it.

[trb]

Well, the Vibe is at the body shop. My friend is taking good care of it for us. He will keep all of the old parts for me, just in case, you never know. Hopefully it will be ready later this week as he estimated 3-5 days.

We got a 4 door Yaris as a rental. It was obvious it had some of the same parts as on the 2010 GT. Same AC controls and a couple of other interior items looked similar. But it is quite a bit smaller than the Vibe! If I stop by the shop I'll post some progress pics and of course, finished pics.

One good thing using a State Farm approved shop is the repairs are covered for life. This shop does cover their repairs anyway, but if they closed for some reason, another shop would cover it through State Farm.

[vibenvy]

Well, the Vibe is at the body shop. My friend is taking good care of it for us. He will keep all of the old parts for me, just in case, you never know. Hopefully it will be ready later this week as he estimated 3-5 days.

We got a 4 door Yaris as a rental. It was obvious it had some of the same parts as on the 2010 GT. Same AC controls and a couple of other interior items looked similar. But it is quite a bit smaller than the Vibe! If I stop by the shop I'll post some progress pics and of course, finished pics.

One good thing using a State Farm approved shop is the repairs are covered for life. This shop does cover their repairs anyway, but if they closed for some reason, another shop would cover it through State Farm.

Glad to hear Thomas!

Gotta love State Farm! They've always taken great care of my parents and I when it comes to claims, etc. on our auto insurance.

[trb]

We got the car back almost a couple of weeks ago,(10/6) and it looks pretty good to me. I didn't have a chance to take some pics until yesterday.





They ended up replacing the complete rear door with a used (red!) one since it was cheaper than taking it apart and replacing the door skin. All of the plastic pieces on the doors and rear fender are new, and from what I can tell, I think they only repainted the fender under the plastic and inside the door opening where it was damaged. The paint matches up pretty well, but I can feel a slight ridge in the clear coat inside the door where they taped it off. But otherwise, I'd challenge anyone to find the repairs. Final total was about $3,100. Plus $198 for the rental car.

My son gave his statement to our insurance so they are submitting the claim to their subrogation department for collection. Hopefully we will get some money back for the deductable, but I am not holding my breath. Although the claims adjuster said she was amazed at how much they do collect on these claims. Wish us luck!

[lannvouivre]

WOWOWOW that repair looks good! Please mention the shop name! That's ace work!

[trb]

WOWOWOW that repair looks good! Please mention the shop name! That's ace work!

http://www.westsidecollisioninc.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; They were voted the best body shop in Houston 2 years in a row.

[vibenvy]

Glad to hear you got it back and they did a great job with the repairs!

[kc6yot]

Nice repair and color match. What? I always thought Vibes come in threes, still looking for one more.

[trb]

Nice repair and color match. What? I always thought Vibes come in threes, still looking for one more.

LOL! Well, I'm actually on my third Vibe now; first my son's 06, then the red 10 GT and now my 03 GT. I just did not own them all at the same time. I tried to buy my daughter one so we would have 3, but she put her foot down. Then I planned to give her the 10 GT and look for a manual one, and she got hit in it!

[petervivian]

Your car looks really good. Guess my frosty needs some buffing.

[trb]

Your car looks really good. Guess my frosty needs some buffing.

Thanks! IMO they both look pretty decent. I'm very happy with my son's Platinum Vibe regarding the paint. We don't do anything special to it and it looks great, especially for a silver. I think it has been waxed like 3 or 4 times since 2008! I plan to clay bar it and then give it a good coat of wax soon, maybe next week when I'm off.

My Neptune GT looks pretty good for a 12 yr old car, except for the roof(peeling clear coat, covered with black Rustoleum) and the hood(rock chips). The prior owner took real good care of it and waxed it regularly. I need to clay bar and wax it it too.