On 28 Oct 2006 at 8:37, Randall wrote:
> If the car is insured, the ins co must either declare it a
> total loss, or restore it to the same condition it was in
> before the loss.
In theory yes, but this assumes that it can or will be restored to
the same condition. I've had plenty of experiences with normal
repairs or body damage from minor collisions (no fault of mine, for
example when a neighbor left his car on a hill not in gear and no
brake set so it rolled backwards into the side of our van) in which a
body shop or repair shop at a reputable large dealer got something
not quite right or not quite finished. Even if it is eventually
restored to the same condition the process of getting there may not
be pleasant, may take time, may take the car out of service for days
at a time, and sometimes could boil down to near fighting with the
shop or insurace company. I shudder to think what it could be like
if the car had been intentionally trashed, given how much trouble a
simple large repair can be. I ain't sayin' it will happen that way
but I don't yet know how to see the future. "Restore it to the same
condition" is a nice concept but it has its own hidden costs.
--
Jim Muller
jimmuller@rcn.com
'80 Spitfire, '70 GT6+
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