Location: West Virginia
As of a few hours ago a drunk driver (0.25 BAC) wrecked into my parents driveway and hit 3 parked cars. Two were new with 20k (Ford Bronco Sport) and 5k miles (Mazda CX-30) on them and the third was an older truck (Nissan Frontier) with about 100k miles on it. The truck was totaled and one is undetermined whether totaled or not, and the third just sustained damage to the passenger side doors. The area is 25mph speed limit in which people constantly speed and it’s only been a matter of time until this happened.
I’m currently curious what steps to take in the process of getting screwed as minimally as possible due to the drunk. The other driver has insurance and our insurance is being contacted soon. One of the cars (Mazda <5k miles) is in our possession though not outright owned by us due to the recent death of a family member. This car was intended to be sold and the cost distributed among my Mother and her two brothers though now it will be registered as a car damaged in an accident and the value will tank substantially. The Bronco Sport still has a little over 15k that is not paid off as well, about 25k has been paid so far.
Main concerns:
How do I avoid the value tanking on the Mazda?
How can I avoid loss of money due to the loans on the Bronco? If the car is listed as totaled it seems like it will leave us with about 25k resulting in using it to pay the 15k in loans and leaving 5k for a down payment on a new car.
Recently (within the last month) the entire backend of the Nissan Frontier was repaired as well as getting new brakes put on it resulting in about 2k in repairs. Is there anyway to receive any of this money back or was it 2k spent in vain?
One of our neighbors is the new mayor of Morgantown who is refusing to get a speed hump put in on our road because people constantly speed (One cop ticketed 9 people within an hour on our road). Is there anyway to go around in order to get a speed hump(s) put in on our road? We already lost 2 mailboxes and our neighbors have also lost retaining walls, had car damage, house damage, and lost mailboxes as well.
What other info should be provided?
Are there any other recommendations for routes to take in this? Should it solely go through insurance or would it be a good idea to take further legal action?
Thank you so much for your help and replies with everything!
Comments
For all three vehicles, you are owed either the cost of repairs or the current fair market value of the car, whichever is lower.
The amount of your loan on the Bronco is irrelevant; if you’re upside down that’s your issue.
For any of the vehicles, if you can document an actual diminished value post-repair, you can include that as damage in your damages calculation.
The money spent in repairs is only recoverable as value on the vehicle.