Situation:

My 1997 Toyota Camry was parked and hit in the driveway by my landlord. Front bumper was damaged and left front turning signal light was busted. Her insurance company, State Farm did an estimate and is only willing to pay me $137 to repair the vehicle. They claimed the two small cracks on the right front bumper was priot damage(was pre existing) and hence they were not going to pay for the bumper. I've discussed with my landlord and she is not willing to help pay the difference, which is $333. She claims that she pays her insurance deductible and has no other responsibility. I found a shop that did the work for $470. I was fairly happy living in the basement apt but after this incident it looks like I will be moving in the coming months.

If I withhold money out of my rent she will only deduct the money from my security deposit.

I've called State farm 4 times and they won't budge, is sueing my landlord in small claims court my only remedy? TIA

What did your insurance company have to say about the damage?

For the amount involved I'd say forget it. Principal sounds like a great reason for bringing a lawsuit, but after making a couple of trips to the courthouse and paying filing fees, parking, etc. you'll probably feel differently. Plus you can never list your landlord as a reference on any lease application in the future.

My insurance is GEICO, but only covered with liability, no collision coverage so my insurance company is not able to take action against State Farm. Landlord is a bit of a flake, hard to deal with. I tried to reason with her and made a compromise where I would pick up $110, the cost of the bumper,(because now I do have a new bumper) and she would pay the rest. She says to me "I have comphrensive coverage so sue State Farm."

Dee Wrote:
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> My insurance is GEICO, but only covered with
> liability, no collision coverage so my insurance
> company is not able to take action against State
> Farm. Landlord is a bit of a flake, hard to deal
> with. I tried to reason with her and made a
> compromise where I would pick up $110, the cost of
> the bumper,(because now I do have a new bumper)
> and she would pay the rest. She says to me "I have
> comphrensive coverage so sue State Farm."

I agree with Bill N about suing. So get another place to live, then steal stuff when you move out. You'll feel alot better. LOL

Dee Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Situation:
>
> My 1997 Toyota Camry was parked and hit in the
> driveway by my landlord. Front bumper was damaged
> and left front turning signal light was busted.
> Her insurance company, State Farm did an estimate
> and is only willing to pay me $137 to repair the
> vehicle. They claimed the two small cracks on the
> right front bumper was priot damage(was pre
> existing) and hence they were not going to pay for
> the bumper. I've discussed with my landlord and
> she is not willing to help pay the difference,
> which is $333. She claims that she pays her
> insurance deductible and has no other
> responsibility. I found a shop that did the work
> for $470. I was fairly happy living in the
> basement apt but after this incident it looks like
> I will be moving in the coming months.
>
> If I withhold money out of my rent she will only
> deduct the money from my security deposit.
>
> I've called State farm 4 times and they won't
> budge, is sueing my landlord in small claims court
> my only remedy? TIA


Talk to your landlord when there are no witnesses present. Tell her it would be a shame if her car were to get dammaged.
A gallon of milk poured into a gas tank will screw up a cars fuel and emissions system like you would not beleive. No way in hell that bitch should not be held responsible for her actions or lack therof.

@OP - move out NOW, if not sooner

then maybe follow up on Mister Tee's line of thinking LoLz

nah, seriously, State Farm is just trying to screw you over. What may work is to try and get yr landlady to call them up and back up the fact the damamge was not pre-existing. It should be as simple as that for her. If she's such a BEE-YATCH that she wont do that for you, then yeah, you need to move out NOW cause she's not someone you want to live around. Cause normal ppl would simply help you out, y'know?

It should have been covered by her homeowners policy I think .?.?.

I don't think her homeowner's policy will cover this incident. Her car was moving when she struck my parked car.

Too bad my car was older with some wear on the front bumper. I have already admitted to The two pre-existing small cracks on the right side of the bumper, This is how State farm makes its money by reducing their obligations, is it worth the hassle and aggravation to sue the landlord and State Farm in small claims court??

I wouldn't sue her until you leave and have your security deposit back. After that, only go after the landlord. She may pay you that measley amount to make it go away.

By the way, she is a fucking bitch for not making you whole after she caused damage to your property.

@OP - driveway has a good point - if the car was on her property, then her homeowners policy might cover it - you should seriously try and work with her to have her check that out.

Justsayin' is also right - if that doesnt work, and she doesnt do the right thing, you dont want do anything 'legal oriented' until you've gotten yr ass out of there.

If the basement isn't a legal apartment, then after you move report her to the housing authority or the zoning board. They'll investigate and tell her she can't rent the space any longer (and not sure of the laws here but she might have to refund you rent you paid for an illegal apartment).

That'll show her!!

Are you renting a basement apartment in Oakton, by any chance?

Two things come to mind...

a 1997 isn't an "older car" in my book. But I guess if you are younger (like about 20) then the car has been around for over 1/2 your existence. Anyways...

The other thing, is to get your security deposit back, then have fun... Like hide fish heads in the HVAC vents upon leaving kind of fun... Your results may vary - and I am kidding, of course!

No, its in Herndon/Reston area. The bedroom has heat but no a/c, (rest of basement apt has both) also the windows are just panes of glass,don't open. So that does sound like a code violation?? probably is.

Oh good lord, it's a 14-year-old car. Take the $137, spend $25 for a junkyard turning signal, and put the remaining $112 in the bank.

I have one better, get some roaches and put them down in the basement or somewhere dark and damp in the house. They'll breed like crazy, THEN report her to the housing authority about 2 weeks later.

@............ doesnt matter how old the ride is - landlady hit it and OP has the right to be made whole from it, plain and simple.

That is what you get for being a tight ass. Around here you are foolish not getting full coverage insurance. Serves you right.

DDS Wrote:
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> That is what you get for being a tight ass. Around
> here you are foolish not getting full coverage
> insurance. Serves you right.


Totally agree!!1!!!1!!! Had she paid $500 or more a year for the past few years, those thousands spent would have covered her $470 assuming she had zero deductible!!

Yes. It is a code violation. If i were you, I'd make an anonymous call to your local authority and have them look into the illegal apartment. I know around my sticks you need to have the fire marshal certify your location livable for rent.

I believe in Fairfax county, basement spots need to have at least point of regress and 2 ventilation windows in order to be able to rent it.

Do you have a friend you can stay with when the shit hits the fan? I say this as you should be present in the illegal rental while the violation is taking place otherwise the crummy landlord will deny any one lived there.

Then you can sue her for all the money you paid for rental under false pretenses. She is actually putting your life in harms way. Keep any info you have if their is a rental agreement.....

Not a sermon, just a thought!


Dee Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> No, its in Herndon/Reston area. The bedroom has
> heat but no a/c, (rest of basement apt has both)
> also the windows are just panes of glass,don't
> open. So that does sound like a code violation??
> probably is.

Gordon Blvd Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> @............ doesnt matter how old the ride is -
> landlady hit it and OP has the right to be made
> whole from it, plain and simple.

That doesn't include fixing pre-existing damage.

Dee wrote:

"Too bad my car was older with some wear on the front bumper. I have already admitted to The two pre-existing small cracks on the right side of the bumper"

Case closed, she wants to pull a scam.

Insurance fraud is a crime, just in case you didn't know.

Dee, are you black by chance?

......... Wrote:
> "Too bad my car was older with some wear on the
> front bumper. I have already admitted to The two
> pre-existing small cracks on the right side of the
> bumper"
>
> Case closed, she wants to pull a scam.

Not quite Judge Judy. It depends on how bad the initial cracks were on the bumper and how bad the damage was that the landlord caused to the bumper. If the initial cracks were small so that the car was able to pass inspection and the bumper would still function as intended, and if the landlord hitting it caused the bumper to be worthless, the landlord doesn't get a pass because the bumper was less than perfect. It's the same principal as the one that says you don't get to avoid paying for a new windshield if you sent a rock flying through it simply because the old one had a couple of small its on it, or the rule that says you don't get to avoid paying for scratching the paint on someone's car simply because there were a few existing scratches on the car. Now you could make a case that instead of a perfectly new bumper the landlord ought to be able to replace it with a slightly dinged one that they got at the junkyard.

BTW threatening criminal action against someone if they pursue or don't drop a civil action can also be a no-no.

Still stand by my original point-$300 isn't enough to have to go through the hassles of obtaining and enforcing a judgment.

Bill N Wrote:

> If the initial cracks were small so that the car
> was able to pass inspection and the bumper would
> still function as intended

The cracks have been described as small, both before and after the collision.

Also, this car has a bumper cover and a bumper energy absorber. If it is just the cover that is damaged, then the damage is only cosmetic. I suspect that any collision with enough force to damage the energy absorber would leave more than small cracks in the bumper cover.

Dee wrote:

"They claimed the two small cracks on the right front bumper was priot damage"

Also I am unaware of any provision of the Virginia Safety Inspection Manual that allows a vehicle to be failed due to a crack in the bumper cover.

Also, if you sue your landlord over this accident--State Farm will pay for her defense attorney.

I wanna pull a scam...now that is funny. The two pre existing hairline cracks on the right front bumper were 1" and 2" in length. Her running into my parked car (in a designated space) resulted in the bumper geing pushed in the size of a large football. I explained to the landlord that I would compromise and pay $110 of the damages, price of new bumper cover. Because I now have a new bumper cover and better off than before. What about the concept of being made whole?? And reasonable and fair??

I'm aware State Farm may be present at the small claims court. All my paperwork is in order, and I have pictures of the damage. This should be a warning to all owners of older cars with less the pristine bumpers. If you have any preexisting dents, cracks or whatever, you better be aware.

Dee Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
Her running into
> my parked car (in a designated space) resulted in
> the bumper geing pushed in the size of a large
> football.

You seem to be changing your story...

If you already cashed the check from the insurance company there is probably nothing you can legally do to get more money. I'm quite certain that either the check or the paperwork that came along with the check stated that your acceptance of the check was full and final acceptance of the claim.

I think you are legally SOL.

Fish heads... Still kidding...

Fish heads are great, but the trick is to leave some out in the open for the victim to see while also hiding some in the vents or drop ceilings.

They'll clean up the visible fish heads thinking that is the sole source of the smell, then gag for weeks wondering why the smell still hasn't dissipated.

Cartons of milk are nice too!

idontlikebeingrightaboutshitlikethisbutiam



Edited 21 time(s). Last edit at 5/31/1967 05:57AM by WingNut.

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Haven't cashed the check. Check came by itself with no paperwork. And there is NO mention of "cashing this check means acceptance of this offer of settlement".

You are certainly wrong in your comment. So I am not legally SOL. Nice try.

Acceptance of check without the written consent, is still acceptance under law, correct?

If there was any damage on the bumper caused by the landlord is it possible for a shop to fix that without replacing the bumper cover itself? If it isn't wouldn't any prior damage not be a factor?

Unfortunately, there is no way to fix the damage due to the landlord on the bumper cover w/o replacing the entire bumper cover. That is my whole argument, the insignificant prior "damage" isn't relevant.

We have talked recently, and she may be agreeable to some compromise, which is all I really want. She thinks comprehensive auto insurance means she has no liability, all on State farm.

Dee Wrote:

> She thinks comprehensive auto insurance means she
> has no liability, all on State farm.

She's right--that's why you have insurance.