Hi. I’m John Medler, personal injury lawyer with The Medler Law Firm – Personal Injury & Accident Attorneys. You just had an accident. One of the first things you want to know is how do I get my car fixed? Well, the first thing you need to know is, is your car drivable? If your car is drivable, then you can simply drive it home and then take it over to the repair shop. If it’s not drivable, then you’re going to need to get that car towed. Be careful. Your car may have suffered damage that you don’t even know about. It’s always safer to get a tow truck if possible.
Number two. Don’t wait for the defendant who was negligent to fix your car. This happens all the time. The other guy ran the red light, he crashed into your car and now you want that guy to pay for your car repairs. I know that’s your instinct, but I will tell you this, the insurance adjuster for the defendant is going to slow roll you and it’s going to take forever for you to get your car fixed. A better idea is to check with your own auto insurance and find out if you have collision insurance. Check with your agent if you have collision insurance. Then your own insurance will fix your car right away regardless of who’s at fault.
So what you do is you take it to their authorized dealership or repair shop and you get your car fixed. They’ll get your car fixed right away and you can be back on the road, and if your car is totalled, they can give you whatever the value of your car is. Now what happens then is when you go to that repair shop, you’re going to have to pay a deductible, sometimes 500 bucks, sometimes 1000 bucks. If you have that money, go ahead and pay it. And what’s gonna happen is your own insurance company is then going to bring a claim for the property damage against the defendant’s insurance company who caused the accident. And later your insurance company will get their own money back and we’ll get your deductible back. So don’t worry, you’ll get that $500 or $1,000 back at the end of the day. Now you may say, “Hey, I’m a poor student. I don’t have 500 bucks. I don’t have $1,000 for deductible.” If that’s the case, then you’re kind of stuck. At that point, you’re going to have to wait for the defendant to try and fix your car.
Number three. Check and see if there’s a rental. Most auto insurance places will offer you rentals. So while your car is being fixed, you can check with your own insurance company to see if they can give you a rental car.
Number four. If you’re injured in the accident, immediately consult with an experienced Orange County car accident lawyer. If you’ve got more questions about how to get your car fixed or issues relating to personal injury, check out our website at www.MedlerLawFirm.com.
