I Need Help with Allstate

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I am having the worst claim experience one can imagine with allstate right now. I have a 2012 VW passat with less than 20K on the car when it was stolen. The car was recovered less than two weeks later by the police with big damages to the car. The police also informed us that there was also a third party that was responsible for some of the damages on the car and they provided the other third party information including their insurance info which was relayed to allstate. My car was taken to my VW dealership for repair but the dealership will not repair the car unless I signed a waiver to use the refurbished spare parts that allstate is supplying which they (the dealership) had recommended against. I refused to sign this waiver and allstate is refusing to use the genuine new VW parts that the dealership is recommending unless I am willing to pay the $1500 difference that it will take to purchase the new parts. I had three vehicles with full coverage under my policy including my home owner policy with allstate. I looked into my policy verbiage and found nothing that stated that allstate can use junkyard parts on a new vehicle especially against the car manufacturer recommendation. I have filed a complaint with the state of illinois department of insurance regarding this matter. Did anybody has any other suggestions as to what else to do in this case?

 

[Josh]

Sorry to hear about your experience, no one likes dealing with damage to their car. That said, a 2012 is two if not the years old and with over 15,000 miles definitely not a new car. Also, the dealer isn't the manufacturer. I had a similar situation years ago with a passat and the shop ended up using the refurbished parts and it turned out great.

 

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@ Josh Guru regarding your reply to my post: But would you also agree that the dealership that is also an authorized repaired shop is an extension of the manufacturer?. It is quite obvious where your alliance is and I appreciate your comment but a 2012 model car with less than 20K miles on it can be considered relatively new. The question then becomes if the refurbished parts that allstate was proposing to used in fixing my car is all that great and if it is an accepted industry standard like you were implying, then why am I being asked to sign a waiver before the parts can be used and why am I being asked by allstate to pay the $1500 difference in addition to my deductible for the new parts out of my pocket, when I was paying premiums for full and comprehensive coverage?. You have to admit that this is not a normal and ethical business practice. I am sorry if you work for allstate but my experience with allstate thus far indicated to me that they may be the worst insurance company in this country.

 

[Josh]

I don't work for Allstate. Years ago I managed an office for them and I think overall they're a pretty good company, but I am hardly a fan boy.

To answer your first question, no, I don't think an authorized repair shop is an extension of the manufacturer. Most dealerships (and I believe all VW dealerships) are independently owned and operated. Body shops at dealers in general seem to only want to use brand new products and are happy to scare people into getting things they don't need.

In my case the pulled the parts off a newer car than mine and it turned out great. If you have a car that's a 2012 and they're pulling body parts off a 2012, you're no worse off than before. To take a look at it another way, why should they put 2014 parts on a 2012 car?

A friend of mine went to a dealer and bought a Rabbit that the dealer wanted to sell her a warranty on. The warranty was expensive and she didn't want it. They made her sign a waiver too, but that was just a sales tactic.

If you go back and read your policy that's what they're going off of. In my case the dealer wanted to use brand new parts on a car that was a few years old, but the policy paid out exactly the way it said it would. The response you'll likely get from the DOI is that they are handling this exactly the way they're supposed to.

 

[VolAgent]

For some reason, I don't believe a word of this. Particularly when you come back attacking someone who responded.

Allstate doesn't have the best reputation, but unless the policy allows for it, why would they insist on salvaged parts? That is just setting themselves up for a complaint to the DOI.

Either there is more to this story or it seems like you just have an ax to grind.

 

[Josh]

For some reason, I don't believe a word of this. Particularly when you come back attacking someone who responded.

Allstate doesn't have the best reputation, but unless the policy allows for it, why would they insist on salvaged parts? That is just setting themselves up for a complaint to the DOI.

Either there is more to this story or it seems like you just have an ax to grind.

It is standard procedure. "Salvaged part" sounds bad, but the reality is that it's not. Especially if you're taking a look at body parts.

 

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@ VolAgent regarding your comment: I don't have "any ax to grind". The only ax is for allstate to repair my car without me having to sign any waiver. I solicited for all these comments and I don't think that my respond to JoshGuru was intended as an "attack" as you wrongly with all due respect put it. Please go back and read my response again. I do appreciate all the advice that I get here. As a consumer, I just don't feel that I am being treated fairly by allstate. I am not asking allstate to replace the parts on my car with a newer model car parts, I just want them to repair it with a 2012 new VW passat parts and not a refurbished parts taking from a total vehicle that may or may not have been involved in a fatal crash. Who is to say that these refurbished parts would not have been compromised with stress as a result of its previous circumstances. I have no interest in bad mouthing allstate or any insurance company for that matter. I also understand that you folks might have interest in protecting the image of the company and industry that you worked or may have been previously associated with. My main interest is to have my car repaired without having to sign any waiver or forfeit any of my rights as a consumer. I thank you and JoshGuru for your inputs.

 

[Norwayguy]

@ VolAgent regarding your comment: I don't have "any ax to grind". The only ax is for allstate to repair my car without me having to sign any waiver. I solicited for all these comments and I don't think that my respond to JoshGuru was intended as an "attack" as you wrongly with all due respect put it. Please go back and read my response again. I do appreciate all the advice that I get here. As a consumer, I just don't feel that I am being treated fairly by allstate. I am not asking allstate to replace the parts on my car with a newer model car parts, I just want them to repair it with a 2012 new VW passat parts and not a refurbished parts taking from a total vehicle that may or may not have been involved in a fatal crash. Who is to say that these refurbished parts would not have been compromised with stress as a result of its previous circumstances. I have no interest in bad mouthing allstate or any insurance company for that matter. I also understand that you folks might have interest in protecting the image of the company and industry that you worked or may have been previously associated with. My main interest is to have my car repaired without having to sign any waiver or forfeit any of my rights as a consumer. I thank you and JoshGuru for your inputs.

Allstate is responsible for getting you whole. You do not have a new car you have a used car the part they are replacing is what 2-3 years old with 20k miles on it. The only people requiring you to sign a waiver from your story is the repair shop, they have a vested interest in using newer parts than the refurbished parts.

I get it when it's your car you want the best for your baby but the best is not a requirement that your carrier has to offer you.

 

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@ Norwayguy: I guess no one technically has a new car as the car becomes used the moment you drove it out of the dealership. However, I think you are not being fair and you seems to be missing my point. There is a new 2012 VW parts by the manufacturer that can be used to fix my car. Allstate would not guarantee the refurbished part but directed me to the shop where they (allstate) purchased the part. The third party that supplies the part to allstate will only guarantee the parts for 90 days whereas the VW 2012 new part would be guarantee for 12 months or 12000 miles with the repair shop guarantying the workmanship for as long as I own the car and with my VW 7 years bumper to bumper warranty remaining intact. I have read my policy and there is nothing in the verbiage that allstate can fix my car with a junkyards parts against the manufacturer recommendation. I have the VW Vehicle Owners Replacement Crash Parts Disclosure which is independent of the repair shop. It appears that you have some knowledge regarding the insurance industry but I think that you as an apparent insider has to see from the consumer point of view at times. Please advice on what you think I should do. Should I sign the waiver without any written guaranty from my insurance company?.

 

[VolAgent]

Again, I think there is more to this, or it is allowed by your policy.

Sadly, my wife is not the greatest driver. I have had our vehicles repaired a few times. Never have they asked or insisted on anything but OEM parts, except when they couldn't find them. Allstate was not one of those companies, so I can't speak to them personally.

I would ask Allstate to point out in the policy where salvaged parts are allowed.

Did you get the value policy from Alllstate? The new discount one they are advertising? Perhaps this is a change they inserted to reduce premiums.