My bike was hit, cost of replacement

[elbonian]

What is the name of your state? CA

I was on my bike (in bike lane) and was hit by a 17 year old driver. Admitted her fault to police. Luckily I was not injured at all, but bike is totalled.

Here is the issue, the bike is a 10 year old touring bicycle, bought for $700 then. Replacement bike is going to cost $1,200-$1,500 and I know that her insurance company is NOT going to cover cost of new bike (they are claiming 'depreciation' of the bike).

Will I have to sue her (family) individually to collect the difference? I'm not looking for any pain/suffering/extra, just trying to be made whole...

 

[Raisinette]

Elbonian, being "made whole" means getting a fair price for the value of the property you lost. This would be the price you could have sold it for the day before, or the price to buy a comparable 10-year-old touring bicycle, unless the laws in California allow replacement value for property damage.

You say you were not injured. Were you knocked to the ground? Did you have any bruises, headaches, etc.? That can "count" as an injury claim, and you can recoup some relatively small amount of damages (couple/few hundred) in exchange for signing a release of the insured to further claims. You would have to make this claim. When did the crash happen? Maybe you notice that you are still stiff and need to see a doctor about this ......

 

[stephenk]

you are only entitled to the fair market value of a 10 year old touring bike. It is your choice to buy a new bike. the other driver or owner of the car is not liable for anything above the value of your 10 year old bike.

Same situation if you replace bike with a 10 year old car. the other party doesn't owe you a brand new car, just a similarly valued car.

 

[elbonian]

so I lose a bike and get nothing...

You bet I hit the ground, after flying over her hood. Luckily for me (in the big picture) there were no scratches, tears, or bruises. Some sore muscles for sure. Went to Emergency room and was checked out OK. I am getting some massage therapy and have files that as a claim also. I'll also claim broken glasses and small stuff.

So in the big picture, I should get the bike shop to say that they can repair the bike for many hundreds of dollars so then i get a bike, instead of letting the blood sucking insurance folks give me $50 for the bike (which by the way you cannot buy anywhere, company went out of business, maybe I can claim this is a collector's item!!).

 

[Raisinette]

You bet I hit the ground, after flying over her hood. Luckily for me (in the big picture) there were no scratches, tears, or bruises. Some sore muscles for sure. Went to Emergency room and was checked out OK. I am getting some massage therapy and have files that as a claim also. I'll also claim broken glasses and small stuff.

So in the big picture, I should get the bike shop to say that they can repair the bike for many hundreds of dollars so then i get a bike, instead of letting the blood sucking insurance folks give me $50 for the bike (which by the way you cannot buy anywhere, company went out of business, maybe I can claim this is a collector's item!!).

So you were injured. You are not going to get more money for your bicycle -- whether that be for an old bike, or for a collector's bike -- than the fair market value of it before the crash.

But you may recover sufficient value in your legitimate pain-and-suffering injury claim to replace the bike with something you would be very happy with.

Kapiche?