rear ended in california

[rooskie69]

california--i was rear ended recently while stopped at a light in my 2000 honda civic. the unibody was buckled in the rear from the impact. the repair shop had to tweak the frame to flaten out the buckled floor. i was told that the unibody frame was made to buckle on impact to absorb the shock as a safety standard. the total cost of repairs was just under 3k and the insurance company has decided to fix the car and not total it. i have two questions:

1. once the unibody has been buckled and the metal has been fatigued, doesn't that make it less safe then before the car was hit? if so, can i demand that a new unibody be installed or that they total the car?

2. since the car was only purchased in september of 2000 and relatively new, can i seek compensation for depreciation of the vehicle due to it being in a major accident?

thanks for any and all help.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My response:

Not if you signed a "Property Damage Release". If you did, it's all over.

You should have gotten a statement from the manufacturer concerning your issues, and presented the same to the insurance company. You probably would have made a strong point in favor of your position, and eventually received what you wanted.

IAAL