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-   -   Need input on cracked differential insurance claims (https://www.miataturbo.net/general-miata-chat-9/need-input-cracked-differential-insurance-claims-74138/)

oahujean 07-28-2013 03:48 PM

Need input on cracked differential insurance claims
 
Greetings everyone,
My 2000 Miata was just rear-ended by a Nissan Altima going about 40, while I was at a dead stop at a red light. The right side bracket of the differential broke clean through. The insurance company (Geico) refuses to pay, says its just a coincidence that the differential cracked right after the accident, that it couldn't possibly be related. I googled it, and found many instances of people discussing this very thing, saying it was actually designed to crack in that very spot to keep the occupants from getting crushed.
I'm asking for help from anyone who ever had a differential crack in an accident where the insurance company paid (particularly Geico!) because I don't believe they do not know about this.
Also seeking technical info on what speed the differential cracks at, and also what force it takes to rip a front bumper. The Nissan's rubber bumper lined up with mine, so the back of the car wasn't crashed in I just went flying forward about 6 feet to hit the spare tire on the back of the jeep in front of me. That tires bracket ripped my front bumper.
Any information anyone has to help me with my claim against geico would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you - oahujean@aol.com

Braineack 07-28-2013 04:24 PM

he caused it. make them pay. the end.

Leafy 07-30-2013 09:10 AM

Check the FSM and see if its labeled as being a feature of the diff housing. Its well known that the purpose of the notching in the arm is to break and prevent damage of the rest of the driveline from a rear end impact. You should also check to see if the PPF is bent.

Savington 07-30-2013 03:48 PM

Call Mazda USA. They may be able to get you a letter stating that the diff is designed to break in such an impact.

Braineack 07-31-2013 07:21 AM

you can call your insurance company too, and if they are actually worth a damn, will help you in this situation.

sometimes, they'll even just go ahead and pay for the repair without a deductible, and then bill/sue the driver/driver's insurance.

But the driver who hit you absolutely cracked your diff.

fooger03 07-31-2013 08:52 AM

You have no claim against the insurance company, your claim is against the driver. Have a law student write up a letter of intent to sue, and send a copy to the altima driver and a copy to the insurance company.

Also, let your insurance company know so they can pursue their own parallel course of action.

Braineack 07-31-2013 09:08 AM

this is what insurance is for.

the driver-who-hit-the-OP's insurance is paying for damages, but they are refusing to pay for the differential, which WAS damaged due to the accident.

suing the driver would be a last resort, and it would be worthless and a waste of time.

Oscar 07-31-2013 09:49 AM


Originally Posted by Braineack (Post 1038529)

suing the driver would be a last resort, and it would be worthless and a waste of time.

How un-american of you

Braineack 07-31-2013 09:54 AM


Originally Posted by Oscar (Post 1038544)
How un-american of you

live by the legal sword, die by the legal sword.

Savington 08-01-2013 12:29 PM

Yeah, why haven't you contacted YOUR insurance company? I would never dream of dealing with someone else's shitty insurance company if I got hit.

wannafbody 08-02-2013 12:07 AM

You pay premiums so some desk jockey has a job, have your insurance company do their job and fight the other insurance company to fix your car.

y8s 08-02-2013 09:39 AM

you pay premiums so they profit. the repairs to your car are inconsequential.

oahujean 08-05-2013 12:19 AM

Hi everyone, thank you for your responses. I did not make something clear in my first post - I blame it on the concussion I sustained in the accident... Anyway, the guy who hit me had geico insurance. The problem is that I also had geico insurance. So "my" insurance company has no intention of helping me because then they would have to pay. They admit liability, they were more than happy to pay to repair the bumpers, but deny the cracked differential has anything to do with the accident. My car wasn't crushed enough to suit them. I tried to explain that the miata doesn't weigh anything, that our cars lined up rubber bumper to rubber bumper, and I just went flying until I hit the car in front of me. But it was a heck of an impact! I checked with the local miata dealership, and the guy at the service desk did confirm that the part was intended to break in a rear end collision, but he had no paperwork on it. I called Mazda, and they would only share documents with the insurance company! Tried explaining the situation but the guy wouldn't leave his script. So if anyone knows where any of this is written besides user forums, I would really appreciate the help.

18psi 08-05-2013 12:23 AM

so you 3way call the stealership with the geiko retard on the line and voila

seriously sack up and be a man.

Leafy 08-05-2013 12:24 AM

Or call mazda comp if you're a mazda comp member.

18psi 08-05-2013 12:28 AM

here in CA by law you are allowed to have your car inspected and evaluated by any repair shop. if the insurance wants to evaluate it and you don't like their report, you take it elsewhere. dunno how its wherever you live, but sounds like either:
1) you're getting shafted and need to stand up for yourself
2) you're trying to get a payout therefore don't have the option of having the car re-evaluated by another shop because then you'll have to have it repaired there.

oahujean 08-05-2013 12:31 AM


Originally Posted by 18psi (Post 1040063)
so you 3way call the stealership with the geiko retard on the line and voila

seriously sack up and be a man.

perhaps you didn't notice my user name...

18psi 08-05-2013 12:35 AM

you're a female?

lol that's rare on this site

either way, my comments still stand. you had intact diff before, you have broken diff now. this isn't rocket science, they need to fix your broken diff

oahujean 08-05-2013 12:38 AM

yes I am getting shafted, thats why I'm looking for ammo to take on geico! The repair shop quoted me $3700, which I was going to pay and then deal with geico later. However, they told me that the back half of the differential was available, but that the front half was not, and that they would not know until they took it apart, if it was damaged, and that I had to pay the entire $3700 up front. On a car that had a 50% chance of surviving. And no, I can't rebuild it myself! Do you guys seriously not know how badly women are treated by everyone in all aspects of the auto industry? The insurance adjustor told me that he "knelt down and looked under the car, and could tell there was no damage" On a car with 8" clearance? I may not be a mechanic, but I'm not an idiot. I begged them to put it up on a rack and check it, but they refused.

18psi 08-05-2013 12:45 AM


Originally Posted by oahujean (Post 1040069)
yes I am getting shafted, thats why I'm looking for ammo to take on geico! The repair shop quoted me $3700, which I was going to pay and then deal with geico later. However, they told me that the back half of the differential was available, but that the front half was not, and that they would not know until they took it apart, if it was damaged, and that I had to pay the entire $3700 up front. On a car that had a 50% chance of surviving. And no, I can't rebuild it myself! Do you guys seriously not know how badly women are treated by everyone in all aspects of the auto industry? The insurance adjustor told me that he "knelt down and looked under the car, and could tell there was no damage" On a car with 8" clearance? I may not be a mechanic, but I'm not an idiot. I begged them to put it up on a rack and check it, but they refused.

sounds pretty messed up.
sounds like you need to take legal action then.

or raise such a ruckus (insurance companies really really hate when you go "up the ladder" and complain to their corporate office, etc....just fyi ;) ) that they have no choice but to take you seriously

psreynol 08-05-2013 04:38 AM

I'm sorry to hear this treatment is going on but opportunity it is not resuerved only for women. Having gone through this with a friend at a audi dealership that tried to charge my friend 5k for a new transmission due to abuse which was not the case at all. a quick trip with a camera and some words about how clutches work changed their tune and they now have him a free rental car and a new free transmission.

try to find information about the diff crack and the design even if its just random bs on the web. go talk to whoever and show them the information. do not pay for the work up front or you will never get it back. dont sign anything that stats they are going to wait and see about the diff. if required find a new shop that will support your claim.

kill the adjuster with kindness, call him and ask him every question about why or why not the diff could crack. learn how the diff works and the parts around it. for example, wouldnt the CV joints be all tore up if I was driving around with a busted diff mount?

gotta be some liability for the insurance and for the shop to release a unsafe car so for a part that does not cost that much you should have no problem getting them to take care of it. ask the adjuster to explain and say that makes no sense. he will get sick of talking about it and get it fixed.

Braineack 08-05-2013 08:10 AM

my differential broke on a rear impact.

there you go, have geico call me. I have a bunch of choice words for them.

18psi 08-05-2013 09:08 AM

tell them "THE ADMINISTRATOR OF MIATATURBO.NET HAS SPOKEN"

that should be all it takes

:party:

thenuge26 08-05-2013 09:19 AM

wtf...

Dem768 broke his carrier just from doing pulls! Not sure if that's enough for that bitch gecko but it's a start.

Braineack 08-05-2013 09:21 AM

How about related failures:

https://www.miataturbo.net/general-m...r-ended-48055/

hit a rock, broke my differential housing! - MX-5 Miata Forum

Insurance Company STILL trying to rip me. - MX-5 Miata Forum

Here's what I learned... - MX-5 Miata Forum

Braineack 08-05-2013 09:22 AM

and mine:

https://www.miataturbo.net/insert-bs...oh-noes-15164/

tpwalsh 08-06-2013 07:42 AM

Contact Mazda. I'm almost 100% sure they've got documentation on this, specifically for this reason.

oahujean 08-06-2013 02:47 PM


Originally Posted by tpwalsh (Post 1040500)
Contact Mazda. I'm almost 100% sure they've got documentation on this, specifically for this reason.

I did contact mazda! They said they could only share the info with the insurance company! And since geico has no intention of asking for it, they consider the matter closed, I am trying to get the information elsewhere.

Braineack 08-06-2013 02:49 PM

haha, your insurance company sucks.

it's a good thing you pay them so they can spend more money making CGI reptiles act retarded on TV.

concealer404 08-06-2013 02:50 PM

My insurance company let me make my own quote to repair the Cherokee.


Then they paid me.

Braineack 08-06-2013 02:52 PM

that's because you're not moron...

OP needs to remove tampon, drop balls, and escalate the issue to the highest level they can get to over phone. As soon as you get a rep on phone, demand a supervisor, then again and again until you can't get higher, then proceeds to blow swingin swords like Shinobi, stomp grounds and pound footprints in solid rock.

Leafy 08-06-2013 02:54 PM

I drove to the geico office and they quoted it in the parking lot, i pointed out all the damage and told them to keep it under a grand because I didnt file a police report. I got $900 something less my 100 deductible, bought a brand new body matched finish panel from mazdaspeed pulled out the rear bumper till it kind of lined up and threw some touch up paint on the bumper. And put like 300 something into my pocket for the labor. You just need to get the right guy on the phone I think.

concealer404 08-06-2013 02:56 PM


Originally Posted by Braineack (Post 1040690)
that's because you're not moron...

OP needs to remove tampon, drop balls, and escalate the issue to the highest level they can get to over phone. As soon as you get a rep on phone, demand a supervisor, then again and again until you cant get higher, then falcon punch them over the phone.

That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.

Savington 08-06-2013 03:18 PM


Originally Posted by oahujean (Post 1040683)
I did contact mazda! They said they could only share the info with the insurance company! And since geico has no intention of asking for it, they consider the matter closed, I am trying to get the information elsewhere.

Buy a used housing from a salvage yard and install it. $100 for the housing, and if you can't do the install, any competent mechanic should be able to do the install in 1-2 hours.

Or, hire a lawyer and battle with Geico until they pay for it. This will cost more than the $200-300 you'll spend fixing the housing yourself.

Braineack 08-06-2013 03:22 PM

I prefer the dropping lyrical atomic bombs approach.

smurfmiata93 08-08-2013 01:38 PM

Contact your state insurance commission and file a complaint.

Braineack 08-08-2013 01:44 PM

Contact your local grocery store and ask for heavy flow pearls.

smurfmiata93 08-08-2013 02:22 PM

... and send them to Braineack. He needs them to accessorize the outfit he will be wearing Saturday night.

Automotive insurance companies are regulated by the states and some states are better than others at policing the companies. if you are hitting a roadblock with the insurance company then short of legal action against the insurance company, thee is not much else you can do.

fooger03 08-08-2013 02:30 PM


Originally Posted by smurfmiata93 (Post 1041632)
Contact your state insurance commission and file a complaint.

Totally forgot about this option...


OP - Insurance companies FEAR the state insurance commissions. FACT.
The state insurance commissions represent YOUR interest. FACT.

This is from positive past experience, an agent representing a driver who caused an accident once tried to blackmail me into paying for his clients damages - after that conversation, he ended the conversation with a frightened swiftness, and I never heard from him again. Simply letting the insurance agency know that you know such an agency exists (find the name of the actual organization that serves your state) is often enough to sway them. I don't know what penalties agencies stand to face, but it's apparently pretty severe for an insurance agency to screw one of the government's voting constituents.

Braineack 08-08-2013 02:47 PM


Originally Posted by smurfmiata93 (Post 1041673)
... and send them to Braineack. He needs them to accessorize the outfit he will be wearing Saturday night.

I'll be with Hustler Saturday night, I won't be wearing an outfit...or anything for that matter.

Savington 08-11-2013 12:06 AM


Originally Posted by Braineack (Post 1041689)
I'll be with Hustler Saturday night, I won't be wearing an outfit...or anything for that matter.

Oh, you'll be wearing an outfit all right :party:

scenturion 08-12-2013 08:23 PM

1 Attachment(s)
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1376353431

From:
Miata, Mazda MX-5: Mazda's Affordable Sports Car for the New Millennium

18psi 08-12-2013 08:24 PM

Matt wins the thread

mr_hyde 08-13-2013 02:15 AM


Originally Posted by scenturion (Post 1042833)
From:
Miata, Mazda MX-5: Mazda's Affordable Sports Car for the New Millennium

Jean,

As several guys have stated and the book confirms, the differential carrier is engineered to break in a front/rear impact. It protects the rest of the drivetrain when the chassis crumples. I have an extra copy of this book I can send it to you if it would help. You don't have enough posts for PM but you can email me at brian at mx5<dot>net. When this is all resolved, I strongly recommend getting a new insurance carrier. 15% isn't worth this crap. Sorry...

Harv 08-14-2013 11:43 AM

That thing breaks all the time in any collision. I've seen broken Miata diffs littering the road for chrissakes.

Geico are scumbags.


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