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

 

he caused it. make them pay. the end.

 

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.

 

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

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

How un-american of you

 

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

 

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.

 

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.

 

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

 

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.

 

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

seriously sack up and be a man.

 

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

 

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.

 

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

 

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

 

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