Put $500 scrape in truck. Pay it or file claim?

[oldpilgrim]

I file for things I don't want to pay for- like a cracked windshield. I've never had my rates go up. Every year they go down a bit with the age of the vehicle. I hear this all of the time- rates will go up if you file. Ours never do. 25+ years with Allstate + small or no deductibles..
Sometimes I file a claim, say I will do the work and they pay me the difference minus deductible. They take a picture to have in their records of damage to the vehicle so that they never have to pay that part again. Allstate does not play games with us. Maybe we are just lucky, but they are easy to work with regardless of the different agents over the years. I'd file a claim.

I'm not sure we can buy Allstate, we were never allowed before. But the state loosened up on inscos a bit recently. We just started being able to use GEICO.

 

[bajabum]

I'd live with the scrape, and use the $500 you saved to buy a new toy...
Or take the wife on a trip to Vegas...
Either way, you win !

 

[sixdogs]

I'm going to support oldpilgrim. We used to live in Maine and were a part of the insurance game. Not to the degree of Massachusetts but we used to call them Taxachusetts for all the nickel and diming going on there. It's true that you can buy a car for a given price only to have the state charge a higher tax on the amount. What? And the list is endless.

The excise tax is an annual amount based on the value--not your value but the state's value--of the car. In Maine, for example it would be common to have a renewal tax of nearly $1,000. If you bought a $50,000 car for $35,000, you owe the tax on The $50,000. It decreases but gets paid every year.


My truck is nearly new so it's worth the $500 fix. I don't want to trade for a new one, don't need another toy and the wife has no interest in Vegas. She would rather work in the garden and that's probably a good thing.

 

[Pete Judd]

As others have said, Pay it, and go on.

 

[aczlan]

This has been the conventional wisdom, raise the deductible and drop collision/comp coverage on older vehicles. I don't believe this still applies today.
I looked at raising my deductibles from $500 to $1000. It was going to save me like $20 a year. So I would eventually break even after 25 years. It doesn't make financial sense. The same thing with my house insurance, was going to raise deductible from $1000 to $2500, and it was only going to save $40 a year. A 37 year break even period? It just doesn't make sense.

I ran into that this spring when we got insurance on the vehicle we bought for my wife. Raising the deductible from $500 to $1000 would have saved me $20/year, not worth it IMO.
Another reason to not file is that if you file, it will show up on the vehicle history report.

Aaron Z

 

[sixdogs]

I think a repair shows up in the vehicle history report whether you file or not. Seems I heard the repair shop enters the info as soon as the estimate is written.

 

[Happy Gilmore]

Definately pay to fix on your own, not worth a surcharge, you'd be surprised how many shops don't report the damage. I have a friend who owns a body shop and from what he tells me CARFAX reporting is a joke.

 

[aczlan]

I think a repair shows up in the vehicle history report whether you file or not. Seems I heard the repair shop enters the info as soon as the estimate is written.

Depends on the shop and how "tied into the system" they are.

Aaron Z

 

[tcreeley]

I'm not sure we can buy Allstate, we were never allowed before. But the state loosened up on inscos a bit recently. We just started being able to use GEICO.

When I lived in Mass - Groton from 1975 to 1984 we had Allstate. We came to Maine and continued with Allstate.

 

[sseelhoff]

insco's all work off the same data base. They all know what each other has to say.

But every insurance company uses their own underwriting guidelines and claims handling process. To say I made a claim with XYZ company and they raised my rate does not mean that ABC company underwrites the policy the same way. Similarly, one company may pay a claim right away and pay full value, while another company may low ball the claim or delay payment.