A teenager did not attempt to stop at a four way stop and crashed into a family members vehicle I own. The teenager got a ticket and State Farm provided a claim number and rental vehicle the next morning. They accepted responsibility for the accident.

Fortunately no one was hurt but the truck has major front end damage. I released it from the initial wrecker storage lot to the Houston area State Farm preferred storage at the request of State Farm. It's been there for over two weeks now and the State Farm Insurance adjuster has not been there yet to assess the damage. I have called every day for the last week and am told it is on a " Rush Order".

I think the rental is only covered for a month and very much need to get the truck in a body shop.
Any ideas on making State Farm Insurance act more " Like A Good Neighbor " ?

Even if you get it into a body shop, it will be there at least a month. If I were a betting man, I'd say closer to 3 months.

Parts, labor and everything else are in short supply.

Good luck.

I'm also looking for recommendations on a Houston area body shop.


IMO the insurance company should have to pay for the rental for 30 days AFTER they inspect and release the truck to a body shop. I seem to have no control over how long the process takes.

They should have to pay for the rental until your vehicle is fixed.

EMY92 said:

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They should have to pay for the rental until your vehicle is fixed.

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I agree with this and your previous comment on timing. Went to a body shop yesterday because my daughter's car was hit. Supply chain issues and reduced insurance company staffing has repairs taking months. I'm lucky that my daughter can share my car, but this is a big issue for a lot of people.

Mas89 said:

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I'm also looking for recommendations on a Houston area body shop.

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My picky neighbors speak very highly of Metropolitan Collision on 16th & Durham in the Heights.

I can only speak of the Bryan/College Station area. I haven't seen a State Farm adjuster in over 2 years. They are one of the worst at getting things estimated or adjusted now. We usually write the first estimate and email it in with pictures. Then after a week or two goes by, we get approval to start. Once we get approval we take the car apart and send in the supplement. For the last 2 years, it has taken between 2 to 3 weeks to get the supplement approved. In the meantime, they cut off the rent car at 30 days and don't care at all that they are the reason for the delays. Also not sure about Houston, but every decent shop in BCS is scheduling 6 to 8 weeks out right now.

Edit: Just reread the original post. If you are the claimant and using their insurance, you can keep the rent car as long as it takes. The 30 day limit only applies if you are using your own insurance.

Also, be sure and check you vehicle really good when it comes out of their storage lot. We've gotten cars towed in here from those lots where the wheels have been changed, speakers taken out, etc.

Thanks for all the replies. I called the State Farm Insurance claim number again late this afternoon and still no adjuster. I spoke to a rep named Homer and he was not friendly. But to be fair, all previous 10 calls to the same number the reps have been friendly.

ETA; I'll update daily in hopes of getting a State Farm Insurance salesperson to help possibly.
Very frustrated.

I wouldn't worry about the rental duration. That limit applies to the other driver, I believe.

Mas89 said:

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I'm also looking for recommendations on a Houston area body shop.


IMO the insurance company should have to pay for the rental for 30 days AFTER they inspect and release the truck to a body shop. I seem to have no control over how long the process takes.

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Joe Hudson's collision in Tomball did a great job on my truck last November.

And they had it done in one week.

Ask for Glen. He was always very responsive.

Yes I might have made a mistake there. Unfortunately, the accident was on a Sunday afternoon in the city of Houston so no local collision shops were open. According to the Hpd officer and the wrecker driver, it had to go to a " city lot " on Hardy rd. State Farm Insurance called that Tuesday morning asking for permission to go to their approved lot also on Hardy rd to EXPEDITE the claim adjustment.

Really wishing I would have just paid cash to take it to my property which was about 20 miles away. I went to the Hardy rd State Farm facility to get the toll tag and a few other things out and they would not let me go into the back where my truck was. They did offer to move it up front with a large LOADER, which I declined. I could not believe how they move vehicles around inside that facility. Really sad. ETA my truck is at Insurance Auto Auctions North Houston facility which is where State Farm Insurance asked to move it to.

They believe it may be totaled if that's the case. There is no hard and fast time limit on the rental when you're the third party on a liability claim. If it's totaled, they can give you a future hard stop after they make an offer but that's about it.

But nobody from State Farm Insurance has even looked at it so I don't think that's the case. I'm going to visit at the local State Farm Insurance office tomorrow. Hopefully an in person visit will help.

Did you send them pictures of the damage? It's fairly easy now a days to ballpark what repairs might be, due to how often they see damaged vehicles, and type in the year/make/model into NADA
(or another system) to get a value to compare it to. They had you release it there to save on storage costs and I'm guessing that's who they'll sell the salvage title to after they buy the car from you. I could be wrong but that's the writing on the wall as I see it.

I was an insurance adjuster for 5 years and still work in the insurance industry in another capacity.

State Farm's handling of a total vehicle loss claim is the reason they are no longer my neighbor.

Hit a black angus cow over the crest of a hill at 01:00, 75 mph with a trailer behind me. At posted speed limits, just no way to slow down. Could clearly see the frame bent in 2+ spaces without any shop work. Local shop I wanted to use wasn't "approved". Had to ship it down, per their request. Took over 1 month to get the check.

Asked the agent about the initial delay, why something so obviously totatled was taking so long, and the response was "Not sure what you want me to do".
To top it off, they sent me a check 18 months later because they "performed an audit" and realized they did not account for the factory options on the window sticker, to the tune of $5,000. I had told them over & over & over when the wreck happed what was on the truck, what comparables were selling for etc.

Once I had the check I called and canceled my auto and home policies I had with them. I recommend doing the same.

No, I haven't sent pics but I bet when they had it moved from one storage lot to their approved lot that they got pics at that time on intake. Makes me wonder if it will be totaled. Today is day 18 with no adjuster looking at it.

Think it's totaled? 16 with less than 100k miles

Doesn't look totaled but likely expensive repair. From my experience having done work with IAA most cars go there to die or get sold at auction to repair and sell salvage/part shops.

Bigger question is if your carrier is not State Farm, why not let your insurance handle and repair?

Great question. I'm inexperienced here luckily but I assumed that when State Farm assumed liability and gave me a rental car, that they would take care of it LIKE A GOOD NEIGHBOR.

I have full coverage including uninsured motorist thru Farm Bureau but would lose my claims free discount if I file the claim on my insurance. With 6 vehicles on my policy, that would be roughly 700 per year for 3 years according to my agent.

Just spent almost an hour on the phone with State Farm claims. Again…

PincheDriller said:

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Doesn't look totaled but likely expensive repair. From my experience having done work with IAA most cars go there to die or get sold at auction to repair and sell salvage/part shops.

Bigger question is if your carrier is not State Farm, why not let your insurance handle and repair?

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It may get totaled based on parts availability. I had some paint work done a few weeks ago and the shop said they had some cars sitting for months waiting on parts. I've heard insurance companies are just totaling those cars now vs making people wait. It's a good racket for someone who is handy and can pick one of these up at IAA or Copart and fix it inexpensively.

Many Thanks to classicdoug for taking time out of his day to call me and spend 10 minutes on the phone explaining the process. He was a huge help and very much appreciated.

So after 3 weeks at the storage facility, State Farm finally sent their adjuster to look at the truck. It was totaled and they offered less than what I think is fair/acceptable. I sent them the receipts for the wheels/ led headlights and bed liner and they did come up a couple hundred. Gee thanks.

Any thoughts on getting closer to market value? Really wishing I would have just filed the claim with my insurance and let them haggle with State Farm. Has not been worth my time. Oh and they wanted the rental car back the same week they finally sent the adjuster out. Like a good neighbor…

State Farm is a turd. In my industry, I usually have to rebuild estimates and send them something for 150% higher, with my customers signature, before I can get their attention that I am dead serious. Keep in mind, it's insurance. Lowballing is the name of the game. You may just have to wear them down. They will eventually cave in once it becomes a time suck for them. Keep at it.

Mas89 said:

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So after 3 weeks at the storage facility, State Farm finally sent their adjuster to look at the truck. It was totaled and they offered less than what I think is fair/acceptable. I sent them the receipts for the wheels/ led headlights and bed liner and they did come up a couple hundred. Gee thanks.

Any thoughts on getting closer to market value? Really wishing I would have just filed the claim with my insurance and let them haggle with State Farm. Has not been worth my time. Oh and they wanted the rental car back the same week they finally sent the adjuster out. Like a good neighbor…

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Pay for a professional appraisal, I spent $300 on one, sent it to my adjuster, and ended up going from 11,300 to 14,700 for my 06 M5 that was totaled. The appraisal value was he came up with was 17, but I just wanted a fair number, and that number was good enough for me. There was a mediation process I could have gone on to, but at that point it wasn't worth my time.

Any updates with dealing with SF on the value? I have found myself in a similar situation and I'm still patiently waiting for the adjuster on a vehicle I'm pretty sure will be totaled.

I called about twice a week for three weeks going over their third party adjusters report and numbers to get them to come up two thousand. Lots of stupid dealing with SF. Like the adjuster not being able to get the mileage correct as the battery was not letting him get the mileage. They actually wanted to way overestimate the mileage. And then arguing about the condition of the interior/ exterior before the accident. I learned to call again when dealing with someone stupid and not trying to help. I think we arrived at a fair price finally but absolutely ridiculous that it took almost two months.

The worst part was that it took State Farm Insurance about 3 weeks to get an adjuster to look at the truck. I would recommend calling and visiting the Sales Agents office daily. When I got several agents involved finally, the adjuster was there the next day. As stated earlier, if I had it to do over again, I would file on my insurance and let them deal with State Farm. It was not worth my time and was very aggravating.

Mas89 said:

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I called about twice a week for three weeks going over their third party adjusters report and numbers to get them to come up two thousand. Lots of stupid dealing with SF. Like the adjuster not being able to get the mileage correct as the battery was not letting him get the mileage. They actually wanted to way overestimate the mileage. And then arguing about the condition of the interior/ exterior before the accident. I learned to call again when dealing with someone stupid and not trying to help. I think we arrived at a fair price finally but absolutely ridiculous that it took almost two months.

The worst part was that it took State Farm Insurance about 3 weeks to get an adjuster to look at the truck. I would recommend calling and visiting the Sales Agents office daily. When I got several agents involved finally, the adjuster was there the next day. As stated earlier, if I had it to do over again, I would file on my insurance and let them deal with State Farm. It was not worth my time and was very aggravating.

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So Jake's full of *****

Mas89 said:

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So after 3 weeks at the storage facility, State Farm finally sent their adjuster to look at the truck. It was totaled and they offered less than what I think is fair/acceptable. I sent them the receipts for the wheels/ led headlights and bed liner and they did come up a couple hundred. Gee thanks.

Any thoughts on getting closer to market value? Really wishing I would have just filed the claim with my insurance and let them haggle with State Farm. Has not been worth my time. Oh and they wanted the rental car back the same week they finally sent the adjuster out. Like a good neighbor…

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Look online for the same make/model/miles/options. The 'totaled' value should be close to what you can find withing in a 50-mile radius plus sales taxes.

I had to do this when an agent tried to low ball me on my old minivan. Said it was worth $1,200 so I sent them 4 comparable for sale locally that were between $2,000 - $2,300. I told him I would not take less than $2,300 b/c I'd just put new tires on the van. I got the $2,300 + sales tax.

agracer said:

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Mas89 said:

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So after 3 weeks at the storage facility, State Farm finally sent their adjuster to look at the truck. It was totaled and they offered less than what I think is fair/acceptable. I sent them the receipts for the wheels/ led headlights and bed liner and they did come up a couple hundred. Gee thanks.

Any thoughts on getting closer to market value? Really wishing I would have just filed the claim with my insurance and let them haggle with State Farm. Has not been worth my time. Oh and they wanted the rental car back the same week they finally sent the adjuster out. Like a good neighbor…

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Look online for the same make/model/miles/options. The 'totaled' value should be close to what you can find withing in a 50-mile radius plus sales taxes.

I had to do this when an agent tried to low ball me on my old minivan. Said it was worth $1,200 so I sent them 4 comparable for sale locally that were between $2,000 - $2,300. I told him I would not take less than $2,300 b/c I'd just put new tires on the van. I got the $2,300 + sales tax.

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You beat the **** out of those guys!