On Tuesday, April 21, I ran over a boulder. I knew there was severe damage to the undercarriage of the car because of the crunch and scrapes I heard. Since there was traffic behind, and beside me and there wasn't time to react I really didn't have any choice. I drove about three miles looking for the gas station I had used for a previous car when it needed repair but they were not repairing cars any more. As I drove a little farther, the engine started to growl and just stalled and stopped. I got the car into the dealer that night and the dealer said I needed a new oil pan and transmission pan. I gave them the go ahead to repair it. I called my Insurance Company on Thursday (thinking I had to give them the cost of repair for the car) and they wanted to send a agjuster but it was too late- the car was already being repaired. My car was ready on April 25 and I paid for it by credit card. The car seemed ok initially but as I drove it the next two weeks the engine didn't have the power it should have. On May 11, the engine started tick-ticking so I drove it home and parked it. The next day I called Wawanesa and informed them that I believed the engine was part of the boulder accident. In the conversation she said she was waiting for approval of the first part, (the oil and transmission pans) and would let me know in two days whether to take the car in for additional repair. After thinking about it, I decided two days was unacceptable- I needed the car to get to work so I needed it to go into the shop immediately. I called the agent, told her I couldn't wait so she went to find out about thefirst part I waited on the line. She said go ahead so I had the towed to Saturn. I gave her a statement about what, when, where and how and she said she would put it through for approval. If I spoke with her after that I got no more information and I had left her several messages to let me know the accident was approved. Later that same day Saturm called and said it needed a new engine and that there was underlying (unseen) problem with the engine caused by the boulder. The adjuster came by Saturn on May 13.
I called and left several messages to different people at Wawanesa (mostly the agent) and would not get an answer. I would call often and usually have to leave a message. And if I did get a person, they would not give me a straight answer.
Here is the gist of it-
April 21- ran over boulder
April 22- Saturn said car needed new oil pan and transmission pan.
April 23- called Wawanesa and filed claim.April 25- car repaired. May 11, engine tick-ticking. May 12, called Wawanesa and took car back to Saturn. May 15, adjuster stopped at Saturn to check car. May 21, gave another statement to Wawanesa and asked what was happening. She could not give me an answer. May 29 called Wawanesa again- still no answer about coverage. Later I got a voice mail at home saying the car would be fixed- but when I called Saturn they said Wawanesa wanted to put in a used engine- which would be unacceptable because it would compromise my warranty. I called and left message with Wawanesa that a used engine was unacceptable.
June 1- left message with agent- she never called back, but I heard from my brother who was helping me that new engine was approved. June 2, Saturn ordered new engine. I received reimbursement for first part of accident in the mail. June 11, Car is ready- waiting for check from Wawanesa. June 15- Saturn got check from Wawanesa and I got car back.It took almost two months from start to finish. I finally DID get the car back, but I think the time it took and the way I was ignored was inexcusable-
Barbara Mooney
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