Legal Question in Personal Injury in Illinois

I recently used a Rental vehicle while my daughters car was being fixed due to an accident. When I returned the rental vehicle, we noticed that there was a dent on the drivers side door. I was told that the rental company would send me infomation on what the next steps were. When they contacted me they told me that they had taken the vehicle to get an estimate. I requested the chance to take the vehicle to my bodyshop for an estimate as I have a $1000 deductible on collision. I was told I could not do this. The person at the Damage Recovery Unit said that they would send me the estimate and pictures of the damage so I could give it to my insurance company.(Approximate estimate was $884). In the meantime, they had the vehicle fixed. As I have the $1000 deductible this will be coming out of my pocket. Is there not an Illinois Law that allows me to take the car for another estimate. I could have saved most of the money for the labor taking it to someone that I know. The shop is an Illinois licensed shop. I told the gentleman at the Damage Recovery Unit that I was seeking legal advice due to my not being able to get another estimate.


Asked on 10/21/10, 12:25 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Mark Hartzer

Your 1st step should be to carefully read the rental agreement you had with the rental company. It may spell out the various rights and obligations for each party. If the contract is silent, they may have exceeded the terms of the agreement. Your 2nd step should be to contact your insurer and have someone review their estimate. Is it reasonable? Unfortunately, even door dings can be multiple hundred dollar fixes. Finally, see what labor rate their shop was using. It's possible you may be able to negotiate a lower amount if the rate is high.

You may try to argue that by preventing you from getting a 2nd opinion on the damage, they failed to mitigate their damage and acted unreasonably. Nevertheless, it is my opinion you have an uphill fight. It is their car, and the contract usually states that the renter is responsible for all damage. Good luck.

Disclaimer: Nothing in this opinion constitutes the opinions, positions, policies, etc... of the Nationwide Mutual Ins. Co. or any of its subsidiaries or Sister companies and the opinion expressed herein is the sole work product of Mark Hartzer, attorney at law.

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Answered on 10/27/10, 4:15 pm


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