Expert: Richard Hixenbaugh - 2/18/2009

Question
I live in Chicago, and on 12/26/2008 i was on my way to work, that day the roads were very slick, so as I'm crossing an intersection i manage to avoide hitting another car but i did slam into a huge mountain of snow, luckily i wasn't hurt but my car was dead.  It is now 2/18/2009 and i still don't have my car the insurance and their mechanic is now trying to say that i had prior damage on my car (which I didn't) and the engine is dead and they want me to sign paper authorizing the mechanic to inspect the engine and if they determine the accident didn't cause the damage to the engine I will need to fix it not them, but i'm not so sure i trust them, what should i do? should i sign? if the mechanic determines that the accident did not cause the damage to the engine, what kind of proof can I request?

Answer
Hi Martha,

This is a tough situation. Even in major collisions it is not usual that there would be damage to the engine of a vehicle. In this case you hit a smow bank. It does not seem possible the damage was caused by this. Unfortunately, you do not have much choice. The problem must be diagnosed. If you do not trust the current mechanic, then you can have the vehicle towed (at your expense) to another mechanic that you do trust to diagnose the problem. But, unless he can absolutely state thet the problem is directly caused by hitting the snow bank, you will have to pay the cost of the repairs.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh