Expert: Richard Hixenbaugh - 2/17/2009

Question
My daughter was rear-ended Dec 1st, 2008. We finally got it into the shop Feb 4th 2009. I had discussed with them that her muffler was loud. They put a clamp on it to keep it from rattling. When I picked it up, I said it was still loud and he said they were only supposed to clamp it. It is a 1994 Suziki Sidekick, the guy told me the muffler was pretty rusted, however it did not make any noise before the accident. I just spoke with the insurance co and they said they will have the appraiser call me. Will they pro rate this since it is an older car. Should I demand they put a new muffler on. They lady I spoke with at the insurance co, said if they replace it there may be a charge to me. The insurance company is Hanover, and they have been horrible to work with. They never return my calls and never have any answers when I do talk to someone. Could you please advise me how to handle this. Thank you,
                                Julene Waters

Answer
Hi Julene,

A muffler is a part that does wear out over time. Considering the age of the vehicle, you were likely on borrowed time as far as that muffler goes. The shop indicated the muffler was rusty. It is possible that the accident shook lose the rust exposing a hole which is now making noise.

When an insurance company pays to replace a part that normally wears out over time they will make an adjustment for the amount of that parts life you have already used. This is called betterment. In this case I would say you have used all of most of the useful life of the muffler. If the insurance company agrees to cover this as part of the accident, that will do so with a new muffler however they will take a deduction of 70% to 80% of the cost. To save money, you should request that they use an aftermarket muffler in which case they should only take a 35% to 50% deduction.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh