Geico left me with damaged goods. Ripoff! Woodbury New York

On Sept. 26th 2002, my wife was hit head on by a drunk driver. My wife was driving our brand new (1 Month - 800 miles) conversion van The drunk woman came out of a bar and drove on the wrong side of the road and hit my wife. The drunk driver had connections with the local police chief, and was not tested for DWI.

I personally saw this woman at the hospital emergency room, she slurred her words, and reeked of alcohol. The hospital personnel placed two calls to the police, asking them to come and test the woman, but they would not. I reported all of this to Geico, who promised to "investigate". However, they didn't bother.

Our new van had extensive damage. It should have been considered a complete loss, but was not. The van cost $34,000 brand new, and so far, Geico has paid almost $27,000 for repair. My complaint is that we still have a damaged vehicle.

There is no possible way, that that van could have been restored to it's original condition. It was brought to a very reputable auto body repair shop of my choosing, about 40 miles from my house. We had to go without a car for almost three months, while repairs were done. The very day I picked up the van at the shop, while driving home, the front right passenger side started to make all kinds of squeeking noises. We brought the van back to the shop, going another week without a vehicle, and they claimed the problem was fixed. Well, it has never really gone away. The van often sounds like it has 300,00 miles on it, and not the 18,000 miles ,it really has. We've lost the air conditioning, last summer, and now the heating system, this winter. Ford won't honor my extended warranty, which I paid for, to fix the heating system, because parts other then Ford's were used in the accident repair.

I've made countless phone calls to Geico over the time since the accident, complaining about there decision to repair the vehicle. I've talked to the adjuster also many times, who promised "to stick with us", whatever that means. We would like to sell the van, we are sick of all the headaches, however, If I am honest, and I want to be, I'll take a terrible loss on the sale. I still have a big loan on it. If I somehow cover up the damage, I could be accused of selling a "lemon". By the way, the drunk, who smashed into my wife, got a brand new vehicle. Thanks for listening.

George
Monroe, New York
U.S.A.