Your automobile insurance company should be reimbursing you for the rental car. Have you filed a claim yet?

I have. It was filed same day of accident. There was a lot of miscommunication between the body shop the car was towed to and insurance. Unfortunately the insurance doesn't cover the full cost of rental. They only offered a slight discount but it still ended up being way put of my budget. Even then I'm hearing that most places only rent up to a month.

That's only true if OP had collision coverage, which not everyone carries.

Whose fault was the accident?

I was found at fault. But apparently my car might be declared a total loss.

How long is the car going to be in the shop for? That seems like the crucial question, and the body shop seems like they should be able to give you an answer on this. But without that, your post is pretty confusing because you're talking about things like affording health insurance for the year or working somewhere else, which seem like long-term solutions to what seems like it should be a short-term problem.

You mention Seattle, but I'm not quite sure how that fits into the equation and whether you are saying that you live in Seattle or what. But I also live in Seattle and every single place around here is hiring so it seems like, even if you weren't willing or able to get a job in your field that had less of a commute, you could get a second job closer to your residence temporarily to plug the leak while your car is getting fixed.

Better yet, keep working that second job long enough to build up an emergency fund so that the next time something like this happens, you have a cushion.

Sounds like you have collision if your insurance company and the auto body shop are going back and forth. What do you expect the payout to be if the car is declared a total loss? I would keep on the insurance company to make this determination ASAP and get the car back on the road or purchase a replacement if it's a loss. Those are your only real options. Stay on top of both the auto shop and the insurance company daily.

Sounds painful, sorry. I'm assuming biking, car-pooling, and borrowing a car are not going to work for you. Time is not on your side. Try to speed things up. Is your car totaled? Get an answer asap. Some rental places have good discounts for month-long rentals - prices vary wildly so shop around and around. Your insurance should restore your car to you (minus your deductible) or pay you what it was worth. Would be nice to get your car back asap, but if not, start shopping the used car market so you can move as soon as you have the $$. source - I had to rent a car for almost 2 months last summer in similar situation :(

The first part I'm not sure of. I'll have to call tomorrow. I do have the adjusters number and there was a link that gave me an update on the status of my car.

As for the rest of the post I'm worried about having enough leftover to keep up with everything. I've been wanting to get health insurance since I've been having chronic digestive issues that come and go throughout the year.

I do agree on having a cushion. Ive always had a few thousand in savings until moving down south. The wages unfortunately arent keeping up with the cost of living, especially rent. Prior to this I had lived in NYC and Seattle and it was easy for me to save in both places (NYC mainly bc things were done a lot faster and there was so much more opportunity, especially without a car) It was really hard to save but being forced to budget in this way showed me I could have at least put more away. It's trickier for me to eat so cheaply due to dietary restrictions. Fortunately I recently learned that I was able to get my food budget down to $30-$50 by cooking from scratch and buying certain gluten free branded items from Whole Foods using discounts. It sounds strange but my grocery budget ended up being much higher everywhere else to accommodate my diet.

I guess for me though it's a waiting game since I recently filled out paperwork for a place and need to return next week to fulfill job specific requirements. I've literally spent the past month trying to find a solution to my current situation and it's possible that it's now taken all this time to find something close enough to where I can at least ditch the rental car and have more money in pocket.

Thanks! I actually considered that for the past few weeks. But i live alone and I am single so i have no idea how I would juggle 2 cars. It would certainly help save in the money being washed away by rentals and gas. I've looked at getting something used although I understand it'll betrickery. I just want to have something with reasonable payments for me.

I'm doing my very best to come up with a solution. I've actually had no full days off the past two weeks because while I'm not at work I've been busy on my days off trying to find work closer to home and sending out forms. I'm actually pretty exhausted right now.

Unfortunately I had to let one of the opportunities go for multiple reasons. It won't make sense here unless you've worked in my field. But the short answer was that there were glaring communication issues and no opportunity for overtime which leaves me back at square one.

Thanks!

This whole process is foreign to me and none of my family and friends are able to give me any advice. I feel like if it was declared a total loss then the process should be faster.

But I'm also in Charlotte where there are so many accidents each day. My claims adjuster said there are hundreds of accidents in the state each month. Im just wondering if maybe the people that need to inspect the vehicle are overloaded with tons of other vehicles as well.

And it happening around the holidays definitely didn't help matters.

And even then, there are limits on all the elements of the coverage.

I have liability only on one car and waived collision on my other. If I'm at fault, I definitely don't get a rental.

If someone else hits me, then I'm subject to their coverage caps (15,000 min in my state). Anything beyond that I'm paying my under insured motorist deductible or having to come out of pocket.

Well that makes sense then. Both of us were insured looking at paperwork. This insurance thing has been eye opening for me.

good luck! not suggesting 2 cars, just be ready to replace asap if your car is declared a loss...

How much is the rental? Like are you doing a monthly rental or week to week?

I borrow it for 5 days and that was $250ish. That's not a lot but I do have other bills and it doesn't leave much leftover.

I am looking to switch to 3 12s which should balance the budget more and it would be around $200.

It's week to week and for only the days I need it.

They should know right away if your car has been damaged enough to be totalled. Like that day they (autobody shop/mechanic) would and should have told you. They're running a scam keeping that long under those circumstances

I called today and the shop said the estimator from my insurance hasn't been out to see the vehicle. I'll call insurance later.

That's insane.... Declaring a vehicle totalled happens right away here and they are costing you a ShitTon of Money making you wait all this time. The autobody shop should be able to take responsibility for telling you if the projected repairs cost more than the current value of your vehicle or is unable to be repaired safety for future use this is the criteria used to declare a vehicle Totalled here. I'm so sorry you're getting dragged through the process in that way....

(maybe the standards of the insurance company are different in the State you live (I'm in Massachusetts)

Will they (mechanic) give you an estimate or do they wait till the insurance adjuster comes in person to check on the car before they'll even look at it? It's sounds like they're holding you and your car hostage to create higher prices/bills and if they have any connections to the rental shop I'd start keeping good track of All communication that you can. Good Luck!

So I got a text today and claims said it looks like potential total loss. But they have to confirm it with another department

Keep all written communication safe as you can and ask for copies of how often and from when your car was first looked at and correspondence between them and your insurance provider while checking to see if any connections/contracts exist between them and the Rental Agency so you can potentially recoup some of your financial losses Created by their blatant mismanagement. Wishing you all the best!

Thanks!

It is a bit sketchy that it is taking this long to make a determination. I'd complain to the Department of Insurance for the state OP is in. u/Milleniumfelidae

So I contacted them today and they said an estimate was written and determined it's a possible total loss, but it has to go by someone else first.