GREENSBORO, N.C. — It was supposed to be a simple routine vehicle maintenance service job. Drop off the vehicle, then pick it up a few hours later. Blair Snoddy wasn’t worried at all, “Why would I be worried,” said Snoddy.
Well, as we all know, simple doesn’t always end with the job done right. Snoddy would soon learn this when one of those “extremely rare” situations happened, “I couldn’t believe it,” said Snoddy.
It all started a few months ago when Snoddy needed the oil changed in her Jeep. Snoddy took it to an NTB store and then went to work for a bit while they serviced the Jeep.
A few hours later someone from the shop called, “They had said an incident had occurred,” said Snoddy. That incident was one of the technicians assigned to her Jeep accidentally crashed it when pulling it into the garage, “His foot slipped and he hit the gas not the brake,” said Snoddy.
The Jeep slammed into some equipment and hit a wall. The front of the Jeep was severely damaged, “I need six new lights, headlights, fog lights, blinker lights on both sides, I need a new grill, a new hood, two sides right and left and a new bumper,” said Snoddy.
The company accepted responsibility but the 3rd party adjuster was only offering $5,200 to repair the Jeep and it would also be considered a “salvage” vehicle. Snoddy said estimates she received were around $6,000 to $6,500 and she wasn’t thrilled with a “salvage title”. Cars are often given a salvage title when repairs are around 75-percent of the vehicle’s worth.
Snoddy was not happy about the salvage title but was more upset that the adjuster was only offering her $5,200 for an accident that would cost at least $6,000 in repairs, “I don’t need to come out on top, I just need a road-safe vehicle,” said Snoddy.
In hopes of helping we reached out to NTB. The company declined to speak at length with us referring us to the adjuster handling the case. We sent several emails to the adjuster but never heard back. At that point, we contacted a representative in the corporate office.
That person also declined to speak with us for the story but did agree to investigate the matter. A couple weeks later Snoddy received an offer from the adjuster for $7,500. The offer was $2,300 more than what she was originally offered. The Jeep will come with a salvage title but at least she can make the necessary repairs.