[Noah930]

2 months ago, I was involved in a car accident in my daily driver. I made a left turn onto a freeway onramp, and an oncoming car made a right turn onto the same onramp. I had a green arrow, but the oncoming car had a red light. The woman stopped, and then turned into the side of my car. My car is drivable, but financially totaled (cost to repair > cost of car).

But she is from out-of-state and was driving a Hertz rental car. Her regular car insurance says they're not liable, because she was driving a rental car. At the scene of the accident, she admitted that she didn't purchase the Hertz insurance.

I didn't have collision on this old car, so while my insurance company agrees that the car is a total loss, they're not financially liable.

Technically, Hertz should be responsible. But their insurance company, ESIS, still hasn't assigned an adjuster to this claim. Heck, I called ESIS today, and the call center woman (Brianna) who answered the phone technically clicked on the call, but then set down the phone and proceeded to chat with her husband (must be woking from home) over breakfast for the next 15 minutes before actually coming on line. Still no adjuster assigned--2 months out. No supervisor I can contact to escalate.

Because Hertz is self-insured through ESIS, the state insurance commissioner can't get involved. They actually suggested seeking legal recourse. Do I really go through the hassle of suing Hertz (or ESIS) for $2800?

I am about to move and was originally planning on donating this car to a charity anyway. Now the car isn't worth anything, so if a charity sells the car, the tax deduction will be negligible. If I just give the car away to a private party (there are takers!), am I able to deduct the loss on federal taxes (like theft or loss of property value)?