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Replacement Cost by Insurance Company for Totaled Vehicle

196 messages,  Last post on Nov 17, 2009 at 7:17 PM

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What is this discussion about? Car Safety, Buying Insurance, Coupe, Convertible, Hatchback, Truck, Sedan, Wagon, SUV, Van


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#159 of 196
Re: new truck possible totalled...questions. [eviljoe] by cccompson
Apr 08, 2007 (2:52 pm)
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Replying to: eviljoe (Apr 08, 2007 11:39 am)

Your insurance company should pay (minus any deductible) what the vehicle is worth (used retail). It may have been "new" when you bought it but it was very definitely used at the time of the collision.
 
People who have assets or money don't drive on a suspended license without insurance so, yes, you're SOL. Sorry, life isn't fair.
 
As for your last question, push hard to get the thing declared a total loss so as to avoid a variety of potential future issues.
#160 of 196
Re: new truck possible totalled...questions. [cccompson] by paisan
Apr 08, 2007 (4:37 pm)
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Replying to: cccompson (Apr 08, 2007 2:52 pm)

Depending on your state, you may get a new vehicle or full value of it. I'm fairly sure that within the first year some states require insurance companies to replace the vehicle if it is totaled in the first year. This is to prevent that GAP issue. Definitely do some research on what your state laws are on insurance.
 
-mike
#161 of 196
Re: new truck possible totalled...questions. [paisan] by eviljoe
Apr 08, 2007 (6:26 pm)
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Replying to: paisan (Apr 08, 2007 4:37 pm)

where would i find the state laws on insurance for Florida?
#162 of 196
Re: new truck possible totalled...questions. [eviljoe] by joel0622
Apr 09, 2007 (8:19 am)
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Replying to: eviljoe (Apr 08, 2007 11:39 am)

I am not sure how it works but Florida is a Diminished Value state. But as others have said you cannot get blood from a turnip. Google "Diminished Value" there is allot of good info. There are even companies who will help you with a DV claim, for a price I am sure.
 
States where auto
insurance policies can
exclude diminished
car-value payments
  
Alaska
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kentucky
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Mississippi
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Utah
Vermont
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Also
 
Massachusetts
#163 of 196
Re: My wrecked Accord Coupe 2001 [toyoman1] by lilgto
Apr 09, 2007 (9:36 am)
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Replying to: toyoman1 (Mar 19, 2007 6:16 am)

Sorry to hear about your accident, one good thing is you don't have to depend upon the other insurance company to pay for the bills! Word of advice if you ever do make sure you hire a law firm to deal with these people.
 
Now for you damages, you did not mention any body damage so you must have really gotten lucky and did not hit anything on the curbs. My stab in the dark would be new or like new rims, possibly tires will have to be replaced, suspension parts more than likely suffered some damages and don't forget about Wheel bearings. Just be thankful you are alive to actually write about it. Good luck with the repairs.
#164 of 196
Re: Need help with accident with my 2005 Camry [mcgrawp1173] by lilgto
Apr 09, 2007 (9:42 am)
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Replying to: mcgrawp1173 (Apr 04, 2007 8:06 am)

I also agree with the other individual, there is not much you can do once the repairs were accomplished. You could have argued with the insurance company but then again that would have been best to be handled by an attorney. It just seems like the insurance companies today would rather repair a vehicle than total it even if it cost them more money in the long run. I am still dealing with them over my daughters vehicle from the 12/31/06 accident. You can do what they told us (which I thought was a really dumb suggestion) "just sell it after it is repaired and purchase you something nicer"... What a looser!
#165 of 196
Re: new truck possible totalled...questions. [eviljoe] by blueiedgod
Apr 21, 2007 (7:32 am)
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Replying to: eviljoe (Apr 08, 2007 11:39 am)

What if he has no money or assets? Am I just out of luck--as if he'd taken a few thousand dollars out of my pocket, set it on fire, and walked away?!?
 
You can sue him in small claims court. It costs about $15 to file, and you don't need a stinking lawyer. You should be able to get his address and maybe SS number from the police report. You can search local records as to what he has to his name. Or just spy on him, see if he has another car, house, trailer, motorcycle, ATV, boat.
 
Once the judgement is entered in your favor, send him an official request to pay. He has 30 days to do so. If he fails, turn over all the information you gathered on him to the Sheriff. They will seize his assests, take their cut, and give you the rest. They can garnish his wages... I have done it a few times in NY.
 
If he has 2 more outstanding judgements against him, you get to collect triple damages.
 
Check with FL small claims laws before proceeding.
#166 of 196
Actual value of a 'salvaged' car by ledheadmelli
Jul 11, 2007 (9:26 pm)
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Hi!
I've been pouring through these forums looking for an answer to my question, but can only come close so far.
I purchased a 1995 Maxima GLE not quite a year ago. It had all the perks, was flawless in and out and had 56k on it! Carfax check revealed a little old lady owned this car and had it serviced like clockwork. Unfortunately, the front end was injured in an accident and the car was totalled. A body repair guy bought it, made it good as new and sold it to us. The mechanic we took it to said we got a great bargain and felt the car was worth at least $6k, even with salvage title.
The car was mostly garaged while I owned it, although I did put a small bump in it backing into hubby's van - a 'pop-out' type of injury, no scratches to paint. It had 64k on it by now as I owned it for 10 months.
Then some idiot on a cellphone rear-ends my baby on the freeway and causes $6000 damage, so her insurance decides to total my car. After dragging their feet for 11 days, they finally offer me $4000, which I refused. KBB on that car with (unheard of) low mileage and my options comes to around $8200, assuming clean title, which of course it isn't. I can understand that there must be some adjustment for the salvage title, but just how do you FAIRLY determine the value of a car like this? To get that kind of mileage, I'd need to move up to a 2002 or better. The leather interior was like new - no stains or rips anywhere. The chances of finding a 95 Max GLE (or Toy/Lex/Inf/Honda equal)with 64K on it, much less a salvage title to boot, are NIL. Finding one of these in my neighborhood, with 2 or 3 times the mileage, will run $5500 and up.
I sent several emails to the adjuster showing salvaged vehicles - most lesser versions of my car, all with much higher miles - that were selling for $5-6000. I also included an invoice for the fancy tires we had bought just a few months before ($500 if you DON'T have a nephew who manages a tire store). I felt that my car and the related expenses of replacing it was worth at least $6000, and made it clear that I thought their "53% subtracted for the salvage title" was arbitrary and ridiculous.
So, my question is: how do you determine the value of a car with a prior salvage title? Obviously, the condition of the car should have some merit. If all repairs are done and the car is made 'whole' again, why should a person have to suffer such a big loss over what amounts to nothing more than a word on the title? (When I was sick for a month last year, they sure didn't cut my pay when I returned, fully recovered, citing that I was now 'damaged goods')! So how can this designation be arbitrarily applied to an otherwise perfect car that has fully recovered from it's injury?
I just wonder who gets to make these decisions anyway.
For my part, I held out through the feet dragging, got my own insurance company involved (I love you Liberty Mutual!) and agreed to accept $5860 total.
I think I did alright, but I'm wondering what your opinion is on this whole arbitrary salvage title deduction. I will never again buy a car without a clean title because of this, no matter how wonderful the car is.
ps - I've learned an awful lot reading through this forum - thank you all for the education!
#167 of 196
Re: Actual value of a 'salvaged' car [ledheadmelli] by cccompson
Jul 12, 2007 (3:18 am)
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Replying to: ledheadmelli (Jul 11, 2007 9:26 pm)

You did GREAT to get $5860 and learned an important lesson at a small cost.
 
I don't know about others but figure a salvage title always knocks at least one-third off a car's value. While a precise calculation may be a bit arbitrary, the fact will always remain that any given vehicle is only worth what someone will pay for it. Salvage title equals big hit on price.
#168 of 196
How to determine a fair mileage adjustment for a car with excess miles by lys
Jul 12, 2007 (9:06 am)
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My 96 mustang was recently rear-ended and totaled. Now, the car had a lot of miles on it . . . brace yourself . . . 216,000. But she was in great condition, I always had the regular maintenance done to her, and she still had some years left in her without a doubt. Now, I know that the excess mileage is going to bring the value down, but the other insurance company deducted 40% of their starting price of the vehicle. This ends up being a charge of about 2 cents per mile for every mile my car was over the average (which is 120,000).
 
Again, I knew I was going to take a hit on mileage, but this seems ridiculous. I was told by people I know that more typical would be 1 or 1.5 cents per mile, but I don't know where I can go for evidence that this 2 cents is excessive. Any ideas?
 
Also, they charged me $175 for a replacement windshield. The glass hadn't been replaced recently, and there was one small chip (no bigger than a pencil eraser-tip) very low on the driver's side. Is that grounds for replacement?
 
Thanks . . .
 
 

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