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Car Totaled - Reimbursement Negotiable?

post #1 of 11
10/7/09 at 4:43pm
Thread Starter 
I got rear ended majorly two weekends and was towed to a local bodyshop. Even my back was sore from getting slammed from behind like that. The body shop told me not to "release" my car to the insurance company's body shop because I have more leverage in the negotiation of the totalling price. Was he just trying to screw me or did he have some good advice?
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post #2 of 11
10/7/09 at 5:01pm
Sorry to hear about the accident. I don't have advice, but I've been in similar predicaments and understand the hassle.
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post #3 of 11
10/7/09 at 5:14pm
As I understand it, it's not so much a matter of leveraging a 'totalling price' or settlement but rather getting them to total the car instead of trying to fix it and using a lowball estimate as justification. Mrs. T got some help from an attorney to get one of her cars totaled: everyone BUT the insurance company agreed it was a complete loss.
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post #4 of 11
10/7/09 at 5:19pm
I had my car totaled about 15 years ago: the adjustor initially offered a $ number that was "rough book value", after negotiations re: the book value to be used, he bumped the $ by about $1500. After I said I wanted more, he balked...so I took it.
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post #5 of 11
10/7/09 at 10:56pm
Go see a doctor. Even if it's minor pain, there is a pretty sizable chance that it can cause problems later on down the road. Take care of it now while your/their insurance will cover it, not later when you have to cover the bills yourself
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post #6 of 11
10/7/09 at 11:19pm
yeah, I was about to say I think its more important to have your back checked, or just to see if you have a possible concussion. stay safe.
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post #7 of 11
10/8/09 at 1:00am
I graphed the price v. mileage of every car like mine within 300 miles of me, linearly interpolated to get the value of my car, and used that to keep my car from getting totaled.
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post #8 of 11
10/8/09 at 2:23am
The situation that happens way too much is that the "member" body shops will write low estimates and then once repairs are under way the body shop will find more damage and the car should have been totalled to begin with. A third party body shop's estimate is a good thing to have to compare to the "member" body shop estimate. If the "member" estimate is way low then you need to push them on why. If your car is no more than 4 years old you may be entitled to "betterment". This is a payment to compensate you for diminished value that a newer car will have due to being wrecked and repaired. Cars that have been in accidents and have had extensive repairs will not qualify for the elite used car programs that new car dealers offer and they will give you far less on trade as a result. By the way, "totalled" means that cost of repairs excced 66 to 75 percent of the car's value.
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post #9 of 11
10/8/09 at 11:53am
I've definitely heard of folks getting more for their totalled car than the initial "offer" from their insurance company. My understanding is that you are under no obligation to accept what they consider to be fair market value for your car. Not sure what the next steps are if you don't accept, though.
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post #10 of 11
10/8/09 at 11:34pm
What the preferred body shops do is an estimate that doesn't require sending out an investigator. If you keep the car at the current shop, your ins will have to pay the shop a storage fee. They'll also send out an investigator to assess the damages and write a quote for repair. This guy only looks at visible damages. When he writes an estimate it is ofr how much damage he sees. If the shop finds more, they call the insurance company and it's a pay as you go thing. Where you keep the car has nothing to do with negotiating the value. The offer you will get is the NADA value. Blue book doesn't matter, neither does how much you owe. If they offer you twenty though, and you find several other cars of similar year, options and mileage in your area for 25 and present this to them, they will probably give you closer to 25. They don't care if you have a warranty or just replaced the tires, etc. They are just paying for the car as stock. Good luck.
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post #11 of 11
10/9/09 at 3:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by gilwood View Post
Even my back was sore from getting slammed from behind like that.

That's what she said.

Sorry.
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