hopefully they don't total it

[Chuck W.]

I just had my 2001 Tundra totaled by the insurance company. We bought our 2001 Turnda SR5 AC new.

Four months ago a very nice 82 year old women was driving with her 92 year old sister when she made a u-turn in front of my wife. My wife swerved and hit the front left of the other car with the right side of the Tundra. The left front door and rear access door along with the front portion of the bed and right rear tire were damaged. Not all that bad. The lower part of the door had been repaired once when I backed into my son's car (Ugh...). The job was poorly done and after 10 years the bondo had cracked. I filled it in and added some primer. I had just order a can of spray paint and was preparing to paint over the primer. That was the exact point of impact of this collision. What luck.

Because the right rear tire was flattened in the accident I was concerned that the rear axle was damaged I had it towed to the body shop. The body shop came back with an estimate of $6,200. State Farm called it $5,800. However, State Farm was concerned there could be damage to the rear end components that would raise the cost of repair to over $9,000. So, State Farm totaled the truck! They were going to pay me $9,300 for the truck. Noooooooo! I asked the State Farm rep if I could buy it back and repair it myself. After two days they called back and the buy back price was $1,190. Hummmm..... easy decision .. I'll buy it back!

I had the body shop put the spare tire on and took it to the tire shop. Ends up I had bought tire insurance when I bought the tires so they replaced the flattened tire. I also explained to them what happened and asked them to do an alignment and check the right rear. No issues. Out the door for $75.

I then found a guy on Craigslist to do the body repairs. For $900 he did an amazing job. I did have to re-register the truck as a salvage so the DMV fees and Brake & Light inspection was another $150.

In the end, I got my truck looking a tad better than it looked before the accident, a salvage title which not an issue since I planning on keeping the truck and $8,100 in cash. Perhaps this is why our insurance cost are so high.

[Cbonilla]

Friend just has this two year old C Class Mercedes Benz totaled by Geico.

"43,000 to repair the car....only a 2 year old Benz ...driver seat crunched (now I know why I could not get out easily...) dashboard crumpled, bent frame, etc., etc....."

Honestly doesn't look that bad in the pictures

[njbray]

A few years back I had an interesting conversation with a guy who had been an insurance consultant. He told me many newer cars are totaled due to thin steel and aluminum - modern lightweight materials are designed for safer crumple zones, low weight, stiffness, etc. but are very expensive to fix and this may even effect integrity of the vehicle in a future crash - not worth the legal or financial risk!
He also said that many repair estimates are too high with crazy mark-ups on parts. All this just increases our premiums!

[Gelbster]

Originally Posted by alex.rhodes

Guy had the audacity to try to blame this on me. Said there was a car coming up fast behind him so he had to get over and because I was there I had to be speeding.

This is why you need a front+REAR dash cam.
I had the same problem - rear ended at a stop light.Claimed I had cut him off. His word against mine .Sad reflection on the other guy's honesty but that did not help with the damage cost. My Insurance Co believed me so my rates did not suffer much.I fixed it myself with the small settlement I arm-twisted out of the other guy's Insurance company.
Without evidence you could be hit with substantial increases in future Premiums. Not fair but in the murky world of Insurance ,it happens and such incidents haunt your record(furtively) for years.
Consider the Dash Cam as part of your Insurance Premium price? Without evidence they will try everything to deny the claim.

[san rensho]

Insist that the ins co total the car. You can buy your car all day in the Miami market for 5-7k. Your car will never be the same if you fix it.

And depending on how much you paid for the car, you can make money. I crashed two boxsters this year that were totaled. I made 4k more than what I paid for the 2000 and about 1k on the 2004 I had for about 3 months. Bad luck but with a silver lining.

Hope I don't crash my 2002.

[alex.rhodes]

Well, the flat bed came and picked up the car today, thankfully I was at work. Also, I've been having muscle spasms in the lower back and numbness down the legs. Already went to the Dr. and informed my ins. Had an x-ray, got an MRI coming up, so hopefully the insurance company doesn't total me,too.

I keep going back and forth on the totalling. In the end, if the can fix it, that would be great. If not, I think the other insurance company should replace the car, not just cut me a check. I should get more information trickling in over there next week or two.

[Chuck W.]

Originally Posted by Gelbster

This is why you need a front+REAR dash cam.

Consider the Dash Cam as part of your Insurance Premium price? Without evidence they will try everything to deny the claim.

Can't agree more. All of my cars have BlackVue dash cameras.

[alex.rhodes]

I just heard from the insurance company and they are going to total it. The current value they figured is $6288. I have to scan in some receipts for maintenance items I've done and that should bump up the value a bit.

They estimate the repairs at over $6900. The door will need to be replaced, a bit of work to the front fender, the rear panel and rocker panel need the dents pulled/straightened, and everything painted. The rear wheel would need to be refinished as it was slightly damaged, but is not cracked. The mirror and window are not broke, and the top goes up and down fine. The engine and transmission drove fine as I drove it home. The alignment is still straight as an arrow.

I could total it and take the money and start looking for a new car or keep the car and less money and try to fix it myself. It's a 2000 base with 137,650 miles. I really liked the black and orange color combo, but other than that there was nothing super special about it other than it was mine and I owned it outright.

[Insuranceman]

Have you told them that you are OK with the $6288 figure? Don't! I help people with claims all the time. Think about it this way...You are buying a car in reverse. Ask them how they are coming up with that figure. Make them show you the numbers and make sure all of the options on the car etc. I can almost always get the numbers up 1000-1500 for people. And tell them that you are not going to settle the property damage portion of the claim for that amount. Unless you are OK with it? If they tell you that they use NADA, or they don't they use a black book...make them show you the valuation and go through it. Normally if you can get an insurance company to offer you High Trade - to mid private party values you have done well. I have helped a lot of people with these types of claims and 9 times out of 10 the company always starts lower and you can get them up. There are some companies that are more difficult than others. Another option is always to call your own company if you have full coverage to see what they would offer you for the car in a total loss situation and let them subrogate the loss. I just helped a customer with this yesterday we got him $3,000 more than the other company was going to pay him for the car.

Good luck and real sorry to hear about the accident...glad you are not seriously hurt.

*EDIT Actually after looking at the values on that car that might not be a bad offer at all.

[alex.rhodes]

Thank you for the information about possibly getting more value for it. I do have to upload my receipts for maintenance which should get me a bit more. I will also upload a copy of the option sticker translated to ensure I get credit for all options.

I did just find a 2000 Boxster S, 115K miles, 2 owner, IMS, hardtop local for $6500. I may take the upgrade for just a few out of pocket and call it a fair trade. I can redo the orange highlights down the road if I want to keep the black and orange color scheme.

https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/cto/6137662785.html

Alex

[dghii]

I don't have to look...that's peanuts for an S with updated bearing. Make sure you have proof!

Three weeks ago, I turned down an 03S, tip at $5,200. Really! Had a few items to take care of and no real history but still was a good deal. My problem was not with the car as much as timing. No biggie. It's always great to be a buyer when you're not looking!

[Insuranceman]

Originally Posted by alex.rhodes

Thank you for the information about possibly getting more value for it. I do have to upload my receipts for maintenance which should get me a bit more. I will also upload a copy of the option sticker translated to ensure I get credit for all options.

I did just find a 2000 Boxster S, 115K miles, 2 owner, IMS, hardtop local for $6500. I may take the upgrade for just a few out of pocket and call it a fair trade. I can redo the orange highlights down the road if I want to keep the black and orange color scheme.

https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/cto/6137662785.html

Alex

Sure! And that's a steal!