car wreck - negotiating with insurance

[HERMET]

Yep, I did that once before too. Can you take the equipement out and use it on the next vehicle?

I don't know, I need to see if that's an option.

 

[basstracker89]

I don't know, I need to see if that's an option.

It's all negotiable till you sign the papers

 

[SMLEshooter]

Both the driver that whacked me and I have the same insurance company and it's really pissing me off.

Ditto, got hit by a USAA insured driver several years ago. I was also insured by USAA and had been for over twenty years with no claims. I was treated like vermin. Unbelievably eye opening.

 

[HERMET]

Ditto, got hit by a USAA insured driver several years ago. I was also insured by USAA and had been for over twenty years with no claims. I was treated like vermin. Unbelievably eye opening.

Hate to hear that especially as that's who I was thinking of as my future insurance agent

 

[greg vess]

Being in the car business and insurance businesses well for a while I might be able to steer you in the right direction. When you get on the phone with your adjuster ask her how they justify giving you so little for your car when the market is clearly higher than than book value. Insurance companies are going to want to refer to a book value and when the market is like this on used cars you can throw the Kelley Blue book or whatever right out the window. Be patient don't be in a hurry to reach a settlement. Go out and look at several cars that were in your condition with the mileage of your vehicle when it was totaled. Then take those average numbers back to your adjuster and tell them that's what it's going to cost to replace it. Then you just hope for the best. You might get another thousand or two out of the deal but really you're not going to get 100% replacement value on that vehicle because you were paying insurance on the book value.

It's a sticky situation and I hate it for you but I had to go through the same thing a couple years ago. I was just very patient and shopped for about a month and a half to two months and found a very good deal from an individual. You're never going to get out come ahead going through a dealership that's just the way it is. Try as hard as you can to find a vehicle being sold by the owner. Also be careful to check if there are any liens on the title or what not and do a Carfax on any vehicle from an individual. 18 times out of 20 you're going to get a better vehicle from an individual that took very good care of their vehicle. When buying a used car off a dealership lot you don't know what the hell that car's been through.

Good luck and I hope everything works out for the best. If there's any other questions let me know and I'll call my best friend that works for State farm agency and talk to him about what you need to do to get the adjusters to up the settlement. His wife owns the State farm agency in dawsonville. Doesn't cost anything to ask!

 

[greg vess]

Insurance agencies need to step up to the pump and start offering a replacement cost policy like on a home. The insurance would be more but they would have to replace your vehicle with one of " like, kind and quality. ". That is the term used in the insurance business for replacement value on a house. That way you would be sure to get the same exact car in the condition that you had it in without having to come out of the pocket several thousand dollars to even get close. I would much rather pay a little bit more insurance per month and have that security. Now you just have to have the coverage in order to get anything and then when it does come time to reach a settlement you end up cussing everything and everybody in the world. It's a scam anyway you look at it. Insurance agencies just haven't figured out that full coverage actually doesn't mean full coverage in their book.

 

[greg vess]

Also here's a little tip for everyone in case of a catastrophe. If something like a water pump goes and the fan flies off and damages a lot of other stuff your insurance will cover that damage cost. It will cover everything but the part on the engine that failed, in this case it would have been the water pump that is not covered but all the damage incurred would be. This also applies to any other system of the vehicle. If any part of that system fails all the damage occurring from that failure can be claimed the only piece that can't is the piece that failed. I hope you guys get the gist of that.

 

[dcline9163]

Son in law is going thru that with his insurance,after my Grandson wrecked hydroplaned and rolled over into Weiss Lake, be prepared get several quotes on vehicles same as yours with prices, list them and show them when they offer you a settlement, it helps to be prepared ahead of time, as for taking off things you have added, yes by all means take them off and return the vehicle to stock. Insurances will not pay for aftermarket add on such as stereo systems, wheels, extra lights bed covers, brush guards and such. Just have all your ducks in a row as you will get fairly pissed if you don't.

 

[flyfisherman]

Several of the insurance carriers use a CCC One Market Valuation Report which is an abysmally low value. The adjusters will only reference that report for value and not consider KBB, Edmunds, or market comparisons. If your carrier uses this report make certain that he/she includes all the options and the correct trim level of your vehicle. They usually just run the report with the vehicle as a base model to offer a lower $ amount.

 

[Talos]

Insurance is the biggest scam. I dive the cheapest car with the cheapest insurance. If it was legal to not have it, I'd take my chances.