help! insurance claims and "totalled out" settlement

Help! my 51 chevy was hit recently here in austin, texas (not my fault) thank god the other driver was insured...unfortunately the insurance co. is through Allstate and they have determined that a local well established body shops estimate not only seems high but also my car may not be worth the repair costs and may "total out" my beloved chevy. Any advice from the hambers before i take my car to one of the insurance companies body shops for another estimate (i'm guessing an appraisel too) because i dont trust them to be familiar with antiques or the repairing there of. Please help! Any experience or advice, even perhaps a local attorney if necessary!

 

the attorney may be your only choice. Just getting a letter from an attorney may change the adjusters attitude

 

Did you have agreed value with your insurance company?

 

anyone have a suggestion for attorney? I donno if local is necessary or better, exp dealing with allstate preferred.

 

i do not have agreed value with my insurance. my chevy needs paint and interior but the motor (58 235 with approx. 20,000 200r4 auto, 65 nova rear ) etc. is stone cold solid and reliable, which i hope may count in evaluation. body was straight as hell. the estimate i got runs 3800 approx. are there any 51 two door sedans in good running condition for less than 5000?

 

see if i can post shots of damage

 

i just went to local trusted place first on my own, does anyone know if i must got to ins. co.s sponsered bodyshop at all?

 

Fender/door/grille? Write off????
Take a cash settlement, dig up the parts and put them on yourself or pay someone to do it.
I wouldn't let my car go for that bit of damage. Unless theres something I can't see its all unbolt and replace...

Hope you can get it worked out.
Seems like you might be in uncharted waters, they sense it and are hoping to profit from your inexperience.

Don't let them sink your ship.

 

I wouldnt call that totalled, looks like a fender and grille would fix it. Will they give you the option of paying you and you keep the car? That is a pretty common deal around here.

 

Definatelay not. Insurance Co.'s push you to places they prefer because they have an agreement to get cheaper rates from in exchange for volume of business. Take it were you want to go. Also the Insurance Co. may total it, and give you money, but you always have the option to buy it back. (it may just have a salvage****le, but on an old car who cares, your state may not even require a****le.)

 

you have the right to have your car repaired at any shop you want to.An insurance company will try to steer you to one of thier direct repair shops.These shops have partnered up with the insurance companies to give them better prices on parts and labor, and usually have certain requirments for shop equipment,ie..quility measuring system,and decent paint booth.You may want to show the insurance company the Classic Car NADA value of your car to try to boost your numbers.

 

It's your car ,it's your choise on what shop you take it to. I'd personally go get a veh appraisal(what the car was valued BEFORE this loss) Then go to the shop you wish to repair your vehicle ,get a fair and complete as possible estimate and stand your ground. Allstate loves playing games and try to steer vehicles to their direct repair shops. Good luck!

 

I had a pickup that was hit and damaged hard enough to be totaled. Only problem is that if they total it then it becomes theirs and you have to buy it back with a salvage****le. So I just argued enough and settled for a little less cash to keep the truck in my name. Do not give in.

 

I work in the Auto Insurance industry. Do Not Trust Allstates people. They are notorious for being sub standard. Any third
party company owes you to either repair your vehicle back to it's
pre-loss condition -or- they owe you actual cash value. If you had agreed value coverage, you're company would owe you either the repair cost -or- the agreed value if the repairs exceeded the agreed value (-) the salvage value. With older cars, a lot of the figures can be somewhat arbitrary. They have to
locate parts that are at least as good as the ones that you have.
An appraisal is the best way to "prove" the actual cash value of your vehicle. Do your homework. You need to research and locate parts. You need to find a repair shop that works on cars of your vintage. You need to have a really good idea as to what your vehicle is worth in your local market -or- via the internet. It is their burden to find parts, write an accurate repair estimate, and
accurately value your vehicle. Again, Allstate is notorious for piss
poor claim service. When you have an older car, usually that service takes another nose dive. If all else fails, do find an attorney to present your case to Allstate and sue the person that hit you for the Attorney costs (if it comes to that). Doing your Homework is your best defense. If they can't say NO, they have to say YES.

Good Luck with it. The damage looks worse that it most likely is !!!

VOODOO R&C

 

I can't speak for your location but up here they try to force you to go to their sponsored shops BUT they actually HAVE to let you go where you want to go.
They can be forceful about it at times though.

I work in a private bodyshop now and some of the stories about what the Insurance guys are telling customers could get a guy really riled up.
Our good rep helps us get the work we want, but we have lost a few to the big shops when the insurance people worked over the car owner.
For us its not the "on the street" Insurance Appraiser's that give problems...it's the vultures higher up the food chain.
Your smart to be investigating your rights.

 

First of all, it's against the law for them to "make" you take it to their body shop. Take the car to your body shop then tell them where and when they can look at it. It's their responsibility to go out and get an agreed price to repair it. If it's totalled you must take what a car in similar condition, before the accident, is worth. Shame on you if you don't have agreed price insurance on your own car. It's only $.65 per $100.00 from Grundy for cars built after 1945 and $.55 per $100.00 for pre 1945 cars.

 

Have you ever heard of an insurance company rushing up with a fair settlement? Lawyer up. Also, used to be you could buy back a totaled vehicle for something like 10% of the settlement. don't know if that has changed or not.

 

Id take the money and run ,Fix what you got,As long as there not lowballing you . If you can get 2000,00 or more take it ......I think also you can get your own estimates.......Also get old car insurance ,Mine is insured for 19,000 and is really reasonable

 

Take a cash settlemen. You should be able to repair that for around $500.

 

Laws vary from state to state but generally if you don't have an "expert" apprasial,an old vehicle not listed on the "Blue Book" is smiply basic transportation.Basic transportation values are whatever,maybe 1000 bucks maybe more maybe less.Don't let them total the car due to possible****le problems as mentioned.Try to get an appraisal,primered unfinished cars are tough to appraise.Lawyers are likely more cost than repairing the car out of pocket. If all else fails,get your paperwork in order and file in Small Claims court,the limit may be around 3000-5000 bucks .

 

A Prior to Loss Appraisal may be all you can do. It cannot have been your fault. You are in and "up-side down" situation now. The insurance company has made and offer and you have to prove they incorrectly valued the car. To settle in your favor there will need be an arbitration and settlement may be more than the current offer, less than the appraised value. But you won't get a salvage****le if you win.

 

I'm in agreement with carcrazy ... take the settlement and then fix it yourself. This way you avoid lawyer fees, possiblity of a salvage****le etc.

Once it is back on the road, it might be a good idea to take a look at "agreed value policy" if you don't want to go through this again.

Good luck

 

here's where i'm at:
-i've got a repair estimate from established local shop at approx $3800 for parts and labor (fender and bumper @ chevy of the 40s, inner fender and grill parts extrapolated from various ebay postings)

-allstate thinks this is too high and wants me to go to their shop today at 3 pm for another estimate

-i believe a 1951 chevy two door sedan in running condition to be approx 7000
(where can i get nada value? )

should i go the the allstate shop this afternoon or tell them that after some consideration i decided not to? if i do this what should i expect?

 

First off they........um the ins co.... want to total every thing why its easier for them no problems quick and easy then it this you company or are you a claimant to the co of the truck you hit now the big one VALUE AND REPLACEMENT APPR. by a good co a detailed report with pics no one wants to pay for one til they have had a issue, over 40 yrs I have seen dozens of times when people want a apraisal after they had a claim a set of white walls or that 100 buck shift knob ya had to have,. well ins is a pain to pay till ya need it you are the insured dont take nothing for granted do not settle till YOU are happy oh and READ....READ your policy ..right bob k........... most collector cars are under insured fact not fiction

 

In the past, I collected ads from Ebay, the local swap sheet, etc to prove the value of a vehicle. I've also contacted the state's insurance commissioner when the company refused to negotiate - I've actually done this a few times and only once were they no help. If collecting ads from Ebay or the such, they'll argue that the ads aren't local to which I argued that in these days of the internet everything is local!

Allstate is a bear to deal with...I had a claim with them for the O/T vette I used to own...$6500 worth of damage they had "fixed" for $2800 - and when I argued, they arbitrarily discontinued rental car payments at 12 days (I had it for 25 days because THEY told the body shop to use a back-ordered bumper cover instead of OEM since it was $100 cheaper!!)

Good Luck!

 

seriously, that wont even cover the parts and then theres labor...

 

I just noticed you priced the fender and some components from Chevies of the 40's...that's going to be "high" in their book. They'll be wanting to put used on in similar condition that came off of it. You may want to look at the alternative of what a used fender and components would price out at, then the pricing on repairing/priming/etc - it won't be any cheaper, but at least would give them a comparison.

 

Isn't yor back and neck starting to hurt ya?
Tell them ya want to file a BI (Bodily injury) claim also.
That should change their offer real quick !!!!!
Take it to the shop of your choice, NOT THEIRS.
Don't follow any suggestions they make.
You have the LEGAL RIGHT to have it repaired @ the shop of your choice.
Nuff said

 

Play hardball with them and call their bluff. THEIR ADJUSTER can go to YOUR bodyshop of choice or meet with YOUR attourney. They will try and low ball you every time.

Case in point, Am Fam tried to lowball us on my wifes daily when a kids throttle went over center in a parking lot and he rearended her PARKED car. Wanted to pay us $1200 for the car. (older Buick). The car could not be replaced locally for less than 2500-3000 bucks. Not a lot but we owned this car since 20K miles and knew the history, hard to replace that. The adjuster used an Ebay add from FLORIDA to set the value, we are in Western South Dakota. I told him fine, buy us that replacement then and ship it here. The electricity got*****ed out of the phone line...............I then explained that shipping would run 1500-2000 for his FLorida car. Now, would he like to write the $2800 check that my body shop had estimated for repair? I had a check in hand the next day.

 

I had a guy turn in front of me and destroy the front end of my 48 chevy-everthing-the bumper, fenders, grille, valance, turnsignals, radiator, EVERYTHING. Didn't get the doors or anything else. I was offered about $3500 to keep it or about $4500 to let them total it. Has a very good 250, th350, 57 chevy rear end. I had a rental car from a friend, and at 35.00 a day for 3 weeks, got that too. You won't be offered $3800 for that damage on your car, I bet. Take what they give you and fix it. The drivetrain, reliability, and all the love and money you have in the car means nothing to them.