help! insurance claims and "totalled out" settlement

most importantly do not forfit your ***le! by law they can not take your ***le if you want to keep the car. a salvage ***le is a pain in the *** to get straightened out. a lot of insurance companys will not even insure a car with a salvage ***le. it also decreases the valve of your car when you go to sell it one day. if you want to keep the car and ***le they will give you 25% less on the agreed value. if the accident was caused by the other party involved than just go after them for the difference if their ins. won't pay enough. with this being known to all parties involved they may be more reasonable on paying up. the bottom line is fight it to the end! good luck.

 

im afraid that they are infact required to brand ***les on salvaged cars. technically you buy the car from the insurace co at that point. the ***le will be re issued with salvage across it.

i would agree that keeping it from becoming salvaged is a good idea.


i cant say much about texas law, but i learned a couple things about insurace co's in the 40 years ive been dealing with them, some of the advice in previous posts is worth repeating, and is true, some is not.


as for the insu co's laughing about lawyer threats, bellm is right, they aint scared of lawyers, no need at this time to get one, unless you are injured.

you have the right to go where you want ot get the car fixed, but the cost has to be reasonable. your best plan of attack is to know what it really costs to repair your car the way you want it repaired. the shop owner should have the brains to negotiate the price for ya, if not, you are in the wrong shop.

yes, allstate is full of jack offs, but if you can prove your estimate, they will pay ya. i will admit that they are slightly improving latley. there are some better companys , and quite a few worse ones. also the estimates the insurance co writes are always gonna be cheap, thats their job, yours , and your shop's is to know better. a good estimator can write in enough procedures to make up for even the lowest labor rates

as said , start off being polite, dont worry they will have ya pissed in short order and there will be plenty of time for name calling.

as for the drp type of shops, true that most can, and will do decent work, other wise there would be headaches for the insur co. problem is they make concessions for that status, usually discounts, and use of aftermarket parts. in your case thats not a problem as they aint gonna find anything but used o/e stuff anyway.
with a newer vehcile though, stay away from the guys who use the chinc knoc off parts, they are junk and will de-value your car
also as mentioned, it is rare that they can mandate those parts....they will estimate them, but always buy o/e and submit the bill, you get the money.

they dont just total a car because its easy, they do it when its cheaper than fixing it. they do like to give your car a low value though, as it becomes a total sooner, and they know they will have no supplemental damages



anyhow, i could write a book on this subject , and want to avoid doing so here, but have it , good luck and get collector insurace for the future.....you learned your lesson, dont make the same mistake twice, as this aint gonna be the last time your car gets hit.....feel free to ask any specific questions


skull

 

update: arrived at address given at 3 pm sat. turns out not to be a shop as indicated by claim mgr on fri. afternoon and instead is a drive thru claim office whereupon an adjuster with a rather surly manner began to take as many photographs of the overall condition of car inside and out as possible and i might add took alot more pics of everything but the actual damage especially the interior which is of course, in need of restoration. the adjuster photocopied my estimate from my preferred shop, went over it with me and indicated intent to contact this shop on mon for clarification. photographed ***le, handed me a card with someone elses name scratched out and his penned in. He told me he needed untill mon afternoon to conclude his ***esment. He said he used "auto source" to establish value on vehicles. so we'll see how it goes on mon. pm. up date then.

 

Where the insurance companies find there "comparable" values is a complete joke! If your vehicle is indeed totalled to them they will present you with a list of vehicles that you will agree, are not even close to what your vehicle is or was. They will find the same model year vehicle, with the same mileage and the same options. They will then tell you thats all they can give you. They do not care that your car had a new engine, ran and drove great, has solid floors or isn't rusted in the typical areas... Its based on vehicle year, options and mileage and they don't care about Blue Book on it either.

My guess is they will total your car and low ball the **** out of you on replacement value. Your comparables will probably be floor-less field cars or parts cars.

Now is Allstate your insurance company or the other driver's? If you have collision on your policy you may have better luck dealing with your insurance company for the repairs instead of the other guy's. In turn your company will sue/settle with the other company for whatever amount they give you. When my daily got crashed we ran it though our insurance company and ended up with $1200 more than the other company was willing to give. You are already their customer so they would like to take care of you and keep you as a customer, as opposed to the other company who just wants to make you go away.

 

You just remember you !!!!! are in charge do not sign anything till YOU are satisfied!!!!!

 

You hadn't said or if you did I missed it, what else has been done to the car, another body shop put new floors in, other new metal you bought, new motor, or parts, gl***, anything you have put in your car even purchase price should be good to back up what your value is, this adjuster you went to is going to bury you, anything you have laying around for that car you need a reciept to show these clowns.
I had an adjuster not want to put a new bumper on my other halfs Envoy after his client caught it in the wheel of a motor home and damm near ripped it off, I offered to be at the body shop and kick his *** for him in 5 minutes, and surprise to me he decided to put a new bumper.

 

The adjuster i met with yesterday (allstates, the other drivers carrier) did ask me to fax receipts for the ******, nova rear swap asap. I got an excellent deal on the car and the work and parts at the time (this was over ten years ago) and have reciepts including orig car purchase that only add up to just less than my 3800$ independent shop repair estimate. so i'm waiting for the adjuster to throw me a figure later today which i'll negotiate at that point...post up date later...

 

Auto Source (the one Google found) is a salvage dealer. They sell recovered un-repaired vehicles. That might not be the Valuation you're looking for.
You need to establish the Value before the incident not what is could be sold for after an incident.

 

what is your ins co doing. I got rearended in my 33 ford [the guy didnt have ins or drivers license ] and my ins co took over [grundy] they sent an adjuster out and I told him I was the only one that was going to repair the car. I had an estimate made out. He made his estimate then took my estimate. the adjuster asked me if my estimate was correct. and I told him it was and I wouldnt do it any cheaper. He said o k but you are too cheap. shot myself in the foot on that one. my advice is get insurance from a co that deals in old cars

 

You could also get a independent appraisal of the vehicle's value before it was crashed if you don't like their estimate.

 

Here's a trick that has worked for me in the past. If you feel the insurance company will not give you fair value for the damages contact the person that hit you. Tell them that their insurance company will not cover the damages and that you plan on suing them personally for the damages. Gets people excited real quick to hear they pay big $$$ for insurance that won't cover them when they need it, they will call their agent asap and start pressure from their end to get you taken care of.
Got to be realistic about what your car is worth however, you might have more in it then it's truly worth, that's not the insurance company's fault.

 

If you go to Borders or Barnes and Noble, there are books that contain relatively decent values for old cars. I'm don't recall if it's in the magazine section or the automotive books, but they really contain a lot of information (reasonable ways to define the condition of your car, what it should be worth, and what additional factory items can add to it).

After that, add the work for your own modifications.

 

This is the Autosource the adjuster/appraiser referred to

http://audatex.us/insurance_solutions/total_loss_valuation.aspx

It works reasonably well on late model vehicles, but I always do my own research as well to confirm their valuation. I prefer to do my own research on older vehicles.

 

and when all is said and done and your car is fixed you need to get Grundy.

and for all those that have said that their regular "Stated Value" insurance policy is fine for their old car here is a perfect example that you need an "Agreed Value" policy.

 

Number 1 its not your insurance and you are not required to use the insurance company's body shop.

Number 2 if you can prove to them the value of the car they are required to pay you that value if they total it out. You are not getting a loan or trading it in you were in an accident that they are liable for. They have to cash you out at the value of the vehicle. Now I'm ***umeing that you didn't already have a certified appraisel prior to the wreck and wrecked it isn't going to appraise well.

Number 3 this is probably the very most important thing that you can do. Hire an attorney, you are in Austin so get with the brothers down there and find out who is the better hot rod friendly attorney in town.

 

Get an estimate from a shop that repairs older vechicles, have them write an estimate. Naturally based on used parts of like kind and quality. Im sure they will agree that the damage is minor!!Shouldnt be any hastle. Of course they a paying out so they will try to see how bright you are, That car is NOT a total loss!! If they want to total it tell them to GFT!! See you in court!! OH!! and my back is really bothering me, Your in charge man!! tell them what the F story ending is going to be Period. Oh if that is your daily driver tell them F clowns you want a RENTAL!! Car is not legal for the road without a Aimed Headlamp!! And Allstate ****S 30 Years as a body man shop owner, who happens to be into 49-52 chevys knows the score!! 2,000 my estimate . How about you reveal the bottom line to the Hambers for laughs N.H. lead man

 

I pm'ed you but here is what I wrote for everyone to see.

hey man. I just saw your thread, as i just went through this I thought I could offer you some advice. My 1979 ford F250 supercab camper special bought new by my grandpa was hit by a girl while parked in front of my house. Here is the break down.

1) I immediately had the truck appraised. It doesn't matter that it was damaged. The appraiser can look past that. Make sure they have a lot of comparable cars to compare it to. If you haven't done this, do it immediately! This ended up saving me in the end.
Make sure you get a guy that specializes in cl***ics. Go to a body shop that specializes in cl***ics or european and ask who they use. Your own appraisal is very important. My appraisal came out at 7,500 dollars for my truck. I kept that to myself for awhile.

The thing you need to know is that the "independent" appraisal co. they use, well their only customers are insurance company's. It's in their best interest to supply the information the insurance wants to hear.......lower values. Remember it's just an old car to them. Old cars are clunkers.....

2) Tell them you will not accept a salvage ***le on the vehicle. This is your choice. DO NOT SURRENDER THE VEHICLE TO THEM AND BUY IT BACK.

3) Only respond through e-mail. This is important, It lets them know you are collecting a paper trail for a lawyer. Use words like "cl***ic" and "collector" when referring to your car.And phrases "will not accept total loss scenario"

4) get as many estimates as possible. I had a range of about $2700 to $5200 to fix it. even though I thought it would be more....more on that later.

When my truck was hit, I took it to the progressive inspection station. They really picked it apart. They estimated the damage at $2,700 and the value of the truck at 1,500. They even said since it had such little salvage value I could keep it. None of the "comparable" vehicles they used were any where near the shape of mine. Here is the thing, you have the right to demand that the vehicles used in this "value" are exactly the same condition, options and in the same area as yours. I had all the comps thrown out and demanded that they reevaluate my truck. This is where the appraisal comes in. I informed them that I had my own appraisal and that theirs and mine differed a lot. I reminded them again at this point that I expected my vehicle to be returned to pre-accident condition and I would not accept a salvage ***le. They responded asking for the appraisal and comps. At this point I sent in the appraisal. About a week later I got a call from the next guy up the chain. The had agreed to fix the truck, but wanted estimates. which I provided. I ended up going with a high end euro shop to fix it. It ended up costing 6,800 to fix. about $1600 over estimate, but the insurance had to pay as they had already agreed. Going from a $1,500 dollar total loss to a $6,800 dollar repair is a pretty big difference in pay out if you ask me....Just saying.

If you have any questions or need some advice don't hesitate to ask

Good luck man.

 

Good advice. The only thing I can ad is DON"T SURRENDER THE CAR!

 

ALWAYS get agreed value insurance on your vintage cars, unless they are daily drivers. If they are daily drivers, you likely won't get one of the specialty insurers to insure you, so you will have to negotiate a policy with your chosen insurer.

A couple years ago, I was rear ended in my pristinely restored '63 Porsche 356B. I spent 3 years restoring that car and it was totaled in 2 seconds by a careless driver. I tried my best to negotiate with Nationwide, just to see how it would go. They got a "collector car appraisal" on my car and it came in about 2/3 of what the car was worth. In the end, I turned it over to Hagerty. They paid me my agreed value and they subrogated with Nationwide.

You can do your best but you won't win negotiating on your own with insurance companies. Take out a policy up front that protects you.

I hope you made out ok on your settlement. I agree that your car is fixable and should not be totaled. The only reason they want to total it is that the repair is more expensive than THEY think the car is worth.

 

FWIW, This is very good advice to use for any vehicle you own, regardless if it is a collector or your daily driver. (I live in Ohio, my collector is not my daily driver)

I used the some of the same advice on my Chevy truck. I am going thru the same thing again with my mother in law. Both times it was the other parties fault, both times they wanted to do less than make it 100% pre accident condition. The truck got fixed, the MIL car we are still doing battle but the outcome is already marching toward the results I want. Good luck!

FP

 

all of the above. you can take it to any shop you want for repair.