so my car was in fire. still looks great but has dents. insurance is saying total loss. anybody ever felt with this type claim? $33400 damage. insured for $35000. if ya buy back what are your options
Photos may be better help for us. Myself, the dents in a fire are warped panels, it would never be right again, if you are not worried about paint and making something right and look good patina is a thing.
If they pay out what is the buy back cost? Will it really take $33,000 for you to hire the bodywork and repaint? Is anything else damaged, like interior or tires?
Usually if the car is not in that bad of shape, and the buy back is way less that you could sell what is left for, I would buy it back.
If I recall correctly your car was not damaged badly at all. Just some paint blistering and small dents and dings. Buy it back and fix it yourself or agree to fix it for set dollar amount.
You also have to consider title status. (If there is one) Ya don’t won’t a parts only salvage title. I’ve owned a couple salvage title vehicles. They drive as good as a non salvaged title. But cheaper
And to you, the OP. It is best to just add something like this on your original thread instead of starting multiple threads so people know what you are talking about.
If you do a buy back in MI the title stays clear. No salvage notation. It's yours, stays yours. I bet the buy back is worth it, I did it once with an OT, sold the wreck for almost 3 times the buy back difference.
Every state is different, here in NC when a total loss claim is paid it gets a branded title saying " Total loss claim paid " then most insurers won't put collision on it again. Plus a Car fax or similar report will show that history. Then by law ( here in NC ) you need to disclose that when selling
All depends on what the buy back is. not seeing $30,000 in damage but Im not seeing much for pictures . Depends on the title status and how they handle it in your state . WI has titles that are salvage and some you can't get reissued best to ask the insurance people . Dealt with that on a motor cycle a few years ago . If its cheap id buy it back even if you have to reframe it or what ever there is always a way . Looking at a late model GTO right now that's wrecked myself a buddy was in a accident with .
That’s fire damage? Drive it seen a salvage title 57 bring big bucks at auction. car was restored, wrecked decades ago. Really didn’t affect resale at all. Most of this old junk is salvage before we fix anyway.
TMan>>>Just scrapes and nicks as I remember? I believe my reply was just drive it>>> Huck>>>was wondering about title >>> What were you wondering about if it's still in good shape, licensed & good to go?
Had a friend wreck my 65 Galaxie. At the time it was about 8 years old and my insurance company considered it totaled. It wasn't all that bad but the repair cost exceeded the value. I settled for a check and the salvage, meaning I got to keep the car. I think the check was about what the value was on the car at the time.
A little simple goonoodling... Looks like if you retain ownership your woes about salvage are naught...
Fixed a OT with over 40k worth of damage. Never showed up on car fax. Plus a couple wrecks I bought. We have a title lady in town. As long as the numbers are clean, she can hook us up. Legit title navigation is an art form on its on and worth the $$$ when they know their stuff. If a rebuildable salvage title was issued in Bama, it would have to be inspected through a licensed rebuilder. Basically a numbers check to verify a legit vin with legit paperwork and parts. Car fax on an old ride? Sounds funny.
Any advice you get here should be checked with your state's relevant authorities and your insurance company before taking any action. Contact them and get the info to make the correct decision. You will really regret a bad choice at this point.
Highlander>>>Looks like if you retain [IL] ownership your woes about salvage are naught>>> 28>>>checked with your state's relevant authorities and your insurance company before taking any action. >>> Yeah, if you decide to move to Queensland, you might have trouble. So I suggest staying where you're at to avoid complications.
Dont assume the worst until you know exactly how the insurance wants to proceed. Their job is to save the company $$$$$ By telling you it’s a “total loss” they can resale the car and come out cheaper than fixing it. It’s your car. Not theirs. You need to read over your policy very well. Don’t sign/agree to anything you feel uncomfortable about. There’s nothing wrong having a lawyer look at this. Not theirs. You need to hear from the ins company how the resale back to you will look like. Get their response in writing. No word of mouth good ole boy handshake and a smile crap. Always remember. It’s the adjusters job to save $$$.
I see that you have the car insured for 35K. Is it worth more than that if it were fixed? If in doubt, I would have a total loss appraisal done on it. A total loss appraisal would give you a valuation of what the car was worth prior to the fire. Based on that valuation, you can make a decision to settle with the insurance co and keep the car.
Do types like us really need someone telling us what our cars are worth? I know I couldn't go out and buy a pretty 40 coupe hot rod for much less than 40-45K. So sure this one has scars, but... If I found what I did that easy you know you could get the skinny locally, probably easier. All you have to do is ask what their settlement is if you keep it. They might say a small percentage less. Mine let me keep the car for a $600 difference, I sold the wreck for $1650. That was State Farm. Good luck. Don't wanna know your personal biz but let us know how it goes. You won't be the last one this happens to.
Unless the glass, metal etc is all out of whack (i doubt it considering the condition) it looks like your fire stayed mostly in the roof of the garage and you only have impact damage. i would fight the total loss claim and take the money to have it "repainted" (just get the damaged spots touched up).
I know I paid a small amount extra on my Hagerty policy for the ability to get any of my old cars back after a claim, no matter how badly they are damaged, even if totaled. It's called "Cherished Salvage" and seemed very much worth the small extra cost when I read about it. Maybe not directly related to the OP's question but worth mentioning here.
We live in Illinois. My son's 57 Dodge wagon got caught in a flash flood, nearly completely under water. The car was insured for $12K. A flood car is considered totaled (in IL) if the repair cost is more then 40% of its value. Any vehicle over 9 years old can be bought back from the insurance company, unless the company has a policy of not selling cars back to their customers (straight from the IL Insurance Commissioner's mouth). The buy back on my son's car was $800 (which I thought was pretty high). The insurance company paid the 12K less the buy back price, $11,200. My son retained the title and it is unmarked. That insurance company will not cover that car again, but my son had no trouble getting it covered after we cleaned it up and replaced almost everything attached to the body shell. We were able to get the car back in shape for less then what the insurance paid. The owner retains the title, so nothing on it changes. The company pays out the claim, reduced by the amount of the buy back, and their part is finished. Often they will pay out the full total value, if the repair exceeds the payout, the insurance company is not responsible for any additional costs, you are. Look at it this way, if the insurance company pays you the $40G the car was insured for, and it cost $45G to fix it, you are on the hook for the extra $5G, but that will be the only money out of your pocket. Your baby gets all fixed up with a new paint job for $5G of your hard earned cash. What you do with the car and the insurance money after the payout is up to you. You can fix it to whatever level you choose and keep the insurance money you may not have been spent (or you pay whatever the insurance check was short of paying for), or you can drive it as is, and put all the insurance money in your bank account, or you can sell the car and put the insurance check in your bank account, or anything in between. The original insurance company may or may not cover the car after the needed repairs are finished, but they will require it to be repaired before they likely will cover it for anything more then just liability coverage. The car may be insured with or without being repaired by another company through their underwriting procedure at whatever value is determined through their underwriting. The best part, the decision is up to you. Also, you don't have to hire a lawyer if you do not want to. You can call your State Insurance Commissioner and get the hard facts. There are set rules for everything the insurance company can or can not do, and your State Insurance Commissioner is the people in charge of making sure the insurance companies follow the rules. A lawyer might get you more money for an injury, but the policy tells everyone what the payout for the vehicle is, a lawyer will just get his cut from your money.
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