Dealing with Car Insurance Claim


I got hit from the side pretty good in my 2010 mazda3. The guy admitted fault, so his insurance will take care of it. However, I’m worried that they will total it, which will make everything become a pain in the ass trying to get the money I deserve.

The blue book value shows selling privately in good shape I could get around 13k. However, everything I see for sale with low mileage like mine was(31k) is selling for 16-18k. I don’t even think they’ll give me 13k.

So my question is for those in the know, are there any strategies I can use to make sure I get as much as possible. If insurance only gives me so much, can I file a lawsuit against the guy and win to get more money for another car? I just paid the damn thing off and don’t feel like I should have to pay shit for a car of similar value to mine.

I guess the other option could be buying it back salvaged if the frame isnt bent or can be fixed. This is all assuming it does get totaled. Thanks for any help.

[quote]MightyMouse17 wrote:
I guess the other option could be buying it back salvaged if the frame isnt bent or can be fixed. This is all assuming it does get totaled. Thanks for any help.
[/quote]

I don’t know enough to comment on the other questions, only hearsay from people that have been in similar situations and haven’t had any issues.

As far as buying it back salvaged after it gets officially totaled, I’d strongly recommend against that.

Once you have a salvage title, it permanently affects the value of your car, no matter how great of condition it’s actually in. While the car might be paid off, it basically becomes near worthless as an asset. You might be able to get a decent private party sale out of it, but if you’re ever thinking of a trade, you won’t get more than about 1500 out of it at best. (All they can do is sell it for parts/scrap.)

[quote]MightyMouse17 wrote:
I got hit from the side pretty good in my 2010 mazda3. The guy admitted fault, so his insurance will take care of it. However, I’m worried that they will total it, which will make everything become a pain in the ass trying to get the money I deserve.

The blue book value shows selling privately in good shape I could get around 13k. However, everything I see for sale with low mileage like mine was(31k) is selling for 16-18k. I don’t even think they’ll give me 13k.

So my question is for those in the know, are there any strategies I can use to make sure I get as much as possible. If insurance only gives me so much, can I file a lawsuit against the guy and win to get more money for another car? I just paid the damn thing off and don’t feel like I should have to pay shit for a car of similar value to mine.

I guess the other option could be buying it back salvaged if the frame isnt bent or can be fixed. This is all assuming it does get totaled. Thanks for any help.
[/quote]

Well, just say “no” until you get the price you want.

Make them run up rental car rates while they screw around.

Start making noises about personal injury and pain and suffering.

[quote]MightyMouse17 wrote:
I got hit from the side pretty good in my 2010 mazda3. The guy admitted fault, so his insurance will take care of it. However, I’m worried that they will total it, which will make everything become a pain in the ass trying to get the money I deserve.

The blue book value shows selling privately in good shape I could get around 13k. However, everything I see for sale with low mileage like mine was(31k) is selling for 16-18k. I don’t even think they’ll give me 13k.

So my question is for those in the know, are there any strategies I can use to make sure I get as much as possible. If insurance only gives me so much, can I file a lawsuit against the guy and win to get more money for another car? I just paid the damn thing off and don’t feel like I should have to pay shit for a car of similar value to mine.

I guess the other option could be buying it back salvaged if the frame isnt bent or can be fixed. This is all assuming it does get totaled. Thanks for any help.
[/quote]

Keep in mind that this is a negotiation. The adjuster might have some leeway, but if he offers $13k and you think it’s worth $18k, you better have some comparables. As LoRez said, if the car is totaled and you buy it back it has no value in the resale market. Prepare to drive it forever or part it out.

Just as an aside, I searched autotrader for 2010 Mazda 3’s with 31k miles, Bose, and moonroof and couldn’t find one for more than $15.5, and that was at a dealer.

[quote]MightyMouse17 wrote:

I guess the other option could be buying it back salvaged if the frame isnt bent or can be fixed. This is all assuming it does get totaled. Thanks for any help.
[/quote]

Just an observation but most likely this car does not have a frame per se. It is probably unibody which means the skin and interior structure are spot welded together to make a kind of exoskeleton.

[quote]Dr. Pangloss wrote:
Just as an aside, I searched autotrader for 2010 Mazda 3’s with 31k miles, Bose, and moonroof and couldn’t find one for more than $15.5, and that was at a dealer.[/quote]

Maybe they sell for more in Texas? I’ve found a few around that price, but they have more miles. I’ll just have to keep an eye out for a good deal.

And yea, it is probably a unibody. My appointment is supposed to be tomorrow, so I will know by then what I need to do.

As far as salvaging; if I end up breaking even or even make some money from it, then I don’t really care about the value of the car going down. When that time comes I’ll see what I can get for it. If its crap, then I’ll just donate it and get a tax write off.

[quote]Jewbacca wrote:

Well, just say “no” until you get the price you want.

Make them run up rental car rates while they screw around.

Start making noises about personal injury and pain and suffering.
[/quote]

That was a hard hit. Some total-out decisions are made depending if the air bags popped, looks like yours did. My case with the injury made zero impact on what they were willing to pay out for my car. Which was in the shop for a month and went up to $5000 in damage. I had a nice new Camry to drive around while my car was laid up.

If you can afford to, go out of work immediately. If you are in a no-fault state, your insurance carrier will pay so much for your medical care, all hosptal, all doctor visits, medical devices, etc until you max out. I was out for almost 3 months with mine. I submit all my out of pocket costs to my insursnce and they cut me a check. they pay me up to $2000 per month maximum. My per-diem rate is $245 per day.

With my policy, it maxes out at $50K and I’m close to it from my 2011 accident. My case with the other insurance company just settled last week. So try to get as much out of it as possible.

Rob

[quote]MightyMouse17 wrote:

The blue book value shows selling privately in good shape I could get around 13k. However, everything I see for sale with low mileage like mine was(31k) is selling for 16-18k. I don’t even think they’ll give me 13k.

[/quote]

The test is generally “fair market value” and I don’t think KBB is dispositive, its only some evidence of fair market value. Also, I don’t see why KBB “retail” isn’t a valid number any more than “private party” is. I’d look at NADA as well as any other service that provides evidence of fair market value as to what similar comparators are going for. Showing actual sales prices of comps is also evidence of fair market value. Also, you don’t have to accept a settlement, you can sue and let someone else decide what’s fair. But that also takes time, costs money, and carries its own risks.

Got the estimate today and it was only $4,100. Huge sigh of relief…and very surprising too that it was that low. He said even if some other things are found that it won’t get totaled.

[quote]MightyMouse17 wrote:
Got the estimate today and it was only $4,100. Huge sigh of relief…and very surprising too that it was that low. He said even if some other things are found that it won’t get totaled. [/quote]

Worrying for no reason.

Glad it worked out the way you wanted it to.

[quote]MightyMouse17 wrote:
I got hit from the side pretty good in my 2010 mazda3. The guy admitted fault, so his insurance will take care of it. However, I’m worried that they will total it, which will make everything become a pain in the ass trying to get the money I deserve.

The blue book value shows selling privately in good shape I could get around 13k. However, everything I see for sale with low mileage like mine was(31k) is selling for 16-18k. I don’t even think they’ll give me 13k.

So my question is for those in the know, are there any strategies I can use to make sure I get as much as possible. If insurance only gives me so much, can I file a lawsuit against the guy and win to get more money for another car? I just paid the damn thing off and don’t feel like I should have to pay shit for a car of similar value to mine.

I guess the other option could be buying it back salvaged if the frame isnt bent or can be fixed. This is all assuming it does get totaled. Thanks for any help.
[/quote]

Should be no fear in totaling it as the general rule now is 80% of retail value before they will total it. Homeowners Ins works much the same way. I just had a client have a $175k claim on his $240k home and we fixed it with no questions asked. He was in the process of replacing his roof when a storm rolled up, 2" of ran in 1 hr with no shingles and no tar paper on the roof. It was quit the mess.

[quote]JCMPG wrote:
Should be no fear in totaling it as the general rule now is 80% of retail value before they will total it. Homeowners Ins works much the same way. I just had a client have a $175k claim on his $240k home and we fixed it with no questions asked. He was in the process of replacing his roof when a storm rolled up, 2" of ran in 1 hr with no shingles and no tar paper on the roof. It was quit the mess.[/quote]

So, he cost your company $175k because he couldn’t be bothered to look at a weather forecast and you guys were cool with it?

It was 2 summers ago and we were in the middle of a drought and it had not rained here in 45 days. There was a slight chance of rain that morning when he started but he was to far along by the time they upgraded it and he did everything he could possible do to mitigate damage minus having paid someone else to do the job. And yes we canceled him upon renewal and they only place he can get insured is with a high risk carrier for the next 5 years at a premium of about 4 times what he was paying us.

I agree to just not agree to what they pay for unless you are satisfied. I just had this recently incident recently and I got it what I have craved for. Though my car insurance company helped me in getting this. Thanks to Them - http://www.libertyvideocon.com/

[quote]Jewbacca wrote:

[quote]MightyMouse17 wrote:
I got hit from the side pretty good in my 2010 mazda3. The guy admitted fault, so his insurance will take care of it. However, I’m worried that they will total it, which will make everything become a pain in the ass trying to get the money I deserve.

The blue book value shows selling privately in good shape I could get around 13k. However, everything I see for sale with low mileage like mine was(31k) is selling for 16-18k. I don’t even think they’ll give me 13k.

So my question is for those in the know, are there any strategies I can use to make sure I get as much as possible. If insurance only gives me so much, can I file a lawsuit against the guy and win to get more money for another car? I just paid the damn thing off and don’t feel like I should have to pay shit for a car of similar value to mine.

I guess the other option could be buying it back salvaged if the frame isnt bent or can be fixed. This is all assuming it does get totaled. Thanks for any help.
[/quote]

Well, just say “no” until you get the price you want.

Make them run up rental car rates while they screw around.

Start making noises about personal injury and pain and suffering.
[/quote]