Totaled or repairable? Any Insurance advice?

[snapaxle]

smash 1

• snapaxle
• Oct 26, 2015

smash 2

• snapaxle
• Oct 26, 2015

smash 3

• snapaxle
• Oct 26, 2015

So the wife got smashed a couple of weeks ago by a couple of idiots who decided it was fun to get into an argument along a main thoroughfare. The cruiser did its job, she didn't come out bloody, broken or worse, but has some nasty whiplash. I don't have a good image of it but the damage to the A pillar where the truck that hit her started to roll over on it was rather surprising. If this was a car, or a vehicle less substantial, I don't want to know how much worse that could have been. The insurance companies haven't even bothered to go look at the vehicle yet, so thought I would ask for some general tips on dealing with a smashed cruiser, or if it does get totaled, a way to actually receive fair market value.

2000 lc 167 on the clock, all maintenance performed ect....

 

[socallove]

not an expert by any means but that looks like they are going to write it off, repair cost will be well over market value for the year and mileage.
you can buy it back and repair it as a trail rig or part it out.

 

[Ok29445]

A hard hit from the side often bends the frame. Looking closely at the gaps between all the doors and fenders will tell you how much or little the frame was bent. Good to know your wife wasn't hurt worse. Get a good attorney since there was an injury.

 

[Stylo07]

I would be shocked if it's not totaled. Glad your wife is okay.

 

[m3fan]

A little frame "sway" can be pulled out but if there is a buckle of any sort in the frame they will write it off. The insurance companies and the repair shop do not want to be liable for repairing a compromised vehicle so they will write it off even if it was repairable by simply spec'ing that the frame needs to be replaced completely. They equate a buckle in the frame to a pop can with a dent in it- easy to crush with your foot just with a tiny dent in the can. My guess would be totaled. Looks like a huge hit.

 

[PADDO]

I'd expect that to be a total loss. The formula for total loss varies state to state, some use 75% others higher or a bit lower, of the repair estimate to market value. I recently had a total loss initial valuation of $21,370 increased to $26,900 (that i accepted) on a vehicle that i paid $24,500 for and owned for less than 2 months. My advise is to do your own research and base your discussions with your adjuster on data and facts and not emotion. Your insurance company will task a third party like CCC One to do a market valuation report, they'll generate a report based on VIN and miles and what they believe to be comparable vehicles for sale or recently sold in your region. The initial market report i received was full of errors that detracted from my valuation so go through it carefully and make your adjuster aware of these discrepancies. Now it is crucial that the vehicles they use for comparison are "like" vehicles. In my case I purchased a no lease, one owner, not from a salt state, full service documentation vehicle in mint condition. Prior to inspecting it the sales guys told me "I"ll give you $50 in cash and pay for your fuel for every mark, dent, scratch or blemish you can find" . Yea right I thought, well the vehicle was mint. I had 60 photos from the dealers site to give my adjuster to show it was indeed in industry "excellent" condition. But the "comparibles" CCC One used were at best industry "average" condition vehicles. Example: one comp was a five owner, three lease, wrecked with damage reported, dealer photos showed blemishes, carpet marks, rim rash etc. Not even close to mine. I made my adjuster aware that their comps were average and below average condition vehicles, citing the multi owner, multi lease wrecked truck and asked for a new report based on comparable vehicles in industry "excellent". He agreed they weren't comparable and called back a couple of hours later and asked if I would accept $26,900 plus taxes etc. I would have been more than happy with what I had paid as I thought that was fair and reasonable.

 

[snapaxle]

The drivers door is pretty shot, I know that fully well, the police were just standing there with the wife still in the car, and I had some guy telling me that he was blah blah certified and cpr trained and what not with her still stuck in the vehicle and I wouldn't get the door open. Walked up and jerked the hell out of it and broke it free. If it was any more than just sheet metal in the way I believe it would have been a different story. This will have to go to an attorney at this point, two weeks later and she doesn't have any reflex sensation down her left arm. I'll start looking at comps, and distances and drive times. In Texas now so those vehicle carry a pretty decent premium over the rest of the country it seems. Thanks for the replies, I am just frustrated and feel I need to do something. Can't deal with the medical side so I guess I just needed to work on something I can take care of. I kind of assumed it would be a total loss, rad support is shot and dumped a hefty amount of coolant. Although when I pulled up it was still idling along, found that amusing and why I couldn't tell ya. The drivers in this part of Texas are absolutely idiotic, debating if the 200 would hold up better. Hell even had the 3 dogs with her at the time and all of them were pretty okay, outside of just a little pissed off.

 

[txtortoise]

Just went through this on my 2007 LX470 that got rear-ended. Handled by my insurance company who then subrograted the payout to the other party.

Was pleasantly surprised that market value was presented as excellent, in the $27K range. (Just baselined w/124K on it.) I think the body shop probably provided the condition report to CCC One, as no one else saw it, and it never actually entered the shop as there was so little external damage, i.e., rear bumper and front fender. It was fully functional and drivable, but trailer hitch tweaked the frame where the hitch attached. As PADDO says, that was enough to total the car, though it was relatively easy to pull out after I bought it back.

My previous experience was with a 2003 Acura RL valued around $7-8K and it was a fight to get another $500 as it was valued pretty much like PADDO noted above. If your insurance company is handling it, you might get a little more help in value. In my case, it made sense to buy it back, but I would walk away from yours in a heart beat. The better you can document prior condition and then fight the initial comparables you'll get on a relatively rare vehicle, the better you will do. And don't close your BI claim, you have a year in Texas as a starting point. If she's feeling real bad, might be worth dealing with other party's insurance company directly at some point, vs your company and Med Pay.

 

[SWUtah]

I know how you feel. I could never replace mine if totaled for what I have in it let alone find a comparable replacement. Keep us posted.