Accident & Insurance Advice

[terrawombat]

I sold a '99XJ Classic to my girlfriend's mother, who then gave it to her youngest daughter to take to college this year. Well, winter came fast and there was some snow/ice on the ground and the vehicle was hit on the rear passenger side pretty hard. Not the fault of my girlfriend's sister so their insurance company is going to take care of it. The vehicle was estimated at $3,800 to fix. A collision company (her words - dunno who or what that is, maybe the body shop?) has valued the vehicle at $5,300. So, we're looking at 72% of the vehicles' value will be spent on repairs. To me, sounds like the insurance company will total it and cut a check to the owner for the value of the car.

 

Now, I've never been in a position where I've ever had to deal with the insurance company so I don't know what kind of advice to give her. Will the insurance company give her a lowball offer for the vehicle or will they give her the valued price of $5,300? Does she have any grounds to negotiate a higher price if she doesn't like the one that is given to her? Will there be an option to buy back the vehicle from the insurance company (ok, this question is for me haha)?

 

Any help, advice, or previous experience with insurance companies would be helpful. I'd like her to get the most out of this car. She bought it from me on the cheap, but did dump some money into it for new tires, a couple new sensors, and other routine maintenance.

 

Thanks!

[jimoshel]

Every insurance co and every situation is different. At one time it was no problem to take the money and keep the car. Two things changed that. One was thieves stealing expensive cars. stripping them, keeping the parts. They would then wait until the ins co sold the car at salvage auction and buy it back, install the parts they previously removed and now have a legal, complete car for sale. Another ploy was to buy a wrecked car at auction, steal a identical car and swap all ID's between them. The main thing to remember is it is your car and you have the final say on any settlement. Every thing is negotiable so just talk to the adjuster. Jim

[Sir Sam]

Some companies do not do buybacks.

 

For valuation you can simply pick a bunch of them for sale off of craigslist that verifies your claim of value.

 

Make sure that she knows you want to do the buy-back. There have been a half dozen wrecked CRD's that the owners posted about on the forums, there was only one guy who was actually willing to follow through with the buy back.

[terrawombat]

Some companies do not do buybacks.

 

For valuation you can simply pick a bunch of them for sale off of craigslist that verifies your claim of value.

 

Make sure that she knows you want to do the buy-back. There have been a half dozen wrecked CRD's that the owners posted about on the forums, there was only one guy who was actually willing to follow through with the buy back.

 

I've told her numerous times I'd like to buy it back, if possible. I'm not going to press the issue because I really don't NEED it right now, but it'd be nice to park it in the back of my shop and save it for a rainy day. The interior is in good shape and the drivetrain was solid (had 128K when I sold it). I'd like to use it for my 97+ swap so I could get the Classic seats with the different material and adjustable headrests. In fact, this XJ WAS going to be my donor until the family ran into hard times (lost job, main DD broke down) and they needed it more than I did.

[beepbeepmyredjeep]

When my wife totaled her car by hitting a guard rail (someone ran her off the road passing her on an offramp!), we were given the option to keep the car, and "salvage value" of the car would be deducted from the insurance check. Considering "salvage value" was $300, and the car was worth I believe 4k, we jumped on it. Managed to get the car fixed for the exact amount the insurance company gave us a check for, with the exception of repainting.

 

A month later, she totaled the car again by flipping it on the Interstate median. :doh:

 

It wasn't worth keeping after that, unless we wanted to turn it into a convertible. The entire roof buckled. Luckily she only got a scratched pinky and a bump on the head, because she was wearing her seatbelt.

[Sir Sam]

When my wife totaled her car by hitting a guard rail (someone ran her off the road passing her on an offramp!), we were given the option to keep the car, and "salvage value" of the car would be deducted from the insurance check. Considering "salvage value" was $300, and the car was worth I believe 4k, we jumped on it. Managed to get the car fixed for the exact amount the insurance company gave us a check for, with the exception of repainting.

 

A month later, she totaled the car again by flipping it on the Interstate median. :doh:

 

It wasn't worth keeping after that, unless we wanted to turn it into a convertible. The entire roof buckled. Luckily she only got a scratched pinky and a bump on the head, because she was wearing her seatbelt.

 

It cost you $3700 to fix the car - holy carp, what was wrong with it that cost so much?

[terrawombat]

Mostly labor costs involved. They're going to cut out the rear passenger 1/4 panel and weld a new (well, used) one in. Replacing rockers, rear door, front door skin. They not even sure if the rear axle is bent and that's not included in the cost. They're also using parts from a salvage yard rather than brand new parts. I have a .pdf of the quote if I can figure out a way to attach it or link to it.

[beepbeepmyredjeep]

Her little Nissan cost so much to fix because she destroyed the front bumper, driver side door, and both quarter panels. Some of the parts had to be ordered brand new because the shop couldn't locate all of the parts from salvage yards.

 

Yea, labor is the most expensive part I believe. I read where some shop was running a scam where they would wrap a sledge hammer in several towels, and increase the damage done to a car. They called it the "money maker" because each hit was usually $1000 worth of parts and labor to fix...mostly labor.