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I was in a relatively minor car accident last night (not my fault thank goodness). However, the front quarter panel will need to be replaced and probably bumper and headlight. There is also damage to driver's door (will only open part way) and also rear quarter panel.
Front tire was hit too but I think it will just need an alignment. Car is driveable, with no other problems.
I know that all sounds like a lot, but I have seen much worse. I was fine until a coworker said the car will be totaled..... The car only has 107k miles on it and runs well for it's age. I hate the thought of it being totaled right now - I can't afford another car.
I have been reading up on this today and it seems insurance companies will only pay out 50-70% to repair. That is $1000 at the most!!!
What are thoughts here? Will $1000 repair front quarter panel, headlight and bumper at a minimum?
New panels, bumper, headlight, paint... maybe $2-3k in repairs, unless the front wheel and driveline are damaged - you won't know until a body shop gets a look. If the Insurance company does total it out, you can always take less cash and buy the car back if it is really drivable or easily made drivable, and you can live with driving a damaged looking car. If you post pics, you might get a better idea.
Thanks! The insurance co says the value is $3800-$4500 and 50-70% of that means it could go either way.
I know they have to look at it but I wanted an idea of what was going to happen. People keep telling me I can 'buy it back' but I don't understand that. Take the money from the insurance co, then pay a small amount to keep it. Not sure that is really the best deal ????
Anyway, I had no idea how this worked (been years since I was even in an accident).
The insurance company totals the car and pays you what the fair market replacement value is. They are generally pretty generous with this amount.
You then take the money they are offering and purchase your car as "salvage". The salvage value is usually a lot less than what the car is worth and you will end up positive money when it is done.
You then own the car, but it now carries a salvage title, which pretty much makes it worthless at resale, but it is worth something to you.
With the left over money from the insurance company you can pay to have some of the damage fixed, but without kicking in some of your own cash, you will most likely be left with a mechanically good, but cosmetically bad car.
The most important thing is to get an honest opinion from the shop regarding the mechanical condition of the vehicle. If there is anything majorly wrong mechanically, it is better to just let the car go and use the money to buy the best replacement you can afford.
The insurance company totals the car and pays you what the fair market replacement value is. They are generally pretty generous with this amount.
You then take the money they are offering and purchase your car as "salvage". The salvage value is usually a lot less than what the car is worth and you will end up positive money when it is done.
You then own the car, but it now carries a salvage title, which pretty much makes it worthless at resale, but it is worth something to you.
With the left over money from the insurance company you can pay to have some of the damage fixed, but without kicking in some of your own cash, you will most likely be left with a mechanically good, but cosmetically bad car.
The most important thing is to get an honest opinion from the shop regarding the mechanical condition of the vehicle. If there is anything majorly wrong mechanically, it is better to just let the car go and use the money to buy the best replacement you can afford.
I would just say, good general advice, but not necessarily true.
Some insurance companies will low ball you on value, so if its below fair value, don't be afraid to ask for more money and tell them what you want, and see if they give you better pay out.
The car is totaled by the insurance company, but that doesn't mean its a salvage vehicle. If you "buy it" from the insurance company, the title never actually leaves your hands, so if the insurance company doesn't tell the DMV, the car remains untotaled on paper. This seems to happen pretty regularly. Even if the car gets a salvage title, its not worth much anyway, so no big deal. If it was a $30k car with $18k in damage, no way I'd buy that back, but a 15 year old car is almost completely devalued.
Lets say the car is values at $4k, the damage estimate is $2500, so the insurance company declares it totaled. The insurance company will give you a check for $4k and take the car, or $3k if you "buy back" the car for $1k. You now have your car and $3k, so you can either spend it all and more to fix the car like it was or spend a little to make sure it runs safely and will pass inspection.
I actually had a friend in a similar situation. He had a car get t-boned in the driver's side doors. Enough damage to need two new doors, but the frame wasn't bent or anything, and the insurance company said the value was $3800. The estimated repair bill for two new doors and repainting the side of the car was like $2000, or more than 50%, so the insurance company was going to total the car. He was able to buy the car for $1200 or so, and was able to find two matching doors at a junk yard that matched his paint color and had them installed for like $1200. He ended up with a car that didn't look great, but looked good enough for him, and had $1400 in his pocket.
The trick is, if you decide to buy back a car, can you really get it safely running without out of pocket money? Many estimates go up once a car repair starts and hidden damage is found, so you have to be careful.
Since you can drive it and the ft wheel was involved, can you let go of the steering wheel for a brief time, and see if the car still tracks straight? You really need to determine that the McPhearson Strut is good, and the drag link on that side isn't bent. The drag link is a horizontal rod that attaches low on the control arm (lower suspention) and goes to the body. All of this is critical, and if bent can effect the final drive unit, wheel bearing, and other front end related adjustable parts, which could be bent past any adjustments.
The front fender, bumper, and headlight are all relatively inexpensive to fix. If the door is only opening partway, you may need a new door, and there may be damage to the hinge pillar. That is a structural piece. Rear quarter panel is also a structural piece, most shops will repair rather than replace if possible. I wouldn't be surprised if the estimate tops $3000.
Law varies from state to state, but I don't know of any insurance company who will total at 50% value. It generally varies from 70 to 80 percent. Be aware of prices, most will lowball you on value if they total it. You can negotiate the value and payoff. I would probably only get involved in buying it back if you are really in love with this car. You will be looking at being without one for the duration of the repair.
My car took the bulk of the hit on the front driver quarter panel, including the tire. My car definitely pulls to the right now and last night I noticed that it felt 'unsafe' over 60 mph. It was real shaky on the front end.
I appreciated all the opinions here - it will help me a lot in the next few days. I am taking the car in to the collision center at lunch today to be checked. The other guy has Hartford Insurance, so I hope they are easy to deal with.
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on a salvage title.
