Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Auto Accident (RearEnd Impact, Total Loss , salvage Title)
=============================================
Thanks for your replies to my threads. I am in Maryland.
My 1999 Toyota Camry (92K miles original, 13K on new motor, one owner) rear ended in gas station in Maryland. It appears the engine, transmission, and the other mechanical and electronic parts of the car are still functioning with ugly rear. The damages are on bumper, trunk lid. Bumper was pushed in. I have injuries that need treatment (in progress).
As I moved my car to pump gas , I was rear-ended by the car sitting behind. The adverse driver at fault. Adverse insurance company accepted the liability but playing hard ball on property damage.
The insurance company of the car that hit me accepted "total liability". Adverse insurance company asked me to take it to their shop for estimate. The damage estimate is 3800+ as per their approved shop. The body shop told me that my car was in good condition. I do see lot of replacement parts and frame repair in their estimate. My friend , who is knowledgeable about body works said. There won't be any frame damage on low impact accident. Trunk lid can be repaired instead of replacement.
After evaluating the estimate, adverse insurance company determined as Total loss and presenting low ball offer that is much less than blue book. They said that blue book/NADA not taking the geography for valuation.
Is it true?
I said I want to keep my car, because it can serve more. They said that I need to send my title get the settlement and I will get my title back as Salvage title.
I find some threads suggest driving salvaged title car face some issues with auto insurance.
Their offer ==> Cash Value - (sales tax + Salvage value), I need to surrender my title and get salvage one from them.
I have to give my car & title and accept low ball offer and live without car. I am not able to buy similar year condition with their offer.
Or Accept low ball offer , add my money to fix the damage and live with Salvage title.
I was driving a good condition car , but this accident caused damages and making me to drive salvaged title of my own car. I know that any settlement need to make whole of prior to accident condition.
I would be grateful for any advice on how best to proceed.
Some questions
1) Is there a way to challenge their salvage title proposal?
Do you have collision coverage? If you do, then see if you can get a better deal with your own insurance company. Your deductible will be applied but when your company gets reimbursed it will refund your deductible.
If you don't have collision insurance then you have to deal with the other driver's insurance company and here's how it works.
You accept the total loss settlement, sign over the title, surrender the car, you're done.
Or, you accept the reduced amount, keep your car, and get stuck with with a salvage title. Once you repair your car it's still going to be worth only a few thousand. The salvage title is not going to be that much of a stigma at that age, especially if you keep the car for several years to come and it's worth even less.
The alternative is to accept neither offer, sue the driver, go to court and prove to the judge that your car is worth more than the insurance company says it is. The MD small claims limit is $5000 so you can sue in small claims court without hiring a lawyer. If you are successful and get a judgment against the driver for a larger amount, his insurance company will have to pay but you will still end up with the same two choices.
PS: I looked up similar cars on Craigslist in MD with similar mileage and saw ads ranging from high teens to high twos.
What is the insurance company offering you as total loss value?
"If you are successful and get a judgment against the driver for a larger amount, his insurance company will have to pay but you will still end up with the same two choices."
Could you explain the same two choices?
If I go through court, will I det salvage title?
It looks, good running car hit by other party, but I will be the person to suffer more.
The other party cause $3800 property damage, but I need to settle with high twos . It is not looking fair.
Did anyone in this forum face the situation, I am in?
"If you are successful and get a judgment against the driver for a larger amount, his insurance company will have to pay but you will still end up with the same two choices."
Could you explain the same two choices?
Already did, but here it is again.
Quote:
You accept the total loss settlement, sign over the title, surrender the car, you're done.
Or, you accept the reduced amount, keep your car, and get stuck with with a salvage title. Once you repair your car it's still going to be worth only a few thousand. The salvage title is not going to be that much of a stigma at that age, especially if you keep the car for several years to come and it's worth even less.
Quote:
If I go through court, will I get salvage title?
Yes.
Quote:
It looks, good running car hit by other party, but I will be the person to suffer more.
I don't know what you mean by "suffer more."
Quote:
The other party cause $3800 property damage, but I need to settle with high twos . It is not looking fair.
When the repair cost exceeds the Actual Cash Value of the car you get the Actual Cash Value of the car. You had a used car before the accident. You get restored to the position you were in before the accident, which is the value of the used car. That's fair.
Quote:
Did anyone in this forum face the situation, I am in?
Let us know, how did it go.
[/quote]
I'm sure millions have faced the same situation with the same results. Reading their stories might or might not give you comfort but won't change your results.
Let me give you a practical example. You're offered $2800 (for example) and you want to keep a car that's going to take $3800 to fix. The $2800 is reduced by the salvage value so maybe you get $2300. Then you add $1500 (if you have the money) to make $3800 for the repair costs. After the repairs you still have a car that's worth $2800 (or less, with the stigma of the salvage title).
A more practical solution is to take the $2800, add your $1500 to make $4300 and go buy yourself a nice, dependable, undamaged car for $4300 or whatever you want to spend. I don't know about you but that makes a lot more sense to me than keeping the car.
I have no idea how Eastern states handle such things, but here in Montana the at-fault insurance company has an obligation to make you whole. that is, when all is said and done your car (and you) must be restored to as good or better than it was before the accident.
Tell that insurance adjuster that you expect to be made whole, you want your vehicle repaired and all your medical expenses paid. DO NOT allow them to total your car! An insurance company tried that with me when I was side-swiped by a red light runner. They wanted to total the car, and I told them NO, fix it! They paid to have it fixed in a Carstar body shop (my choice), and I do not have a "salvage title".
If they total it, and you buy it back then fix it, you will get a salvage title. If they pay to have it repaired, you should NOT have a salvage title!
Find a body shop that YOU like, and tell the insurance company you want it fixed. They can not tell you what body shop to take it to, and you should not have to get more than one estimate.
Don't let them bully you.
I have no idea how Eastern states handle such things, but here in Montana the at-fault insurance company has an obligation to make you whole. that is, when all is said and done your car (and you) must be restored to as good or better than it was before the accident.
Exactly that is what I came to say. I have an uncle that and someone total a basically valueless 15 year old Saturn he owned. BUT... the car had something crazy like 70,000 miles on it and was in just about perfect condition. They offered him something like $800... which was the price for a busted up Saturn that barely moved (which at 15 years old was the rule rather than the exception).
He straight up told them what Redraven just said. No. I can't go buy a another car as nice as this one for $800 and you know it. I NEED enough money to go buy THIS car again. That is your contractual obligation with your client, and now with ME.
The insurance company was just trying to screw him, which is almost always the case with the other guy's company, and they almost immediately doubled their offer. $1500 for a nice little car was still low, but it really was about the top of the market for ancient Saturns.
He ultimately did take their offer and bought the car back from them (salvage title and everything) for something like $200. Slapped it back together with used parts and some rednecking and drove it for another 5 years. Sold it when the head gasket popped for more than he paid to buy it back from insurance.
It varies state-to-state, but normally a salvage title just means it can't be put on comprehensive insurance again. A car can only be a total loss once, by law, in my state. So if YOU wreck it next time, too bad. The other guy will always be responsible for damages if HE wrecks it no matter what kind of insurance or title you have (outside of weirdo states like Michigan, but that's different).
So, just tell them that's flatly unacceptable and they're failing the meet their terms of their policy. They're going to wring every cent and then some of what they pay you out of the other guy's policy premiums (or another company will) for the next 3 years and they know it. They're just trying to keep more of it for themselves than it wounds like they really deserve. Ultimately, a grand isn't jack to them versus the prospect of a lawsuit (which is not something you should tell them you're considering. Be nice).
If they fail to raise the offer, call your agent and see if the two companies are willing to work something out. You never know what else is going on behind the scenes. Your company may be trying to weasel out of a much more expensive problem in a different wreck and maybe this is just the leverage they need in that matter to smooth things over. Give client X a little more and we'll screw client Y a little less. Stranger things have happened.
If it does come down to legal action, just straight up file suit if your attorney says you have a case. Don't screw around with letters or small claims representing yourself. Have an attorney file a lawsuit and be done with it. It should take a competent attorney a couple of hours to do that and they should be able to give you a fixed cost of filing the suit ahead of time which will probably not be much (and you can drop the case at any time if you do end up with some crazy person at the insurance company that actually wants to go to court over a grand). It's more expensive for them to send representation to court than what you're even asking for and they'll probably cough up for YOUR legal fees and filing costs too just to make you go away. Haggling with an adjuster is just a game. You file suit against the company and then it's serious.
I'll also say that I'm not lawyer and have, in fact, recommended you consult one if it gets to that point and you should probably take whatever advice they give you. A competent lawyer is going to know in the first 10 minutes if it's worth the hassle or not.
Thanks for your suggestions. I submitted Total loss dispute with at fault insurance company. Here are some items, I heard from them.
"I can't go buy a another car as nice as this one for $800 and you know it. I NEED enough money to go buy THIS car again. That is your contractual obligation with your client, and now with ME."
They still stick with cash value of the car instead of Replacement value.
I presented NADA value and comparable from internet. They say NADA is not acceptable and comparable need VIN#. I did not find VIN# for posted internet ad. They do not want to factor the profit of retail value.
Will I able to buy a car, excluding dealer's profit?
I submitted the invoice of my replacement engine installed on my car. They want to factor only engine excluding labor for review.
How will a engine get into the car, without paying the labor?
I am hearing lot of unrealistic stuff from this insurance company. I am puzzled.
Auto Accident (RearEnd Impact, Total Loss , salvage Title)
=============================================
Thanks for your replies to my threads. I am in Maryland.
My 1999 Toyota Camry (92K miles original, 13K on new motor,
Thank you,
No such thing as a new motor for this car. Rebuilt or remanufactured maybe. And there is a difference. Shore block or long block? This makes a difference also.
There are public adjusters that can be hired by owner for homes. Not sure if there are any for automobiles.
But they get a percentage.
For me, a car of this vintage is not worth fixing.
How to fight the insurance company is best stated in other posts.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
