Collision, Insurance, and Trading it In? (rental, vehicle, SUV, MPG)

[JustTess]

My 2004 suv has had it's 3rd collision last week...all of them were not due to any fault of mine and all 3 were due to high risk drivers :-(.

I had front end damage from a person making a left turn into my lane, rear end damage when the driver didn't see the off ramp came to a stop, and now, rear wheel and passenger door damage. I have yet to get the other insurance to accept liability (don't think it will be too hard as there was a witness and a police report)

I had thought about trading in my SUV because it gets 16 mpg and I wanted something more efficient, before this accident occured. I looked at the adjustor's report and so far, it looks like $3,500 - $4,000 damage and if you add the rental cost, it would bring it very close to the value of my SUV.

I'm not sure what to do. A dealer told me that I could take the vehicle to his dealership and have them appraise it and I can sign the vehicle over to them when I purchase a new or newer used vehicle. My children's grandmother says, if it's totaled, buy it back from the insurance co for $1k and let my teenage son drive it.

any suggestions on how I would do this?

[smokingGun]

Find out the bluebook value of your SUV at KBB.com Given that's it's not even 10 yrs old, i doubt it would be worth less than $10k. The sister of my gf has an Acura that sustained $4k+ in damages (front & rear) and while it's only worth $7000, the insurance company refused to cut her a check & total it. I've heard that if you have a working relationship with your agent (and have homeowners, life insurance etc with the same company) they can intercede on your behalf to get a higher amount from the other party's carrier. But often they're reluctant to get involved and rather have you settle with the other insurance company directly since it's more paperwork & hassle for them.

[piyf]

Where did your grandmother come up with 1k as the buy back?


You both have insurance. The insurance companies will figure who's at fault not you. It's their job as your provider to do this work. And depending on the repair cost and retail value they most likely will total it out. If they do, they will tell you what the buy back amount is.

http://www.ehow.com/how_8059798_eval...aled-cars.html

[TechGromit]

Originally Posted by JustTess

My 2004 suv has had it's 3rd collision last week...all of them were not due to any fault of mine and all 3 were due to high risk drivers :-(.

Been there, last rear end accident I had, the other driver didn't even have insurance. Cost me $500 to fix my car and it wasn't even my fault.