Showing courage and perseverance...

[Zysoclaplem]

I was in a wreck a month back, and my car was totalled, and finally I've gotten some info from the insurance company. They said they will be sending me a "fair" offer for my car, via a letter and e-mail. They go by NADA and Autotrader, but will not use KBB. Can I refuse the offer if it's too small?
When offering you a certain amount for your totalled car, can they use private party prices? Or must it be retail, dealership, prices?
I was told it was retail value. Any tips on handling these guys would be great.

 

[FoBoT]

if you don't like what they offer, i think you have 2 options

get your insurance company involved
or
get a lawyer

 

[Zysoclaplem]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
if you don't like what they offer, i think you have 2 options

get your insurance company involved
or
get a lawyer

Well, average retail value is 3,850, going by NADA. On Autotrader, I don't know. There are no Sunfire GTs for sale within a 100 mile radius on Autotrader.com. And TT&L Brings it up to almost $4,200.
That's what I am looking for. hopefully that's what they will offer me.

 

[ItTheCow]

Expect their first offer to be a lowball. There are several things you can do to try to maximize your payout (my car was recently totalled as well, and this is what I've gathered):

- If you have reciepts of your routine maintenance work, submit it to the ins. company.
- If you have any aftermarket parts, get a hold of the reciepts for them and submit them.
- Go online and find cars similiar to yours (ebay, autotrader, car.com). Check the selling price, and see if it's comparable to the NADA price. If it's more, you can try to argue for a higher value. Make sure you find the selling price, as the asking price is not always what the car sells for.
- If you have recent pictures of your car before the accident, submit them.

The goal is to make your car look as best as possible. The insurance co. will rate your car relative to a "dealer-ready" car, meaning that a dealer-ready car is as close to showroom condition as possible. My suggestion would be to think of a value for your car, and see if you can get the insurance co. to meet or exceed your expectation.

If all else fails, call a lawyer. Although, the cost of hiring a lwayer may cost you more than the marginal gain you'll get from your car.

 

[Zysoclaplem]

Originally posted by: ItTheCow
Expect their first offer to be a lowball. There are several things you can do to try to maximize your payout (my car was recently totalled as well, and this is what I've gathered):

- If you have reciepts of your routine maintenance work, submit it to the ins. company.
- If you have any aftermarket parts, get a hold of the reciepts for them and submit them.
- Go online and find cars similiar to yours (ebay, autotrader, car.com). Check the selling price, and see if it's comparable to the NADA price. If it's more, you can try to argue for a higher value. Make sure you find the selling price, as the asking price is not always what the car sells for.
- If you have recent pictures of your car before the accident, submit them.

The goal is to make your car look as best as possible. The insurance co. will rate your car relative to a "dealer-ready" car, meaning that a dealer-ready car is as close to showroom condition as possible. My suggestion would be to think of a value for your car, and see if you can get the insurance co. to meet or exceed your expectation.

If all else fails, call a lawyer. Although, the cost of hiring a lwayer may cost you more than the marginal gain you'll get from your car.

I submitted the new tint, but other than that, I only had the car 2 months before it was hit. No real maintenance. I want 4200. Any less, and I will argue.