UPDATE: Sister's car totalled; Received $33k; Bought 2010 Merc E350; Love insurance!

[mvbighead]

Agree with the general consensus. You DO NOT take any money unless it the appropriate amount to replace the car. You fight them on it.

If it'll cost you $20k to find an reasonably identical replacement, you hold out for that value or as close as you can get to it. No way do you take 60% of what it takes to replace.

 

[mvbighead]

Looks like if it is totaled, getting over 20k should not be out of the question:

http://www.kbb.com/lexus/is/2008-le...tegory=sedan&pricetype=trade-in&isnotabs=true

 

[slag]

Yet another call of BS on this one. My wife is an adjuster for home and car. If a 2008 Lexus gets totalled, she goes online and plugs in her credentials to view current (as of that month) black book pricing. What she sees as the value is what she offers, aka BOOK PRICING. Thats where the term comes from. She won't offer 60% less than what it shows, she offers what it shows.

 

[Zivic]

Looks like if it is totaled, getting over 20k should not be out of the question:

http://www.kbb.com/lexus/is/2008-le...tegory=sedan&pricetype=trade-in&isnotabs=true

NADA is a better resource to use in a situation like this

 

[Zargon]

reading between the lines the IS300 is a ragged out pile of trash and OP wants book value for excellent condition

 

[ponyo]

I haven't seen a single post in this thread that side with OP. 😀. Typical of lawyer to make something out of nothing?

 

[Safeway]

I haven't seen a single post in this thread that side with OP. 😀. Typical of lawyer to make something out of nothing?

I said I was tired! Up until 5:30AM with M&A due diligence. I was already frustrated. 🙂

 

[Safeway]

reading between the lines the IS300 is a ragged out pile of trash and OP wants book value for excellent condition

Must be illiterate. Great condition. Low miles. Just concerned for my kin.

 

[yh125d]

I bought a Fusion in 2009 for $10k. It was totaled a year later and they (USAA) gave me $11.7k, even though they were also financing the loan and knew I only paid $10k and there was only $7k left on the loan


Get a better insurance company

 

[Zargon]

Must be illiterate. Great condition. Low miles. Just concerned for my kin.

Sorry your OP made me think we were playing the 'jumping to conclusions' game😛


Also no where in the OP did you state that info. All you say is that its paid off. I fail to see how my assumptions makes me illiterate when you are the one that failed to provide any real info :whiste:

A girl ran a red light and smashed into the front of my sister's IS350.

She paid the final car payment not even a week ago. The car was free and clear!

Although the red light runner was fully insured, my sister is going to get royally fucked over. We are 99% sure they will total the car out and offer her some paltry sum of money.

Why the fuck do we even carry insurance if the payouts are so worthless? Even though the incident was 100% not her fault, she will end up down over $10,000 when all is said and done. The car insurance industry needs its ass kicked. Home owners insurance actually does what it should in most cases if you have adequate coverage. Car insurance, however, does jack shit even when you are covered.

Venting.

just sayin.

 

[Safeway]

Also no where in the OP did you state that info. All you say is that its paid off. I fail to see how my assumptions makes me illiterate when you are the one that failed to provide any real info :whiste:

I was joking. You said you were reading between the lines. Since you assumed incorrectly, I thought it'd be funny to say you were illiterate. 😀

 

[Imported]

When my Civic was stolen years ago, they gave me market + additional for aftermarket stuff I had on it. Not full value on the aftermarket stuff.. probably closer to 30-40%.

 

[exar333]

When my Civic was stolen years ago, they gave me market + additional for aftermarket stuff I had on it. Not full value on the aftermarket stuff.. probably closer to 30-40%.

Did that Civic have a 2JZ swap in it?

 

[PlasmaBomb]

Hi safeway. Haven't seen you for a while. The good news is that your sister is OK. The car can be replaced, people not so much...

Hope it all works out.
PB

 

[CRXican]

so you're just making stupid guesses?

I've made money on the last two idiots that were kind enough to smash into me. Then again neither were brand new cars and I didn't overpay for them.

 

[Imported]

Did that Civic have a 2JZ swap in it?

Haha. No.

Mostly suspension things. The lot the car was stored before they wrote me the check wouldn't let me take off my parts to replace them with the factory stuff.

 

[exdeath]

Get a better insurance company? They are obligated to pay out market value to replace the totalled car with an identical one. Don't even worry about it.

 

[Kelvrick]

Sounds like your family sucks at dealing with insurance. I had an issue with two insurance companies fighting over liability (the two cars behind the one my wife was driving), so we just went through ours (AAA). Dropped the car off at the local toyota dealership, got picked up by the rental car company and a week later picked up our car in better shape than before. Barely some bumper damage in front and back and they ended up replacing a bunch of mounts and bushings everywhere too.

2 months later, court settled liability and we got our deductible reimbursed by AAA.

 

[Apex]

Thanks for the advice.

I was up until 5:30am this morning working on some M&A intellectual property due diligence. Alarm set for 7:30am, and back at the office by 8:30am. Blurgh.

I'll talk my sister through the process. I spoke to some attorneys here and they offered their services free of charge if the insurance is unwilling to negotiate. If I wrote a letter to the insurance, it wouldn't carry much weight coming from the same surname. If a fellow associate writes it, it would appear more threatening.

Check your policy. Most (every insurance carrier I've had) have a clause about arbitration before resorting to attorneys. That'll save you (and your attorneys) some time and effort.

The arbitration process is pretty good. Just document what it takes to actually purchase a replacement vehicle in the same condition. That's pretty much it, you should get the amount you're looking for.

 

[Safeway]

Check your policy. Most (every insurance carrier I've had) have a clause about arbitration before resorting to attorneys. That'll save you (and your attorneys) some time and effort.

The arbitration process is pretty good. Just document what it takes to actually purchase a replacement vehicle in the same condition. That's pretty much it, you should get the amount you're looking for.

I'll post the results as I learn them. Good news is, they dropped off a rental car at her apartment this morning. No interruption in mobility.

 

[Gillbot]

Did that Civic have a 2JZ swap in it?

Most insurance companies don't cover modifications unless documentation is provided prior to policy renewal.

 

[angry hampster]

Haha. No.

Mostly suspension things. The lot the car was stored before they wrote me the check wouldn't let me take off my parts to replace them with the factory stuff.

The lot my GTI was at let my take out the stereo (was only 3 weeks old LOL) and Allstate was OK with that as well.

 

[Throckmorton]

My sister and the perp both have full coverage.

The problem is, when they total the vehicle, they will cut a check for 60% of its replacement cost / value.

Why would they pay only 60%?

 

[SparkyJJO]

If they offer you 60% you say no.

Their word isn't final. If you accept 60% then you're the sucker and they are laughing at you for being a pushover.

 

[HeXen]

This is why i don't put a bunch of money into my car. like spoilers, funky paint jobs..etc.
i just leave it factory and pay it off as soon as possible.