To me, *completed transactions* on Ebay would carry a lot more weight than ads that just show what buyers are dreaming of getting. If you're using CL or newspaper ads, they better be way above what the insurance company is offering. If I was the adjuster and offered $5000 based on Blue Book sources, ads showing people asking $6000 wouldn't do much to impress me.
Never mind that. I want to know how cars wind up at the junk yard with "all the air bags blown and virtually no body or drivetrain damage". EMP from nuke sets off the airbags?
smart move, having your buddies place those ads!
Must be great living in a state with laws like that. Do they have one that says you only have to pay 75% of the premium?
People with "cherry" cars never get what they feel (and probably is) fair market value and probably never will. As for the legal comment, it would be useful to actually check the facts because what's stated is not really what the law says about percentages, "totalling" a car and fair market value:
WHEN IS A VEHICLE A TOTAL LOSS? A motor vehicle is considered a total loss when the amount of repairs (including supplemental claims such as projected rental during the period of repair) equals or exceeds 75 percent of the pre-accident cash value which is sometimes referred to as the vehicle's Fair Market Value (FMV). 11 NCAC ?
4.0418 (5).Generally speaking the liability insurance company is required to pay the fair market value (F.M.V.) or pre-accident cash value of the vehicle right before the collision occurred. In simple terms, the F.M.V. is the value a seller, not forced to sell, and a buyer, would agree upon for the vehicle immediately before the collision giving rise to the property damage claim.
Insurance adjusters generally have a book value they use to arrive at F.M.V. They may have some "wiggle" room based on the condition of the vehicle, but there is generally little room for negotiation. Book value is supposedly F.M.V. and as such this gives both sides a little leeway to negotiate.
Many insurance companies use the National Automobile Dealers association (NADA) publication entitled "Official Used Car Guide," which is published monthly. Some liability insurance companies have their own methods to arrive at valuations. Some insurance companies consider their system superior to the NADA Book commonly used. Notwithstanding, no publication is completely accurate and they should and are indeed only "guides." As such there is usually some basis to negotiate in most cases.
Example: If the vehicle's pre-accident F.M.V. is $8,000 and the estimates for the cost of repairs are less than $6,000 then the liability insurance company is obligated to only pay for the cost of repairs. However, if the estimated cost of repairs is $6,000 or more, then the liability insurance company has to pay the pre-accident F.M.V. of $8,000 because the vehicle is considered a Total Loss. Frequently, problems arise when claimants fail to understand that the law does not require liability insurers to pay more than the fair market value. If F.M.V. is $8,000 and the cost of repairs is $9,000 then you will only recover $8,000. In other words, you can't recover more than the F.M.V. even when the cost of repairs exceeds the F.M.V. Unfortunately, this is true even if the F.M.V. is less than what is still owed on a vehicle.
You should always continue making car payments even if the car is totaled. You are generally contractually obligated to continue making payments, notwithstanding the condition of your vehicle. If you are behind on your loan payments, this will only make the negotiation your total loss much more difficult. In short, the bank or financing company will not care that your car has been wrecked. They still insist on being paid.
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The poster is talking about a law in *CT*, where he lives and the law you're citing is NC. But I think it maybe you figured out what he's talking about. He said "The insurance company only has to pay 75% of fair market value." Perhaps what he meant was the insurance company has to total it if the cost of repairs are more than 75% of fair market value. The latter is what you found for NC and it makes more sense. The way he stated it, it looked to me like he was saying they totaled it because they then only have to pay 75% of the value of the car.
Yep. He had the percentage right, but not how it's applied (pretty uniformly across the US). I thought the explanation I posted was the most informative even though it was not of the OP's state because I knew what the general salvage principle was. I was surprised to see the Holton firm said words to the effect, "we don't do auto accidents, but if we did, here's how it would go." They seem to imply they'll do it for clients, and that's how it works down here. I've gotten my lawyer to do things I know he would rather not, but he does them because I pay him and often only need a letter on a lawyer's letterhead to get something accomplished.
I've been bent over the salvage rules a few times because I run cars for a long, long time and know the TRUE value of a primo well-cared for car you've worked on all its life. It sure isn't what the Bluebook says. There really needs to be a factor for "one owner" cars that can level out the sting of being forced to total out and not repair such cars.
One thing I learned from the Holton site was that the 75% figure not only includes repair but supplemental claims such as projected rental during the period of repair. So on a $10K FMV car, you can get totaled even if repairs are less than $7.5K. Good to know I guess. )-:
Sadly, there aren't many ways to come out ahead, if any. Many people believe if the car is worth 10K then insurers should pay up to $10 to repair or restore it. Not so. If repairs equal $7,500 then they can "total you" and force you to take the $10K payout. Or nothing. It's in the 30 page contract somewhere. I can see their business reasons for setting things up that way. The likelihood of restoring a beloved one-owner, perfectly maintained 10 year old vehicle to its pre-crash state is not very good and they (smartly) like to cut their losses.
The ways out of the "I've been totaled but I still want my old car" dilemma all come with associated costs and may not save any money in the long run. You may be able to find an insurer that will cover the cost of repairs should you insist on getting your old car back but I imagine the premiums would be high enough to make it more sensible to self-insure. Sometimes you can get "classic car" insurance if the vehicle is old enough and meets certain other parameters, which often include limited mileage.
Some states regulate the auto insurance industry very tightly so I am not sure how flexible insurers can be but I've found if you look around someone will write a "rider" that covers you - usually for a respectable premium if you're asking for something risky to be covered.
Ironically, I've just started to see ads where insurers are offering "replace with new" coverage so I'd say the terms are flexible given enough shopping and competition. This is one of those areas of the law where it's not really a case of being "made whole" after an accident. In the OP's case, if it was a drunk driver and not a tree that caused the damage, he would be likely to have been "made wholer" by the other guy's insurance because of the criminal liability.
The other ways have been discussed already, and buying the car back for salvage is probably the best and most cost effective way of getting your car back. In some states, retitling a salvaged car means paying some pretty hefty fees and taxes if you're not a wholesaler.
I bought a car back for salvage once and discovered just how many things break that you can't see in a 40mph front end to side of other car crash. Nowadays I'd take the check and give a fallen soldier a hearty salute on the way to the junkers. Or North Carolina, which has a remarkable cottage industry of salvage recovery going on.
One simple solution to that is to not insure a car for collision if it's not worth it and you can absorb the loss. If the car already has a blue book value less than 10K, is paid off, you're probably better off saving a couple hundred bucks a year.
... Snip ...
FWIW....That is my understanding of how it works in NYS.
As for the situation that started this thread, the update is this: Earlier today the Ins Co deemed the car "salvage" and offered the owner $3300, which is about $100 less than the owner estimated based on the research he'd done. When he inquired about the value of aftermarket remote start ($250 installed) and the Class III hitch (also $250 installed) he was told that they valued those items at $75 a piece. The owner gently pushed back and asked if their was anything that could be done to increase the amount that was offered. The adjuster told him that he (the adjuster), if asked by the claimant, can escalate to matter to the "home office" where they have a few more tools for determine the value. They can expand the search radius for comparables, they can use something called a "split-book" valuation method where they average values from sources like the KBB and NADA, etc.
My buddy asked the adjuster if the value could possibly go _down _ if they applied these other tools and the adjuster said that he had never seen it happen. He basically told my buddy that it can only help to escalate it, it can't hurt. So, my buddy "officially" asked that the matter be escalated. Within a few hours he got an email from someone at the Ins Co telling him that the matter had been escalated to her desk for further investigation, and that she should have an answer within 24 hours.
If nothing else, my buddy gets to keep the rental car for an extra day. :-)
In NYS, it is my understanding that if the vehicle is 8 years old or newer it's a pretty arduous process to put it back on the road. It has to be retitled as Salvage and it has to go through a rigorous inspection. The goal is to ensure that anyone buying the car not only knows that the vehicle has been wrecked, but also that it has been put back into somewhat working order, e.g the frame isn't going to crack in half when you hit that first pot hole.
For vehicles over 8 years old, it's apparently "buyer beware". No retitling, no inspection other the standard NYS inspection.
I'll let you know the final number once my buddy hears back from the Ins Co.
I want to know how cars wind up at the
HAH!
Note - I said "virtually" no body damage. I've seen air bags deplyed from hitting a parking curb - minor sub-frame damage. Replace the sub-frame and all that's left is air bag damage. And the subframe wasn't damaged enough to cause a safety issue or to affect setting alignment. Also seen quite a few where only the bumper was damaged. No sheet metal or structural damage, but blew out the windsheild, destroyed the dash, damaged the headliner and other interior trim. Car written off with less than 100,00km on the clock
I suspect it's that way in a lot of states. I've totaled cars in DC, Virginia, Maryland AND NY and seem to recall that's how it went. The time I ended up with the car for salvage was when I totaled a new Honda Prelude with less than 17K miles on it, turning it into a Honda Accordian. The insurer wanted to repair it, at first, but it suffered a 40mph impact into the side of a car running a red light. The sunroof tracks were bent, the rear fold down seat was creased in the middle, there was structural damage, engine damage, the doors were no long square, etc. I had to get an independent repair appraisal to FORCE them to total the car because I didn't want to drive something that had to have so many repairs. Since the insurer missed so many things it was a piece of cake to get a more realistic estimate. They totaled the car and then immediately cancelled my policy.
I would put that under what I said earlier: "Never accept their first offer." They'll always make at least *one* better one if you squawk. But don't push them too hard because they can become intractable. I had to threaten to take one insurer to court because they were taking so long to make a final payment. They paid when they got the papers (to not do so risked treble damages in that state) and then, you guessed it, they canceled my policy.
That was my undestanding too, but I also believe it varies from state to state. I would expect NYS to have fairly strong consumer protection laws in place. There were a couple of incidents that I believe caused those laws to come about, and I believe it was Hurricane Andrew where the retitling of water-damaged cars reached epidemic proportions. I wonder how much of a problem it is nowadays with services like CarFax?
The law is pretty unsympathetic in most/many cases with people who buy old cars and expect perfection. Based on the number of such cases that find their way to TV "judge" shows it seems to be a pretty common expectation among buyers. "His ad says: '15 year old Ford, runs great' and after two months and a trip to Mexico, the transmission died so I want all my money back and reimbursment for the money I spent on another car to replace it!!!!"
Thanks. While not home repair per se, it's a subject people who maintain their older car meticulously need to know about.
Another interesting question is how you force them to paint an entire door after a small accident rather than "blending" which, on a clear coated car like a Honda, never looks good, even right after being repaired and looks terrible after weathering for a few months.
... Major Snippage Occurred ...
My buddy settled with the Ins Co today. After he pushed back on the $3300 offer, they came back with $5200, which he accepted. He and I had both done some book value searches on the web and $5200 is at the highest end of a private party transaction if the vehicle was in excellent condition. It was in great shape, but excellent would be a stretch.
Anyway, $1900 for maybe 15 minutes worth of phone conversations with the Tier 2 adjuster is a pretty decent hourly rate. :-)
Oh, and they are letting him keep the rental until Monday so he can look for a replacement vehicle this weekend.
Well done, sir. A definite reminder to never take the first offer.
THANKS for the update.
What company? sounds like they may have just purchased 'priceless' good-will here.
I believe it was Travelers.
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