They bumped me from the back while I was waiting for traffic, admit it was their fault. My insurance have told me it is cheaper to write off my car at market value than to repair it. Bought car 2 months ago, Insurance say they will pay half what I paid, and will own my car afterwards. I will end up owing money for a car I no longer have, cannot afford another one with what they are going to pay me. It was not my fault - and I should not come out of it so badly. Please could you tell me if you have faced this and if so, what you did. The auto trader website value of my car tells me I paid the right price, but the insurance company seem to be able to name their own market values. Is it better to go with the other drivers insurance company> How do I come out of this able to buy another car? HOw many others of you have faced this situation?
2006-08-15 10:27:23 · 18 answers · asked by trish4947 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Insurance & Registration
My mate stole my car the day after I bought it and wrote it off drunk. The insurance offered me about a grand less than I paid.
Here is what to do.
1. Go to the autotrader website
2. Print off similar cars age price and mileage.
3. Fax copies to the insurance company.
4. Don't take no for an answer, they have to sort out the situation.
I got the full price and they had to give me it because I couldn't replace the car.
2006-08-16 08:42:11 · answer #1 · answered by stuart3101 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Insurance companies are only obligated to put you back into the condition you were in before the accident. Unfortunately, if repairing your vehicle is more than the vehicle is worth then it is a total and you have the choice of retaining the vehicle (you would get less money then) or having the insurance company take the title and vehicle and pay you actual cash value, which is the cost of purchasing the same exact vehicle in the regular market. Unfortunately, if you owe more than that you are "upside down" and the insurance company is not responsible for paying off the lien. The figure is negotiable, but I don't know how close the offer is to what you owe. The value is not made up, they can support where they get the figures from. It's just not auto trader, or kelly blue book. Also, it's automatically assumed when evaluating a vehicle's value that it has been maintained (so arguing that you changed the oil religiously and took care of the little things won't get more $). Most carriers use the same method of evaluating vehicle values. Next time consider gap insurance if you feel like you're financing more than it might be worth if something happened to it.
2006-08-15 23:08:16 · answer #2 · answered by Chris 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The whole point of car insurance is to put you in the same position financially as you were before you had the accident. If the car is written off then you should seek it's REPLACEMENT value from the other person's insurance company.You prove the replacement value by showing them price guides and actual cars which are for sale.
You must stand firm and turn down silly offers and if necessary you must threaten legal action via a solicitor's letter. Insurance companies are quick to take your premium money but are not so quick at paying up on a claim, so stick to your guns because you are 100% correct in seeking the normal replacement market value for your car. However of course what you owed on this car is nothing to do with the argument because if you took a large loan when buying a car your car can be worth a lot less after a short time.
2006-08-15 17:55:41 · answer #3 · answered by little weed 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are getting a lot of bad advice. I know of NO auto ins policy (sold in the US anyway) that is sold as a replacement value coverage. Policy states it will pay only market value (what the public would pay for your vehicle if sold before loss) for a 'total loss'. This definition varies from state to state but is usually considered a total if cost of repairs exceed 75% to 85% of the vehicle's value. If you truly feel the ins co is low-balling the price then do the research, (locate several cars as much like yours as possible that are for sale in your area) and present these facts to the claims adjuster. It could very well be that they are working off incorrect figures. If they are just being a$$es, stay cool, ask for a manager, and another, and another until you find someone that knows what you are attempting to communicate to them. Do NOT wig-out and start screaming obscenities at them. They will just hang-up and put you file on the bottom of a VERY large pile. Now for the bad news -- it is very possible that you just made a bad deal on your auto. The fact that you may owe more money than it is worth is a tragic problem that thousands of people face everyday. Keep in mind if the company makes you an offer and you refuse, they will not extend rental any longer and will most likely wait for you to come to them. It's a hard game out there and if you are dealing with a third rate company, I feel for you because it could get ugly.
PS - lawyer will only take half of your settlement and you can bet your *** they will NOT get enough to pay you and him both.
2006-08-16 00:43:07 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
the insurance co will give you a valuation between the market value you saw on auto trader and the price a car dealer would pay.
it would probably be best to go through the other party's insurance as your co. will pay you any amount they know they can claim back from the other party. you could also talk to your insurance co. and explain that the car was only 2 months old and get them to raise their offer even try sending in documents and/ or ask them to contact the tp insurer to make sure they will cover your costs? it's an unfortunate one but not uncommon i work in the insurance claims dept and we're not all heartless! good luck
2006-08-15 17:48:07 · answer #5 · answered by Kirsty 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You got screwed by your Insurance company and are getting away with it. So you need to find out and talk to anttorney or another good insurance company and give them your problem and see what they would have offered for your car. You have to make sure you get a good insurance company that alot of people know not the mom and pops local insurance company that claim they have a better price which they sometimes do, but screw you when S H I T happens to your car.
2006-08-15 19:18:22 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If the car runs tell the insurance company that you will pay the repair costs yourself (weather or not you actually get the car repaired is up to you) But I believe they can set their own price for the car. I bet you can contest it though, read your policy and find out what your options are.
It's cheaper for them to write off your car, not for you. You don't have to let them total it, but they have the right to if you try to make them pay for the repairs. You can try the other driver's insurance company but they will probably do the same thing.
2006-08-15 17:40:57 · answer #7 · answered by April C 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Has the insurance company said why the offer is so low? If you can get hold of a "Glass's Guide" from somewhere it will tell you exactly what the right price should be for your car given its age & condition/mileage etc. If this is more than you are being offered then you should challenge the offer, & if they still disagree you can take it to arbitration (an independant review) at no cost to you. The arbitrators decision is binding on your insurance company, but not on you.
2006-08-15 17:36:36 · answer #8 · answered by Ranteater 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you didn't put much of a down payment when you bought your car you are what is called "upside down." That means you owe more than the car is worth. Have you checked the Blue Book for the low and high value of your car? You need to check out the value of your car yourself. Insurance companies will certainly try to cheat you if they can. That is why you need to know the value. The Blue Book is the one I know to check. Usually you can negotiate and meet somewhere in the middle of the high and low Blue Book value. It also depends on the shape your car was in. Sorry this happened to you.
2006-08-15 19:42:06 · answer #9 · answered by papricka w 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1st thing to do is refuse the offer
then go to ur local dealers find very similar cars in age and mileage
get the dealers to give u a headed piece of paper with the details of their car on it with the price
then get any motor sales mags high lite the cars the same as urs send all these items to ur insurer stating that the price to replace ur car needs to be in the region of £££ as they can see from the attached documents refuse n e less than the cheapest car u found they offer u less to keep their own costs down
send all documents via recorded delivery to ensure they get it
also if u can afford it hire a car and put in for that as u hav to make do without ur own car send reciept to insurer and claim for that too
2006-08-16 16:29:14 · answer #10 · answered by zoomer2001uk 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋