I was in an auto accident, my car is financed, am I entitled to to the amount I have already paid in?

Answer 1

Your insurance will pay to repair the damages, minus the deductible, up to the current wholesale value of your car (before the damages). If it is totaled and you owe more than the car is worth, you have to make up the difference to pay off the loan.

Answer 2

Insurance companies have books to appraise the value of autos. This is what they base their payments on. If you paid over the value of the vehicle, you will probably be owing the finance company money. Depreciation could also come into the determination depending on how long you have had the car. Some companies are now paying full replacement value on new cars within the first year. A new car loses quite a bit of value as soon as you drive it off the lot and it becomes a used car.

Answer 3

It will depend on the laws in your state but for the most part..

But....

If the car is within the insurance margin for repair it will be repaired. Some states allow for diminshed value. This means that when a car is in an accident it takes a hit on its overall worth. You are entitled to that money and it is paid to by the insurance company (again this depends on your state law). It generally is not a lot but.....

If the car is totaled then you can negoatiate the over all value with the insurance company. Make sure you do your research at such places as NADA, Kelly blue book, and Edmunds. This is what you are going to use to argue your case. - You do not have to accept their first offer.

If the car is totaled and when the insurance pays the money is going to go to the lein holder (who you have it finaced to) first. Any money left over will be sent to you. If there is no money left over and the loan value of the car is not paid off you are on the hook for that with your finance company. This is why you want GAP insaurance. It will pay for the difference between the amount you owe and the cars worth. It can be dropped once you equity is on the positive side.

Answer 4

Hiya:

In a finance situation, you sign a contract stating you are going to pay "X" amount of money. The people you sign the contract with are the lienholders and technically THEY own the vehicle until you pay it off.

The contract is binding for the amount of money you agreed to pay regardless of what the vehicle is worth.

If your car is totalled and you still owe money - The finance company would be the ones entitled to the money. At least - the money up until your contract is paid off.

Say you bought and financed a car for $20k. Two years later it is only worth $14K but you owe $17K on it. You would be "upside down" in you loan and the lienholder would be entitled to ALL off any monies paid by insurance AND you would still be responsible for the difference (unless you had gap insurance).

On the other hand....

Say you bought the car for $20K and two years later it is worth $14K. Let's say you made advance payments on your loan and had an outstanding loan balance at $10K. The lienholder would get the $10K and you would get the clear title and the rest of the market value ($4K in this situation).

LOL. That's about as clear as mud isn't it?

Goodluck!

~jifr!

Answer 5

The insurance company will appraise the car (decide what it is worth). If you owe less than what it was worth, then you should be entitled to get the difference. You better read your policy carefully and make certain the insurance company does not try to screw you!