I rear ended a car last friday and from what i saw and from what the cops told me is that the damage is worse(the front of the car is completely messed up,no bumper and engine was hit and totally out of shape).
I am hoping they would total my car, its a 2001 nissan altima
i got 2 questions now:
.in my accident report ,it was stated that estimated damage is 2000 and the car is drivable. My car wasn even close to drivable and they had to tow it to a yard and the damage is definitely over 2000, i am calling the officer who wrote down the report for clarification but unable to reach him.I need to fix this soon ,if at all he could write the real scenario there.
2.I am having sleepless nights thinking they might repair my car and give it to me. I crashed into a 2006 BMW :( and he hardly had any damage on his rear but his estmiated damage was mentioned as 4000 in the accident report.
Shoud i call the officer and get the report revised?Is it possible?
On what cirumstances would the insurance comapny total my car??
Please please advice. I badly need some realisitic prediction,i have just started earning and i dont have much money to take of this.
PS: no DUI, road was wet n it was raining heavily. So i am pretty much clear on those aspects and i got full insurance coverage.
waiting for ur response.
2007-09-18 12:32:40 · 5 answers · asked by confused_24 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Insurance & Registration
Although it can vary from state to state - most state laws require that a car be deemed a total loss if the cost to repair the vehicle (including parts and labor) equal or exceed 75% of the cars market value. If your air bags deployed - I can tell you now that you will be over 75%.
Once they deem your car a total loss - the insurance company will make you an offer based on the cars "actual cash value" (acv). This is what you could reasonably have sold the car for prior to it being wrecked given it's condition, milage, options. Keep in mind -most cars on the road are not top retail condition - there will usually be some type of deduction from the retail value.
The insurance company does not pay off your car note. You can be "upside down". This means you owe more than your car is worth. If this happens - lenders will do a substatution of collateral and roll the balance of your current car loan into your new car note (if you have been a good customer). First money goes to the finance company -anything left over goes to you.
There are lots of books out there that tell you the value of your car. The industry standard is the NADA (National Automobile Dealers Association) book. They also have a web site - www.nadaguides.com. The insurance company will take the retail value of the vehicle and + or - for the condition/milage of your vehicle. The insurance company will not settle with you based on Kelly Blue Book.
Some insurance companies subscribe to computer valuation programs (such as CCC) that will suggest a value for your vehicle. These programs are usually more accurate for reflecting what you could have sold the car for. If the insurance company uses something like this - they will be able to show it to you.
2007-09-18 13:33:48 · answer #1 · answered by Boots 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ok, first off. It absolutelyl doesnt matter WHATSOEVER what amount the police put on there. I always have a hard time understanding why people are concerned about this when they call in... im perfectly aware that police officers arent mechanics and i dont really care how much damage they think there is!
Now, its simple.. your car will be totalled if it will cost more to repair then the vehicles worth. And just to give you a heads up.. it doesnt matter how much you owe etc.... they give you the "actual cash value" of the vehicle. CHeck out nada.com to get an idea of what that will be. If they do decide your car is repairable...dont worry about it. They arent going to repair a car that shouldnt be repaired (could you imagine the lawsuits?!)
Also.... i hope you have high policy limits for your property damage (not to freak you out.. just saying) if you totalled a 30k mercedes.. and only have 10k in property damage coverage... you would owe the other 20k!
2007-09-18 12:38:26 · answer #2 · answered by la428282 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
wow.. your insurance company isnt going to go off the report, they know that cops are doofuses so they will send an adjuster to make an appraisal of damages, if it is too much damage they might just salvage the title and pay it off for you or give you money for it so they dont have to fix it, dont sweat it too much it will b okay!! i did the same thing in dec. but no rain.. it was taken care of in a timely fashion
2007-09-18 13:11:10 · answer #3 · answered by kaligirl...xxx 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the cop is not an insurance adjuster so dont worry about it
as far as yours gos if its only sheet metal they will fix yours
2007-09-18 12:41:22 · answer #4 · answered by james a 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
AD's answer is accurate, realistic and helpful. Read and learn.
2007-09-18 16:14:48 · answer #5 · answered by fighting saints 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋