They are totaling my car
Nov 16, 2023 14:45:53 #
kandydisbar
Loc: West Orange, NJ
Hey folks. Any ideas here? The auto body shop said this morning it was fixable and now the insurance agent is saying it's totaled. What can I do? I want my car back. I kept it in perfect shape before this deer accident. How do I fight this insurance guy saying it's totaled? Please help
Nov 16, 2023 14:58:45 #
kandydisbar wrote:
Hey folks. Any ideas here? The auto body shop said this morning it was fixable and now the insurance agent is saying it's totaled. What can I do? I want my car back. I kept it in perfect shape before this deer accident. How do I fight this insurance guy saying it's totaled? Please help
I believe the car still belongs to you Kandy until you scrap it. So, maybe take what they give you and fix it up. Post a pic of it would help.
Nov 16, 2023 15:42:36 #
dbed
Loc: POMME DE TERRE LAKE MISSOURI
Did the air bag deploy If it did insurance companies will almost always total the car
Nov 16, 2023 16:14:40 #
The basic ground rule is if the repair of the car is higher than the value on the market it gets totaled. Same thing happened with my daughter and the deer. Except that in her case her job had disappeared a couple weeks before, so she can't even go buy a new one for lack of verifiable income.
Nov 16, 2023 16:43:53 #
Flytier wrote:
The basic ground rule is if the repair of the car is higher than the value on the market it gets totaled. Same thing happened with my daughter and the deer. Except that in her case her job had disappeared a couple weeks before, so she can't even go buy a new one for lack of verifiable income.
Down here you can buy your car back for a very low price from the insurance company. The state will give you a salvage title on the car. Most of the time the money you get from the insurance company will be enough to repair the car.
Nov 16, 2023 17:18:14 #
Jer
Loc: N. Illinois 🇺🇸
kandydisbar wrote:
Hey folks. Any ideas here? The auto body shop said this morning it was fixable and now the insurance agent is saying it's totaled. What can I do? I want my car back. I kept it in perfect shape before this deer accident. How do I fight this insurance guy saying it's totaled? Please help
I am so sorry to hear that, Kandy. I can’t be of any help here because I don’t know how New Jersey handles such things.
Make sure your mechanic thoroughly checks out the battery.
Best of luck to you.
Nov 16, 2023 18:06:27 #
kandydisbar
Loc: West Orange, NJ
dbed wrote:
Did the air bag deploy If it did insurance companies will almost always total the car
No
Nov 16, 2023 18:11:41 #
kandydisbar
Loc: West Orange, NJ
plumbob wrote:
I believe the car still belongs to you Kandy until you scrap it. So, maybe take what they give you and fix it up. Post a pic of it would help.
It's at the body shop but to look it, it's not bad. Hood goes up and down. The Hybrid system got pushed out of whack by the radiator which got pushed by the bumper. Didn't even break the headlight! I couldn't get the adjuster on phone. Will get details tomorrow about what they'll give me. Carfax lists @$7,000. They've been following it through the dealer.
Nov 16, 2023 18:51:50 #
kandydisbar wrote:
It's at the body shop but to look it, it's not bad. Hood goes up and down. The Hybrid system got pushed out of whack by the radiator which got pushed by the bumper. Didn't even break the headlight! I couldn't get the adjuster on phone. Will get details tomorrow about what they'll give me. Carfax lists @$7,000. They've been following it through the dealer.
It will be interesting to see what your state does. Good luck, and I know you said you are using Chris's vehicle, but do you have rental reimbursement on your auto policy.
Nov 16, 2023 21:43:52 #
Mudbugger
Loc: North Central Indiana, just north of Kokomo.
You should be able to buy it back, usually for a very low to reasonable price, we did that a couple of years ago, when my Mom hit the garage with her car.
Found an ideal parts car, same color and everything, the frame had rotted out on it but the front end was perfect.
Since the car was already in her name, no new title, salvage or otherwise, was needed.
When all was said and done, she actually pocketed about $2000 form it.
I told her that was a very poor way to make money!
Found an ideal parts car, same color and everything, the frame had rotted out on it but the front end was perfect.
Since the car was already in her name, no new title, salvage or otherwise, was needed.
When all was said and done, she actually pocketed about $2000 form it.
I told her that was a very poor way to make money!
Nov 17, 2023 01:01:03 #
Grandpa Knows How
Loc: Bahia De Los angeles, Mexico
Contact the insurance company. You can keep your car and take what ever they will pay you. Repair it on our own and keep driving it.
I had a similar problem when chipmunks stored acorns in the tail pipe all the way to the engine block one winter. It very quickly over heated, melted electrical wiring, vacuum, lines etc. Mechanic kept repairing items as he went in trying to diagnose the problem and finally found the acorns complete clogging exhaust. It was then we went to insurance company and the called it totaled and I got enough money to fix the damage. It was back on the road and insured by the same insurance company.
A year later, the brakes failed to hold on the boat ramp taking out my boat. It rolled back into the lake and sank. This time it was really totaled. No repair possible.
FYI: Sheriffs Dept says this is a common problem on older cars and heavy boats. I now use wheel chocks as soon as we get out of the car.
I had a similar problem when chipmunks stored acorns in the tail pipe all the way to the engine block one winter. It very quickly over heated, melted electrical wiring, vacuum, lines etc. Mechanic kept repairing items as he went in trying to diagnose the problem and finally found the acorns complete clogging exhaust. It was then we went to insurance company and the called it totaled and I got enough money to fix the damage. It was back on the road and insured by the same insurance company.
A year later, the brakes failed to hold on the boat ramp taking out my boat. It rolled back into the lake and sank. This time it was really totaled. No repair possible.
FYI: Sheriffs Dept says this is a common problem on older cars and heavy boats. I now use wheel chocks as soon as we get out of the car.
Nov 17, 2023 06:10:45 #
One thing to keep in mind Kandy, is that all of the electrical systems terminate under the hood. Frontal damage can sometimes pinch wiring harnesses that are not seen during repairs and can cause issues down the road.
The Chevy Traverse that my wife was driving when she was hit by the bus was had 28k of front end damage. They didn't total it due to the fact that it was a new car and the damage was well less than 80% of the book value. When the car was repaired, it left. I didn't want the possible headaches left from the frontal damage..
Just something to think about..
The Chevy Traverse that my wife was driving when she was hit by the bus was had 28k of front end damage. They didn't total it due to the fact that it was a new car and the damage was well less than 80% of the book value. When the car was repaired, it left. I didn't want the possible headaches left from the frontal damage..
Just something to think about..
Nov 17, 2023 07:43:48 #
Kandy, Mark here from Mobile. Ask insurance adjuster how much they offering and that you also want the salvage on the vehicle. You may end up with your car and some extra bucks if the right folks fix it.
Good Luck,
Mark
Good Luck,
Mark
Nov 17, 2023 07:49:13 #
One other consideration is if they Total it, and you buy back and repair it, it will have a Salvage or Rebuilt Title. You had best commit to driving it until the wheels fall off because the trade or resale value will be very low. 🤔
Nov 17, 2023 09:47:41 #
Mudbugger
Loc: North Central Indiana, just north of Kokomo.
Doug Lemmon wrote:
One other consideration is if they Total it, and you buy back and repair it, it will have a Salvage or Rebuilt Title. You had best commit to driving it until the wheels fall off because the trade or resale value will be very low. 🤔
Not necessarily so. In Indiana, the car didn't change hands, so no new title was needed. I know this as fact as I did it back in the 90s myself, and my Mom just did it about 2 or 3 years ago. Two different insurance companies involved.
In both cases, the cars were already paid for, no financial institutions were involved.
I can't speak for other states, but that's the case in Indiana.
Mud
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