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Totaled???

4K views 46 replies 16 participants last post by  bmarsili98 
#1 ·
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Insurance adjuster said 8900 and counting when he totaled my car, 2400 salvage value. My wife's car that i smashed up when I hit an ice patch. She wants it fixed. 2003 with 70k miles. Adjuster will give me 9400 for car. Car runs fine and it does not appear as if the frame was bent.

In the dog house. What would you do?
 
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#4 ·
They are and we did. He provided some cheaper examples that we could not verify. There are examples of MR2's in the area with more miles selling for 20k. Not sure how much he will budge on his number if at all or what my recourse to dispute is but we did end them to him with no response. The car came from my wife's father and has sentimental value (should have said that earlier). Thanks for your response.
 
#6 · (Edited)
I've had a similar, likely worse impact from someone that had no business driving a 26ft uHaul truck on residential streets. I found a shop to fix the work for just under what insurance would have set to total the car. This shop was so good I've used them for any damage repair I've needed so I lucked out big time as far as cost/quality goes. I did have to leave a tiny amount of damage on 1 panel because the cost to repaint the entire door for something less than half the size of a dime would have totaled the car.

Before even considering that, get the value of the car from the insurance company. If they tell you a stupid low number show them as many cars similar to yours (FL & <100k miles).
Its only worth considering leaving some cosmetic damage if the frame is straight...any damage there & I wouldn't even bother gambling on it. In addition to keeping the car & having it completely fixed except for a tiny part cosmetically it did not recieve a salvage title so that was nothing but a win in my book...YMMV.

Best of luck with it.
 
#8 ·
Insurance adjuster said 8900 and counting when he totaled my car, 2400 salvage value. My wife's car that i smashed up when I hit an ice patch. She wants it fixed. 2003 with 70k miles. Adjuster will give me 9400 for car. Car runs fine and it does not appear as if the frame was bent.

In the dog house. What would you do?
OK, I have decided to take it to a body shop where they can get a better look at the damage. I'll post their evaluation when i get it..
 
#9 ·
Pull the crunched pieces off. It takes about an hour to pull the rear quarter panel. Find instructions here. (I did not drill out the rivets or remove the soft top, but if I recall correctly, I cut a small 1cm star access at the bolt then repaired when done.) With parts off, you can then see what damage is there.
And was the suspension impacted? The other body panels of the car are in what condition? I would have a shop evaluate what it would cost to do this area repair and also a full body recondition and paint. Matching panels versus painting a small car might not be so far apart.
 
#12 ·
Most insurance companies base it off two numbers: Current market value(usually determined by a 3rd party company checking comparable vehicles currently for sale) and estimated cost to completely repair.

If the estimated cost to repair is more than about 80% of the current market value, it is usually deemed a total loss.

Currently market value is what they will be paying you(plus taxes and registration fees) if it ends up being a total loss.

Salvage value is what gets deducted from the payment if you decide to keep it after it is a total loss.

I don't think that getting another estimate from a shop is going to change anything. The only thing that may keep it from being a total is getting the insurance company to change the market value by showing them more expensive comparable vehicles.
 
#14 ·
I would definitely push for more of a payout for the car- face lift, lower mileage, and good condition would cost more than 9400 to replace in my opinion at the current US used car market. Additionally you will have to pay sales tax and dealer fees if you buy another car. My insurance company costs too much in premiums but they do add the sales tax to the payout if they total your car.
I can't really tell from the picture the true extent of the damage or if the frame is bent but it looks like it could be fixed for a lot less than 8900 (engine lid, bumper cover and inserts, taillights, quarter panel, exhaust?, other stuff that is broken that I can't really see, paint, and the biggie- labor).
If it were me I'd take 9400 AND they let you keep the car for full settlement. Then I'd pull off everything broken, get needed parts, and repair myself. JMO
 
#17 ·
Based on the current market I believe you can find examples with your mileage and condition that are routinely selling for more than what the insurance adjuster is offering you. If you provide these examples to them then they should take these into consideration. It doesn't make sense that the savage value they have placed on the car is so high when the total loss amount is low in my opinion. The current market would dictate a higher actual value and cost to replace with a similar optioned, year, and mileage car. I'd be curious to see how the damage added up to 8900 before they stopped counting (maybe there is damage I can't see in the pictures). That seems excessively high from what I can see but again the labor for the repair could be a big portion of the cost.

Depending on how much of the repair you can do yourself you could save thousands on the repair. Even if you get the parts and had to pay someone else to do the repair I think you could come out ahead. A year ago we had an incident with a deer and the body shop we were using wouldn't put parts on the car that were upgrades to the OEM but they allowed us to provide what we wanted to put on the car. Once they installed these parts, they gave us the money that the insurance company paid towards these parts. We were able to make upgrades for around the same cost that it would have been for stock parts on the car.

Since your wife's car has sentimental value and you don't want to stay in the doghouse I'd fix it. Also, stay off the icy roads going forward ;)
 
#19 ·
I'd be curious to see how the damage added up to 8900 before they stopped counting (maybe there is damage I can't see in the pictures). That seems excessively high from what I can see but again the labor for the repair could be a big portion of the cost.
Just for reference a young girl (younger than ny damn car) backed into me in a parking lot doing probably 3mph since she didn't see me stopped behind her when she pulled out. This was the damage, approx $2400 insurance bill all said & done. Zoom in far on the wheel & you'll see some small scratches in my rattle can job from the impact...they color matched & repainted the entire wheel.

Tire Wheel Car Land vehicle Vehicle


Was all of that cost necessary? Nope...but when something has any damage insurance & the shop will check it off to get fixed regardless. I have another picture of when I got hit & run by that uHaul truck...the car looks similar to yours but I was able to work with the shop to not have the vehicle totaled. As long as you have a straight frame the world is your oyster however IMO I would still fight like hell to avoid a salvage title.
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#40 ·
Last year I accidentally ran over something big in the road in my 2000 MR2 Spyder (could not avoid it) and it really banged up the underside (took out the gas tank, busted up a condenser tube, put a hole in the oil pan and damaged the exhaust tube going to the catalytic converter. I had it towed and no replacement parts to be found. I then started at the junk yards and also repaired the condenser tube myself all for a total cost of 1700. I turned it into insurance and they said totaled (valued the car at 2400 as well)!!! I pulled it back from the insurance company because I didn't want junk title and it runs fine now. Parts are hard to find but body parts aren't. Sometimes DIY is the way to go (especially if it still runs and rides fine).
 
#44 ·
It certainly worth fixing!
This is exactly why I use Hagerty insurance for all my sports cars. They don’t accept all cars but definitely MR2. I set a total loss value for each of my cars, they won’t let you go crazy and they know what the cars are worth. I have my ‘05 MR2 insured for $25k (as high as they would go) and 3 Miatae all insured at max value, from $12k-$25k. All four cars cost me about $830 /yr (total for all) less than insuring the Honda Pilot with farmers, and I deal with Farmers directly, or can call Hagerty anytime. Consider this for next time! Sorry to hear - this could also be the excuse needed to make it a dedicated race car!!!
 
#45 ·
From my perspective... All State farms are not created equal... Getting my passenger side window and hardtop claim taken care of was like pulling teeth. I have since finally changed agents and that was like pulling teeth too... We'll see how this next agent does... In the meantime he'll enjoy my quarterly donation to fund his life...
 
#46 ·
wow so if your 2000 mr2 is totaled you only get 2400? I have a 2002 mr2 in vg shape with like 100k on it..2nd owner and am considering selling it this spring because i know parts wont be avail alot in the future for it. its yellow and is very clean. My neighbor is onto 280z and has a 1976 one i think and its always on blocks as he cant find parts..dont wanne be that guy. I do like the car(mr2) alot.
 
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