My 97 Cobra got wrecked, damage estimate is $6000-6200. Car was a garage queen 80K Mile triple black driver. I had the 03/04 Cobra wheels ($850 a set) on it 17x9 front and 17x11 rear with brand new $630 worth of tires less than 1K miles on them. KBB say $8.5K-10 trade in and private party is $10K-12K. Nationwide Autotrader/Craigslist search supports those numbers. Progressive Insurance calls me this afternoon and say they are going to total the car, will give me $3600 and I do not get to keep my wheels and tires. I say no way I want at least $9K as I have a replacement policy and I keep the wheels and tires. He says this is not negotiable. So I guess we go to arbitration or court. I have printed 24 ads from 96-97-98 to prove my point. Any tips guys? Mikey
Everything is negotiable. You pay insurance to either fix or pay a reasonable value for your car if it's wrecked. Does the guy have a supervisor you can talk to?
Do not let them take your car,being a 97 you can retain it if you want. My 98 GT got totaled last year ,not my fault Allstate paid me 5500$ ,could have kept it for 300$ less but I took the money .fight for your car/ or your money !! Bitch fight whine cry ask for supervisors the whole deal ! Be a downright jag that is not happy ,accident was not your fault they need to pay!! Progressive is one of the worst!
Several sites do retail and trade values. See if they support your position. Kelly's Blue Book NADA Good Luck
Since you're in Florida you need to know that Florida doesn't issue rebuilt titles anymore. If you have any thoughts of fixing the car after you get paid and after it's declared totaled, forget it. You only have two options 1) fight and scream to get the correct pay out for your car. You can get it appraised after it's wrecked as mentioned above. or 2) forget the insurance and fix it yourself (if it's repairable). I have a friend who was a body man for 50 years and someone ran into his mint condition 92 Ford pick-up. They wanted to total it and his first thought was to buy it back and fix it. When he found out about "totaled means totaled, no rebuilt titles" he just fixed it himself and took no payout from insurance. Welcome to Florida!!!!
I'm glad this subject got posted.....Just last week there was a posting about carfax that just seemed to vanish into thin air(can we do that?). Carfax,Insurance companies,and new car dealers are not your friends. They are ALL here to recycle your car and your credit....period. In this particular case YOUR car is insured. It is still yours rather you fix it or not. No one has the legal right to take it from you until you mutually agree that it is totaled or will be repaired. The state laws vary,but the big question is rather or not there is a lienholder. Full coverage deals mainly with their satisfaction,by law,and your satisfaction if you own it outright. As earlier stated by another member EVERYTHING is negotiable.
Just keep saying no until they give you what you want. Believe me, it works. When Jen totaled her 86 GT, they started at $900 and ended up paying us $3600. Took 9 months of declining their ridiculous offers, but eventually they gave in. They did their homework, called the shop and found out the car was repaired and what we paid (we laid out the money). Some supervisor eventually called us and worked out a deal for the actual repair amount. The only stipulation was that it was going to show on a carfax that the damage exceeded the value or some BS like that. Whatever, just give me the check:grin:
I love when threads like this get started. Not an easy road to go down and usually doesn't work out as people think or expect. Everything isn't negotiable as some may think. Also an insurance company doesn't have to let you retain the car. It's their choice even if it meets the year requirement. Also some states may have differrent statutes/rules on salvage. Also the Ins company may not let you swap parts out. Just because KBB, or Black book etc say your car is worth "x" amount that doesn't mean your car is worth that much. Condition, miles, options play into the equation. Also depends on if your Ins policy and states Actual Cash Value. That means you get what comparable cars are sold for in the area. NOT what someone is asking for them. This value would be on sold cars. NADA.com is usually the closest but once again conditon, miles and options and area play into the value. Ask me how I know?
My momma always said "keep shaking the branches of the tree until to get to a top monkey". I go up an dup the chain keeping names.I'm the guy they hate. I ain't givin' up until I get to bother some of the brass. I one had the vp of tire kingdom call me to apologize. You think he wanted to/had the time.e to do what a half dozen underlingsould have? All of that because of some monkeys with air tools. SHAKE THAT TREE!!! Getcha a top monkey. ( not to be confused witthh trunk monkey) I think he has stated or agreed value. How does one get reamed like this? What are the inside tactics?
I'm no reaming anybody............just giving info since I deal with stuff like this for a living. If someone had a stated value policy it would be a different situation. I've found out that most don't read or understand their insurance policy. It's sometimes gets muddied up with all of the sales pitches with insurance comercials. You wouldn't beleive how many people don't know or understand their deductible or know if the have rental coverage or not. I handle customer complaints daily.
Exactly. And of course theyre going to try and lowball him hoping he takes the offer. Insurance companies are not non- profit organizations. Keep saying no and eventually the top monkey will call you
I understand you deal with the CUSTOMER. I deal with CUSTOMERS daily myself. Some customers suck. But what is the "fine print" us ignorant policy holders don't understand? What standard boiler plate legalities are used we come to collect on a $9k replacement policy? Hey Faster, check and see if you have-like a $5k deductable! And I know a guy or two adjusters and such who need to hit numbers. Plain and simple.
First let me say thank you guys for your support and concern. But it gets better... They also want to charge me a $700 salvage fee on top of my $500 deductible. Ha, ha, ha. They then collect a salvage fee from the broker they sell it too. Lastly the adjuster tells me I get no allowance for the $850 a set for the aftermarket 03/04 Cobra wheels and the one week old Cooper Zeon S-3 tires I just put on at $630. So I did a nationwide search on Autotrader, Craigslist E-bay and printed every 96-97-98 Cobra within 10K odometer miles of mine and there is not one going for under $5K even thought they have body damage or the interior and paint is junk or they don't run. My car was an original paint garage queen with a black leather interior that did not have one wear spot or tear with spectacular paint. People are asking $8.5K-10K for cars in the shape mine is. KBB value is the same as what the asking price is nationwide and the NADA book is 30% lower but still higher than what they are offering. My agent says go to arbitration as my policy states "Actual Cash Value will be paid to the insured for the vehicle". He say they have to pay what I would pay to walk on a dealer lot and purchase a comparable 97 Cobra. The body shop I have it at is very good and was recommended by two members of the Turbo Buick board who have had their GN's done there and other personal vehicles all with very favorable results. He says he can fix it for $6K with all OEM Ford parts which is $1.5-2K of what the asking price is on the sale sites. He say he can straighten and bondo some parts but the car is too nice to to not put new parts on and he really doesn't want to save bent metal. But I know the car, I know how well it has been taken care of. There are no "surprises" that always crop up when purchasing another car. I don't have to pay sales tax, title and tag transfer, transportation fees to move the car and get another car to my son in ST. Louis so I will fight to keep it, fix it and enjoy it. NO, I think the adjuster has something going on the side where he has a market for the car and its parts. This whole thing smells fishy. Mikey
Most auto insurance companies - pardon me - suck. You are supposed to pay them in full - instantly, but they do not want to pay you. I understand that they are in business to make a profit, but even profit-making businesses have to deliver a solid product. Our current insurance problem isn't as serious as yours, but our recommended and approved body shop foreman took one look at the estimate and said "this adjuster is in idiot". They want to repair a damaged side sliding door on my bride's 2012 Chrysler minivan. It will take as many hours of labor to fix and bondo then it would to just replace it. He said that he "WILL" get a new door. He also said it will be a fight. It would be cheaper and a lot easier for all concerned if Commerce would just say OK to the door and avoid the time and expense of a fight that they will lose.
I love my ins co. Had them 30 yrs no problems. But recently had water damage to camper. They have to outsource for an adjuster in lakes country. Adjuster inspected and wouldn't write up any damage... claimed not enough $$ for a claim. Total bs. My agent returned from vacation and got regional claims mgr involved. A week later I had a $14k check in hand, totalled due to EXTENSIVE water damage and presence of black mold.
I did collision work for over 20 years and watched progressive come up in my area and remember them being just as you describe. Dont cave,contact the insurance commissioner for your state and get them involved,they can help.And start by providing them with all the info you have compiled on your car. Good luck ,Hope this helps.
remember, auto insurance adjusters know nothing about fixing cars, they are collage pucks trained to protect the insurance company first and foremost. they don't know a door knob from a dipstick. You have a replacement policy, cut and dry they have to replace it, period I am currently waiting on a check from Allstate from when my father in law backed his 2012 fusion into my 2013 Focus ST. it has been almost a month. the problem is that Allstate thinks the estimate is two high. So they had to sent it to their tech team(?) They sent no adjusters to look at the car they just told me to take it to a body shop and send in the estimate. That is what I did. total estimate $3200 replacing both door skins. If the check is anything less than the estimate my father in law will come unglued at them. He ( Ex Lincoln assy worker) wants my 2013 repaired to factory, period. no compromise. It will be repaired right or me and him will go rounds with the insurance co. Tim
