Auto Insurance Claims: Should have been totaled, catylitic converter, legal consultation

Question
Hi there,

I Apologize in advance for typos.

I live in Texas and drive a 2007 Mazda RX8. I was in an accident on April 11th 2012 which was my fault, i rear ended someone. No damage of any kind, nor anything serious for engine repairs.

The car was valued at 11,600 (the point in which Allstate would total it), and just cosmetically it was 10500 to fix the front end, and the engine would not start due to engine flooding. It took several weeks for them to tell me this. Allstate then Said they were going to do the cosmetic work first, before trying to start the car. (we thought that was ridiculous) after several more weeks of calling and hassling, they decided to change their minds and fix the engine first. It cost 600 to start the engine.


We pushed for them to total the car, but they said they had to repair it until it hit that 11600 mark. It was now a 11100

So after the car sat in disrepair for a solid month, they began the engine and body work. Once complete, they turned the car back over to me. The repair took 3.5 weeks

From the moment i got the car back, i could tell there was still a problem, the engine felt gunky and slow, and would alsmot stall when accelerating. I immediately brought it back. It turned out the engine flooding caused damage to the catylitic converter and had to be replaced.

After all the new repairs were done, the totall pay out by Allstate was 11900.

We were furious that they did not total it In the first place, as I suggested and politely requested.

Now I'm trying to sell the car and will find it Impossible to get the full value for it after such extensive work.

Is there anything I can do?

Should I consult legal consultation?

Thankyou,

James

Answer
Hi James,

Unfortunately there is nothing you can do. The decision to repair or total a vehicle is solely up to the insurance company. There si no law that says they must total a vehicle when the repair cost is more than 70% or 75%. That is just an insurance industry guideline. The law says they can repair the vehicle upto 100% of the value and I have seen them go far beyond that. The total loss point is only is the initial repair estimate hits or exceeds that figure before the work begins. But, once the work begins there is almost nothing that will cause the vehicle to total.

The worst part is not being able to collect diminished value from your own insurance policy in the state of Texas. Unfortunately there is no attorney that can do anything about this situation. You would need to contact your state legislators to try to get the laws changed.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh.