QuestionQUESTION: my father was driving my mothers car and was rear-ended. The car was in great shape and would have lasted many years if it had not been for the accident. The car was taken to a local body shop and the body shop quoted the damage at 2800 dollars. the cars kelly blue book is 3150. after this the insurance company came out and did their own estimate of the damage and made it 3400 and declared the car a total loss. I am in college and most of our families money goes to paying for that. we can not afford a car note and we are being offered 3500 dollars for the car and this will not do. what can we do if anything. thank you for your help.
ANSWER: Hi Tim,
Since the car is totaled (cost of repair exceeds value), there is not much your father can do but accept payment.
You state that Kelly Blue Book is $3,150 and your dad is being offered a settlement of $3,500.
This sounds like the insurance company has taken the excellent condition of the vehicle into consideration and making a fair offer for the car.
Your father should be able to find a used car in comparable condition for the $3,500.
If you feel that the $3,500 offer is to low, you need to research through kbb.com, nada.com,autotrader.com, newspaper ads and local used car dealerships.
If you find cars of the same condition selling for higher prices, make a print off the web, clip the newspaper ad or get a written statement from the dealer. If you can find 4-5 examples of comparable cars at higher prices this will give your father grounds to demand a higher settlement.
I hope this information has been of help.
Your feedback by rating my answer will be appreciated.
Sincerely,
Bennie
San Francisco Bay Area
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: i dont mean to be a bother, but i think u missed my point. the cost of repair didnt exceed the value of the car until the insurance agency messed with the numbers!! we have a quote that states that the car can be fixed for around 300 dollars less than what the car is worth. and they didnt take into account what good shape the car was in, they just have to pay more due to tt&l.
AnswerHi Tim,
I'm sorry, I should have given you a better description of 'cost of repair exceeds value'.
There are various methods to determine if a car is a total and these methods vary from state to state and company to company.
Companies generally use one of the three following rules to determine if the car is a total.
1. The cost of repair is more than 70% of the vehicles market value.
2. The cost of repair is more than 80% of the vehicles market value.
3. The cost of reparir plus the vehicles 'salvage' value exceeds the
vehicles market value.
Most companies are willing to work with you to 'save' a car that is a borderline total. Talk to the insurance company, show them the estimate and your fathers expressed desire to 'save' the car.
Even though an estimate that is $300 less than the value of the car still puts it in a totaled category under any of the above rules, the insurance company may try to have the car repaired.
Good Luck,
Bennie
