QuestionMy car was involved in a related weather accident. My son was the driver, but thank God he is fine. Now I having problem with the insurance because they want to give me less than my car value. They states it has higher mileage than the comparable vehicles they found in the market. The car is total lost, it is 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe GSL 4D 4wd, U 2.7L had 34,216 miles. Anything that I can do?
AnswerHi Rosy,
I will give you some ideas of how to fight for a higher value at the bottom of my response, where I will show you how I found 377 vehicles like yours nationwide. But first I am going to present two ideas of how it can sometimes be an advantage to keep your car and have it repaired with used parts.
Here is a collection of three ideas FOR COMBATING AN OFFER OF AN UNDERVALUED VEHICLE THAT THE INSURANCE AGENT WANTS TO TOTAL.
• First, consider lowering the repair cost by repairing with USED and/or NON-Original Manufactures' Equipment (OEM) PARTS and stipulating to ignore some cosmetic damage; that will allow the insurance company to do the repairs within the percentage of allowance of actual cash value that it has already specified; OR
• Second, buy back the car from the insurance company as salvage, repair it, re-title it, re-license it, and KEEP YOUR CAR; OR
• Third, fight the actual cash valuation with your own research and communicate in writing. Hence, in the example above, you use the resources I will mention at the end of this part below, and FIGHT THE low valuation. In other words, if you could prove that the actual cash value of your vehicle was higher, then it would be a lot easier to avoid having it be considered a total loss.
Here are the details on those three choices.
A.) SAVE YOUR CAR FROM BEING TOTALED BY REPAIRING WITH USED and/or NON-OEM PARTS and STIPULATING TO IGNORE SOME COSMETIC DAMAGE.
Before we get started, have you thought about keeping your car? Many times people have put a lot of money into maintenance OR EXPENSIVE REPAIRS (i.e. new transmission) in a high mileage vehicle, and they KNOW what they have will work as reliable transportation for them.
Have you considered whether or not YOU want your car "totaled"? Do you know whether or not the money you will receive will buy you anywhere near the same quality of transportation that you enjoy with your present vehicle? Will you have to incur a loan payment to get adequate replacement transportation? What if you put a lot of money into repairs and new parts in the past 18 months? You will not get that money back in cash value of the car, but the repairs may have made your vehicle desirable to continue operating.
So, rather than taking the low offer of cash and trying to find a vehicle that will be reliable, they put the money into fixing the wreck with used parts, leaving aside cosmetic damage.
So the first thing, if you are happy with the performance of your car, would be to explore ways to keep the car.
Ask what the body shop would charge to repair your vehicle with USED and/or NON-OEM parts. You can negotiate to leave some cosmetic damage showing to save money. I would not be surprised to see up to 50% come off their repair bill in that case. If you have a car that was running fine, why not keep it, even if you have to drive around with some dents showing?
Find out the maximum amount that the insurance company will pay for repairs before they elect to total your vehicle. Then arrange for your repairs to be done within that limit. This is my first choice and better if you can make it happen. If the adjuster still wants to total your car, then you have to go to the next step.
B.) BUY BACK CAR FROM INSURANCE COMPANY, REPAIR IT, RE-TITLE AND RE-LICENSE IT, AND KEEP IT. YOU GET YOUR EQUITY, LESS THE SALVAGE VALUE THAT YOU PAY TO BUY IT BACK AND THE COST OF REPAIRS PLUS INSPECTION AND RE-LICENSING COSTS.
Here is one way to get the insurance adjuster at her own game. Let's say that you value your car at $18,000, but the insurance adjuster, after considering the latest documentation you have to offer, values it at only $13,500. Don't forget, that is her value BEFORE THE ACCIDENT.
One would have to consider the amount of damage done in the accident to come up with a salvage value, but it should be a lot lower than the value before the accident, which the adjuster already told you was only $13,500. So, before you decide to total the car, ask the adjuster what the salvage value would be. That is the amount that the company will get for the car after the accident, in its post-accident state, AS IS, WITHOUT ANY REPAIRS having been made. In this example, depending upon the cost of the repairs, the salvage value could be around 15%, or $2,000. Hey, this is ONE advantage of having them give your car a low actual cash value: the salvage value should be pretty low!
NOW, if you were to pay that amount and then to set up the repairs to be done with USED and/or NON-OEM PARTS, and perhaps forgoing some of the strictly beauty finishing items, you could get repairs done for a lot less than the estimate given to the insurance company. Say, around $7,500 for the damages.
But you will not use those parts to which you are entitled, instead you will again repair with USED and/or NON-OEM PARTS.
Plus, once the car is repaired, you will have to take it to the state patrol to be inspected as a salvaged vehicle. You will need paperwork from both the insurance company and the auto body shop that confirms both the amount you paid for the salvage, the fact that you are authorized to title the vehicle, and a receipt for the work and parts from the auto body shop. You pay for the inspection and then the re-licensing through the Department of Licensing. So leave aside around $100 for the state inspection, plus the cost to get new title, license plates, and tabs. The cost for the latter will be the same for any other vehicle of the same price as your salvage buy-back price PLUS the cost of repairs.
In summary, you will get cash for the car, and then being eligible to fix and re-title it, you will argue for cash from the tortfeasor equal to the damages he caused. .
C.) THIRD, FIGHT THE ACTUAL CASH VALUATION WITH YOUR OWN RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATE IN WRITING.
Now, changing topics back to how to get that value up for the insurance adjuster, let's get started for you.
My favorite sites for valuation are www.Edmunds.com and www.autotrader.com. They want to know your zip code, and then they ask for a range in miles to search. Don't limit yourself to your city: it is reasonable that someone could go up to 300 miles to pick up a used car. That way you will get a lot more information. Be aware that you should pick the option "any distance" from your zip code. You can use information from local papers, advertising flyers, car dealerships, and the Internet.
Be aware that the prices shown are the "asking" price, not the actual cash value. But also be aware that the insurance adjusters have used a computer scan of sales that were at the trade-in value, NOT the actual cash value.
Just on www.autotrader.com I found 377 cars like yours nationwide. It seemed to me that with your mileage, the average price would be around $17,000 to $18,000.
If you have made major item replacements, above and beyond normal maintenance, you need to document them and ask for a review of those extras. For example, a rebuilt transmission or the like will add value to a used car. How about new tires or a new stereo system? The issue is: how much (if any) did they increase the FMV or actual cash value of the car. See this link and scroll to the bottom for more information on that topic. Car Accidents: Totaled, Repair, Valuation, Your Rights http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0007.htm
You are trying to get the value up as high as possible so that you can argue two things. First, the higher value will qualify your car for a higher cost of repair before it is considered to be a total loss. Second, if you do let them total the car, then this will increase the value you will be paid for actual cash value.
FINAL TOPIC, Rosy: Effective communication with insurance claims adjusters. Establish Firm, Professional, and Positive Relationships With the Insurance Injury Claims Adjuster http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0059.htm
Always communicate with the adjuster in writing, showing your own analysis of value. It is OK I guess to have one call or so, but no more. Always have your information and ammunition in writing to give to the adjuster.
Let her know that you are FIRM IN YOUR RESOLVE to get what you are demanding (NOT "asking", since that invites a counter-offer, but instead "demanding" as fair and reasonable compensation) by asking her what the options are to resolve the matter fairly should she not agree to a reasonable claim value. In other words, let her know that you will go through with a court filing if need be.
Remember these tips, do your homework, print out your evidence, show resolve to get your fair settlement, and you will DO JUST FINE.
I trust that my time here has produced some information that has been of value to you, and thus I would respectfully request that you take the time to locate the FEEDBACK FORM on this site and leave some feedback for me.
Best Wishes,
Dr. Settlement, J.D. (Juris Doctor)
http://www.SettlementCentral.Com
