Auto Insurance Claims: accident - damages - what to do?, wet weather, insurance company

Question
had a wreck in wet weather - the police report states the other driver is totally at fault (he took a left as I was going through an intersection and destroyed my car... here's the question:  i just put my car on the road three weeks ago, the expenses including brand new tires was well over $1000, does not his insurance company have to pay for this since I haven't had the vehicle on the road long enough to know what depreciation means, and all the parts are new?
t

Answer
Hi T,

This is a bit confusing but I'll do my best.

If your car was declared a total loss, the insurance company will pay you the actual cash value of the car. If this is a used car then depreciation will be taken into account. The cost of any maintenence items such as brakes, tires, shocks, etc. do not increase the value of the car equal to the cost of replaceing those parts. The value of the vehicle itself assumes that all components are in good working order. If they are not in good working order then a deduction from the value would be taken.

That having been said, you should produce the receipts for the repairs and tires to the insurance company and use them to negotiate a better price for the car.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh