QuestionI have a 96 ford thunderbird w/127,000 miles the car is in excellent condition ,loaded to the max. my son was involved in an accident (not his vault) the insurance co. (usaa) said seeing as the damage amount was more than 100 % of the value of the car (damage amt 3700.00) the title had to classified as a rebuild and if i retained the car no insurance co. would insure the car!! it would have to be salvaged. i live in the state of florida, is this true?
AnswerUnfortunately I cannot answer your question regarding the specific salvage laws in the state of Florida but can hopefully give you some insight on the situation.
I understand how you must feel about the old T-Bird. I have an old car myself and if something happens to it, will be facing the same dilemma. But the truth is that there comes a certain point that it's just not worth trying to keep and repair something that has such a low cash value. $3,700 is an awful lot of damage on a 10 year old domestic car and by considering a salvage title/rebuild etc. you're really just opening a can of worms.
I believe that USAA may have been referring to full coverage when they stated that no one would insure the vehicle. By law, I don't think that any company in any state can refuse to insure a vehicle for liability.
Do consider that even if you retain the salvage and have it repaired, the rebuilt salvage title will result in the vehicle value being about 1/2 of what it is right now. You'll spend more than the vehicle is worth repairing it and will end up with something worth only 1/2 of what it's worth right now.
Given that you live in FL, I know that it's not hard to find nice, low mileage vehicles and you may be much better off just taking the settlement money and getting something else. Ford built quite a number of 96 T-Birds.
I hope that I've helped.
