Auto Insurance Claims: My auto claim., 2003 chevrolet trailblazer, 21st century insurance

Question
My 2003 Chevrolet Trailblazer has $11,208 damage per the body shop and 21st century insurance says the damage is $111,300.

Yet the insurance company says it is $1,500 away from a total.

I contacted the Chevrolet used car manager and the actual buy value is $10,000 not damaged and $6,500 repaired.

How do I get the insurance company to conform to the same guidelines the body shop uses for repairs?

The body shop uses all three estimating sources and the insurnce company only the one that offers a lower estimated total value. They say the car is only on the 75% threshold.

Regards,

Don Myers

Answer
It sounds like the value the dealer is quoting is wholesale or trade in.  The insurance company is going by the actual cash market value which is generally 25% higher.  I assume that the $6,500 value is an after repair figure that is reflecting "diminished value".  That number is bogus.  It represents more than a 35% dimunition in value which I've never seen anything more than 10-15% and that would only be on a brand new car. In reality, if your state allows for diminished value claims you can figure roughly 10% of the retail value multiplied by a mileage variable between 0 and 1 based on the odometer reading between 0 and 100,000 miles.  An example would be a $14,000 vehicle with 45,000 miles.  $14,000 x 10% = $1,400 x .45= $630.00 diminished value.  You would get a check for between $500 - $750 for DV.

I'm going to guess that the actual market cash value (what you would pay to replace it with an identical vehicle) on your Trailblazer is at least $14,000 - $16,000 depending on mileage, condition and options.

When the insurance company says that it is $1,500 from a total, that is a projected figure based on possible supplements and DV (if allowed) on the repair vs. what they will end up paying on the total loss, including what they will recoup from selling the salvage.  
Example
Repair estimate
$10,000
plus
Possible Supplements  
$1,500
plus
Diminished Value (if allowed)
$750.00
plus
(sometimes rental is considered)
$500.00 rental
Total projected repair cost  =  $12,750

This number is compare to:
Actual Cash Market Value
$15,000
Plus Tax if applicable
$750
Minus Projected salvage return (what they will sell the salvage for based on history of that vehicle)
-$3,000
Actual Projected Total Loss Cost = $12,750

Hey,  They came out the same!  This example vehicle will likely total.

As far as the body shop estimate and the insurance company estimate not matching, that is the norm.  The body shop is writing an estimate with the utmost profitability programmed into their software and they are also assuming "worst case" scenerio on every part.  By replacing vs. repairing many parts, the body shop lowers their labor costs (money spent in the shop on the techs) and at the same time, raise their bottom line through parts profits (money earned by the guy writing the estimate).
I've seen this time and time again.  The folks up front write to replace a part and when I get the tech off by himself, he'd rather repair it.  I am seeing this less in recent years as the new generation of techs don't posses the skills to repair much of anything, especially at dealerships.
(Oh, as a side note, the worst quality repairs that I see along with the slowest turn around and poor customer service are generally dealership body shops.  They are run by bean counters, not repair professionals.  The long standing independent shops are generally owned and operated by the old generation of collision professionals who got tired of chasing numbers at a dealership and answering to managers who have never held a paint gun.)

The insurance company software is programmed to match the market average costs in that area and they are also writing "best case" scenerio on every part. The insurance company may be writing a repair attempt vs. part replacement.  Keep in mind, if it cannot be repaired and the shop can show a valid reason why, then the part will be replaced. The body shop is likely writing all brand new dealer parts on a 3 year old vehicle and the insurance company may be writing used parts that are no older than the vehicle.  This is perfectly acceptable and legal in most states.  After all, how old were the parts on your vehicle and were they new or used at the time of the accident?  Body parts do not wear out and the shop cannot be forced to use any part that they can show as substandard.  

What should happen before a final decision is made, is that the shop needs to tear down the truck for a complete inspection and may be asked to perform some preliminary pulls to see how it's going to come out.  Once this has been completed, everyone will have a much more accurate picture of the actual cost and they can proceed accordingly.

Sorry such a long answer but you caught me with some rare time on my hands.
Good luck, I'd appreciate your feedback and feel free to send any other questions.