Auto Insurance Claims: buying my car back, salvage value, claims supervisor

Question
i am currently insured with state farm..my car has been stolen and i found out today that my car was total..i asked my claim rep if i could buy my car back she said no is there anyway if i talked to the claims supervisor if i could buy my car back..i am not satisfied with what they offer me..i check kbb and nada and the car goes for 7250+..they offered me 6300 is there anyways i can dispute this

Answer
Hi Phung,

KBB and NADA for consumers are not very accurate.  They are free services and you get what you pay for.  The data base is not kept current and is incomplete.

NADA for business provides more accurate figures.  Businesses pay for this service.

Ask the claim rep how they came up with their figure.  You can only dispute it if you can provide proof they are wrong.  You can do this buy calling several used car dealers and asking them what they think the car would have sold for (retail) prior to the theft.  Make sure you give them accurate information regarding the condition, options, and mileage.

If you get answers from the car dealers that indicates the claim rep made a low offer, present the information you gathered from the car dealers to the claim rep.  If he/she is unreasonable, then ask for his/her supervisor.

As far as buying the car, you should be able to do what is called "owner retaining salvage."  If you let SF keep the car, they will pay you full value and then sell it for salvage at an auction.  If you want to keep the car, they will pay you full value minus the estimated salvage value.  

Did they explain why they would not let you keep the car?  Unless there is some state law that prevents this, I don't understand why they wouldn't allow it.