QuestionI recently flipped my car on the freeway. No objects were struck, save my car. Also no people were hurt. I have full coverage with Geico in California. I also have medical payment coverage as well. My questions relate to my car which was deemed totaled. They say they look at DMV records of recent sales of the vehicles to get an average, as well as (or so I would hope used car websites). I know people a lot of the time will write the value of a used car sale down to help the buyer out on taxes, so would this possibly skew the information the insurance company uses in valuing my car?
Also the thing is I live in a small town north of LA, and when I do a review for Solara's in my area, very few come up/they are newer models and more expensive. One of the other criteria the insurance said they used was looking at used sales prices in your area. I did not find many 2000 in my area, rather in LA they were going for anywhere from 10-4. I just don't want to get screwed.
Secondly, the car was a 2000 Toyota Solara SE V6. IT had 104000 miles, tint, leather, power everything, and was mechanically and physically beautiful. I have seen some 2002 Solara's on used websites (dealer ones as well) for around 13000. Would showing my insurance the ads for these cars be helpful in my replacement check? Or would they not even consider a 2002 due to its being a higher year/less miles etc. Any advice in how to negotiate would be helpful.
AnswerHi Robert,
There are several websites you can check to determine the approximate value of your car as follows:
1) www.nada.com
2) www.nada.com
3) www.edmunds.com
4) www.autotrader.com
The last one will let you search for currently for sale vehicles like yours in your area. Due to the age of the vehicle it may be hard to find enough cars in your area so you can expand your search. You should expand the search enough until you see at least 10 comparables of the same age. Read the descriptions comparing model, options and mileage. Print out the ones that are the closest match to your car.
When the insurance company makes you an offer, you will then already have a good idea of what you should be paid. If you are not happy with the offer, tell the insurance company to send you a copy of whatever they used to determine the value of your car. This way you can look for errors or inconsistancies in the information they used. Then, if the information you found supports a higher price you can send them your research in an attempt to negotiate a higher price. Remember to compare only the value of the car not including sales tax or your deductible. Those items shoult not be considered until you have reached an agreement on the value of the car.
If after all of this you are still over $1000.00 apart, you may consider hiring a professional independent appraiser to determine the value and to go through the appraisal clause process of your policy.
I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh
