Negotiating with ins company when car is totaled

[paulri]

My Civic is most likely going to be totaled by my ins company in the next few days, and I would like to get the most I can from them. I think there are 2 things that might increase the value of this car. I had a Maaco paint job put on in the fall of 2015. I did not bother to save any statements. I paid with the store credit, but didn't save any receipt. I did find an email from the cc bank, saying I had a balance of $1250, in Dec 2015. I do have pics from the fall of 2016 that show a shiny (relatively) recent paint job. Does something like this lift the value of the car a couple hundred bucks, or do I need a cc statement showing that I actually paid for the job? I think I have a Yelp review of that particular Maaco location, where I posted pics from my car.

At any rate, the paint job itself cost something like $1500, and it had a 5 year warranty—although how to prove any of that, is going to be hard.

About 30,000 miles ago, I put on Michelins that are 85 or 90K warrantied. I do have paperwork from that, as well as paperwork showing that they have been properly rotated.

Are these things simply written into whatever they tell me the value is? Or would they increase it some?

 

[Snagglefoot]

From my experience, they don't care about any of that. These guys make money by churning thousands of claims as quickly as possible. None of that matters. If you nag them they may throw you a bit more money but the person at the end of line just wants you to sign. Your details on the car sounds like white noise to them, but I encourage you to moan because it often helps get more money.

 

[RedOakRanch]

My brother and I both had major damage to our trucks last year. To my surprise we were both paid out top dollar. I asked my insurance, Farmers, and they said they pay out as if it is fully loaded and high blue book regardless of the vehicle's trim level or condition. I took a check for $7900 on my truck that was realistically worth $8k, the only thing I fixed was the headlights, driver mirror and driver window, $300 total. My brother got 14k for a truck he bought for less, 2 years earlier, his was totaled. I think his insurer was State Farm. You might get more than you're expecting!

 

[Donald]

Unless it was a classic car you will get what the value is based upon the VIN that tells them the options from the factory and mileage. They will give you what you could buy another for in same area of the country with same mileage and options. If you changed the oil every 3K or never changed it will not matter. You could swap tires with some worn out ones before you let them take the car.

 

[BigCahuna]

I just looked up the value on NADA and they list our cars values low retail $1675, average retail $2750, AND hIgh retail as $3725. If they check your mileage and see it's over 200k, they probably will offer you the lowest amount. If your a smooth talker and have receipts, you can usually get them up a bit. But remember your car is over 20 years old so,...

 

[Leo99]

To echo the above, they only care about the condition it's in right now (really, the condition it was in right before it was stolen but you can't go back in the time machine to show that). Take pics of it today if the paint is in real nice shape. Take pics to show them ii's in mint condition despite the mileage. Seats, wheels, etc. You might yet a few extra hundred if they low-ball you. On the other hand, they might surprise you with the settlement check.

 

[SeaJay]

The best approach is to demonstrate that the average value of a similar replacement car in your area where the paint still shows well and moderate wear on the tires is significantly higher than what they are offering. If the paint job and tires were done last week it would be a different story.

Good luck, and do your research on asking price for a good number of similar vehicles to see if their offer is in the ballpark.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Everything is negotiable. Within a reasonable range, of course. Talk to your agent. Good luck!

 

[paulri]

I'm expecting something in the low 2000s. I have already taken screenshots of Civic in my area, with the asking price & mileage, so based on the year & mileage, I'm expecting something along those lines, minus my deductible of course. So I'll see what they offer me.

 

[Lyman]

Provide Comps for your area. I totaled a Harley in 2009. The first offer was $11k. After they got the Comps from me they paid out over $16k.

 

[paulri]

That is a huge difference.
Originally Posted by Blkstanger
Provide Comps for your area. I totaled a Harley in 2009. The first offer was $11k. After they got the Comps from me they paid out over $16k.

 

[Schmoe]

When the wives CRV got totaled, the responsible driver had Farmers insurance. If anything was aftermarket, you had to prove it.

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted by paulri
About 30,000 miles ago, I put on Michelins that are 85 or 90K warrantied. I do have paperwork from that, as well as paperwork showing that they have been properly rotated.

If you had put these on two weeks ago or even two months ago, you might be able to ask/insist/demand a little compensation for them but not 30k miles ago.

As others have said, find Civics from the same generation for sale in your area and keep records of what they're asking for them. You have to exclude the outliers - the ones that someone is asking a stupid high amount that they'll never get. Also, any rice'd out models, ignore those for your comparison. Those mods only appeal to maybe 1 out of 10 buyers which means they have ZERO value to the insurance company and their estimates.

Around here, on craigslist, I see Civics from that era going for low-2000s. Ideally you want to find Civics for sale at used-car dealers but you probably won't find any on car lots. Or can you where you are ? Around here, nope.

 

[CourierDriver]

If you get 2 grand, call it a day,,,u need something newer....

 

[Cressida]

Originally Posted by Snagglefoot
From my experience, they don't care about any of that. These guys make money by churning thousands of claims as quickly as possible. None of that matters. If you nag them they may throw you a bit more money but the person at the end of line just wants you to sign. Your details on the car sounds like white noise to them, but I encourage you to moan because it often helps get more money.


^ This exactly. That paint job and your Michelin tires will probably get you nothing. That said, which insurance company you have could make the most difference. I am aware of a total recently with Geico and it appeared they were not generous at all with the amount paid for a totaled Honda with 210K miles. That rust-free vehicle had just received it's second complete timing belt service (60 days prior) and a new set of tires (less than 500 miles on them). It was white noise...

 

[JLTD]

Originally Posted by SeaJay
The best approach is to demonstrate that the average value of a similar replacement car in your area where the paint still shows well and moderate wear on the tires is significantly higher than what they are offering. If the paint job and tires were done last week it would be a different story.

Good luck, and do your research on asking price for a good number of similar vehicles to see if their offer is in the ballpark.


Correct....find at least 3 other comparable vehicles and their prices, to show the replacement cost. If they won't pony up use the term "bad faith"; it should help.

 

[y_p_w]

Mine ('95 Integra GS-R) was declared a total loss after it was stolen and stripped. I mean - I estimated at the actual cost of all the parts stripped and I'm not sure it would have cost more to replace the parts than I got in a settlement. It was all the seats, the instrument cluster, alloy wheels with good tires, the power steering pump, and the A/C lines ripped to get to the PS pump. The adjuster noted that they typically won't try to fix anything with this much taken out because they often have all these annoying problems where they don't like dealing with cranky clients.

My adjuster went over everything. Their procedure was to look up the ASKING price for local ads for vehicles. This was back when there were classified ads although online marketplaces were starting to be used. They would assemble 3 different ones, average them out, and then give me an offer. There weren't a lot of GS-Rs for sale, but the asking prices for Integra LS models was actually pretty high. The adjuster said it was probably more than I could have actually sold it for. I was thinking of selling it before it was stolen. I also got a prorated insurance payment back as well as prorated registration cost. I had another car, so this wasn't leaving me without a ride. I believe I got about $7300 altogether. Not bad for a 9 year old car with almost 140k miles. My purchase price was negotiated - a bit over $18k back in 1995.

I did get one last look at my car before turning it over. I only had a police description of what it looked like. Looked pretty sad without any seats. I guess the thieves stripped all but the driver seat, then removed the driver seat where it was abandoned. Must have also ripped out the PS pump where it was abandoned. They did leave it with 3 bald tires on steelies along with the compact spare. Not quite sure what they did with the other wheel if there was a set. I basically grabbed what I could, although there was a lot of junk in the back I didn't really care about. I met the adjuster where I signed over the car and had to give him all the keys I had. Apparently if I found any more copies I had to destroy them.

 

[quint]

I did insurance claims for about five years, back in the 90's. I was on the finance company side, I dealt with the insurance claims on cars that we were financing. A lot of people think that once their car gets totaled they can just stop making payments. Oh nuh-uh....If they went 30 days or more past due, now I get involved, and per our contract on past due accounts they gave us the right to settle insurance claims on their behalf, whether they liked it or not.

Everything and I do mean everything was negotiable. Some insurance companies would wheel and deal more than others, and after a few weeks in the job you knew who would and who wouldnt, and I played that for all its worth. Aftermarket stuff (stereos, wheels, whatever) usually made no difference. Major mechanical work recently completed, or new tires, usually did help out some, not a ton and usually not as much as they paid for whatever it was, but we did consider it.

My personal 2012 Mazda3 was T-boned a while back and I figured it was going to be a total. After an adjuster came to the body shop, the other persons insurance (State Farm) called me and offered $7500. It had a new transmission in it less than a couple months old (didnt need it, but it was a warranty deal and they misdiagnosed the actual culprit which was a bad ECU) and also had new tires. The adjuster asked for receipts showing it had a new tranny and new tires, which I had and I provided to them.

I also challenged the comps they compared my car to, because the two local dealers they used were private mom and pop places, and one of them dealt strictly in rebuilt salvage vehicles. I even had the carfax reports for a couple of their comps that showed they were salvage cars and therefore skewing the dollar values to the low side. I then went to autotrader and pulled about a dozen 2012 Mazda3's for sale locally and showed them at the time they were all selling in the $9000-11,000 range for comparable mileage.

After about 10 minutes or so of laying this all out very politely and gently making my case, she increased the settlement from $7500 to $10,500. I didnt even ask for that much, all I said is "I think your offer is a bit low, I'm looking around and no way can I buy a 2012 Mazda3 with a new transmission and tires for what you are offering me".

Dont be afraid to ask for more money. The worse they will say is no, this is it, take it or leave it. You'd be surprised how many of them will negotiate.

 

[Cujet]

Notes:

1) Insurance companies are expert at making money and not giving it away.
2) Insurance must make you whole, minus your deductible.
3) There are a multitude of additional costs besides the loss of your car. Taxes, title transfer costs, registration costs, inspection, possible dealer fees, search costs, rental cars come to mind.
4) You may be insured for replacement value. If so, any alterations or improvements you make ARE COVERED.
5) Maaco will have a record of your paint job.

With that in mind, cover your bases and provide a examples of exactly what a direct replacement (with new paint and michelin tires) would cost. Your use of Mobil 1 oil kept your engine in tip-top shape and you will have a difficult time finding a similar car in equally good shape. Then add in the above additional costs (registration/taxes/title etc)

Again, they are the experts. You are suddenly thrust into a situation where you are at a disadvantage in every way. Keep that in mind when you deal with them. It's their goal to make money. It's your goal to be made whole.

 

[expat]

As has been stated 'it is a game' They want to settle ASAP for as little as possible. YOUR job is to try to convince them that you will only settle for what you consider to be a fair price. THEY hope that being without a car will cause you to settle quickly for what they offer due to inconvenience.

To play the game you must keep showing reasons why you think your car may be worth more, and give the impression thay you won't be rail-roaded into a quick sign off.