[oallelsefailo]

So my car was hit on the passenger side near the bumper in a parking lot. We weren't going fast at all but it felt hard. Anyways insurance has already gone through the process they accepted liability blah bloah blah. The car's fender is slightly pushed in not too bad, the bumper got pushed out of place a bit and the lower and upper control arms are bent or something and need to be replaced along with the knuckle

Car status before accident - has some rust near the trunk not a lot, it would need a whole new paint job since theres a lot of knick knacks and paint chipping/missing, odemeter is 136XXX, radio doesnt work but cd player does, interior is in good shape.

Now everything to fix the car (from the accident) i think it was roughly like 5,000$ or something around there and they considered it a total loss and i got a # saying they will pay me 3,3XX$ for the car. Or i can take it back and get a lot less $ out of it (unknown amount atm).

What do i do? I need to know by march 30th cuz my rental is up by then. Im thinking to take the money and let them have the car because i'll never be able to sell it later with broken control arms seeing how its already an old car. (i'm only 20 in college and dont work that much, can't fix it with my own money) help ><

 

[Huntrtylr]

Sorry to hear that. Course take all you can from it that has value...and get another. I am sure you can find one for about that much from someone who needs cash. I know there is several here in South Florida that are excellent buys. In the meantime you have only 5 days to think it out.

check this one out:
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/cto/1085428920.html

 

[oallelsefailo]

So you are saying take the money? I know i can take the car back but idk how much i'd get back

 

[Huntrtylr]

I would...seems like you will need alot to make it right (parts than to put on then paint) you will be without a car for a while. If you take the car back I don't think you will get hardly anything at all. Check out the car in CL in the link above. That looks like it's been taken care of.

 

[mclare]

Hunter is saying take any goodies that you installed into the car: Jerry Can; Fire Ext; Glock Box; Etc.... Any extra parts you installed...

Basically everything in my sig line I would take off or in my case buy the car back. I would buy it back and if it were really totaled, I would keep it as a parts car.

 

[Huntrtylr]

Hunter is saying take any goodies that you installed into the car: Jerry Can; Fire Ext; Glock Box; Etc.... Any extra parts you installed...

Exactly then put it all into the new one.

 

[oallelsefailo]

i dont think i can take anything out of the car since its already been released to them, i just have to confirm whether i want it back or not... bleh i'll have to see how much they'll give me if i take it back

 

[aroundthescenes]

you are 20 and in school, only take the car back if you have enough cash in the bank to fix it. if not take the $3300 and buy another one.

 

[bsclifton]

I'm currently having the same kind of talks with insurance. Depends on what the laws are in California, but here in Arizona, there is a law called Right to Dispute or appraisal clause. You can dispute the dollar amount that the insurance company offers for a total if you hire an independent car appraiser. That person will come up with a value for a comperable car, probably much higher than blue book if you spent money keeping it in good shape.

The insurance company then has to either pay that amount or hire a car appraiser. If they hire a car appraiser and the values aren't roughly the same as the guy you hired, there is another person called an "umpire" that decides the value based on what those 2 folks researched.

This is most likely what I will have to do in my case. Try to get a hold of a car appraiser... they are typically only used in insurance cases and will explain the laws to you

 

[6.9amg]

State Laws vary, If you google your state Insurance Dept.... and search for "total loss", "collision", "Actual Cash Value"... you may find some info. If you carry collision coverage yourself, your agent "may" be able to explain your options. I agree with all advise given thus far, if you're not in the position to gather the parts and fix it yourself, take the money and replace the car, grab your goodies (you can't strip it) ie. put the stock tires and wheels back on etc... Gather some ads for cars that are similar to yours in condition and value, find out what they could be bought for on a cash no-trade deal... Remember though, you can't ask for the value of your car with the upgrades, then keep your upgrades

 

[Kalifornia]

Sorry to hear that...

My advice - take the money AND the buyback, which will be less than what you can easily salvage out of it...when I "totaled" my Volvo, I bought it back for $70. I'm sure they will tell you what your buyback would cost you ahead of time so make an educated decision!

 

[oallelsefailo]

i didn't know you can take the money and then buy the car back. I've still yet to talk to the total loss department on their side so im still trying to figure out what my choices are. If my control arms are bent does that mean the wheel will soon enough just lose its place and might fall off?

 

[benzi]

Hi, sorry to hear about your loss. I'm in insurance. Dont take the car back if it will cost you a lot to fix. Research the cost first.

The best thing is to negotiate hard for a higher settlement and then go find another that you might find in better condition(not saying your car was bad )

Try and get a basis for negotiations, such as adverts that show that a car of your type is selling for more than they are offering as settlement. Best of luck.

 

[oallelsefailo]

The body shop we took it to does a good job but they want a lot of money to fix the car but i was assuming that'd be fine since it's my choice where i want to take it.. So the body damage is somewhere from 800-1000 and i'm not sure about the suspension, i've only had a couple other places quote me around 1000-1500$ but thats depending if they can get the parts.

So since they said they'll give me 3,3XX for the car, does anyone know if thats a fixed price for insurance companies? Meaning you can't negotiate that higher?