My roommate borrowed my car today and got backed into. She has insurance so there should be no issues getting reimbursement.

Here is the car's story:

The body is straight with just a few small dings.
It has a new Maaco metallic paint job (pretty decent).
It's just an 89 2.8L, I'd give it a 7.5 / 10 for overall condition.
It has 140k miles on it, runs good still.

The damage is the passenger door and mirror, pretty banged up.

Should I get estimates from a high end body shop (I live in Orange County) and get it fixed at Maaco?

Or do you think the insurance company will try to total the car? I'm guessing the value is about $2500.

I've been pondering selling the damn car anyways, maybe I"ll try to sell it damaged and keep the cash?

Just want some advice from anyone who's been through this situation, thanks!

Dave

 

i would get a jy door have macco shoot it and be done with it. get estimate for those services and that will keep the price down so you won;t get totaled. maybe the lady will rather pay the cash then go with the ins claim as her rates will go up.

jeff

 

Kinda depends on the ins. in your state. But get a couple good estimates, That way if the ins. company wants them, you've got 'em. In Michigan, it's NO-FAULT, which means Your ins. co. picks up the tab and, if applicable, goes after the other guys' ins.
(This is all done behind the scenes, so your car is fixed and on the road sooner...but there are some drawbacks.)
If the lady in question will pay, by all means take it to a good shop, and let them do a nice job. If she refuses and wants her ins. co. to take over, that's fine...just beware of your rights in your state.
MOST ins. companies will allow you to cash settle on the claim, USUALLY for the ammount of the original estimate...BUT this is FINAL, and no supplemental repairs will be allowed. This can also be done in lieu of totalling the car. Hopefully you get a decent adjuster that will work well with you. If they want to pen you a check right there, Don't cash it until you are sure that's the route you want to go.


Edit: This is a good spot to advise all out there that YOU CAN INSURE YOUR CAR FOR WHAT YOU WANT. Ie; take out a policy on your thirdgen for an AMMOUNT, not for the book value of the car.
If you think it's worth ten g's, pay the premiums for ten g's worth of insurance. This will protect you in the long run for a piddly claim that might otherwise kill a nice car.
WE know what their worth, the insurance companies don't.