Well the lady that hit the Mrs. in our 3 week old IROC, her insurance company(vision, they are so ghetto they dont have there own adjustors, for high risk drivers too.) is calling it a total loss. Is there anyway to get a clean title for a car that was totaled but then fixed? If not then I will see them in court. They have already ****ed us over on our rental car(They gave us a metro,comparable car my ***) I'm getting pissed at them and they dont know who there ****ing with. I've already be ****ed over once with accidents and this is pushing me over the edge. I dont care if its over %70 its value! I wouldnt sell it for anything. There is very minor unibody damage, but besides that, its all cosmetic. ARRRRRGGGGGGH!

 

Bastards? Did somebody call my name?

I'm not sure about the laws in your state, but where I live the statutes allow for older vehicles in that if a vehicle is over nine years old and is deemed a total loss, the owner can settle for the full fair value of the vehicle up to what the replacement cost would be, and also retain posession of the vehicle. (Man, that was a long sentence.)

The key is that since the owner retains posession of the vehicle, there is never a change in the title registration, so the status of the title is never changed. If it wasn't a SALVAGED title before, it shouldn't be now.

Of course, in order to do this, you must not sign anything that settles the claim until the insurer is clear that they will not get posession of the vehicle. Again, that is in the flatlands, not Virginia, so check your rights in your state.

I had this happen to my '84 Fiero when it was parked in front of my house and ended up being parked on my front lawn against a tree (people really shouldn't drink and drive). I settled for $2475.00 and kept the vehicle, clean title and all. I hope you have a similar outcome.

Since this is a Tech site, if you do decide to keep the car, inspect the floor pan VERY closely. Hidden damage there can cause all kinds of issues in the future. If the floor pan is wrinkled, I would suggest having it pulled straight then welding in sub-frame connectors (not bolting them in) to strengthen the floor against any future movement. Check all the dimensions, door and T-top fit, deck lid alignment, hood fit, etcetera before welding in the connectors.

Good luck dude.

 

The unibody is slightly bent on the front corner, but nothing major. The ttops didnt bust and the doors still open the same way they did before so I dont think it will be that much of a problem. Who should I contact to find out about my states laws, I guess I will call Statefarm(our insurance)

 

LBC,

You're lucky you have State Farm instead of some no-name insurer. They got me almost $2,500 for my '84 Fiero and I got to keep it.

Let your insurance agent earn his/her commission. Check with them on the rules in your state. They can call the State Farm Claims office and get the detail if they don't know. That's their job. The rules may be different, but the agents or claims adjusters can negotiate with each other between the two insureds and reach a settlement. Tell them what you want as a final outcome, and that you want to retain title to your vehicle. Have a frame shop or well equipped body shop look at the floor pan and determine what it will cost to repair. Don't rely solely on the State Farm drive-through claims office estimates. You are legally entitled to get as many estimates as you want and from whatever repair shop you feel comfortable with. They are only estimates after all, not repair contracts.

 

State Farm is a good insurance provider. They just phoned me with the total damage on my Camaro only took them 3 days and they said the check minus buy back is in the mail, $2600 minus $600 buy back price. I think its a cheap estimate but the cars 17 years old. Enought of my problems.

Check, "really check" the the whole car top and bottem, like Vader said the floor board and I'll stress the top of the car even more. Although the t-tops werent broken and seem fine the upper portion of the car is over looked by most body shops and you could have problems down the road. Pull the headliner down and check the brace to see if its still lined up and none of the tach welds broke.

 

VADER is correct if they total the car but you buy it back then the title never says anything at all. i had a car that was paid for (so i had the title) and the insurance totalled it out after an accident, but i bought it back for $100 and i still have that car. its in pieces but i still have it just the same.

 

LOL at least you're not dealing with Allstate. It took those ****ers 3 months to pay me when this guy,who didn't have a valid license, in a van smacked into my firebird in a parking lot. And that was after i got my friend's dad, who's a good lawyer, to take them to court. So not only did i get the $2000 for my car but i made them cover my lost wages, a rental car, and "legal expenses".

 

What is the difference between a totaled car and a salvage car, is their a difference???

 

What should I accept cash wise for the car? KBB's retail for the car is 4500 with all its options and NADA is only like 3500 tops. I would probably accept the money with a totaled title if they gave me 4500 but 3500 never, They can see me in court.

 

I have state farm and they are great. Let them do the battle for you. That's what you been paying all those premiums for! Good luck.

 

same as others will say it depends on what coverage you have, if you had full with underinsured driver they will give you X amount and they will squish it or a lower amount and you can keep it, they go by what the book says and thats what they will give you. good luck sueing tho, they will just see old car and not really care, not to mention TONS of $$$ with court cost and lawer fees, if shes got compton insureance like you say you wont see a dime from them, and if by somereaon you win you wont see it for a LONG time, or sueing the ladie hows got compton insureance probley doesnt have a dime anyhow, so really all you can realisticly do is squish it and take the higher amount or keep it an settel for the lesser.

 

If you haven;t had a lot ogf previous problems withcar accidents, and you have collision coverage with State Farm. Let State Farm do your battles, that is why you pay the Ins....2nd...A car totaled is just damaged, a car with salvage title is marked for life aND NO REPECTABLE CAR DEALER will touch it so why should most other people... Suing other people only works if the other person has more than $1000 in checking and more than $1000 in a savings account and no Credit probvlems, ot5herwise stand in line for your money......

 

We are going to wait and see what they offer for the car moneywise. If it is around $4500 then we will accept a salvage title and walk away. If they offer around $3500(what I paid for it) and dont total it then I will accept that. Otherwise, I'm sicking statefarm on them.

 

double post

 

Anymore, a salvage title isn't that big of a deal. Insurance adjusters are more than willing to just total a car, give the car owner XXX amount of dollars and then insurance company sells the car on an auction. In NE is costs half to license a salvage title car. My wife has a 95 cutlass supreme 4dr, black w/black leather, all the options. It was totaled 2 years ago(right before we bought it) and it still looks and drives great. It's got 64000 miles on it now(30000 of those we put on). A local body shop bought the car at an auction, fixed it up and sold it to me. I saw the car before it was fixed--they hit a deer. He replaced the hood, drivers front fender, and drivers front door skin. It didn't even need an alignment.

 

Here in NJ all i had to do was buy it back from the insurance company. They subtracted what i bought it back from them for from the check and had more than enough money to fix it. I ended up buying a winter car and the Formula has slowly been rebuilt. I had collision + liability (obviously) at the time of the accident and the insurance company were supposed to take it off so i just had liability. They didn't even take the collision coverage off until i told them to. If i want any more coverage all i have to do is send them pictures of the fixed car and i am good to go. No change in title, nothing. I am not even sure it's on any records that it has been totaled.

 

I talked to the wonderful people at State Farm today ( ), and they said that if the insurance is going to total the car and let me keep it, they will take the market value and subtract the money they could get from crushing it, and give that amount to me. The title will be fine, since they are not ever seeing it. That is fine with me. I just hope they don't try to give me some bullsh*t amount for the car. Like LottaBalls said earlier, Kelley blue book estimates retail value at $4500, and NADA at $3725 (on NADA, you can't add options like power windows or t-tops like you can on Kelley blue book, so I'm guessing that's why their value is lower). There is no way in hell it costs $4500 to fix it, though. I had a reputable (and expensive, I might add) body shop to estimate it, and they said between $1500 and $2000 worth of work. Her insurance company can kiss my a$$ if they try to give me less than $3725. What value do yall think they will try to give me?

 

I think insurance companies go off of a mid-book value. Basically thay averange what all camaro's for example, are worth adn try to give you that amount. That's what happened to a buddy of mine in Kansas anyway.

 

See post #2 - It sounds like The rules are teh same there as in the midwest.


I'm guessing you'll be settling for something between those two numbers, since they won't likely pay full retail replacement if you keep the car.


If it will cost $2,000 to repair, and you get the cost of the rental car, and the title remains clean, why would you complain if you got less than $3,725? Even if you got $3,500, that should more than cover the repairs plus the additional cost of subframe connectors, paint, and all the odd little things you might find wrong from the accident. It would be a little different if you didn't have the repaired car when it's all over, but...

 

Thanks for the update! I almost missed it...

I just want to add my story: One of the many **** *** V6 F bodys at my school was parked outside the shop, which was also the bus laneway for my school. There was some cement posts so this wouldn't happen.

Well, the Firebird may have had a bad engine, but it had nice paint. When he got to his car after school, his 'bird had been pushed about 10 ft in the rear, and had a cracked bumper cover and a wrinkled fender, and the bus driver or any occupants didn't fess up!

Well the principle found the driver, and he had threatened the kids if they said anything! Geez!

 

Vader - because i'm an a$$hole, that's why I want so much money. At least MLBC didn't fall out on the ground and try to say her neck was broken like some people would.

 

Another plug for State Farm They've got all of my family's 6 cars, and the one time someone smashed our car between their car and our truck (at 3 am) they paid about 30% more than we could've ever sold the car for.

Lottaballs, you said you want no less than $3750 for your accident, and "because i'm an a$$hole" but I just want to point out that in the Insurance industry, all of those costs are eventually paid by the consumer! The more we all demand, the more we all up paying... it's sort of like inflation on a smaller scale. Moreover, the cost to take a case to court far exceeds the difference you might be looking at obtaining- and there's also the risk that the court won't rule in your favor. That's why so many lawsuits are settled out of court. So before you get your panties in a bunch consider how much that extra 3 or 400 is really worth.

Not that I'm saying I wouldn't go and raise hell either I'd be pointing out all of the extra parts and labor I already had in the car!

.02

James

 

I have to ask, isn't a car that has been totalled or salvaged harder to insure? I thought I heard that one time before but after reading this I am assuming I'm wrong?

Also, LottaBallsCamaro, are you a member of the SCV?

 

My family moved to America about 70 years ago so I have no blood ties to the south. I was born and raised in the south and consider myself proud to live in an area so deep in history and color. MLBC however does have ties to Canfederate veterans though. I am a firm supporter of the history of the south and the confederacy and am appalled at how the government and groups that I will not name are trying to erase and demonize that heritage. I fly the rebel flag not with hate but with pride of the group I associate myself with.

On a technical note, you can not put full coverage on a car with a salvage title, but this will not affect me because the title will still be clean.