Lawsonmh15 Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 I'm getting low-balled by my insurance company. They're offering $2,550 and according to KBB, it should be about a grand higher than that. I'm wondering if anyone here recently recently purchased one or sold one with ~190K miles and what you paid or got for it. Mine was in pretty good shape prior and fit into the "Good" category. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikec03 Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Check the value on Edmonds. KBB is unrealistic. You can't do anything about the insurance compensation anyway, but it may make you feel better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Check the value on Edmonds. KBB is unrealistic. You can't do anything about the insurance compensation anyway, but it may make you feel better. I have the same thought, the Kelly book is always higher then reality. Besides Edmonds, check the NADA guide for used car prices. Both will be lower then KBB, I am sure. Still you can argue with your insurance company for a higher figure using the KBB quote. You insurance company prolly still has some negotiating "room," and with some insistence you may get them to pay you as much as $500 above the original quote. You may have to climb up the management ladder at the insurance company to get a more senior person to increase the pay out to you. If your car is appraised as "totaled," but only because the cost of repairs is higher then the percentage allotted for repairs, Then ask what the figure would be that the insurance company would pay you less the "buy back" amount. As an example, a few years back I had an Audi that was hit on the front. The other party's insurance covered my loss. Pay out as "totaled" was about $2,000. I was able to "buy the car" from the insurance company for about $300, so I got to keep the car, and pocket the difference of $1700. I repaired the car with a new grill, headlight unit, and front bumper from a wrecking yard for about $150. Bolting on the new parts was really quite easy. I had to re-title the car as a "rebuilt" titled car. I drove that car for another 4 years, and sold it for $1300. So, I came out way ahead on doing the buy out, and kept a car that I really liked. Worth a thought, if your car is rebuildable, or drive as is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bushwick Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Insurance companies in general are a joke. Usually what they do is get super high quotes for repairs so they can "pay" you less by saying your "low value" car needs repairs that exceed it's value. This way they can say your $2550 car needs $2900 in repairs, the repairs cost more than it's worth, and they just weaseled out of paying $350. If you really want to fight them, expect a chunk increase in future premiums and tons of attorney fees. You'll probably loose a small claims case as they'll do whatever to win. The buy back price of the car is low to entice people to buy back the wreck, and they still come out ahead $2550-300= $2250 ($300 buy back) out of pocket for them = $650 they just saved by totaling it as opposed to "fixing" it (which also ties up their resources for a couple months while it's getting fixed). Hence why they like to pay you off and close the claim ASAP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Insurance companies in general are a joke. Usually what they do is get super high quotes for repairs so they can "pay" you less by saying your "low value" car needs repairs that exceed it's value. This way they can say your $2550 car needs $2900 in repairs, the repairs cost more than it's worth, and they just weaseled out of paying $350. If you really want to fight them, expect a chunk increase in future premiums and tons of attorney fees. You'll probably loose a small claims case as they'll do whatever to win. The buy back price of the car is low to entice people to buy back the wreck, and they still come out ahead $2550-300= $2250 ($300 buy back) out of pocket for them = $650 they just saved by totaling it as opposed to "fixing" it (which also ties up their resources for a couple months while it's getting fixed). Hence why they like to pay you off and close the claim ASAP. I agree fully with your posting. To add to the story, the insurance companies takes their cars to an auction not open to the public. There, the cars are sold to companies that resell the wrecked cars. Here in Indiana, cars are available from T & T Repairables, www.ttrepairables.com/, and are sold to the public, as well as to small used car lots that repair the cars and put them on their "buy here - pay here" lot. Check out T & T repairables website. Interesting to see what they have for sale, always a few Subies available. Pretty amazing what happens to wrecked cars behind the scene, that is not known to the public. Always an angle by someone to make some $$$$. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bushwick Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Are they titled as salvage though after being "totaled" in Indiana? Yeah, I think it's a real shame as many cars just need minor cosmetic work and would be back on the road in a week or 2. But the less "old" cars on the road, the higher "new" car dealerships profits and I'm sure government people who all drive new cars think it helps the environment by looking the other way and getting these old "polluters" off the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Are they titled as salvage though after being "totaled" in Indiana? Yeah, I think it's a real shame as many cars just need minor cosmetic work and would be back on the road in a week or 2. But the less "old" cars on the road, the higher "new" car dealerships profits and I'm sure government people who all drive new cars think it helps the environment by looking the other way and getting these old "polluters" off the road. I don't know where the line in Indiana is drawn between status of salvage and rebuilt. Rebuilt sure sound a lot better then salvage on a revised title. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt167 Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Use NADA guides. Dealers use that as their guide usually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawsonmh15 Posted November 1, 2013 Author Share Posted November 1, 2013 Thanks for the input. I haven't heard back from them since Monday so this should be interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sosubeme Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 This summer had a '93 Impreza LS with 98k miles totaled by insurance, $100 buy-back deducted from settlement. Back on the road shortly after, with 2/3 of the net payment in the bank waiting for the next fix or project to fund. Good luck with your situation! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkie Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 I recently totaled a 99 Outback Wagon with around 100k on it. Surprisingly enough, they paid out $5900 minus $400 buyback. Of course, wagon vs sedan and different area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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