Car Accident

[HaRuMaN]

<rant>

My fiance and I were in a car accident Tuesday night...  we were at a stoplight and the light turned green so I started to pull out.  Next thing I know I hear honking, and look over to see a '74 Camaro sliding through the snow right at me.  No time to react.

Fortuantely, no one was hurt, even though I got a bump on the head.  The bad thing is that since we were driving a '99 Honda Civic, he totaled our car.  Looked like not even a scratch on his.

This couldn't have come at a worse time.  Now we have to get her another car and have no money for it.  She's a teacher so she gets paid peanuts, and I'm a college student and don't graduate until May.  We are getting married in April, and moving to Phoenix in June.

Argh.  My head hurts.

</rant>

[danny_galaga]

good that youre ok. now, if i were you id be on the lookout for a 74 camaro to drive during winter 

[HaRuMaN]

good that youre ok. now, if i were you id be on the lookout for a 74 camaro to drive during winter 

Yeah, no kidding, except that now his insurance rates are gonna go up since he was found at fault, and admitted fault, both to the police and insurance company.  I'm just hoping we get enough enough money from his insurance to make a reasonable down-payment on something else.

[ChadTower]

A 99 Civic is still worth a couple thousand at least if it's in decent shape.  That's what I drive and the Civic retains its resale value for quite a while.  You'll be looking at $2000-3000 probably unless the thing had real problems or 250,000 miles or something.

I suspect the bigger issue may end up being the amount of time it takes to get that money.  Push their insurance company to pay for a rental replacement for you, since it was his fault and his insurance is paying, often times demanding a rental will either get you the rental or motivate them to get you your compensation faster.

Did the collision at least mess up the guy's mullet?

[HaRuMaN]

Well, the car was in good shape until the accident.  However, it did have 243,000 miles on it.  Oh, and we already pushed their insurance into a rental replacement, we picked it up yesterday.  The adjustor's already been out and looked at the car, he made the decision to total it, now we need to find out how much they're gonna give us for it.  I think we find that out today.

I think we're gonna end up getting a used car for her for now...  a new one would just be too much strain on the budget.

[ChadTower]

Just looked it up for my own info as well as yours... Blue Book is still over $4000 for a reasonable consumer private party sale (4 door auto DX), even at 243k miles.  At 107k it appears to be worth about $900 more.

Of course, mine has a "recovered theft" title, which probably makes it worth about  $4.50 plus a box of Raisinettes if I actually tried to sell it.

[HaRuMaN]

Yeah, those little Honda's hold value fairly well...  plus she's been the only owner of the vehicle, had it since new.

Nationwide is keeping the vehicle for salvage... does this add to the dollar amount they give to you??

[ChadTower]

No.  It's standard practice for a regular car.  I think it's actually legally required as they are "buying it from you" for its market price before the guy hit you.

[HaRuMaN]

No.  It's standard practice for a regular car.  I think it's actually legally required as they are "buying it from you" for its market price before the guy hit you.

Ahh ok, I was a bit confused on that point.  Makes sense now.

[clanggedin]

You need to remember that you get trade in and not retail value for your vehicle. Doesn't matter how much you paid for it. That's why banks sell GAP insurance.

[ChadTower]

The two times I've had totaled out cars they gave me private party sale value, which is about halfway between trade in and retail.

[Samstag]

You're much more likely to get the private party value when it's the other guy's fault.  Be firm and set your own price.

When I was in this situation I managed to get $11,500 for a car a month after I paid $7500 for it (it was a killer deal at the time).

[_) (V) (-)]

If you are moving in April, you may not want the to rush things.

Drive that rental car for as long as you can get away with then purchase the new (OK, replacement) car in April/may after you move.  Might also hint that a new car would make a nice wedding present.

BTW - Congratulations on the nuptials.

[ChadTower]

You're much more likely to get the private party value when it's the other guy's fault.  Be firm and set your own price.

Both times I had to do this it was the other person's fault, if that means anything here.

[fredster]

My first wife had an accident where the car was totaled and it was old. It wasn't her fault.

They called and they said they would come in and talk to us at our house about it.  They said our car was old.

I had a broken laptop I sat on the table.  There was also a ripped up baby seat there.  I told my wife to put a bandage on her head.

When the insurance rep came, I said that car was all we had. He offered $2500.  I said $4500 would be better. He agreed and cut a check.

Darnest thing I ever saw.

[ChadTower]

What, did you have the guy's wife in your basement or something?

[HaRuMaN]

Well, the insurance called and they offered $4,073.29...  pretty reasonable I think, and very similar to private party sales value.  Overall, I'm pleased.  They're moving fast, probably to get us out of the rental as soon as possible.  We have the rental until Monday as of now, with unlimited miles.     Time for a road trip methinks...   

[ChadTower]

Last time I had a rental like that I drove to New Jersey for no good reason... 

(I ended up losing out in the end, though, since I ended up in New Jersey)

[fredster]

Suicide is always an option you know.

[Texasmame]

Well, the insurance called and they offered $4,073.29...  pretty reasonable I think, and very similar to private party sales value.  Overall, I'm pleased.  They're moving fast, probably to get us out of the rental as soon as possible.  We have the rental until Monday as of now, with unlimited miles.     Time for a road trip methinks...   

Well, sounds like the insurance company did right by you.  $4k for a car with 200,000+ miles on it - nice!   

Always remember - car crashes can be horrible things, injury wise.  The most important thing is that everyone is okay.   

[HaRuMaN]

Argh... gonna play the car buying game today.  What fun. 

[ChadTower]

First order of business:

The declaration that the Civic will be replaced with a vehicle capable of moving a cab or pin.

Do this now.

[HaRuMaN]

here's the car...

[ChadTower]

They totaled out your car for THAT?

[SirPeale]

They totaled out your car for THAT?

Yeah, is there frame damage we can't see?

[HaRuMaN]

They totaled out your car for THAT?

Yeah, is there frame damage we can't see?

Yeah, that wheel is actually broken (or at least, the axle is).  It was much more apparent at the scene of the accident.

[DrewKaree]

They totaled out your car for THAT?

Front-wheel drive car, likely major suspension damage as well as the axle he spoke of....the axle alone would cost a fair amount of money to replace (remember, they factor in the labor it'll take to replace it as well as the parts too), and you're also looking at body damage requiring probable painting, more than likely the fender and re-aligning the hood....they're just simply going to write him a check for the value, since their cost to replace and repair stuff will probably easily exceed that amount.

Also, not every insurance company will offer private-sale value.  My wife was in an accident that wasn't her fault and was lucky that thing worked out that she wasn't killed (concrete drainage tubes improperly secured on a semi that came off and totalled our van).  They offered us $1200 for our van.  That was the LOWEST figure possible for our van - as if it were a rust bucket that was ready to fall apart if someone sneezed on it.  It took 2+ years of fighting with them and the threat of taking them to court for the difference plus "pain and suffering" for them to cough up $5000.  I wonder if they'd have paid that amount quickly if the asshat had killed my wife

[HaRuMaN]

Yeah, we were pleasantly suprised how the guy's insurance company treated us, overall.  They gave us a good value for the car, gave us a rental for a week (even though they had to be talked into that).  Once they had the title of the vehicle in their hands, they overnighted us the check.  The guy that hit us had Nationwide.

[ChadTower]

In cases of dramatically obvious fault on their part, they usually do.  It's the easiest way to avoid getting sued because in order to CASH that check you have to sign a waiver of future claims against them.  If you have any interest in waiting to see how an injury develops before potentially suing them for more, don't cash that check.

[HaRuMaN]

In cases of dramatically obvious fault on their part, they usually do.  It's the easiest way to avoid getting sued because in order to CASH that check you have to sign a waiver of future claims against them.  If you have any interest in waiting to see how an injury develops before potentially suing them for more, don't cash that check.

We signed no such waiver, nor is there any statement to that effect on the check.  We both were sore for a couple of days after the accident, but that's gone now.  I had had the bigger potential for injury I think since I hit my head on the door of the car.  I have no signs of a concussion, no headaches, both my pupils are normal, etc... so all in all I think we've had the best outcome of a potentially really bad situation.

[ChadTower]

Read the paperwork.  Often it says something like "cashing this check signifies acceptance of the terms of this agreement" and then goes on to describe a waiver.