What do I get if my vehicle is declared a total loss by her insurance company?
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 at
8:00 pm
My vehicle is still being financed, Kelly BB value is 21,600, I’ve only had it for 2 weeks until I got in a accident where the airbags deploy and there might be frame damage. What happens if the other persons insurance company declares it a total loss? I heard that they will pay off the vehicle and give me whatever is left? If that’s the case then nothing is left!!!! Because I haven’t even made my first car payment yet. I only had the car for 2 weeks! Am I going to at least get my down payment amount?
Tagged with: company • declared • insurance • loss... • total • vehicle
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My
name is Fred Paterson, I am currently living in Oregon with my wife and 2 kids.
Just like you I suffered with Tinnitus.
There is no way – let me repeat that – there is no way that the other insurance company is going to declare your car a total loss. If your car is “drivable” or not – it will be towed to a “repair station” authorized to do work on your car, it will be fixed (frame damage and all) You may have to pay your deductible to get your “air bags” redone. Hopefully there was a police report, and you’re not deemed at fault. Meanwhile, ask your Insurance company if they’ll reimburse you for a auto rental till your car is fixed.
You’re likely in a less than good situation as new cars typically lose a significant value when you drive them off the lot. Better if it’s its a used car.
It’s not about whether their insurance company deems it a total loss. YOUR insurance company has to agree. That said, you will receive a “fair market value” as determined by the insurance company. This is likely to be the high end of the blue book value if you’ve just purchased it. Don’t be afraid to argue / negotiate with the insurance company reminding them that you literally just bought it and haven’t made a payment. If you are young, don’t let that be a factor. You’re a customer and you have the potential to have a long and valuable relationship to them. Don’t let them just give you anything.
Good Luck!
From your description, it is hard to tell that they will declare it a total loss. Airbags are expensive to replace and if there is a bent frame, that is expensive too, so it is possible that they would. How they will handle it if it is declared a total loss? Assuming the other person is at fault, their insurer will decide how much it is worth and make an offer to you of how much they will pay you. If you feel that it is not enough, then you can ask for more. You will negotiate until you reach an agreement on what they will pay you. If you cannot agree on amount, it could go into arbitration, and an outside party will decide on the value. I can almost guarantee that you will not get the full price you paid for it back. As soon as it is driven off the dealer’s lot, the value goes down. Yes, since you have a lien holder on your auto, the lien holder gets paid first. If there is nothing left after the lien holder gets paid, well you are SOL – Sorry, out of luck. (the clean rendering of SOL.)
If it is the other party’s fault, you will not have to pay your deductible since it will be paid by their liability coverage. The only exceptions would be if this happened in a state with “no fault” laws or if the other party did not have auto insurance. If it happened in a state with “no fault” laws, then your insurance would apply to your car for physical damage. If the other party did not have insurance, then your insurance would pay you for the damage to your car under your physical damage coverage. Your insurance would go after the other party to recover what they had to pay you.
If the repairs exceed the book value then its a total loss. The ins co isn’t going to overpay to fix a car & there’s no guarantee it will be the same. You have the option of taking the insurance & buying the car for salvage & then have it repaired, but in my opinion if it’s totaled, negotiate what you feel is fair & replace the vehicle.
If there is frame damage, there is a big possibility that it will be deemed a total loss. I am speaking from experience. The insurance company does not want to be held accountable once the vehicle is repaired and there is a malfunction with the frame and something happens to you or if the mechanic continues to ask for supplements.to do additional repairs. Although the repairs would be cheaper than the value of the vehicle, in the long run, it would cost them a whole lot more down the road in this case.
After financing, is the price over the Kelly Blue Book Value? I asked because the insurance company pays out based on the value of the vehicle prior to the accident and there has been cases where if there is no GAP coverage in place like at Buy Here Pay Here lots and others, The vehicle is paid off minus your deductible and not only are you left with a balance but also end up losing your down payment and no car. GAP is so important because in the event of an accident you are able to get back in the similar vehicle like your loss.
Insurance companies will low ball you as much as they can while making you think that they care so much, but remember that insurance is for profit and could care less about your transportation situation once they have paid it off.
What they owe is the Actual Cash Value of the vehicle. What that vehicle could have sold for given it’s age, condition and mileage.
If the company uses a book to determine the car’s value – they will use the NADA value – not Kelly Blue Book.
First money goes to the bank. Anything left over goes to you.
If the car was purchased new…you may be “upside down” on it. That means, you may owe more than the car is worth. In which case, they only owe the value of the vehicle – not the amount of your note.
Remember, new cars depreciate as soon as you drive them off the lot. Even though the car is only 2 weeks old, they will have to price it out as a used car. Just as if you were going to sell the car, it would have to sell as a used car.
Hopefully you purchased gap coverage.
You should be dealing through YOUR insurance, not the other party’s. If the vehicle is a total loss, you get “Actual Cash Value” unless you purchased “gap” insurance.