So a week ago today a 5 tonne truck drove into my 240 crushing the passenger side. I just got off the phone with insurance and they’ve classified it as “salvage”. I’ve never been in this situation before so I’d like to know what kind of options I have.
After market stuff on the car was:
KTS Coilovers (from SPLParts)
Cusco front STB
Tanabe sustec front underbrace
Battle Version tension rods
Q45 Brake Upgrade
Stainless Steel brake lines
“new” exhaust (OEM < 6 months old)
They’ve quoted me about $1500 for the car, but I’m not sure if the parts are worth more or equal to that… On top of that there is other stuff I want to get out (my stereo for one).
They’re telling me that if I want the car, I’ve actually got to arrange to obtain it from the salvage company, which confuses me. If I want the car, it is still technically mine isn’t it? I mean, if I can sell out the parts for more than they want to give me, shouldn’t I be looking at that option?
Any idea what I should do in this situation? All damage to the car was on the passenger side but there is structural to the centre column behind the passenger door, which was the main issue with it going to salvage (quoted 4k for repair).
as far as i know when they give you the check for your insurance payout they own your car. whatever they pay you for the car you should be able to buy back the car for 10% of the price they paid you.
Please correct me if i am wrong
honestly… talk with AnDrEw as he just went throu this exact same deal and he got paid from the insurance company and then bought his car back so he would have all the ACTUALLY information you would need to know since hes already gone throu it recently…
If they have quoted you $1500 for the whole car they will likely give you $1000 and let you keep it as well.
The car is not theirs until you accept the $$$ for it.
Make it clear you want to keep the car and it’s yours.
I’ve done this several times for myself and others. Buying back the car is easy.
You should be able to go pick up the car as is and bring it back home and do whatever you want with it. The ownership may be branded as a write-off or something and you would have to have it re-saftied if you try to register it again but from the sounds of it you just want the parts to transfer over to a new chassis… no problem.
Thanks for all the tips so far guys… (& gals?? LOL).
thanks man, nice to know people noticed my ride, even though I hadn’t had the time to do anything with it in the past 18 months.
Thanks bing, but does that mean I skip the whole salvage yard altogether? Or would I still end up taking the full payout and then calling salvage?
Thanks for the tip, I’ll drop him a PM. Is he still president of the club? I haven’t been around in a while, but i figured if anyone knew about 240s it’d be the people here!
Also you do not need to take the first offer. If you can offord to play hard ball (for a month or two) and your car was genuinley in good condition, pull out the autotrader and look, $1500 is likely one of the lowest priced cars listed. And you can use the autotrader to guage what it will realistically cost you to replace it, and not the book values which are low on old cars because people often get 2 bills of sale, one real low one for tax purposes which throws off their average book price.
you dont ever need to discuss with the salvage yard unless that is where the car is… your first mistake was letting them tow it there.
Whenever i have been involved i make sure that the vehicle is towed to my place or a place under my control. This gives you additional leverage.
However, the salvage yard, if that is where the car is and if they are not a full-on wreckers, is charging storage fees to the insco. So the insco is motivated to resolve quickly.
As Darian said, you do not have to accept the first offer. I’ve been able to inflate pay-outs in the past.
dig up some recent bills for tires, glass, repair work, etc. etc.
they all matter.
if you are not at fault in the accident your insco. will fight to get you all the $$ you want / deserve.
Insco’s are quickly realising that point of claim is the primary decision criterion when a claimnant goes to renew their policy. It matters more than the premium these days. They will especially not want to fuck you over if the other guy’s insco is paying for it.
Use your leverage. Especially if you have a multi-policy holding with them
Unfortunately I need a car to get to work (Toronto <> Burlington) so time really is of the essence, or I end up spending 5 hours per day on the GO train; not a pleasant thought. I was arguing with the Insco all day on Friday about the value of my car, and they were listing off a bunch of reasons why the payout was low, and for every reason I countered it (i.e., new exhaust, new lower ball joints, etc., vs a “torn seat” or a bit of rust on the hatch).
I just confirmed that it is still at the body shop that I originally agreed to have it moved to, and not the CRC, so they are likely still paying storage fees for it. But what can I say as an argument against having to go through salvage? I’ve already told them that I wanted to keep the car, but they aren’t budging on having to call the salvage co. to get it back. Any ideas?
it is still your car. You still have the title, ownership etc.
if they havent paid they dont own it.
you may wish to mention that they are going to be on the hook for additional storage fees.
if it is in your policy you should be asking for a rental car, that is a wild-card that ALWAYS help you out. Insco’s on average pay a few hundred dollars per claim on rental when it is taken out… they will not want to do that as opposed to settling a small claim.
dont tell them you need the car back, give them the impression that you can wait as long as you need to until you are satisfied.
They will not want to keep the file open too long.
First of all, tow the damn car home if you want to keep the parts. I towed my car directly home from the scene and had adjuster come to my house. Get a receipt, insurance will have to re-emburse you.
Tell them to take there 1500 and shuve it. Call them and ask for a rental car, because you are intitled to one for free. This put pressure on them.
Tell them to find you another car in the same shape or tell them what you want to get from them in terms of settlement price. You should get at the very least 3000 for it, since thats average going market value of these cars lately.
Your upgraded parts they do not insure, so when you finally settle with them. Tell them you want to buy back the car (salvage is ussually around 100-200 dollars). Don’t settle till you are happy with the settlement, insurance companies are out to make money. This is business, just like if you were buying the car.
